The Billionaires Convenient Bride

by Laura Gray

  “Oh, a writer without any published books!” he joked with raised brows. “How peculiar.”

  “It takes almost four to six years to publish a book in this industry when you don't have family money backing you,” Archer interjected on her behalf. Ellie gave him a surprised glance. That statistic was actually correct. “Ellie actually got into Juilliard for a writing course.”

  “Yeah, they have, like, the best teachers for writing and film there,” Connie chimed in supportively. “It’s really quite difficult to get in.” Ellie threw her a grateful glance.

  “What kind of jobs do you get in that business?” Mr. Bradford asked her. “You know married life can’t go well if the woman is just idle at the house with some hobby. That’s what I told Hannah—”

  “Uh, married?” Ellie asked him. They hadn’t even mentioned their engagement yet and he assumed she wanted to marry him? We literally just met!

  “Well, that’s why you’re here aren’t you?” he asked, as though he were stating a most obvious fact.

  “Actually, Uncle,” Archer began, visibly revving himself up to deliver big news. Ellie could see he was about to tell them that they were engaged.

  No! This is the wrong moment! Ellie thought. She reached out and grabbed a hold of Archer’s knee. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and she shook head left and right by a fraction of an inch. His eyes tightened in response, but he seemed to get her meaning. Thankfully, he leaned back and swallowed his upcoming declaration.

  “We haven’t discussed those matters amongst each other and I think it might be inappropriate to discuss it at family dinner,” Archer finished smartly.

  “A good couple ought to know each other’s mind on these issues, Archer,” Bennet said snidely. “Hannah and I know exactly where our future is headed. That’s what good communication brings.”

  You know exactly where your future is headed? Ellie snorted. Good luck with the day that delusion is shattered.

  Suddenly, there was a loud sound outside of tires whirring on the driveway of the mansion. The sound drifted in through the dining room’s bay windows, followed by two slams of car doors.

  “That’s the girls!” Katharina cried, standing up. “How many times have I told them to take it easy with that car?”

  The garbled sound of laughter mixed with female voices speaking drifted towards them from the distance. Ellie couldn’t understand what they were saying at all, but she could tell by the pitch that they were excited.

  “Hey,” Archer said, leaning to whisper in her ear. “Can I speak to you privately for a second?”

  “Sure,” Ellie said, standing up from her seat. Katharina stood up to go and greet her daughters by the door while Archer pulled Ellie aside behind a pillar a ways away.

  “What’s up?” Ellie asked him once they were safely out of sight of everyone. “Us, talking like this, looks kind of shady, I think.”

  “Why did you stop me from telling them about the engagement?” Archer asked her. “Is it because of my uncle? I know he’s bad but that’s exactly why I need your help—”

  “Are you kidding me?” Ellie interrupted him with a hiss. “There is no way I’m backing down.”

  “What?” Archer looked surprised.

  “We can’t just announce we’re engaged like noobs,” Ellie whispered. “If we want to break your asshole of a cousin, we need to make the proposal happen before their freaking eyes.”

  “Whoa,” Archer breathed.

  “In fact, didn’t you tell me that Bennet and his wife are hosting a dinner in Paris?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes, on our first day there. They’re trying really hard to look like the only ideal candidates to the trustees.”

  “Well, doesn’t their dinner sound like the perfect event to propose to me?” Ellie gave him a wicked grin.

  “That is genius,” Archer hissed, looking impressed. He wagged his finger at her, surveying her with a new level of respect. “You...you’re pure evil.”

  “I can be,” Ellie admitted proudly. “Let’s take these sons of bitches, down.”

  Archer’s eyes sparkled at her as he returned her grin.

  “Come on, I want to meet your sisters,” Ellie said. “Or anyone in your family who isn’t ancient.”

  Archer laughed at her request, following after her as she strode back into the main area of the dining room. The cacophony of the Bradford sisters had reached the hall of the chateau. Ellie strode towards the corridor that led to the hall, Archer walking comfortably by her side.

  “They’ve been really excited to meet you ever since I told them I had a girlfriend,” Archer whispered to her. “So, they’re going to be a bit....exuberant.”

  “Alright…” Ellie trailed off warily. She turned to face the hall.

  Two girls stood by Katharina Bradford’s side. They both had identical locks of flowy, dark brown hair that reached their knees. They were dressed formally, carrying a host of shopping bags in each hand. Ellie saw Katharina mouth something to them and one of the girls turned around, taking off her sunglasses.

  She can’t be more than twenty, Ellie concluded. Ellie could see a smile curving the girl’s lips. She tapped her sister on the shoulder and the second girl turned around as well.

  Ellie gasped. They’re identical twins! she realized as her eyes darted between the faces of the Bradford sisters.

  They both gave Ellie identical wide grins, stretching from ear to ear.

  Okay, that’s just creepy.

  “Elizabeth?” One of the sisters asked loudly, leaning to the side.

  “Yes, that’s me,” Ellie said unsurely, glancing at Archer and back.

  The girl’s grin widened as she raised her hands to her hips.

  “Excellent. We’ve been waiting for you.”

  Ellie gulped.

  Chapter 5

  Nighttime Shenanigans

  “And did he tell you about how his best friend in fourth grade was a rock?” Archer’s sister asked.

  Ellie laughed out loud at the hilarious image those words produced in her mind. Over the last few hours, she and the Bradford sisters had become fast friends. Regina and Morgana were intelligent, witty and extremely bubbly. Their brightness and cheer combined were enough to overshadow the darkness of Louis Bradford’s grit and Bennet’s snideness. Together, the Bradford sisters and Katharina told Ellie unbelievable stories of Archer as a child—Archer getting lost in a mall, Archer coming home with five staples in his left arm that he put in on a dare, how Archer would cry during every episode of Teletubbies.

  “And Archer as a toddler, don't even get me started,” Katharina said, chortling. “Whenever he had to poop, he would find the nearest table he could crawl under and just go. Every time for months—”

  “Mom!” Archer cried indignantly as Ellie nearly choked with laughter. “That is not a story for everyone!”

  “Oh come on, Archie,” Katharina pouted. “She’s going to hear all this anyway.”

  “Yeah, bro, it’s a funny story,” Regina said, flipping a strand of way brown hair behind her back as she ate her food.

  “It is not funny,” Archer complained. “It’s just a baby doing what a baby does.”

  “But always under a table?” Ellie asked in between giggles. “Why the tables Archer? Why?”

  Regina and Morgana burst into a fit of chortles while Katharina gazed between Archer and Ellie with a bemused and satisfied look on her face.

  “Elizabeth,” Bennet’s smarmy voice reached her through the din. “You’ll be joining us in Paris? Hannah and I are throwing a party for some of our Parisian friends. You should most certainly come by.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ellie replied, giving him her flashiest smile.

  “What are you planning to wear for that party?” Morgana asked Regina. “I heard the ambassador of Zaire will be in town and his son is a hottie.”

  “Ambassador Bellgard did mention he was bringing his son along, now that I remember,” Bennet said
proudly.

  “Okay, I’m wearing my white cocktail dress,” Regina said firmly. “I’ve been waiting to break out that baby for ages and I just bought the matching shoes today so the time is right.”

  “I think I’m going to go with the purple dress I bought today,” Morgana said, taking a sip of wine. “What are you going to wear, Ellie?”

  “Uh...probably this?” Ellie waved at the dress she wore at the moment.

  The girls looked affronted. “Honey, you can’t wear that to the yacht,” Regina said, pressing her palm to her chest.

  “There’s a yacht?” Arjun asked loudly.

  “Yes, that's where the party is, right Bennet?” Morgana asked.

  “Yes, it is,” Bennet looked prouder than ever. “I purchased her myself last year. She’s a real beauty—”

  “—she, wow—” Arjun mumbled beside Ellie, making her snort.

  “Yeah, you definitely can’t wear that,” Morgana said, turning to face her. “Don't get me wrong, it’s stunning, but it’s much more evening casual than formal yacht flair, you know?”

  “I have no idea what those words mean,” Ellie confessed.

  “What did you bring with you?” Regina asked, leaning forward as though it was a question of great importance.

  “Um,” Ellie paused, trying to remember her last-minute packing list. “I just brought two pairs of jeans, a couple of sweaters, one little black dress, and a couple of tops.”

  The twins stared back at her blankly.

  “And shoes,” Ellie added hastily. Beside her, she could see Archer holding back a grin. “My peach heels, flip-flops and a pair of hiking shoes.”

  “That’s it?” Regina asked.

  “I like to pack light,” Ellie said with a shrug.

  Connie shook her head gravely. “I told her so many times to carry a more extensive wardrobe—I mean, she didn’t bring a single blazer to layer the tops.”

  The twins gasped. Ellie swung her head between Connie and the girls with growing amusement. Usually, between Ellie and Arjun, Connie’s taste for fashion received an uninterested audience. The girls’ horror at Ellie’s wardrobe was drawing her into the conversation.

  “Okay, that’s it,” Morgana said, glancing at Regina and then back at Ellie. “We’re taking you shopping.”

  “Agreed,” Regina chimed in. “You need this.”

  “Can I come?” Connie asked bluntly.

  “Of course!” the twins replied in unison. “We’re going to need you to give us the background on her wardrobe—weakness, strengths, style quotient—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ellie said. “I never said yes! Archer, didn’t you say we’re leaving for Paris the day after tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” Archer replied.

  “Well, I don’t want to spend my last day in Barcelona just shopping,” Ellie said. “I want to see some stuff, like old buildings and churches—”

  “I’d like to get in on this old buildings and churches plan,” Arjun piped up. “I hate shopping and I want to see some cool city architecture, if nothing else.”

  “Hmm,” Regina and Morgana hummed as they settled back in their seats.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Regina asked Morgana.

  “I think so, sis,” Morgana replied, turning back towards Ellie. “Have you guys heard of Passeig de Gràcia?”

  Ellie shook her head no. Arjun, however, seemed to know what that was.

  “That’s the avenue where Casa Batlló and Casa Milà are!” Arjun said. “El, those two are in the list of monuments we made remember?”

  “They were in the top two,” Ellie corrected him. They’d made shortlists of what they might want to see in each city before they left New York. “Is there a place to shop there?”

  “That’s pretty much what the rest of the avenue is for,” Regina said. “I think you guys will like that place! What do you say?”

  Ellie turned to Arjun and Connie. “What do you think guys?” When they both nodded gleefully at her, Ellie looked back towards the twins.

  “Alright, we’re in.”

  “Awesome!” Morgana said. “We’re totally going to transform your wardrobe.”

  “While the ladies are off shopping, perhaps we could go golfing, huh, boys?” Louis Bradford spoke from his seat.

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea, sir,” Archer said.

  “Yes, it does,” Bennet chimed in quickly. “It’s going to be fun.”

  “What about you, boy?” Mr. Bradford croaked at Arjun. “You will be joining us too, yes?”

  Arjun’s gaze was level as he replied. “I think I’m going to stick with the ladies, actually.”

  Ellie saw Connie’s face light up with an impressed smile as she gazed at Arjun.

  “Do whatever takes your fancy,” Mr. Bradford replied gruffly. “You’re our guest here, after all.”

  Arjun turned back to his plate with a tight smile and didn’t respond.

  “Well, that’s about enough food for me,” Ellie said, placing a hand on her stomach. “I can’t speak for Arjun and Connie, but I’ve had a really long day and I’d like to go get some rest now.”

  “Yeah, us too,” Arjun and Connie said together, straightening up in their seats.

  “I’ll walk you to your rooms,” Niles said, coming forward immediately from his position by the wall.

  “No, that’s fine, Niles,” Archer said, standing up. “I’ll see that they reach their rooms.”

  “Thank you for the dinner, Niles, it was incredible,” Arjun told him. Niles gave him a hearty grin.

  “Thank you Master Arjun. You are too kind.”

  “We’ll see you guys tomorrow then,” Morgana said with a smile.

  “See ya,” Ellie replied as she followed Archer to the hallway that led them out of the dining room. Ellie felt enormously full. The dinner had gone by so fast that she hadn’t even realized that she'd eaten an entire steak all by herself.

  I really was hungry after the flight.

  They'd almost reached the hallway when Ellie heard Katharina call her name. “Elizabeth!”

  She turned to see that Katharina had walked up behind them, her hands twisting with what Ellie thought was nervousness.

  “Yes, Katharina?” Ellie said. She moved closer to her since it looked like she wanted to say something important. Ellie glanced behind her to see that Archer had stopped a ways ahead and was staring at them suspiciously. She turned back to Katharina.

  “I just…” Katharina paused. “I wanted to apologize for my brother-in-law’s comments. And his son's. I’m so sorry, they’re...well...”

  “Racist,” Ellie finished. “No, it's okay, you can say the word. You already know that they are.”

  “I need you to know that I am really happy you’re here,” Katharina said to her, raising her palms to hold her shoulders. Ellie felt something within her shift and to her horror, a lump rose in her throat. “I think...I think you’re right for him.”

  “How can you know that?” Ellie asked her sincerely. “We just met.”

  Katharina shook her head. “I’m not sure what it is. Just a feeling, I suppose.”

  Ellie didn't know what to say in return that wouldn’t be a lie. That stab of guilt she felt when she'd spoken to Niles returned. This might not be as easy as I thought, she realized with a heavy sigh.

  “Get some rest, dear,” Katharina said, cupping her cheek lovingly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “See ya,” Ellie choked out, quickly turning away from her so she wouldn’t see the strain behind her voice on her face.

  Archer was still staring at her when she made her way back to him. Ellie kept her eyes trained on the ground. She knew that if she met his gaze, he would know something was up. She quickly walked past him so she could match her step with Arjun and Connie’s.

  “Are you okay, El?” Connie asked her, concerned.

  “Yeah, I am,” Ellie said, pulling herself up to her full height. “What about you guys?”

/>   “That was a lot of rich people for one night, but we did it!” Arjun said, raising a hand for a high-five. Ellie obliged by tapping her palm against his.

  “I’m really excited about the shopping spree tomorrow,” Connie said. “I was afraid you guys wouldn’t let me stop to shop anywhere during the trip.”

  “We might have done that, yeah,” Arjun said a grin. Connie punched his shoulder.

  “Well, I’ll see you guys,” Ellie said, waving at them as she followed Archer towards the elevator.

  “Night, El,” Arjun said.

  “Call me when you wake up,” Connie added.

  Ellie nodded at her before she disappeared underneath the staircase they were climbing. She walked into the open elevator and took a deep breath.

  “Wow,” Ellie breathed as the doors came to a close. “That was...a lot.”

  “I know,” Archer said. “You did well, though.”

  Ellie turned to look into his eyes. “Really?”

  Archer wasn’t looking at her, he stared straight ahead. “Yeah, I mean, Bennet hated you and my uncle didn’t. I’d call that a success.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that last one,” Ellie warned him.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about what my uncle said,” Archer said with a low rumble. “I—he—”

  “It’s okay,” Ellie interrupted him.

  “No, it’s not—”

  “Not the way he spoke—that’s never okay. What I mean is that it’s okay that there’s a few crackpots in your family. They're everywhere. Especially the rich ones.” Ellie gave him a half-smile, which he didn't return. “My point is that if your uncle wasn’t such a...uh—”

  “Dick?” Archer offered.

  “Yes, that,” Ellie accepted, “then you wouldn’t have your problem in the first place. He would have just given you your father’s estate like he was supposed to.”

  “That makes sense,” Archer said. The elevator doors slid open and Ellie hastened towards her room. Her body was aching to jump into the plush, cozy bed that lay waiting inside and to collapse within its duck feather comforter. When they reached their room, the first thing Ellie did was take off her heels.

  They’re gorgeous but they hurt like hell, she cursed them as she pushed them aside.