The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “I’ve got this,” Mrs. Edwards said as she went up to the concierge desk and began talking to the man in French.

  Ashley, Devin and I all looked at each other in wonder as she talked and seemed to be negotiating with the concierge. The two of them held a full conversation before she finally turned around with a huge smile on her face.

  “It’s figured out. He’s going to call them and have them deliver the flowers right away,” Mrs. Edwards said.

  “Mom!” Ashley said loudly. “You know French?”

  “Hey, I’ve been bored with you and Izzy out of the house. I had to do something with my time.”

  We all laughed at the craziness of it all. After getting our bags up to our rooms, we all settled on a time to meet back up and have a meal later that evening. Izzy went with her mother in their room, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards went to their room, Devin went to a room with his friend Jacob, while I went to a room I was sharing with Anna.

  No matter what we had been through, I still had a little superstition about spending the night with Devin before our wedding. It was fun to have a little separation from him before the big day and I couldn’t wait to see Anna.

  “Lilli!” Anna exclaimed as I walked through the door to our room. “You have to go to the Eiffel Tower with me today and take some photos. It’s so beautiful. And let’s go shopping too. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this place exists and I’ve never been here before,” she said excitedly.

  “Anna, I’m tired and I am getting married in the morning. Perhaps you and I can do another trip to Paris in a few months and I’ll go to all those places with you.”

  “Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m sorry. I forgot. You’re getting married!”

  “Can you even believe it? I never thought I’d find a guy like Devin. Hell, I never thought I’d even consider getting married.”

  “He’s the right one Lilli. I know it. I feel it every time the two of you are around.”

  “I feel it too. I am the best version of me when I’m with him. I have no doubt about it at all. I can’t wait to be his wife.”

  “You know, I was thinking about Jason while I was walking along the river.”

  “Anna, again with Jason?”

  “Wait, here me out. I was thinking that I was going to give up my little thing with him,” she said seriously.

  “Anna, you don’t have a thing with him,” I laughed.

  “Well, you know what I mean. I’m giving up on him and I’m going to try and find my real match.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  The two of us talked and visited for a little bit and I caught a few hours of sleep before we went down to the main dining room of The Ritz Paris. The room was adorned with flowers and ornate gold accents throughout. It was going to be our wedding reception location the next day and I instantly felt relieved that I wasn’t going to have to worry if the flowers came or not. The ones they had in the room already were perfectly beautiful.

  Our hotel was packed with all our friends and family and many of them joined us that evening to celebrate before the wedding. It was a scene out of a romantic love story as we all drank and laughed our night away. Devin took a moment at the end of the evening to grab me and pull me aside before we went to our rooms for the night.

  “Best thing I ever did was invite you on that date,” he whispered.

  “Best thing I ever did was to agree to go out with you.”

  “I can’t wait to marry you,” Devin said as we danced to the lounge music that was heard overhead.

  “I’m pretty damn excited to marry you too.”

  “Okay, gross you two, save it for the wedding night,” Anna said with Izzy standing next to her.

  The two girls giggled together as they pulled Devin and me apart. Devin went with Izzy and I went with Anna as we separated for the evening in preparation for our big day.

  The morning was a blur of hair and makeup, pictures and visits from everyone who wanted to see me and say something before the wedding. But the most meaningful interaction was the one my father and I had as we stood on the outside of the doors waiting to go into the ceremony.

  “I always hoped I would know you had found the right guy. I pictured this moment dozens of times and what I would say if I thought you were making a mistake.”

  “Dad,” I protested.

  “But you aren’t making a mistake. He’s a good one Lilli and the two of you are going to live the fairytale.”

  “Thanks Daddy,” I said as he kissed me gently on the cheek and the ushers opened the doors.

  As I stood at the end of the aisle looking toward my future husband, I felt the weight of a happy life on my shoulders. I had my dream right there in my hands and I was going to do everything in my power to take advantage of each and every moment of this perfect life.

  The Private Club

  Vol. I

  Sarah J. Brooks

  Christy

  I glanced at Natasha as I kept the car on the road.

  Okay, I’m not sure you could actually call it a road. The thing was dirt with a little gravel. Oh, and most of it appeared to be missing a fair chunk of what should have been there. This place had better be damn nice, I thought as I turned my full attention to the pothole pit in front of us.

  We hadn’t seen a car in ages. Ever since we turned down this ‘road’, I was utterly aware if anything happened to the car, we would probably have to wait hours for someone to come rescue us.

  “It shouldn’t be much longer,” Nat said, glancing down at the map. Her cell service wasn’t working out here in this … I didn’t even know what it was. Countryside seemed a little too forgiving. “You’ll take the left coming up.”

  We had seen the signs a while back, but still no sight of the actual ranch. Are we ever going to make it?

  After years of saying we should take a trip together, we were finally doing it. And now I was starting to wonder if I was crazy for following through.

  My eyes caught the sign. My heart skipped a beat. We were going to make it.

  “It should only be another ten minutes or so,” Natasha said, suddenly more chipper than she had been before.

  Natasha and I had been friends for a few years now, and we spent most of our time together, so it didn’t occur to us we might not have fun on a road trip. But, after a day of nonstop driving and stopping, we were starting to get on each other’s nerves. Nothing bad, but if we’d been stuck in a car much longer, it might have gotten nasty.

  My foot pressed down on the gas pedal, and I watched as the speedometer increased to thirty over the speed limit. I was pretty sure there wouldn’t be a cop around within the next little while, and I was desperate to get out of the car. It’s been like an hour. I wasn’t used to holding my pee for this long. I was not going on the side of the street. I wouldn’t; I didn’t care how bad I had to go. I’ll get there soon.

  I stared out the windshield, the car bouncing along the dirt road as we made our way straight down the drive. There wasn’t much to look at. No trees, no houses, no nothing. Except fields. Sometimes we saw a farmer or some cows, but that was it.

  I saw the sign promoting the ranch. Next left and a few miles ahead, there was another left turn. Thank God, I thought.

  “I hope it’s as nice as it looks on the website,” I muttered.

  “I hope there is a cute cowboy around.”

  I glanced at my best friend out of the corner of my eye. A grin spread over my face, and together we let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, so do I.” But I had no interest in guys right now. Well, at least I shouldn’t. I had enough shit to deal with, like how the hell I was going to make it from one month to the next.

  The car slowed quickly when I lifted my foot from the pedal and flicked my blinker on, even though there was no one else around to see it.

  The soft click-click-click of the blinker shut off when I made the left onto another dirt road. Well, in this case, I think it was a driveway. A really, really long driveway. Do they shovel it in the wi
nter?

  It felt like forever since Nat and I had gotten in the car and started our drive, but we were finally here. Stopped in front of the ranch check-in.

  “Wow,” I whispered. It was gorgeous. The ranch had ten rooms you could rent; I knew that much from the website. The pictures hadn’t done the place justice. The rooms were all lined up one by one, and across from them was a large meeting hall, where breakfast was served according to my online research. I stared out at the horses, all behind a fence. Most were eating grass, but there were a few staring at us. I shut off the engine and pulled the keys from the ignition as I popped the door open and stepped out, still a little in awe. I sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air. It smelled like flowers.

  “Well, I guess we’d better go check in,” I mumbled, nervousness filling the pit of my stomach. I had never been good at speaking to strangers.

  Together, Nat and I made our way to the office, which had a huge sign with Check In Here written on it in beautiful cursive. My fingers curled around the door handle and I pushed it open, a bell chiming above my head as I stepped inside. Two people looked up and stared at us.

  I was only looking at the one in front of me. Dark hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. He stood there, wearing dirty jeans and a black muscle shirt that allowed me to see the outline of his muscles. A soft smile spread across his lips.

  “Hello, ladies. Can we help you?”

  “Er, yes,” I stammered. “Um, we reserved a room for a couple of days.” I cleared my throat and closed the distance between us.

  “Oh, wonderful.” He walked over to one of the two desks that sat side by side. He leaned over and grabbed a thick leather book. “Last name?”

  “McCool.”

  The man nodded and flipped through the pages. It didn’t take him long to stop and point at the page. “All righty. Two rooms, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me take you ladies to your rooms.” He smiled and stood up straight before leading the way to the door, closing what little distance there was between us as he slipped past me. He reached the door first and pulled it open for us.

  “Thank you,” Natasha and I said in unison as we stepped out into the fresh air and waited for him to lead the way.

  “Is that your car?”

  “Yes.”

  He crossed over to it and stopped at the trunk. “I’d be happy to get your bags for you.” I didn’t miss the look he gave my car when he stopped. Sure, it was a little old, but it still worked. Most days.

  “Oh, thank you,” Natasha said, giving him her flirty smile. I resisted the urge to grin at her.

  Honestly, the shirtless cowboys on the ranch website had been the part that really sold this trip for us, despite the fact it was a little pricier than we wanted it to be.

  The guy popped the trunk and stared down at it. “Is this all?”

  “Yes.”

  His brow furrowed as he reached inside and grabbed the two suitcases. He glanced back in the trunk after pulling them out. Empty. Nothing else. He looked at me, his eyes locking on mine for a fraction of a second. I quickly looked away. I hated making eye contact with random people. His gaze shifted to Natasha. A grin spread across his lips. “For both of you?”

  “Yes,” Natasha and I said in unison.

  He gave a soft laugh. “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all. Most of the time there are at least two bags per person. I’m not used to making just one trip.” He turned away from the car and headed toward the rooms.

  We followed. With his back to us, Natasha and I exchanged a glance. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, gave him a once over, and then looked at me. “Hot,” she mouthed.

  I nodded in agreement. There was no doubting the fact he was freakin’ hot. Unlike the pictures on the website, he wasn’t shirtless, but there wasn’t much to the imagination there, and I was more than okay with it.

  He stopped in front of a door and set the baggage down. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a set of keys with big red numbered tags hanging on a carabiner. Unlocking the door, he then slipped the key off the carabiner, handing it to Natasha. She took it as she stepped closer to him. “Thank you.”

  “And your bag is …?” He looked down at the two suitcases.

  “The red one.”

  He nodded, picked it up, and carried it into the room for her.

  “Thank you. You’re such a gentleman.”

  “If you need anything, just pick up the phone and press one. It will connect you to the main office, and if no one is in the office, it will go right to my cell phone.”

  “Perfect.”

  As I stood in the doorway, I watched my friend give the man a once over before he turned around. He gave me a smile. “I’ll put you two right beside each other; how’s that sound?”

  “Sounds good.” I gave a single nod, reached for my suitcase, and grabbed it as he padded towards me and stepped out of the room.

  “I can take that.”

  “It’s fine; thanks.” I gave him a smile. It’s not that I had anything against him carrying my bag; I was just used to doing it myself. It wasn’t heavy. “I’m a light packer.”

  We walked towards the next room in silence. I watched as he again took a key off the carabiner and handed it to me after unlocking the door. He watched me as I stepped into the room. It was simple, wood floors and wood doors. There was a single bed, which had been the cheaper option. There was a small kitchen area and a door I assumed led to the bathroom.

  “If you need anything, you’re welcome to call the office,” he said from behind me.

  I spun to face him. “Got it.”

  I expected him to leave, but instead, he stood there for a couple of seconds. Finally, he opened his mouth again.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, do you have plans for while you’re here?”

  “I know I’d like to take advantage of some of the trails you have. Other than that, I’m not sure.”

  “I highly suggest the new pool we recently put in. It’s heated.”

  “Wow.” For being a ranch out in the middle of nowhere, it sounded like it had a lot of amazing things. “I think that will be one of the first few things I try. Thank you.”

  “And if you need a guide on the trails … we have lots of guides around. Just find one of the guys who isn’t busy. I’m normally in the office and can finish what I’m doing in there pretty quick. Every morning at 10:00 we have a trail ride. Breakfast starts at 8:00 and dinner is at 5:00. Since you and your friend are the only guests here at the moment, you’re welcome to join me and the boys instead of sitting in the dining room alone. If you would rather.”

  His eyes locked on mine as he spoke, and my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t break eye contact this time, though. I didn’t want to be rude.

  “T-thank you.” I’d have to talk to Natasha, but I was pretty sure she’d be more than happy to have dinner with the group of guys. It sounded like a damn good idea to me. “I’ll see if Nat would like that, and if so … I guess I’ll see you at dinner.”

  A grin spread over his face. “I look forward to it.” He turned, stopped, and then turned back to me. “I’m Alex, by the way.”

  Without another word, he stepped out of the room, closed the door behind him, and vanished. I stared after him. I wanted to tell him my name, but I wasn’t going to rush out there after him. Then again, he probably has a record of it, I reminded myself. I walked over to the bed and dropped my bag on top of the comforter. I unzipped it, pulled out a sweatshirt, and pulled it over my head before rummaging through the rest of my bag for nothing and finally deciding to pull my wallet out of my pocket and toss it into the suitcase. I pulled my black hair up into a thick bun on the top of my head as I headed for the door. Slipping out, I walked to my friend’s room and knocked. Without waiting, I entered.

  “Hi,” she said, not looking over her shoulder.

  “Hey. You want to relax for a while or do you want to see what’
s around?”

  “Let’s go for a walk.” Nat turned to me as she slipped into an oversized sweater. She skipped over to me. “I think dinner is still a little while away.”

  “It’s at five. And we got invited to join the boys since we’re the only other guests here right now.”

  Nat stopped. She raised an eyebrow. “The boys?”

  “Yes. I guess they’re the workers?” I hadn’t thought much of it. I shrugged. “Alex, at least.”

  “You got his name?” Nat crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a look. “What the fuck happened when he took you to your room?” she teased.

  “He gave me a key and left, mostly.”

  “Mostly?”

  I knew what she was getting at. My heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. There was no doubt in my mind Alex was hot. And I wanted a piece of him, but I wasn’t stupid. That’s not how real life worked, and I knew it. So, I cracked my neck and gave my friend a smile.

  “Well, he told me about the schedule and invited us to join them for dinner, too. Trust me, I wish more had happened, but it wouldn’t have been that quick.”

  Nat laughed softly. “Fair enough. Come on; I’m excited to go for a walk and do some sightseeing,” she said.

  “You mean, look for cowboys?” I teased.

  “Yes,” she responded without a hint of shame.

  We headed outside. It was late enough in the season that it wasn’t too hot, but it was still warm enough that I could have managed without the sweatshirt for a little while. I looked around for where we should go first, found a sign, and headed over to it. I stared up at a list of all the places we could go and a simple map marking them. I pointed to the spot that said “You are here.” “How about a trail?” I suggested.

  “Sure.” Natalie stepped an inch closer to the sign and pointed to the one closest to us. “This one.”

  “Sounds good.”

  ~~~~

  I stared at myself in the mirror. I’d just applied some fresh makeup. Is Alex going to think it’s stupid? I wondered. The thought took me off guard. I mean, really, why would I care what he thinks? I liked makeup, and that was all that mattered.