by Laura Gray
The Billionaires Convenient Bride
It's supposed to be a marriage of convenience.....
A sexy marriage of convenience romance by Laura Gray of BWWM Club.
On a spur-of-the-moment vacation to New Orleans, Ellie meets a mysterious, yet handsome man…
And after a one-night stand he gives her the most shocking proposal: marriage!
Archer needs to get married to secure his father’s fortune.
And he finds the perfect opportunity when he meets the beautiful and vivacious Ellie!
And in exchange for paying her money and tuition he gets all the riches he could dream about!
Ellie accepts the business proposal and the trip to Europe…
But there’s just one small problem…
She might be falling for Archer!
But does Archer actually love her—someone far below his social status?
Or is he still just using her for his personal gain?
Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Laura Gray of BWWM Club.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll want to run away with your own billionaire!
Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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Chapter 1
A Road Ahead
“I’m doing it,” Ellie said breathlessly, her finger hovering over her keyboard. “I’m going to freaking do it.”
Her roommate, Constance, hovered behind her, chewing on crunchy caramel popcorn. The sound was quite distracting.
“Would you stop it with that, Connie?” Ellie snapped. “That sound is really distracting.”
“Distracting you from what?” Connie questioned, raising a perfect black brow. “Look, you’re overthinking this. It’s just a little trip to New Orleans for a few weeks—it’s not that big of a deal.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Ellie mumbled.
“Easy? Please! Do you think I want you to go away for a whole month? Seriously?” Ellie looked up guiltily at Connie, who continued, “I just think you need a fresh scene for a while, El. I think getting away from New York for a while could be...really good for you.”
Ellie sighed at her laptop. The checkout page of the tourist package she'd chosen gave her an accusatory stare. It was the best trip she could find within her budget. One month at a decent Airbnb in a cosy corner of New Orleans, with a couple of tours and dinners lined up weekly. She’d been putting off the final payment for the last two days now.
Edwin’s handsome face appeared behind Ellie’s eyes once more. Their breakup had been like a punch to her gut—it had left her crouched and breathless, detesting the sight of anything that reminded her of him. They’d spent four years together, two of which had been some of the most memorable in Ellie's life. She’d once thought they had something that might just last forever.
The memory of his betrayal swept through her mind and Ellie leaned forward, pressing the payment button on the screen before her.
“Holy crap, you did it!” Connie exclaimed behind her, placing a hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you were right,” Ellie said, staring at the screen. “I do need a change of scenery.”
“I know you do,” Connie said, placing a kiss on her curly black hair.
“Are you sure you can’t come with me?” Ellie asked her imploringly. “Come on, I’ll even pay for your trip.”
“No, I don't want to borrow money from you and I decided to stop taking trips when I’m broke,” Connie insisted, turning up her shapely chin. “It’s not good home economics.”
“Home economics?” Ellie questioned with a chuckle. “Do you even know what that means?”
“It’s the economics of your own house,” Connie said with a shrug. “Besides, you’re not so rich yourself anymore. You’re going to Juilliard! You’ve got an enormous amount of debt coming your way.”
“Right,” Ellie said softly. Going to school for writing had been something she’d been putting on hold for years now. She’d dreamt of doing that since she was a kid, and it took her awhile to get into a position where she could afford to give it a shot. However, by that time, she'd begun to date Edwin. Each time she brought up her urge to be a writer, their relationship would somehow come into question. He would insist that she was being foolish, that writing was too competitive an environment for her and that he wasn’t okay with her spending years away from him whilst throwing away enormous amounts of money on a career that would probably never pay off.
I can’t believe I ever listened to that crap, Ellie thought to herself.
“Hey.” Connie nudged her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking...if I Edwin knew I got into Juilliard...do you think he’s capable of being happy for me?”
“Honey, if that douche-monkey was the kind of person who would be happy to hear that news, you wouldn’t have broken up with him.”
“Right. You're right,” Ellie said, nodding fervently.
“Okay, you know what you need?” Connie asked, turning Ellie’s swivel chair so she was facing her. Ellie stared into her friend’s determined, dark brown eyes.
“What’s that?”
Connie gave her a wide grin. “You need to party.”
“Oh no—”
“Oh yes! You have a ton to celebrate: You’re going to Juilliard, you’re doing this amazing solo trip—”
“—It’s a trip to New Orleans, how amazing can it be—”
“And,” Connie interrupted pointedly, “since you’re going away for a month, I want to have a drink with you before you leave.”
Elli gave her a slow smile. “Well, I can’t say no to that.”
“Excellent!” Connie cried, clapping excitedly. “I’ll tell Arjun to come with us too, he’s been inside his room forever. There’s this new club Tristan told me about, Flesh or Flush or something, we could probably go there or we could just go downtown to Sasha’s and see what’s open nearby—”
Ellie tuned her out and turned back to face her laptop. She knew Connie wouldn’t mind, she loved to plan parties and choose the places they would go. She didn’t need Ellie’s help.
Ellie clicked on the tab that displayed her Juilliard acceptance letter and read it for what had to be the thousandth time. She hadn’t closed this tab since the first time she'd opened it. It was a glowing beacon that shone her path ahead and held her steady. Each time Ellie felt weighed down by the ruin of her most important relationship, she would read the letter again and it would slow the rate of her heart, quelling the anxiety of being alone.
It reminded her that her real story was only
just beginning.
***
“I can’t believe this! Where are my fancy clothes?!”
Ellie stared at her closet, aghast. Dull shades of grey, blue and black stared back at her. She’d dived into the mess more than a couple of times, hoping for perhaps one little black dress that would do for the night. She came up empty-handed, however, and sat back down on her bed, exhausted by the effort.
Suddenly, Ellie’s bedroom door flew open.
“How do I look?” Connie squealed as she strode in, wearing a shimmery, blue cocktail dress that hugged her athletic figure. Her long red hair hung down to her waist, her creamy skin glowing under the fluorescent lights.
“Holy hell, Connie,” Ellie chortled. “You look stunning.”
“Thank you! I bought this a couple of days ago at this clearance sale at—wait, why aren’t you dressed yet? We have to leave in fifteen minutes!”
“I have literally nothing to wear,” Ellie said. “There’s only shirts, sweaters and jeans in here.”
“What?” Connie demanded, marching forward. “Where’s that dress I gave you for your last birthday?”
“I can’t find it! The last time I remembered seeing it was when I was packing it at—” Ellie paused, her eyes widening. “Crap. I think it's still back at Edwin’s.”
“What?”
“The box with all my nice clothes! I left it at Edwin’s!”
“How are you just realizing this now?” Connie demanded. “You moved out almost seven months ago!”
Ellie shrugged. “I haven’t gone out in that time.”
“You what?”
“I haven’t gone out in seven months, okay? I’ve been busy submitting the applications and taking care of all the moving stuff—”
“And staying locked up in your room, crying about your breakup,” Connie finished with a smile. Ellie gave her a look. “It’s all right, go into my room and pick something out. The Uber will be here in like, fifteen.”
“Got it,” Ellie responded, quickly making her way to Connie’s room. It didn’t take long for Ellie to find the dress she wanted to wear—a form-fitting black dress that gleamed against her dark, chestnut-colored skin. It showed off her cleavage and highlighted the natural, rounded curve of her ass. Grinning at herself in the mirror, Ellie felt a sudden twitch of what she could only call excitement course through her.
Maybe I should go out more often, she thought to herself, pulling her curly black hair into a high bun. Nah, down is better.
“Are you ready?” Connie called from outside.
It took Ellie ten minutes to put on her makeup and meet Connie out in the living room. Arjun Dhillon, Ellie's third roommate sat lazily on the couch, wearing a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
“I could have worn that,” Ellie said, motioning to his outfit.
“Yeah, you could have,” Connie said, “but you’re a hot ass woman and that dress does a much better job of making that clear.”
“Whoa, nice answer,” Arjun said, shooting Connie a grin. “You both do look incredible.”
“Thanks,” Connie replied with a small smirk.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in like, two months,” Ellie said to Arjun, tousling his hair.
“Yeah, they came up with a new patch on Dota 2 and let me just say, a lot of things have changed,” Arjun responded, swatting Ellie's hand away. “Besides, you’re hardly one to talk. I barely see you around myself.”
“Maybe if you came out of your room more—”
“Maybe if you came out of your room more I’d be compelled to come out more—”
“Okay, take it to the cab, you two,” Connie commanded, staring into her phone. “We gotta find this guy before he cancels, it takes forever to book at this time.”
They found their Uber soon enough and once they settled into their seats, Arjun pulled out a bottle of coca-cola from inside his jacket.
“Rum and coke?” he asked them, taking a sip out of the bottle.
“You’re a genius!” Connie exclaimed, grabbing the bottle out of his hands and taking a long swig. “Tonight is going to be awesome! Here, El!”
Ellie took a sip from the bottle and made a face at them. “Dear God—this is so strong!”
“Nope, you’re just weak,” Connie said confidently. “Drink it up, come on!”
Ellie took three sips before passing the bottle to Arjun. They continued the circle of drinking all the way to the club. It was a practice they’d developed way back when they were in college together. Over the last few years, Ellie had lost some practice at pre-gaming, but Arjun and Connie seemed to be on top of it.
“You have pretty, red hair,” Arjun said to Connie lazily after the seventh drinking round.
“The rum’s hitting you hard, huh?” she asked him, her pale cheeks reddening.
“I don't know about him, but I’m definitely buzzing,” Ellie said with a giggle. She was really enjoying the feeling of the rum warming up her belly, and the sensation of giddiness that came with it.
I should have drank more during the breakup, she realized, taking another sip from the bottle.
“My turn,” Arjun said, tugging on her arm.
They’d finished the bottle by the time they reached the club. It was crowded near the club, and the driver slowed down to a crawl as they neared its entrance.
“So, what’s this club called?” Ellie asked Connie. “Flush or Flesh?”
“It’s Flash, actually,” she responded.
“Thank God,” Arjun said. “I would have hated both those names.”
Flash was a newly opened lounge and discotheque. Ellie could vaguely remember a Burger King in the place where Flash stood now. The large neon sign doused them in its ghostly light as they got out of their cab and lined up along the entrance, waiting to get in.
It was loud and hot inside. Friday night was in full swing and the lounge area of Flash was filled with sweaty bodies grooving to the songs blaring from the enormous speakers. It was loud—Arjun said something to Ellie but she couldn’t hear a word he said over the din.
“Table! Table!” Connie yelled beside her during a lull in the music. “We have to go find a table!”
“Right, right,” Ellie said to Connie loudly, stepping aside to get out of the way of a drunk lady racing towards the bathroom.
I just remembered why I do not enjoy going out, Ellie thought to herself as she surveyed her crowded surroundings. The loud music, the inebriated, thrumming crowd, and strobing lights were really bringing out the rum Ellie had drank. Her vision seemed to blur slightly right at the edges.
Man have I ever lost my tolerance for liquor, Ellie thought as she followed Connie to the nearest empty table. Ellie placed her hands on the smooth mahogany of the table and took a deep breath.
“You couldn’t have chosen a more crowded place, could you?” she questioned Connie, who shrugged.
“Maybe Tristan tweeted about it—that always gets a place going,” she replied. “But where the hell is the bar in this place? All I can see is the dance floor.”
“I think it’s upstairs?” Arjun said, craning his neck to catch a look.
“There has to be one downstairs, that wouldn’t make any sense,” Connie said.
“Maybe we could see it if there weren’t two thousand people blocking our view,” Ellie deadpanned.
“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Connie said to her with a half-smile.
“I can’t even tell what this place actually looks like because there are just so many people here.”
“Wow. You’ve turned into a borderline agoraphobe—oh yeah—”
“Okay, I know what El needs,” Arjun interjected, leaning forward so he was between them. “More liquor. Come on, Connie and I can go search for the bar and try to get some drinks. El, you hold the table. Don't let anyone take it from you, okay?”
“Works for me,” Ellie replied, lighting a cigarette lazily. She watched as Connie and Arjun walked away from her towards the part of the
club where the crowd was at its thickest. That had to be where the bar was.
I don't envy them. Ellie chuckled as she watched Arjun struggle to force himself into the crowd. Connie was much more adept at navigating her way in, sliding and slithering through the crowd with apparent ease. She disappeared into the throng within seconds.
As Ellie watched her friends from across the bar, a sudden flash of a very familiar shade of blonde crossed her vision.
The cigarette fell from Ellie’s hands, hitting the table and spilling ash on its smooth wooden surface.
You have got to be kidding me. Is this city really this small? Or is my luck really this shitty?
Ellie forced her eyes to go back to the blonde man. There was no denying it—it was that same face, hair, those cold, stone-grey eyes.
Edwin.
“Oh my god,” Ellie mumbled, spinning on her heel so she wasn’t facing him. She hadn’t seen him in nearly seven months. Memories of the last time they met flashed before her eyes—Edwin and the waitress from the coffee place lying in bed together, him hastily pulling on his clothes as Ellie screamed at him, the hours-long shouting match that ensued—
“I gotta get out of here,” she decided, quickly grabbing her purse and slipping behind a nearby pillar. Her heart was racing with nervousness—she really didn’t want him to know she was there. There was no chance that that interaction wouldn’t be a complete and utter disaster.
Slowly and carefully, Ellie stuck her head beyond the pillar to peek at the place she last saw Edwin. He was standing with his back to the pillar, throwing back his blonde head as he chatted with a group of females by the dance floor.
Douche.
Ellie scoured her eyes across the crowd, desperately searching for a sign of Connie’s shimmery blue dress. She really needed her, right now.
“Dammit, Con,” she said to herself to gritted teeth.
“Excuse me,” someone said from beside her. Ellie turned to see a skinny, bespectacled man in a pin pressed shirt. “Can I buy you a drink?”
“Uh, sorry pal, not right now,” Ellie responded quickly, peeking at Edwin once more.