Billionaire BWWM Romance 1: The Billionaire's Arranged Marriage (4 page)

She realized that her mother and father had never actually spent time with Wilson. They’d only met him at the house on a few occasions when he was coming by to pick Jillian up to go out. The tiniest sliver of hope began to glow within her. Perhaps if they got to know him better, perhaps if they spent some time with him, they would see what a good and loving young man he was and then they would realize that it would be a good match for her to be with him. The hope of it lifted her spirits a bit and she determined that she would try to make it happen before she had to meet Carter’s son.

Kimiko picked up her purse and looked through it, then set it back down on the seat beside her. “I’ve left my cell phone in the car. Let me use yours so that I can call your father.”

Jillian reached into her purse and then handed her cell phone to her mother who excused herself from the table and disappeared. She took the welcome solitude to take a deep breath and try to relax her body from the shock and hurt she had just experienced.

How could her mother try to make her date a man she didn’t know or care about? She disliked the boy intensely from the incident they had experienced when she was a child and now her mother wanted her to date him! It was unthinkable! She would just have to bring Wilson to the house to have him spend time with her parents so that they could see how wonderful he really was. He would change their minds. They would see. Then she would be able to be with him and marry him.

Her mother was gone for a long while, but eventually she returned and silently handed Jillian her phone and took her seat again.

“Carter is going to have his son call you. Be ready for the call, be polite and friendly to him, and if he asks you out on a date, go with him. Do you understand?” she asked pointedly. Jillian took a deep breath. She was going to have to work fast. “I understand,” she said quietly.

They finished their tea and drove home. Kimiko disappeared into her office and Jillian walked to the garden and sat on her favorite bench beside the koi pond, underneath a weeping willow tree. She pulled her phone from her bag and called Wilson.

It rang several times, but finally, he answered.

“Hello?” he said in a sullen voice.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said, a smile spreading over her face as his voice sounded in her ear and reverberated through her heart.

“Hi.”

“I was thinking that it would be good if you got to know my parents better. They haven’t really spent any time with you and they don’t know you very well. They’re kind of protective of me. I want you to come over for dinner tonight so you can talk with them and let them become more familiar with you. Can you come please?” she asked, all her hope beginning to soar.

There was a long quiet moment and then Wilson said softly, “Jillian, there’s something I need to tell you.”

It didn’t sound good. She had talked with him that morning and he had been fine; he had sounded happy and in love, but now he only sounded empty. “Oh no, what is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, concern swelling in her.

He sighed audibly. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” His voice remained low.

Jillian’s heart stopped mid-beat. “Wha…What?” she stammered. 

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” he repeated a little louder.

“What are you talking about?” she whispered, as everything in her began to spin like a cyclone; her thoughts and feelings whirring about her out of control.

“Well, I didn’t know how to tell you this, but there’s this other girl I met, and I’ve kind of been seeing her on the side, I guess. She’s uh… she kind of wants to get serious with me, and I want that with her, too.” He stumbled through the words.

Jillian felt like lightning was cracking through her head and heart, and her soul was being ripped in half. Tears stung her eyes and blinded her, spilling out onto her face in streams. Her voice was suddenly gone and it cracked when she tried to speak.

“What are you talking about, Wilson? We were talking about getting married this morning! What other girl?”

He sounded miserable. “Just another girl. You don’t know her. You don’t need to know her. I really think I’m falling in love with her, to tell you the truth. She’s prettier than you, she’s sweeter than you, and she lives in my neighborhood; she isn’t a richie like you are. I don’t feel like I have to live up to her lifestyle when I’m with her. Listen, I know we were talking about getting married and all that, but I didn’t really mean it. I don’t feel like I’m good enough for you and I never will be, so I think it’s best if we just call everything off right now, okay?”

She choked on a sob and trembled as she held the phone against her ear, her eyes shut tight, trying to hold in the riptide of pain that was coursing through her. “How could you?” she whispered. “I love you!”

He was quiet as she began to sob. Her chest heaved with the weight of her broken heart and sorrow, and she covered her face with her hand, sliding down off the bench onto the grass beside the pond and laying on her side.

Wilson did not cry, but his breath grew very short and raspy. “Listen, I gotta go. Don’t call me anymore, okay? Just… just go live your life and be happy. I’m glad I had you while I did. I’ll miss you,” he said quietly.

She didn’t hear him hang up as she sobbed into her hands and arms, lying on the grass. Her phone shut itself off and it seemed like an eternity before she felt a large warm hand on her back.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?” her father asked her. She had cried so hard that her face was swollen and her eyes were red. She rolled over slowly and let her daddy pick her up into his arms. He held her and rocked her back and forth, and then he reached up and wiped her tears away.

“Come on now, it’s going to be alright. There’s nothing we can’t fix. Come on, baby, tell me what happened. What’s got you so upset?” His voice was low and soft and it soothed her, like it always had.

“Everything,” she whispered and then looked up at him through her soaked eyelashes. “Wilson and I just broke up. He said he found another girl! Daddy, we were talking just this morning about getting married! How could he do that?” She began to cry again.

Samson rocked her back and forth some more and held her to the solid wall of his chest. “It’s alright baby girl. It’s alright. Boys don’t make the best decisions sometimes, and if he let you go, well that’s the most foolish thing he could have done, but it only means that you have a chance to find someone better; someone who will really love you, and that’s the best thing you can hope for, honey.”

She looked up at him again with irritation on her beautiful face. “Daddy! Do you know that Mother told me today that I have to date some stranger? She said she has this old business acquaintance that has a son and she wants me to go out with him and date him so that our families can do better business! It’s awful! Did you know about that?” she asked, searching her father’s eyes.

He closed his eyes for a moment and nodded. “I did know about that. She talked with me about it. I’ll say this, baby girl, sometimes, especially when we are young, we can’t see as well or as far as those who are older and wiser than us can see, and oftentimes when we are young, we are ruled by our hearts more frequently than our minds, and it can lead to trouble. She’s not trying to hurt you, baby, she would never do that. She wants what’s best for you, just like I do, and she thinks maybe he might be a good boy for you to spend some time with.”

Jillian felt crushed beneath all her grief, but she always listened to her father. “Daddy,” she said quietly and sniffed, “do you want me to go out with him?”

Samson looked away for a moment and then looked back at her. “I want you to be happy. It looks to me like that boy Wilson didn’t make you very happy. Maybe you could do your old dad a big favor and keep some peace in this house, and just this once go out with the new boy, just so things settle down with your mother. If you don’t like him later on after you’ve given him a chance, why then let him go, but then you can say that you gave it a try, and that will show obedience to your mother. What do you say, baby girl?”

Jillian felt like nothing was worth talking about anymore, and her own choices had led her to an obliterated heart, so she might as well heed the words of the wisest man she knew.

“Alright, Daddy. I’ll go out with him. I’m not going to like it, but I’ll do it,” she said stubbornly, remembering with bitterness how the boy had left her among the shards of jade on the ground.

“That’s my girl,” Samson said, brushing his hand over her hair and kissing her forehead. “Thank you, Jillian. Now, let’s go get you some tea to calm you down and take some of that heartache away. I have just the thing.”

She sniffed again. “Is there ginger in it?” she asked hopefully.

He nodded and pulled her to her feet. “Of course there is.” He smiled and walked her to his dojo with his arm around her shoulder.

Chapter3

Reed was lounging in the sun by the enormous sea shell shaped pool behind the house, sulking about the date his father was forcing him to go on. It wasn’t the worst thing his father had ever made him do though, so he knew it could be worse. He picked up his phone and dialed the number his father had given him.

It rang a few times and a pleasant female voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello. I wonder if I might speak with Jillian?” he smiled so that he would sound as pleasant as she did, though he certainly wasn’t feeling it.

“This is Jillian.”

“Jillian, this is Reed. Our parents suggested that we might spend some time together, so I thought I would call you and invite you to dinner tonight,” he said, holding his smile in place.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” she said mechanically, but politely.

“Shall I come by your house around six?” he asked, smile intact.

“Six is perfect. I’ll see you then,” she answered. “Thank you, Reed.”

“Of course. I’ll see you then. Good-bye,” he said and hung up, unscrewing the smile from his face and pushing his sunglasses back up on his nose. He laid his head back and relaxed in the sunshine, and fell asleep.

Jillian hung up the phone and fell back on her bed, looking at the ceiling in her room. She was not at all excited about their dinner date. She was still nursing her seriously broken heart. Her mother knocked on the paper screened door to her bedroom.

“Yes?” she called out, not moving.

“Was that Carter’s son?” her mother asked in a loud voice.

“Yes.”

“You made a date with him?” her mother continued.

“Yes. Dinner tonight.” She tried not to sound sullen.

“Good. Make a good impression so that you will be going out again after tonight,” her mother intoned seriously.

“Yes, Mother,” Jillian replied, closing her eyes and hating her life.

Later that evening she was flipping through her closet wondering what to wear and finally settled on a sleeveless, tea-length, sky blue, chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was subtly form fitting without being revealing and slightly demure without being frumpy. She picked up some high heels and her cardigan in case she got cool later that evening. Jillian was just slipping silver earrings in her ears when her father knocked on her door.

“Come in,” she called out.

He slid her screen door open and stepped inside. “Don’t you look pretty!” he said, smiling. He walked up to her and hugged her, looking into her mirror with her. “My girl is the prettiest in the world.”

She smiled and hugged him back tightly. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“He’s here, baby girl. He seems nice,” he said softly. “I think it will be an enjoyable evening for you.”

She looked up at him with some gratitude. “That’s good to know, Daddy.”

He walked her to the foyer and as she rounded the corner, she saw him. He was incredibly good looking. Dark wavy hair slightly tousled and mostly tamed back, bright blue eyes and a wide brilliant smile. He was tall and muscular; the curves of his arms and his chest were not hidden by the fine dinner jacket he was wearing. He was talking to her mother, who was smiling happily at him, and he turned to look at her just as her eyes had finished appraising him.

She saw the expression on his face change. She saw that same look on many people’s faces when they saw her; she was so unusual that her beauty often caught people off guard and she was used to double takes and staring. She was all too familiar with the way his eyes opened a bit wider and his mouth opened slightly in a partial gape and then curved into a grin. She saw his eyes as they flickered down her body and then held her eyes again.

“Well hello, you must be Jillian!” he said in pleasant surprise. He was surprised. She looked different than he had remembered. He knew her parents were watching him, particularly her father who was walking behind her as she came toward him, so he didn’t get the leisurely gaze over her body that a quick glance at her told him he wanted to have.

That one glance had suggested that she had curves he wanted to spend quite a bit of time

looking at, or possibly undressing. His heart began to beat faster as he gazed at her face. She had stunning features; a fine boned facial structure, dark golden skin like chocolate covered in honey, and her hair… it was pulled up into a loose bun on her head, but wisps of it fell around her beautiful face, framing it, drawing his attention to her big dark eyes and her full lips. She smiled politely at him and he snapped back to the moment at hand.

“I’m Reed. It’s wonderful to meet you again. You look quite lovely this evening.” He bowed to her and took her hand lightly in his, brushing his lips over the back of her hand for a brief moment before letting it go and turning toward her mother. 

“I brought this gift from my father with his best wishes.” He bowed and handed a beautifully decorated bottle of sake to Kimiko.

She bowed in return.  “Thank you, Reed. Please tell your father that was very kind of him and we are humbled by his thoughtfulness and generosity.”

Samson placed his hand on Jillian’s shoulder. “Where will you be taking my baby girl tonight?” he asked seriously, his eyes holding Reed’s sternly.

“We’ll be having dinner at the Carlton tonight. I promise not to keep her out too late,” he said with a gleaming smile.

Kimiko nodded. “Please don’t worry about keeping her too late. Take your time and enjoy yourself,” she said with a smile. Jillian looked sharply at her. She suddenly felt like she was being sold off to the highest bidder.

“Take good care of my baby girl,” Samson said, his eyes still trained on Reed.

“Yes, sir, of course,” Reed answered with a nod and smile. He held out his arm and Jillian slipped her hand loosely around his elbow and he led her out the door. Her parents both watched her go, and as she turned to look over her shoulder at them, she noticed that they had very different expressions on their faces. Her mother looked extremely pleased with herself and her father looked reticent.

Reed opened the door of his red Ferrari and she raised her eyebrows and sighed as he helped her into the car and closed the door behind her. When he closed his own door and put his seatbelt on, he turned toward her slightly as though he needed to find the belt latch, which allowed him to get a better look at the woman next to him. His eyes lingered over the voluptuous curve of her breasts, her narrow waist and the roundness of her hips.

“That’s a pretty dress. It does a lot to bring out that gorgeous body of yours, but you might want to wear clothes that show a little more… skin…” he said as he drank in the sight of her.

She was horrified. “Reed! How could you say something like that? You just met me!” she huffed at him. “That’s so disrespectful!” He zipped down the road and looked over his arm at her. “How is that disrespectful? It’s a compliment. You’re a beautiful woman. You have a gorgeous body. Women who don’t have gorgeous bodies would probably love to hear a man say something like that to them. Don’t scorn the compliment just because it isn’t packaged all neatly with a polite bow.

“I’m saying you are one beautiful lady, and most women would kill to look like you. You should show it off a little more instead of hiding all that beauty under so much clothing. You’re wearing too much. You have an incredible body. Show it off. What’s insulting about that?”

She glared at him. “It’s disrespectful of you to comment on my body at all. First of all, it’s not your business what I wear or how I display my body if I even display it all. I choose my clothes to suit my style and personality and no one else’s. I didn’t wake up this morning and think, ‘oh… I wonder what Reed would like to see me in… I wonder what Reed would want for me to wear… I wonder what would make Reed happy…’ No. I wear what I like and what I want.

“I happen to think this is a pretty dress and I think I look pretty in it, and that’s it. I don’t really care what you think or want, so kindly keep your opinions to yourself.” Then she turned and looked out of the window.

Reed was unaccustomed to women talking to him that way, or anyone else, for that matter. He was used to having the world handed to him on a silver platter by everyone but his father. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to it.

He sighed. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful.”

She realized that she was being defensive because this was a forced date and she was giving him too hard a time. Guilt began to bite at her and she, too, sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Thank you for the compliment, but perhaps if you’re going to say something like that to a woman, give it a little thought first and make it sound more polite.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what’s impolite about telling you I really like the way you look, but okay,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. They drove to the restaurant in silence the rest of the way, but he kept stealing glances at her legs every chance he got and she noticed but didn’t say anything to him about it.

They were seated immediately at the restaurant and she was impressed by the attentive service they received.

Reed took every opportunity he could to look at Jillian from every angle as they had gotten out of the car, headed into the restaurant, were seated and then finally he could face her. He still wasn’t finished looking at her. She was finished with him looking at her, though.

“You must hear this often, but you really are stunning. You have such a unique look about you,” he said with a lazy grin, staring at her face.

“Most people don’t actually vocalize it,” she replied with a salty tone.

“What do they do, just stare at you?” he asked, wondering aloud.

“Have you decided what you want to eat?” she asked, changing the topic and holding his menu out to him.

“I know what I want,” he said, grinning at her and smiling in a suggestive way.

“You should look at the menu. They might not be offering what you want,” she retorted.

He chuckled and took the menu from her hands. “Sassy. I like it!” he said, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

She ignored him. She was so irritated with him already. He was acting like a horny teenager, staring at her and making comments about her body. This was who her parents wanted her to date?

They ordered their meals and he decided he had better play it safe with her until he could figure her out. She was acting cooler than most girls he talked to. Actually, she was acting cooler than all the girls he talked to. No woman had ever ignored him; as a matter of fact, they regularly fell all over him and swooned if he paid any attention to them at all. This one seemed annoyed with him. It hadn’t ever happened before.

“I guess we met before when we were kids,” he said with a more polite tone. “Do you remember that? It was a long time ago; I’d be surprised if you did.”

“Surprise, I do,” she said shortly.

He was caught off guard and he stopped momentarily, lifting his drink and taking a long pull off of it before he set it back down.

“That was an unfortunate event,” he said a bit more quietly.

“It was unfortunate for you,” she said, her eyes glued to the wine menu. She wasn’t reading it, but she didn’t want to look at him.

“I can’t imagine it was a pleasant experience for you,” he replied.

“It was one of the worst experiences of my childhood and I don’t care to discuss it further or ever,” she said and then waved at the waiter, and asked him for a glass of wine.

Reed was stopped short again. He took another drink and felt uncertain about what else to say to her, but luckily, that’s when the meal was brought to their table and he was glad to have an excuse to keep his mouth closed.