The Billionaire Bachelor_Clean Billionaire Romance

by Judy Corry

  The Billionaire Bachelor

  Matched With A Billionaire Series

  Contents

  1. Kate

  2. Drew

  3. Kate

  4. Drew

  5. Kate

  6. Drew

  7. Kate

  8. Drew

  9. Kate

  10. Drew

  11. Kate

  12. Drew

  13. Kate

  14. Drew

  15. Kate

  16. Drew

  17. Kate

  18. Drew

  19. Kate

  20. Drew

  21. Drew

  22. Kate

  23. Drew

  24. Kate

  25. Drew

  26. Kate

  27. Drew

  28. Kate

  29. Drew

  30. Kate

  31. Drew

  32. Kate

  33. Drew

  34. Kate

  35. Drew

  36. Kate

  37. Drew

  38. Kate

  Epilogue

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  ALSO BY JUDY CORRY

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Copyright © 2018 by Judy Corry

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design by Victorine E. Lieske

  Edited by Precy Larkins

  For my son James

  1

  Kate

  And the award for most likely to scare a creepy-looking holy man goes to me, Kate Dawson mused, as she browsed the shelves of Rachel's Market for cough syrup. Usually, she had the creepers coming after her, but it seemed that her pajamas and four-days-unwashed blonde hair had finally done the trick. Every time she noticed the guy wearing baggy holy-man clothes, he immediately turned down another aisle as if he couldn't bear to look at her. Apparently, he wasn't interested in girls who looked like death to join his cult.

  Her gaze swept across the shelf until it landed on the glorious dark blue liquid that would finally allow her to get some sleep. She was tempted to open the bottle right there and take a swig so its magical powers could start working and allow her stupid cold to disappear for the night. But she decided against it. Someone would probably report her for stealing it, even if the store was almost empty at eleven-thirty at night.

  The man peeked his head around the corner, his frizzy long hair hiding half his face. Kate looked away, not wanting to scare him with her wretched appearance again.

  She dropped the cough syrup into her basket, atop a pile of cough drops, then walked to the end of the aisle to grab a gallon of chocolate milk. Chocolate milk always made things better.

  When she made it to the refrigerator section, she found Frizzy Guy looking at the almond milk. She debated on whether she wanted to risk having him bolt away from her again. Did she really need her chocolate fix this late at night?

  Yes. Chocolate would definitely solve all her problems.

  So she patiently waited for the holy man to make his selection. Hopefully, he wouldn't get too scared when he discovered she'd crept up right behind him. Though scaring him might actually be fun. She was just about to call out "Boo!" when he reached into the fridge.

  He brought out a carton of unsweetened almond milk—of course he was above having sugar—and stepped back, knocking into her basket.

  "Oh, sorry," he quickly said, turning to face her. His posture immediately stiffened.

  Wow, she must look even worse than she thought. She seemed to have startled him so badly that he was now frozen to his spot.

  She took that moment to really study him. He looked much taller and younger up close. And were those baggy clothes hiding a muscular physique? His tanned cheekbones were smooth, not wrinkly like she'd imagined they'd be. And part of his beard was falling off?

  What the—?

  This may be L.A., but what in the world was going on with this guy? Was he some sort of psycho method actor?

  Her eyes met the man's deep blue ones. And recognition slowly washed over her. She could never forget those eyes; she'd lost herself in them so many times growing up. This holy man was her older brother's best friend. His extremely good-looking best friend who she hadn't seen in person since her brother's funeral seven years ago.

  "Drew?" she asked. "Is that you?" How had she not recognized him before?

  A finger flew to his mouth. "Shhh. Don't say my name out loud." He glanced around to make sure no one had heard.

  "What's going on? Why are you dressed like that?"

  "It's my disguise," he whispered. "I didn't want anyone to know who I was."

  "Well, it worked," Kate said.

  Drew shrugged, lifting the part of his beard that was falling off and pushing it back against his chin. "I've been dodging a group of girls for the last ten minutes. I thought I might have seen you, but I wasn't quite sure. I mean, it's been a while and I've never seen you so…um…so…"

  "You've never seen me so gross?" Kate finished for him. Why did she have to run into him when she looked like death?

  "That's not what I was going to say."

  "Sure."

  Drew's eyes wandered to the basket hanging on her arm. "Got a cold, I'm guessing."

  Kate quickly covered her left hand with her right, so he wouldn't notice her missing wedding ring. Even though they hadn't seen each other in years, she was pretty sure her mom had sent him a wedding announcement.

  "No…I'm undercover, too." Kate laughed awkwardly but had to stop because she felt another coughing fit coming on. Once it passed, she said, "Okay, so maybe I have a cold."

  "I thought so." He glanced around, and she couldn't tell if he was looking for his stalkers, or if he really just wanted to get away from her. But she needed to try to fix what happened between them. She hated the way they'd left things all those years ago. Aiden would want them to make things better.

  "What's with the get-up anyway?" she asked. The Drew she knew from years ago would never dream of leaving the house without making sure each hair was in its perfect spot. Plus, didn’t he have a housekeeper or personal assistant to run his errands for him?

  "It's the only way I can go out in public these days. Ever since I signed on to be the bachelor for Finding Your Soulmate, I haven't been able to go anywhere without having at least one girl freaking out on me. I really just wanted to grab a carton of milk without being mobbed."

  Of course, Kate realized. Drew was the Billionaire Bachelor; it was a given that he'd have flocks of girls stampeding after him everywhere he went.

  "Did you just get back from filming then?" Kate asked, hoping he'd continue their conversation. "Here, let's go down that way. Sorority girls are probably less likely to be searching for you in there." She nodded toward the feminine hygiene aisle.

  Drew made a face like it was the last place he wanted to go, but when they heard a chorus of high-pitched squeals coming their way, he rushed forward.

  "We got back last month. Right before Thanksgiving," he said, answering her earlier question.

  "We? As in you and your fiancée?" she prodded.

  He shook his head with a smile that told her he knew she was tryi
ng to get him to slip up on his secret. "I meant, we as in me and the rest of production."

  "They trained you well." Kate grinned. "Did you have to practice that with the producers before they allowed you back in public again?"

  "That, and the fact that they could sue me if I spoiled the ending is helping me keep tight-lipped."

  "Which would set you back so far," she joked. Even though they hadn't seen each other in person for years, it was hard to miss seeing him in the media. He had done very well for himself. What was a hundred-thousand-dollar lawsuit when you had billions of dollars to your name?

  He shook his head and gave her a humble smile. Maybe all the fame and money hadn't gone to his head like she'd assumed when she saw the promo for this show’s season. "I guess I'm still not used to that. And even if I didn't mind being sued, I'd hate to spoil the show for you. I remember how much you used to love watching it."

  "How thoughtful of you." Kate smiled. "Can you say anything about your time as the bachelor?"

  Drew pursed his lips as he was thinking…which Kate thought looked ridiculous what with his fake shaggy mustache poking out on the sides.

  "I'll just say this, it was a lot harder to be the bachelor than I thought."

  Kate almost snorted. "Yeah, dating twenty-five beautiful women is so hard. I bet all the guys who watch the show feel so bad for you."

  "Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively, tucking some loose strands from his frizzy wig behind his ears. At least it better be a wig. "Anyway, what have you been up to? I got your announcement. Sorry I wasn't able to make it to your wedding last summer."

  Kate tightened her grip on her left hand and gave him the answer she'd given all of her old friends over the past few months. "Things are great!" She pumped enthusiasm into her voice. "I'm working part-time for a newspaper and still working on my screenplays when I get the chance."

  He didn't seem to notice she'd left out anything regarding Nolan. Which was good. She really didn't want to go into the fact that she'd been blind enough not to see the warning signs before jumping into a marriage that only lasted a couple of months.

  "Good for you." Drew's grin broadened. "That's awesome you're still writing screenplays. Have you tried getting one of them out there yet?"

  She shrugged. She would probably sound like such a failure in his eyes. While he'd found more success than anyone ever dreamed of, she'd never even gotten anyone to take a look at her work. "I tried shopping one really hard last year, but I didn't have any bites. I guess it helps if you actually have a connection in the business." Yet another thing she'd failed at.

  "I'm sure you'll sell one soon. I quite enjoyed those short films you used to drag me and Aiden into making with you."

  Kate's cheeks flushed when she thought about the things she used to talk Drew and her older brother into doing. She had been such a nerd. "You're just being nice."

  Drew grinned. "I totally liked being the sultan of the universe and having Aiden as my servant."

  A somber smile lifted Kate's lips at the memory of her older brother. Oh, how she missed him. "He really did hate that he was always the servant and you were the king, boss, or whatever."

  "He always told me how he was going to help you get your big break someday, so he could watch someone else be the servant for a change." Drew's eyes studied Kate's, the heartache behind the blue mirroring her own. "Aiden always bragged about how his sister won first place in the Coventry Film Festival her senior year. He couldn't wait to see it."

  Kate nodded. If only he'd had the chance.

  "So how is married life treating you anyway?" Drew said, changing the subject. "I still can't believe you're old enough to be married."

  "DREW BURROWS!"

  Kate and Drew both turned their heads to see a group of college girls in matching pink shirts marching toward them.

  Drew sighed. "Looks like I need a better disguise."

  "Or a better housekeeper to save you the trip in the first place." Kate smiled. This was her first time talking to an actual billionaire, but they all had housekeepers, right?

  "Carmella has been sick, so sadly I have to be a big boy and stock the fridge for myself tonight." He smirked, which let her know he knew how ridiculous that sounded. His eyes darted to the girls waiting for him. "It was really good to see you again. I hope you get over your cold soon. Tell Nolan I said hi."

  He didn't come to her wedding, yet he knew Nolan's name?

  Of course he did. Nolan's family was rich. Rich people always knew other rich people.

  She swallowed, not having it in her to tell him that Nolan was living with his college girlfriend now. "Yeah, I'll tell him."

  Kate watched as Drew approached the group of girls. She grabbed her box of tampons then turned to escape out the aisle the opposite way just as Drew was asking the girls who the detective was and how he thought for sure no one would recognize him. Which was followed by a chorus of giggles.

  Yeah, Kate thought, being "The Billionaire Bachelor" is so hard.

  Kate drove home to the apartment she and Nolan had moved into when they'd gotten married. The apartment she wouldn't be able to afford once the year he'd pre-paid on was up.

  She downed a dose of cough syrup and climbed in her empty bed, wishing, not for the first time, things had gone differently that spring night seven years before.

  2

  Drew

  Drew smiled at the memory of running into Kate as he sat in L.A.’s bumper-to-bumper traffic a few days later. He'd almost bolted when he realized he had just bumped into her. The last time they'd seen each other was at Aiden's funeral and he was sure her whole family hated him. Hated that he had lived when Aiden had died. He had been so surprised when he'd gotten an announcement for Kate's wedding earlier that spring. Surprised that they would even want to be in the same room as him. Part of him regretted not going, or even responding to it. But he hated the thought of darkening what was supposed to be the happiest day in Kate's life with his presence. Her family didn't need any reminders from that bleak time of their lives.

  He'd definitely done his best to strip it from his mind. Keeping his hands and mind busy so he could hopefully get over the guilt he'd brought upon himself. But when Kate's announcement had come in the mail, he'd decided that if her family had been able to move on, maybe it was time for him to move on too.

  Finding Your Soulmate had been after him for years. After his dating app went viral, there had been a constant dialog going through the media about his relationship status. Which, for the most part, was single. He had been so busy numbing his mind and heart with the coding, trying to keep his startup from crashing every night with all the new downloads, that there just wasn't time to date during the first few years. He barely even had time to sleep. And then, when he'd pulled his head out of the cave he'd thrown himself into after Aiden's death, he'd come out to find that he'd done it too late. The only girl he'd ever really fallen for, the girl who had inspired the app idea in the first place, was getting married.

  But thankfully, time healed all wounds, and his heart hadn't hurt too much when he'd run into her at the grocery store.

  Drew looked at the ridiculous wig and facial hair sitting in the passenger seat of his black Lamborghini. Why did he have to look like a hobo when he'd run into Kate? She'd looked like she was about to scream when she saw him. He couldn't blame her though; he did look pretty crazy.

  Drew grabbed the disguise and headed into the studio, straight to Alexis Olley's office. She was the show's executive producer, and they had a lot to go over before his first promotional interviews started next week.

  "Let's just jump right in," Alexis said when Drew sat in the black chair across from her mahogany desk. Alexis was a no-nonsense-type lady. She'd started Finding Your Soulmate ten years ago, and it had been in the number one time slot ever since. She was dynamite and didn't put up with anything but the best.

  Which was why Drew had to come into the studio today. Things hadn't gone quite the way Alexis had
wanted on the last day of filming, and she was dead bent on salvaging the show in any way she could.

  "Now that you've had the holidays to relax, it's time for us to save this season."

  Drew gulped. He knew he'd made them unhappy, but he hadn't thought it was a complete train wreck.

  "What do I need to do?"

  "I'm going to be blunt with you, Drew. Here at Finding Your Soulmate, we expect to watch people fall in love. We expect a happily ever after. And we did not get the happily ever after you agreed to. Now, the rest of the producers have met several times trying to come up with a way to save our ratings and guarantee people will keep coming back season after season. So after much deliberation, we've decided that you will propose to Gwen on our live after-show."

  Panic jumped in Drew's veins. "But what if we're not ready by then?"

  "You better fake it. It's in your contract to have a proposal. And that's what we expect. Even if you have to pretend."

  But could Drew pretend to get engaged?

  He liked Gwen…most of the time. They had a lot of good times together. But would he be able to ask her to marry him in just two and a half months, especially when they only got to see each other in person every other weekend?

  "Do we have an understanding?" Alexis pressed.

  Drew swallowed thickly. "Yes. I'll make it happen."

  Alexis's face brightened, along with her tone. "Very good. Which brings us to our next step in operation 'save the show.'" She pushed a sheet of paper across her desk. It was a bulleted list of what looked like possible questions an interviewer might ask him while he was on the promotional tour, and the answers that the studio approved of him saying.