by Noelle Adams
Great insightfulness, Kaya thought, looking from one man to the next.
Libby had told Kaya that Bryce, Erik, Adam, and Massimo had known each other since high school and it was then that they started the Granite Falls Billionaire Bachelor’s Club and sworn their loyalty to each other. Bryce was the anomaly. He was an outsider and the only one of the four who was not born into wealth. It was only after he graduated college and began working at Andretti Industries under the tutelage of Massimo’s father, Luciano Andretti, that he began making his mark in the world. And what a mark he’d made. He was just as wealthy as the other men who now sat at his table.
The Billionaire Bachelor’s Club became simply the Billionaire’s Club after Erik, and then Bryce were married. It was coincidental that they both lost their first wives to tragedy. Erik’s to a hit-and-run driver, and Bryce’s—well, she was yet to learn how Pilar had died. She’d been tempted to Google it, but out of respect and loyalty to her husband, Kaya had opted not to probe into his past. She wanted to hear about it from him, and hoped that at some point he would feel comfortable enough to trust her with his innermost fears and hurts.
Kaya turned her gaze to her husband seated at the head of the dining table, clearly enjoying the company of his most treasured friends—all of whom had welcomed her into their exclusive circle with open arms.
The club met once a month. There was no talk of business during these get-togethers, just rich gourmet meals, lots of expensive liquor, and adult fun. Michelle and Erik, who live on the other side of Crystal Lake, had hosted the last party. That was a solemn gathering since much of the conversation had been centered on Michael and Lauren’s deaths. They’d held back on the liquor, but had enjoyed some rich gourmet food prepared by Mrs. Hayes, Michelle’s housekeeper—a sweet old lady who reminded Kaya of her last foster mother.
Kaya was hosting her first party tonight, and she’d prepared a four-course meal that began with crab-stuffed mushrooms, followed by a green salad with jicama and goat cheese, topped with vinaigrette. The main course was baked lobster tails with a side of grilled asparagus, and smashed garlic potatoes sprinkled with fresh rosemary. And for dessert, she’d served individual molten chocolate cakes with warm black cherry sauce.
She’d been receiving compliments all night—especially from Adam, who’d jokingly offered her a job in his kitchen at Hotel Andreas. Bryce had also been generous with his praise, and his pride in having a wife who knew her way around the kitchen was evident in his voice each time he complimented her.
As Kaya started down the stairs to rejoin her guests, she recalled Bryce’s surprise the first time he’d joined her and the kids for dinner. He’d enjoyed several servings of her chicken and quinoa chili, and homemade sourdough rolls, and had even taken some leftovers to his penthouse. “Marrying you was the best business decision I’ve made in a long time,” he’d said later when the two of them were cleaning up the kitchen. His cutting remark had reminded Kaya that their marriage was one of convenience.
“Are the kids okay?” Libby asked as she approached the table.
“They are. I’m a little let down because Alyssa went to bed without me. I’m so used to her falling asleep in my arms.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Michelle chuckled. “It was a relief when Little Erik started sleeping through the night. It was nice to make love without having one ear cocked, ready to bolt. Soon you and Bryce will be able to enjoy each other without the fear of interruption.”
Kaya felt heat rising to the surface of her skin. She took a sip of red wine and stared across the table at Bryce as he popped the cork on a bottle of whiskey and began refilling his friends’ glasses while they argued about sports. It was three New Englanders against the New Yorker.
“They’ll be wasted and completely stupid by the end of the evening,” Libby whispered in her ear.
“I figured as much. Why make us dress up in fancy clothes and have a gourmet meal, just so they can ignore us and drink themselves into a stupor when they could have gone out to a bar or pizza parlor?”
“I guess we need to educate her about the sanctity of the clubs, tell her why our husbands have these special gatherings,” Michelle said to Libby.
“Steven isn’t even a member. They pay him well to attend these parties. His job is to keep them in check and see them safely home at the end of the night. That’s why he’s been nursing one drink all night. I’m only here because I’m his wife.”
“Well, you’re as important a member of the Billionaires’ Brides Club, as Kaya and me, so you—”
“Wait a minute,” Kaya exclaimed, throwing her hands up, her eyes darting between Michelle and Libby. “There’s a Billionaires’ Brides Club? Why don’t I know I’m a member? And what’s the reason for it?”
The room got deathly quiet, and Kay could feel all eyes trained on her. Damn, she hadn’t meant to be so loud, but she’d been shocked to learn she was a member of a club she didn’t even know existed. Was she unsuspectingly inducted into a cult? Were these people swingers? She knew of couples that indulged in such dalliances. Is that way Bryce had insisted that Haley and the kids spend the night at the LaCrosse’s? Dear Lord. Kaya took a deep breath and raised her lids to meet the intense, dark eyes of her husband.
He stared at her for endless moments then cleared his throat. “Yes, my lovely, reluctant bride. There is a Billionaires’ Brides Club and you became a member when you promised to love, honor, and cherish me four weeks ago. The reason for the club is for you ladies to support each other, and help each other become quintessential wives and mothers.”
“Speaking of quintessential wives,” Adam said, looking at Bryce. “Why are you still in my penthouse suite when you have such a gorgeous woman in your house? If Kaya were my wife—”
“She’s not your wife, Adam,” Bryce threatened in a low, steady voice. His eyes continued to burn into Kaya’s. “And the reason I’m still living in your hotel is not open for discussion.”
“Are you kidding me?” Adam planted his elbows on the table. “Since when is discussing your love life off the menu?”
“Since he got married. I’d imagine that it’s one thing to share stories about your lovers, but once a man takes a wife, the rules change.”
“That’s my man,” Michelle murmured on a chuckle.
“I don’t like that rule. It’s stupid and unfair.” Adam downed the contents of his glass again and held it out for a refill from the fifty-year-old bottle of scotch Bryce had fetched from his underground cellar.
“Maybe you should take a wife and level the playing field,” Erik suggested. “Think of the advantages of having a woman all to yourself every single night.” He winked at Michelle who sent him a sexy smile as she blew a kiss at him.
“If it’s one thing I know I don’t need, it’s a wife. I’m my own man.”
“Your loss.” Steven raised his glass to the women then placed it back on the table.
Relieved that they weren’t swingers or member of some type of scary cult, Kaya watched in disbelief as the men continued to argue about rules of the games and wives and lovers as they emptied one liquor bottle after the other. One proposed that they make some new rules and commissioned Steven to record them on one of her white linen handcrafted napkins.
She turned to Michelle. “Do they always get like this during these gatherings?”
“I’m afraid so.” Michelle ran her fingers through her short black hair. “You understand now why the kids can’t be around these events? They can never see their fathers in such drunken states.”
Kaya nodded, happy it wasn’t for the reason she’d thought. “But why? What’s the point?”
“It’s an agreement they concocted to protect themselves,” Libby responded.
“From what?”
Libby swallowed a bite of her cake. “They are powerful men who come from powerful families, Kaya. They have seen what public inebriation can do to men like themselves.”
Kaya had no idea what Libby w
as talking about. She’d seen some of her wealthy powerful clients make fools of themselves in public, but by the next day, their lives returned to normal.
“When Massimo and Adam were teenagers,” Libby continued, “both their fathers got wasted at a business convention and inadvertently spilled the details of a highly secretive joint business deal. By the next morning, both Andretti Industries and Andreas International were in jeopardy.”
“So these men made a pact never to become intoxicated in public,” Kaya murmured, nodding with understanding.
“They trust each other with their lives,” Michelle added. “They get wasted only once a month, and only with each other. It’s a time for them to forget the stress of their professional lives, let their guards down and just be… boys. And for additional protection, they added the “no business talk” clause.”
“Wow.” Kaya stared at the men, laughing, arguing, and slapping each other on the shoulders as they filled and emptied their glasses. There was no mistaking the depth of their friendship.
Steven pushed back his chair and stood up. “Who’s up for some pool?” He took control like a parent at a birthday party who wanted to move the fun along.
“I second that.” Adam staggered to his feet and swatted strands of his extremely long black hair from his face with impatient swipes of his wrist. He blew at the stubborn strands that adhered to his cheeks and mouth.
Kaya chuckled at the comical picture he made, and of the others trying to steady themselves as they vacated their chairs.
“You need a haircut.” Erik tried to help Adam with the errant strands of hair. “Men shouldn’t have long hair. Don’t you think?” He gazed cross-eyed at Steven and Bryce.
“Leave the man alone. It’s his hair. He can wear them— uh, it— any way he wants. I think you have beautiful hair,” Bryce said on Adam’s behalf.
“They also defend each other, but when you cross one, you cross them all,” Libby stated.
It was all Kaya could do not to burst out laughing when Bryce bent down, planted his hands on the table, and looked over at them, his eyes glazed and bloodshot, his mouth twisted as if it hurt to talk.
“La— ladies, you must execute— um, no—” He swirled an unsteady forefinger around and his eyes rolled back into their sockets as if he were searching for the right word. “Excu— excuse us.” A loud burp erupted from his throat and he continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “We’re off to the man cave to do man— manly stuff.” He picked up an unopened bottle of liquor and swayed on his heels.
Adam draped one arm about Bryce’s shoulders and the other about Erik’s. “Lean on me, brothers.” He threw his head back and hollered, “Mass! Massimo! Where’s my cousin?”
“You left him in Africa,” Bryce told him.
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I? Why would I do such a thing? I love my cousin.”
“Oh my God,” Kaya exclaimed as the men staggered off, arm in arm, into the vicinity of Bryce’s man cave—a soundproof room adjoining the library. It was equipped with everything a man would ever need—poolroom, bowling lane, mini-golf course, a complete bar, and an audio and video wall system Kaya knew was worth more than she’d made in three years. Each man cave was similarly equipped, as if they were trying to out-do each other.
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” Libby said, as they began to gather the dishes from the table and take them into the kitchen. “They would go to hell and back for each other, though.”
“And for any woman they choose to be by their sides,” Michelle added. “Once they fall in love and marry, they become fiercely loyal and protective of their wives.”
“Bryce doesn’t love me,” Kaya said as she placed a plate in the dishwasher. She felt she could be honest with these women—her closest, newest friends, her sister billionaire brides, she thought with a smile. “He only married me to make a home for the children.” And for sex.
“I’ve known Bryce for a long time. He could have come up with a thousand other ways to keep you in the kid’s lives. He married you because he sees the possibilities of a future with you, Kaya,” Libby remarked over her shoulder as she scraped some scraps into the trash disposal.
“He may already be in love with you, but fighting it tooth and nail,” Michelle said. “I was Precious’ nanny before I became the second Mrs. LaCrosse, and believe me, Erik fought his feelings for me because he was afraid to get hurt again. It’s probably the same way for Bryce. He wouldn’t show you how scared he is because he’s a macho man; they all are. They wouldn’t even let their mommas know when they are in pain. You’re Bryce’s wife, Kaya. You’re the only woman who has the power to heal him. You can do that by loving him and by caring for him in words and in deeds.”
Kaya’s hands curled around the edge of the sink. No one had ever taught her about love, much less how to love a man like Bryce Fontaine. The only men she was familiar with were the losers her mother used to bring home. They were charming in the beginning. They took her and Nadine out to nice restaurants and some even bought Kaya a gift or two here and there. But once they got enough of what they were truly after, they split.
After her father left, she’d watched her mother try time and time again to find true love, only to be disappointed. Nadine had taken out her frustrations on Kaya, and blamed her for the reasons her boyfriends didn’t stick around.
Kaya’s knowledge about sex was even more limited. The little she knew, she’d heard from Isis—a promiscuous foster sister. Isis equated sex with love, and Kaya had lain awake many nights, listening to Isis cry herself to sleep when yet another boyfriend had dumped her.
Her father’s abandonment, coupled with her mother’s and Isis’ relationship experiences, had caused Kaya to steer clear of men. She’d allowed Jack to get close to her because he’d been a good childhood friend, someone she thought she could trust. Sadly, he’d grown up to become as much a loser as Nadine and Isis’ men.
The two men she’d ever trusted had abandoned her. How was she supposed to trust another man, much less love one? Even though that man was her husband and had promised to love her, and be faithful to her.
They had exchanged their vows in the library, on Valentine’s Day, just five days after Michael and Lauren’s funeral. Pastor Kelly had pronounced them man and wife with the children and Haley as witnesses.
Bryce had taken the family to Andreas to celebrate afterwards. Jason was relieved that they wouldn’t be fighting over him and his sisters, and Alyssa was excited that Uncle Bryce was going to live with them. Jason had told his sister that she and Bryce had gotten married so that they could all live together as a family. Kaya didn’t bother to inform them that Uncle Bryce was not moving in. Bryce had made that clear before the nuptials, and Kaya still wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
On their wedding night, after the children and Haley were in bed, Bryce had knocked on her door. She’d thought he’d come to say good night before he went to his penthouse, but when she’d opened the door, he’d pulled her possessively into his arms, and without a word had begun kissing her, and caressing her through her nightgown. His arousal was evident through the silk robe he wore. She’d been weakened by his strength and his clean, just-showered scent, but when he lifted her off the floor and took her to bed, Kaya had put a halt to his advances.
Her warped experiences and eyewitness accounts about men, along with Bryce’s reputation with women had made it easy for her to say no to him. Bryce had promised not to abandon her. And perhaps he wouldn’t, physically. But what about emotionally? What if after he made love to her, he lost interest in her? What if he started treating her differently? Indifferently? She couldn’t risk that kind of awkwardness between them. It wouldn’t be good for the children. “Bryce and I haven’t made love yet,” she said, turning to face the women.
They both dropped their gazes to the floor at her announcement.
Libby spoke first. “That’s a good thing. It proves he doesn’t see you as just a sexual object.”
“It’s not him.” Kaya pushed a handful of curls from her face. “He wanted to make love on our wedding night, but I said no. I told him I was reluctant to consummate our marriage.”
“Oh,” both women uttered, understanding why Bryce called her his reluctant bride.
“I haven’t had good relationships with men, and Bryce’s prior reputation with women isn’t a good one. He uses them then walks away when he’s done.”
“They meant nothing to him. That’s why it was easy for him to walk. I’m not condoning what they do as men, but these women enter the relationships with their eyes wide open. They aren’t innocent, so don’t waste your time feeling sorry for them. They get what they want from these men. Bryce married you because he wants you, Kaya! And he’s willing to wait until you’re ready.” Michelle tapped her on the shoulder.
Kaya crossed her arms about her stomach. “It may be too late. He’s lost interest in me. He avoids being alone with me. I only see him when the kids are around.” Wasn’t that your wish? She centered her attention on her hands clasping and unclasping in front of her. “Bryce isn’t the kind of man who gives up easily. I thought he’d be banging down my door every night until he broke down my defenses.”
“Gosh, we do need this Billionaires’ Brides Club.” Michelle steered Kaya over to the kitchen table and sat her down. “If it was only sex he wanted, that’s exactly what he’d be doing. When a man truly cares about a woman, the worst thing she could do to him is reject him.”
“Michelle’s right. Bryce has a lot of pride. You hurt him, and he wouldn’t put himself in that position again. If you want this marriage to work, Kaya, you have to make the next move.”
“Don’t make it tonight,” Michelle advised her. “He’s too drunk to perform or to remember anything in the morning. You’ll want him to remember every second of it.”