Marry Your Billionaire: A Modern Cinderella

by C. J. Anaya

  She knew enough about them to know that any sudden movements might encourage the spider to jump at her and bite, but as she continued her frozen staring match she realized the spider’s stillness wasn’t quite normal, especially after unearthing it from the box like that. She slowly set the box down on her dresser, taking hasty steps away in order to put some serious space between herself and the deadly creature. She didn’t dare rip her eyes away from the thing.

  It had to be dead. That spider would have jumped at her the moment she opened the lid if it had been alive. Her father had made certain she knew all about the various types of animals and insects in Brazil before they had moved there for the summer. She still remembered her lessons and knew exactly what this spider was capable of. The fact that it remained motionless convinced her even further that some sick, deranged person had killed the thing and delivered it to her door.

  The question was why? How exactly did this further Felicia’s agenda other than working as an intimidation tactic. Midge glanced to the lid she still held in her hand. Her eye caught some writing scribbled in red on the inside of the lid.

  Things are about to get

  very nasty for you.

  LEAVE NOW!

  If she’d had any doubts about whether or not Felicia had an accomplice, they no longer existed now. Felicia couldn’t have left her date with Brody to deliver this delightful present at her door. Someone else had done it for her.

  Things were definitely escalating toward violence. True, the spider was dead, but Midge hadn’t missed the fact that her tormentor could have used a number of harmless spiders to send the same message. Instead, the most venomous one sat dead in that box, The distinction wasn’t lost on her. Felicia Davenport was out for blood.

  After such a grueling evening with quite possibly the most appalling woman on the planet, Brody needed a good cleansing, a way to revive himself, to give himself the wherewithal to continue his crazy plans of wooing Madelyn while essentially pretending to date several other women.

  His cell phone rang just as he headed into his suite. He groaned when he recognized the number.

  “Mother, I’m surprised you’re up right now? Isn’t it the middle of the night in L.A.?”

  “Brody, why in the world did I just see teasers of you and Felicia Davenport on my TV tonight?”

  Brody rubbed a hand through his hair as he sat down on his expansive bed.

  “That was fast. I just barely went on the date with her.”

  “You may as well have gone on a date with a barracuda. At least the creature gives you the courtesy of looking you in the eye when it strikes. This woman is a sneaky little black widow.”

  “Mom, Knightly and I were trying to draw Felicia out and create a scene to enhance ratings.”

  “She didn’t really rise to the occasion then, did she?”

  “No. She’s smarter than that, something I wouldn’t have said after the first hour of meeting her, but I’ve found Felicia Davenport to be a fatal combination of stealth, beauty, and smarts.”

  “This entire charade is ridiculous, Brody. You and Madelyn are obviously perfect for each other even if she is still fighting it a little bit.”

  “You can tell she’s hesitant from the footage?”

  “Well, I may not have spent much time in her presence, and it may not be obvious to anyone who has never met her, but it’s obvious to me that she’s putting on a show for the cameras. What’s the matter, sweetie? You still haven’t managed to charm her yet?”

  “I hit a snag when she overheard me saying something to her father that she took out of context.” He explained what had happened and how she had misunderstood him and then waited to see if his mother had any suggestions for him.

  “Well, you certainly screwed this one up, didn’t you?”

  “Your criticism is not exactly helping me, Mother.”

  “I’m just giving it to you straight. Can you really blame the girl for being gun shy around you when she heard you say one thing to her father while you pretend to feel something completely different when you’re filming?”

  “I’m not pretending to feel anything, but I’m beginning to wonder if she is.”

  “You need to go have a talk with her. Clear up this little misunderstanding once and for all.”

  “Now?”

  “No, Brody. How about you continue to let her assume you’re using her for all the wrong reasons.”

  “Right. So I’ll go talk to her now.”

  “Clever. I’ve always thought you were the smartest billionaire on your block.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Midge jumped at the knock at her door, unclear as to whether or not she should grab the lamp and use it as a weapon in case the next delivery involved something not only lethal, but living this time around.

  “Who’s there?” she called out in a faint voice.

  “Madelyn, it’s Brody. I know you may not want to speak to me right now, but we really need to talk.”

  Relief swept over her as she rushed to the door and opened it. She drank in his gorgeous eyes and the sharp edges of his cheekbones and jaw as she motioned for him to come in.

  “What’s that in your hand?” he asked pointing to the lid she still had a death grip on.

  Midge stared at it for a moment, at a loss as to how to explain the threats she’d been receiving.

  “Oh, it’s just a lid to one of my jewelry boxes.” She quickly strode over to the dresser where the lid’s other half and it’s hideous occupant stood just out of Brody’s field of vision. She reminded herself that the stupid spider was dead and wouldn’t jump out at her if she placed the lid over it. Once the box was closed, she returned to Brody’s side and folded her shaking hands in front of her. She hadn’t been prepared to see him so soon, especially after her initial scare, which she hadn’t quite recovered from.

  “What can I help you with, Brody?”

  He studied her closely for a moment, looking as if he were about to ask her something and then appeared to change his mind.

  “I missed you,” he stated.

  The simple yet honest ring to that statement left her searching his face certain she would find some underlying reason behind his words, but all she saw was uncompromising sincerity. She had to say it. She had to understand why he was still playing the part even when there was no one filming them.

  “I heard what you said to my father so why are you still pretending?”

  He lifted a hand to her hair and sank his fingers into the soft curls at the side of her temple. She wanted to close her eyes and allow herself to revel in the feel of his fingers tugging gently on her hair, but she left her features blank and did her best to hide the way he affected her even though she was losing herself in his touch instead of breaking from it.

  “As I stated before, you took what I said out of context. If you’d continued to eavesdrop just a little longer you would have heard me explain to your father that you are the reason I am on the show in the first place.”

  Midge’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  “What? That isn’t true at all. You were already planning on it when I met you and your assistant at Café Canapé.”

  His eyes danced in remembrance.

  “Right. We met. You intrigued me. You knew who I was and that information didn’t impress you in the slightest. You weren’t afraid to tell me the truth and show your disdain for my terrible behavior and inappropriate suggestion that I pay you to date me—which was my bungling attempt at tricking you into spending more time with me—and you put me in my place in a way that no one ever has before. You were completely uninterested in my money or my connections, which might have given you some publicity as an author.” He removed his hand from her hair and cupped her cheek, drawing her face just an inch closer to his. “There was no way in hell I planned on doing the show after finding a woman as interesting and remarkable as you. I went to your father’s office to personally inform him that I wanted to
bow out gracefully, and then I had every intention of searching the city for you. Imagine my surprise when you showed up at Knightly’s office just before I had the chance to cancel on him.”

  Midge’s eyes widened. “You…you were in the other room? Please tell me you didn’t hear everything that was said.”

  Brody shrugged. “It isn’t my fault your father didn’t shut the door.”

  Midge’s eyes narrowed, not fully believing in his innocent expression.

  “So you suddenly knew exactly who I was, and you overheard my father bribing me to be on the show.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why didn’t you just cancel on my father either way? You found out who I was. You didn’t have to do this. You didn’t have to continue on with the show.”

  “How else were you going to pay for your last semester of college? I wanted you to be able to get your trust fund back, but I also wanted you to feel like you had earned it. From the little I know of you, Madelyn, I recognize that your independence, your ability to fend for yourself is important to you.” He moved his hand to the nape of her neck and moved her just a little closer. “If I’d canceled the show, it would have pushed production back while they scrambled for a new billionaire. And with my luck you might have become interested in the guy. I couldn’t risk it.”

  Midge’s defenses weakened, especially after he admitted to doing this show so she could get her trust fund back. It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. The most amazingly thoughtful gesture.

  “Now, I could have called the whole thing off, pursued you, and offered to pay for your tuition, but you wouldn’t have accepted that, and you might have been completely offended by it or believed that I was trying to pay you off for dating me and helping me with my image instead of recognizing that I’m interested in simply being with you and nothing else. So this was my solution, though I would have pulled out of it at the restaurant if you had given me a reason to think that my attentions were welcome. Slapping me in the face forced me to pursue you in an environment where you couldn’t get away from me so easily.”

  He gave her a wolfish grin that sent tingles shooting along her spine.

  He knew her so well. He understood her personally instead of labeling her as Corbin Knightly’s daughter. She could hardly wrap her brain around the possibility that this man wanted her with no strings attached.

  “So you came for me. You’re here for me.” She thought if she said it out loud it might make the idea of a handsome, wealthy billionaire interested in her even remotely believable, but it didn’t. Not one bit, yet what exactly did he have to gain by telling her all of this when she had already agreed to play along with this farcical on-screen romance without his assurances or declarations of strong interest.

  None. She could see no reason why he might go to these lengths to convince her of his interest unless he truly had followed her onto the set of Marry Your Billionaire to pursue a relationship with her.

  And didn’t that just beat any and all fairy tales out there?

  Still, years of duplicitous and thoughtless behavior from the opposite sex, and even close friends, had managed to fuel her insecurities to the point that she didn’t know how to trust him or what to believe. That fear held her in check and prevented her from simply accepting the possibility.

  “Brody I…” she let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know how to believe you.”

  “Do you want to believe me?”

  She hesitated before answering honestly and throwing herself off that precipice where life gets messy and experiences can hurt.

  “Yes. I want to believe you.”

  The smile he gifted her nearly blinded her with its brightness.

  “That’s all the encouragement I need, for now.”

  Brody swore his heart stopped beating as he waited to hear Midge’s response to his question.

  “Yes. I want to believe you.”

  The relief he felt at that one simple concession nearly brought him to his knees, and the happiness that came immediately on its heels produced the first real smile he’d been able to give in a long time.

  “That’s all the encouragement I need, for now.”

  She bit her bottom lip in a nervous gesture, the one he found absolutely adorable. He considered kissing her to commemorate this first step toward a possible future together, but man-handling her hadn’t really earned him too many points thus far, and he didn’t want to push her too far too fast, destroying this tentative trust she had reluctantly bestowed. Instead, he slowly moved forward and enfolded her tense frame in his arms. He sighed in relief when she rested her head against his shoulder and relaxed in his embrace.

  It irked him that he’d had to spend the evening with Felicia when all he could think about was the previous evening of dancing with Midge in his arms. She had taken off so quickly, making her escape when he was distracted with Charlene. Before he knew it she was gone, and his heart had hollowed in the wake of her absence. She seemed to be forever running from him, and the anxious ride back to the hotel afterward was made more desperate with this irrational fear that she wouldn’t be there when he arrived.

  That one moment of desolate worry made it clear to him that his feelings had grown from beyond interested to absolute. He wanted no one but this beautiful girl he held in his arms. This angel who was willing to face some deeply rooted fears in order to give him a chance. He wouldn’t fail her. He would be everything she wanted, needed, and deserved.

  “So what now?” she asked.

  “Well, I think eating should be our next order of business. I could go swipe some food from the kitchen and we could have a little picnic here. Spend some time together without any cameras getting in the way.”

  “We just had dinner,” she teased.

  “But we didn’t have dessert.”

  She pulled back to look at him, and her lips twitched at his subtle, flirtatious comment.

  “I’m not really hungry, Brody. I’m more sleepy than anything else.”

  “Another slumber party sounds good to me.”

  He noticed her give a nervous glance in the direction of her jewelry box, sending a red flag his way and making him wonder why she had been so jumpy and nervous when she’d answered the door. Okay, so Madelyn had never really and truly relaxed around him, but her behavior lately had been filled with a strange amount of anxiety and nervousness that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

  “You know what? I think a slumber party sounds like a fantastic idea.”

  Now he knew there was something wrong with Madelyn. She may have stated she wanted to trust him, but that didn’t mean they had arrived at the point where she willingly gave in to his flirtatious suggestions.

  “But only sleeping, Brody,” she warned, pointing a finger in his direction to emphasize her warning.

  “Of course. What else could I have possibly meant by that?” He flashed her a cheeky grin.

  She shook her head. “Just wanted to lay some ground rules.”

  “You’re not comfortable with me then?” he prodded.

  “It isn’t that. I just feel like I can’t trust myself to…think clearly when I’m with you.”

  He grinned at that admission.

  “That works to my advantage.”

  “Don’t I know it. That’s why we need to establish the rules now before I get any more muddled in the head than I already am.” Her rueful smirk said it all. She wouldn’t run from him anymore, but he would need to tread carefully. She was like a frightened bird ready to take flight at the slightest provocation, and yet her backbone was made of steel. She was an irresistible combination of feminine vulnerability and courageous strength.

  “If it makes you feel any better, clear thought tends to escape me when I’m around you. You’re not alone in that department. I’m simply reacting to how I feel when I’m near you.”

  He released her curls and caressed the side of her neck just at the base, allowing his thumb to brush against a pu
lse point where he felt it leap underneath his touch.

  “Brody, I’m not good with relationships. I’m used to dealing with ulterior motives rather than refreshing honesty, but I do care for you. I just think we need to take things slow so I can get to know you like I should have allowed myself to right from the beginning.”

  Brody brought his hand down, resisting the urge to kiss her again. If she wanted to take things a little slower then that’s exactly what they would do. The very idea that she was even considering it made his heart palpitate with worry that he might somehow mess this up.

  “How about we make it a movie and dessert slumber party. I can go get some movies from my room while you order up some sweets.”

  Her smile brightened at that, giving him some curious warm fuzzies.

  “I think that sounds like a fun date to me.”

  Brody nodded, taking note of the strain in her smile and her furtive glances toward the box on the dresser.

  Something was definitely wrong.

  “I’ll just go freshen up while you grab supplies for our slumber party then,” she said.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  He reluctantly let her remove herself from his grasp. As she strode toward the bathroom, she skirted the dresser where the box sat. He nearly asked her outright what exactly she was afraid of, but he held his tongue, afraid to pry if she wasn’t willing to mention it. He heard the shower turn on and immediately tried to fill his mind with pure thoughts instead of the ones the normal guy in him had conjured up.

  Brody had every intention of leaving the room and getting the movies he needed, but Madelyn’s nervous behavior prompted him to silently walk over to the dresser and investigate her jewelry box a little further.