Marry Your Billionaire: A Modern Cinderella

by C. J. Anaya

  Nothing could have prepared him for the spectacle that met his eyes. He gasped at the gigantic, ebony spider that sat stiffly amongst the white tissue paper in the box. He studied it for several seconds, wondering why on earth Madelyn would keep a pet spider in such a tiny box. As he moved to quickly secure the spider within the box, he noticed red markings on the inside and read the message.

  He sucked in a breath at the implied threat and the realization that this spider no more belonged to Madelyn than Brody belonged to Felicia.

  Someone was threatening the woman he loved, and he suspected it had been going on for quite some time, surely long enough for Madelyn to confide in someone. So why hadn’t she confided in him?

  He studied the arachnid further and eventually concluded it must be dead, though that didn’t change the fact that it had been sent to threaten and intimidate his girlfriend. He quickly grabbed his cell phone and began taking pictures of the spider and the threatening message, fully intending to send everything to Gregg and Rhodes. He wanted that handwriting analyzed and the spider identified. If its venom was as deadly as it looked then he feared that his sweet Madelyn was in far more danger than he’d first suspected.

  Once he finished, he returned the lid to its original position and hurriedly walked out of the room even though he desperately wanted to remove the entire thing and throw it out the window. But then Madelyn would know he’d been snooping which might ruin all of the progress he’d made in the last few minutes. He’d allow her to think he didn’t know what was happening for now, but it didn’t matter if Madelyn wanted his protection or not. He was going to get to the bottom of this situation and protect his future wife from the crazy person threatening her.

  Hopefully, she’d come to trust and confide in him soon.

  Midge walked out of her bathroom dressed in light pink cotton pajamas and stole a glance at the horrible box on her dresser. She had no intention of getting rid of it since she wanted to hold onto it as evidence, but felt uneasy sleeping in the same room with the dead creature. It was partly why she had jumped at Brody’s suggestion to stay with her tonight.

  She couldn’t help but smile as she sat down on her bed and for the first time in years acknowledged to herself that she might be worth a man’s interest after all.

  She wasn’t completely fearless where Brody was concerned, but she was willing to admit that she might have misunderstood his conversation with her father simply because it was the only explanation for his continued pursuit of her even when the cameras weren’t rolling. She could do this. She could be someone special to someone she felt she was falling for, but more importantly she wanted to put her faith and trust in Brody even if it frightened her.

  Brody knocked lightly on the door and then entered the room. He wore flannel pajamas that made him look adorably boyish. The reality of him being here in her room for a sleepover made her wonder if he would expect more from her than she was ready to give.

  He must have noticed the worry on her face because he sat down on the bed and folded his hands in his lap.

  “Madelyn, I hope you’re not worried about my expectations for the evening. I promised you we would take things slow, and I have no intention of doing anything you’re not comfortable with.”

  Midge let out a breath through puffed cheeks and moved toward the bed.

  “I suppose I should probably let you know where my stance is on intimacy just in case it bothers you enough to send you running into another contestant’s arms.”

  Brody smiled engagingly. “There’s no chance of that. Spill it. What’s on your mind?”

  “I kind of made myself a promise that I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t…why is this so hard to explain to you?”

  Brody must have decided to show her a little mercy with his next words.

  “You’re a virgin.”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Madelyn. It’s actually quite commendable.”

  “I’m not ashamed, I’m just used to plenty of censure from men when they find out.”

  “Why are you a virgin?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Brody took her hand in his and rubbed a thumb along her palm.

  “Madelyn, you’re a very desirable woman so the decision to remain a virgin must have been yours and yours alone. So why have you decided to remain a virgin? Why wait?”

  “I just can’t give all of myself like that without becoming attached to the person, but casual sex doesn’t seem to be a huge deal to most people. They’re just having fun with nothing tying them to one another, but I can’t wrap my brain around that concept. It just seems like someone is going to get their hearts broken eventually. Obviously, that’s part of dating and relationships, but giving that much of yourself to someone who doesn’t value it seems crazy to me.” She gripped Brody’s hand and prayed he wouldn’t laugh at her as she continued her bumbling explanation. “I’m not very experienced. The few times I’ve kissed a guy, I was doing it because I cared, but he was doing it because kissing me felt good. Nothing more to it than that. I’ve watched countless relationships and marriages fail because of this cavalier attitude toward something I view as exceptionally special. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m looking for someone who thinks that sex is as special and sacred an experience as I do. I’m the minority here. I get that. What works for me isn’t going to work for most other people, but I’m willing to wait until I find someone who respects my decision.”

  Brody nudged her shoulder in what seemed like an effort to get her to look at him. Once his eyes captured hers, there was no escaping that kind and caring expression.

  “I respect your decision, Madelyn, and contrary to what you might believe, I’m not quite as experienced as you think.”

  “I find that hard to take in.”

  “Oh, I’m no virgin, but I learned the hard way how painful it can be when you give all of yourself to someone who doesn’t truly care.”

  “A previous relationship? I didn’t think you had many of those,” she teased.

  He chuckled and pulled her close to him.

  “Believe it or not, I actually had a relationship last several months. Her name was Rita Harper, and I thought the world of her. I was even planning on introducing her to my mother.”

  “Several months of dating and you hadn’t introduced her to your mother yet?”

  He laughed at her surprised expression. “I think that deep down I had a feeling something wasn’t right, but I liked her so much, and the physical aspects of our relationship were addicting, I didn’t do much thinking with my head. It was all hormones.”

  Midge swallowed the uncomfortable emotions that thoughts of Brody with another woman produced.

  “Then one day, I overheard her talking on the phone to her other boyfriend.”

  “She was cheating on you?” Midge couldn’t even fathom that.

  “She was scamming me. She and her boyfriend planned on cashing in on half of everything I owned once she married and then divorced me. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I figured out who the gold diggers were fairly fast after that.”

  Midge shook her head and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, resting her head against his chest.

  “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  He stroked her arm and planted a kiss along her hairline. “I’m not. Some lessons are best learned through mistakes that might seem massive at the time. Hard learning is the best learning. The great thing about life is the opportunity for growth and then eventual change. I learned it was better to tread carefully and hold onto that part of me until I could find someone who would love and appreciate me. Not my money. Just me.”

  Midge tilted her head back to look at him.

  “I don’t think many women would find it difficult to love someone like you.”

  “Except for mousy, red-headed librarians who refuse to allow themselves to get caught.”

  Midge swatted at him as he ducked and j
umped to the other side of the bed.

  “What’s the deal with all of those glasses of yours?” he asked.

  Midge laughed at the abrupt change in subject. “I originally began to wear them in order to avoid my father’s endless attempts at setting me up with the most spoiled, self-absorbed playboys on the planet.”

  Brody leaned back against the pillows and gave her a quizzical look.

  “Why would your father set you up with playboys?”

  “He didn’t realize they were that terrible. Most of the guys he set me up with were sons of his friends, connections, and other acquaintances. He wanted me to get out more and make friends my own age since I was always on set with him. One day when we were shooting a movie in Chile, one of the producer’s sons showed up and wanted to meet me, but I wanted to avoid the entire ordeal.”

  “You knew what was coming?”

  “Oh yes. First the elaborate activities, then the expensive gifts, and finally a delicious dinner filled with dancing, dessert, and debauchery.”

  Brody shrugged. “That doesn’t sound too terrible.”

  “It might have been flattering if their expectations hadn’t been so high. Once they did all of those things for me, they expected something in return. At the end of the evening, I was treated like a high class escort, and when I wouldn’t put out they became pretty incensed. So when this guy came on the set, ready to wine and dine me, I panicked and grabbed some glasses from the prop table to hide behind.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Like bug repellent.”

  Brody chuckled. “He couldn’t see the beauty underneath a pair of measly glasses? I certainly did.”

  Midge swallowed at the hungry look he gave her. “Well, in all fairness to him, they were New Year’s Eve glasses and extremely oversized. The frames were covered in confetti, glitter, and streamers.”

  Brody’s broad smile spread across his face.

  “I would have loved to have seen that. I don’t mind your glasses, Madelyn. I just can’t see your—”

  “Freckles. I know.” She leaned forward. “Can you see them now?”

  He took her offering and trailed his lips lightly across the bridge of her nose and along her cheekbones, planting a kiss next to her earlobe where an errant freckle had taken up residence. She shivered at the sensations his attention evoked.

  “No more hiding?” he asked.

  “No more hiding.”

  “I think,” he whispered, “that we should start this movie before I break my promise to control myself when I’m around you.”

  Midge nodded and moved away, but not before she leaned close and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

  “So what are we watching?” she asked as they settled back on the pillows.

  He lifted a DVD with Drew Barrymore on the cover.

  “Does Ever After sound good?”

  “It sounds perfect.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Midge thought taking a limo to the private airport was overkill, considering she didn’t feel like much of a celebrity, but her father absolutely refused to consider taxi cabs as part of their last hurrah in Brazil. And, of course, Brody managed to get her neatly tucked into a limo without allowing anyone else to enter but him.

  She didn’t mind it so much now that she was willing to admit she’d misunderstood those words spoken between Brody and her father in Hawaii.

  The evening after their slumber party, she’d suffered through one more cocktail party followed by another diamond ceremony, but this time the suffering came from not being able to spend the entire night with Brody.

  She’d been allowed fifteen wonderful minutes with him where they’d spent their time getting along rather than being at odds with one another as they had during previous ceremonies. He wanted her to trust him, and she had taken that leap of faith, accepting the olive branch he’d kindly offered.

  He’d literally shown up to the cocktail party with a small branch from the Ohia tree with a Lehua blossom attached to it. She didn’t know how he’d managed it since they hadn’t been in Hawaii all week, but a billionaire’s resources were vast and deep.

  She’d approached him on the veranda, wearing the last set of glasses she’d brought with her, waiting for his usually irritable reaction, wanting to tease him a little bit. He’d taken in the coke bottle glasses and shook his head ruefully, pulling out the small branch with the flower and extending it to her.

  “I thought we called a truce,” he stated.

  She remembered the legend behind the branch and its flower, and didn’t miss the deliberate way he had left the flower attached to the branch, it being an extension of the Ohia tree. Lehua and Ohia, never to be parted again.

  She took the glasses off and broke them in half, enjoying the delighted look on his face as she pocketed her last pair of glasses and reached for the branch and its lovely flower.

  “No more hiding,” she’d said, allowing her lips to curve into a full smile without any fear or reservations.

  He stood and lightly traced his knuckles against the softness of her cheeks, taking a long moment to rub along the light dusting of freckles on her cheek bone.

  “No more hiding,” he echoed. His voice was gravelly, filled with an emotion she couldn’t accurately describe.

  Waiting to finally accept one of the diamond roses when offered to her instead of seething with fury that he still hadn’t conceded defeat by eliminating her was a new experience. Though in truth, she considered the unassuming Lehua blossom and branch more valuable than the diamond encrusted rose she’d accepted for the third time. The rose was something he offered to all of the remaining contestants that night, but the Lehua flower meant something particular to her and Brody, a sweet understanding and a wonderful moment of discovery that they both shared.

  Three more contestants were eliminated, leaving eleven left in the running, including Felicia Davenport. Midge knew without a doubt this had more to do with her father’s interference than Brody’s personal wishes.

  Now they were sitting in a limo together, driving to the airport. Brody’s musky cologne tickled her senses making her want to bury her nose in the crease of his neck and wait with anticipation for those arms to enclose protectively around her small frame.

  She restrained such impulses, still unsure in the newness of their fragile relationship and taking note of Brody’s distracted air.

  “I think your obvious favoritism where I’m concerned is beginning to grate on the other contestants’ nerves,” she said, reaching for some subject to discuss.

  He blinked his eyes as if to dislodge a few worrisome thoughts and then his handsome smile transformed his face into an expression she wanted to look upon for the rest of her life.

  “I’m not going to ignore you simply because other contestants might get jealous. I’m here to find someone special, and I have.”

  He reached for her hand, dwarfing it in his own and giving it a loving squeeze. She noted the worry lines around his eyes and the deep shadows which seemingly had appeared overnight.

  “Brody, is something troubling you? It doesn’t look as if you slept well.”

  He let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the seat, taking her with him as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’ve just been a little worried that another snake might find its way back into your suite. I’d sleep easier if you were sharing the same room with me.”

  Midge’s body heated at the thought.

  “You truly have nothing to worry about. I promise to check my window every morning and night once we arrive in Germany. I’ll be hyper-vigilant for any and all things reptilian.”

  “Ah, then I suppose you’ve done an impressive job of avoiding Felicia Davenport.”

  “Like I would a hotel room on prom night.”

  He chuckled at that and planted a kiss on her head. Ever since their night filled with movies and popcorn, he’d been especially careful with any physical affection, taking things slow just as he’d promi
sed. She kind of missed his more aggressive nature, if she were being honest with herself. His thoughts must have run along the same vein.

  “Madelyn?”

  “Yes?”

  “Can I…” he expelled a breath. “Does this truce, this agreement we’ve made to take things slow allow for me to take liberties that any red-blooded boyfriend would take?”

  “I’m more than a little surprised that you’re asking when you usually just dive right in,” she teased.

  He lifted her chin so that their eyes locked together.

  “I was hoping a humble request for permission might get me a little farther than throwing you over my shoulder and taking you to my cave.”

  Midge felt a delighted smile take form before she could stop it. Not that she wanted to.

  “Yes, Brody, I’d like it very much if you would kiss me.”

  He crushed his lips to hers the moment the words were out, molding her body to his as his hands slid along the contours of her back. One arm snaked around her as the other found the back of her neck and held her firm and steady against his lips. There was certainly no escape now. How convenient to feel no desire to.

  She allowed her fingers to explore the sharp edges of his jaw, holding his face in both of her hands and then moving them back to lightly feather her fingers through his hair. A soft moan escaped his lips and they pulled apart for a moment. He rested his forehead against hers and ground out a frustrated sound.

  “We need to get to the airport now before I do more than kiss you.”

  Breathless, Midge could only nod in agreement as they clung to one another and fought to get their emotions under control. He only released her once the limo eased into the private hangar where their plane awaited to take them to Germany.

  “Saved by the tarmac,” Brody grumbled as he opened his door, exited the limo, and then turned to help Midge step from the vehicle. “I need to discuss a few details of our next shoot with your father. Save a seat for me on the plane?” His question held a hint of uncertainty, possibly wondering if she was going to turn tail and run from him as she usually did after he gifted her with one of his mind blowing kisses.