Billionaire Romance Boxed Set (9 Book Bundle) (73 page)

They digested this for a moment.

“Well, at least he’ll be
able to support you, then,” was my dad’s contribution.

“Yes,” my mom pitched
in. “I always hoped you’d find someone who would be able to provide for
you so that you could pursue your…art.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Thanks, mom. Listen, I have to go. I have a lot to do. But I’ll send you
guys an invitation to the wedding, if you want to come. It’s not going to be a
big deal, nothing too fancy, but Daniel can take care of your travel
costs.” I knew there wasn’t a chance of them coming if they had to pay for
it themselves.

“Oh…” said my dad,
clearly searching for the right words. “No, honey, I don’t think I’ll be
able to get away from work. And your mother’s not supposed to travel, you know,
with her hip.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I
just thought maybe…well, I’ll send you some pictures.”

“That’ll be very nice,”
said my mom.

After I’d hung up, I was left
with the distinct feeling I shouldn’t have bothered.

The next week went by in a blur.
I was trying to tie up as many loose ends as I could, finishing projects, or at
least getting them to the point where my replacement wouldn’t want to kill me.
The H.R. department was taking interviews. I was trying not to think about
leaving. As frustrating as my job could be sometimes, it was still going to be
strange, not coming in here every day.

On Friday, my desk phone started
ringing. Which was…odd. I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Maddy, hi.” Daniel
cleared his throat. “Could you, uh, step into my office, please?”

I could have sworn I heard someone
talking in the background. I frowned slightly. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong,
just…can you come over here?”

“All right, fine.”

When I reached his office, the
door was closed. This time I was sure I could hear voices in there.

“Go on in,” said Alice,
from her desk in the hall. “They’re waiting for you.”

They?

I pushed the door open and walked
inside.

Daniel was sitting behind his
desk as usual, but there was a couple sitting in the chairs opposite him. They
were surrounded by baggage on the floor around them. The woman had no sooner
looked up than she jumped to her feet and ran over to me.

“Maddy!” she exclaimed,
throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back, realizing this must be Daniel’s
sister, but why on earth hadn’t he at least given me some advance notice before
calling me in here to be ambushed?

She was laughing.

“I’m Lindsey,” she
said. “Daniel’s sister. This is my husband, Ray.”

Ray waved, smiling politely. He
looked like he wasn’t too terribly thrilled about the ambush, either.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsey
said, not looking all that apologetic. “Our flight got in early and we
couldn’t check into our hotel yet, so I decided we should come surprise Daniel.
I wouldn’t let him warn you.”

“That love of surprising
people runs in the family, huh?” I grinned at Daniel, who actually
looked…embarrassed? Oh, this was going to be fun.

“What’s this?”
Lindsey’s eyes darted between us, a conspiratorial smile on her face.

“Well, the other day…I
thought I was going to pick up my car from the mechanic’s, and he’d bought me a
completely new one,” I said.

Lindsey burst out laughing.
“Seriously? Danny never was one for surprising people when we were growing
up, I’m glad to hear he’s starting to see the fun.”

Danny?

This just kept getting better and
better.

“We still need to settle in,
obviously.” Lindsey’s eyes drifted to the bags on the floor. “But I
hope you’re both free for dinner tonight. We’re taking you out to the nicest
place in town.”

Daniel cleared his throat.
“We were just there not too long ago,” he said. “I think we
could use a little variety.”

Lindsey waved her hand in a
dismissive gesture. “The second nicest place, then. Or the dive with the
greasiest burgers, I couldn’t care less. I just want to get to know my new
sister-in-law.”

“Greasy burgers sounds
great, to be honest,” I said. “I’d love to eat someplace where I can
wear jeans.”

“Perfect!” Lindsey went
over and clasped Daniel on the shoulder, jostling him gently. He flinched a
little, and then smiled. “What do you think, Danny? Jerry’s Grill? I bet
it’s just like the one back home.”

Daniel chuckled a little.
“Really? We haven’t been to one of those in…God. How long’s it been?”

“I’d rather not think about
it,” said Lindsey. “I just remember you always used to throw a fit
whenever Dad wouldn’t let you get a milkshake.”

She looked at me then, for some
reason, and I wasn’t sure what I was meant to say. “Too much sugar?”
I supplied, trying to imagine Daniel as a little kid bouncing off the walls
because somebody let him have too much candy.

Lindsey frowned a little. An
awkward silence reigned for a few moments.

“Burgers sound great,”
Ray piped up from his chair. “Six o’clock?”

Daniel opened his mouth to
object, but Lindsey shook her head, instantly silencing him. “Shut up,
Dan. Nobody else likes to wait until the crack of midnight to have their
dinner. You can just take it to-go if you absolutely have to wait until the
most fashionable hour to eat.”

I giggled. I couldn’t help it -
I’d always hated that he wanted to take me out to dinner so late, but I figured
that was just how it was going to be with him. He commanded so much quiet
authority. But not, apparently, when his sister was around.

A familiar melody, tinny but
clear, echoed through the room.

“Oh,” said Lindsey,
reaching into her pocket. “That’ll be the hotel. We’d better go meet our
shuttle.”

“I’ll help you with your
bags.” Daniel got to his feet, but Lindsey stopped him with a single look.

“For Christ’s sake, Danny.
My arms work.” She chuckled. “See you at Jerry’s at six!”

Once they were safely down the
hall, I turned to look at Daniel. He had the thousand-yard stare of a bomb
survivor.

“She’s quite a
firecracker,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said,
quietly, not looking at me.

“No, I like it.” I
pulled one of the chairs over and sat close to his desk. “I like her. She
doesn’t take any bullshit, does she?”

He finally cracked a smile.
“No,” he said. “No she does not. Least of all from me.”

“I can’t wait for
tonight,” I said. “Seriously.”

Daniel looked relieved.
“Lindsey’s cultivated a certain personality,” he said. “To get
by. To thrive, really. She runs the biggest architectural firm in Boston. You
don’t get to where she is by playing nice with men like me. It’s a reflex by
now, I think.” He shook his head. “Anyway, she’s my big sister. She’s
allowed certain liberties.”

“I should say so.”

It made perfect sense, now -
someone with Daniel’s ambition but without the advantage of his XY chromosome
would naturally develop Lindsey’s personality. I could tell from the tone of
his voice that he admired his sister, perhaps with just a touch of that awe
that younger siblings tend to carry for their older brothers and sisters, even
when they should, by all rights, be equals.

“It really will be fun to
have dinner somewhere casual,” I said. “Don’t you think?”

“I suppose.” Daniel was
shuffling papers on his desk. “How’s it going out there? Do you almost
have everything wrapped up?”

“I guess,” I said.
“You know, you’ll never find another designer quite like me.” I was
mostly kidding, but I suppose a part of me was fishing for a compliment.

He smiled wryly. “Get back
to work, Ms. Wainright. I’ll come by for you at five thirty.”

“I’m going to need to cut
out early if you want me to have time to get home and get ready, sir,” I
said, with exaggerated politeness.

“Of course. Go home at four
and relax.”

“Oh, thank you, sir.”

He shook his head. “You’re
picking up a bit of my sister’s bad attitude,” he said. “I’m not sure
I like it.” But he was smiling.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Thorne.
I’ll make sure to work on it.”

And with that, I sashayed out of
his office.

Chapter Eight

We arrived at Jerry’s Grill right
on time, and Lindsey and Ray were waiting for us on the bench outside. Lindsey
waved enthusiastically with both hands, pulling me in for another half-hug like
she hadn’t seen me in weeks. “You’ll love this place,” she said. I
loved the smell already - one hundred percent authentic beef and fry oil.

It was noisy and hectic inside,
but our smiling hostess led us on a long, winding pathway to an empty booth
near the back of the restaurant. Unlike many of the faux-Americana burger
joints that had sprung up modeling themselves after places like this, the black
and white photographs and memorabilia on the walls were all authentic. I’d
heard of this place before - it always garnered a mention on those food-centric
travel shows, and had a top spot on “iconic places to eat” lists for
my city. People were always surprised when I said I’d never been, but there
wasn’t much money to eat out when I was a kid. And as an adult, going to place
like this alone just seemed…sad. It was the kind of place you’d bring your
family.

After we sat down and ordered a
round of sugary alcoholic drinks - I almost wanted to burst out laughing when
Daniel agreed to a pitcher of strawberry margaritas - I actually began to feel
relaxed and at home for the first time since Daniel had “proposed” to
me. Lindsey soon launched into the epic saga of her most absurdly difficult
client, and we were all laughing uproariously even before the margaritas
started flowing.

“…and then he goes, ‘well,
you’re supposed to be the expert!’”

Lindsey was wiping tears from the
corners of her eyes, and I was right there with her. Back before I’d landed
this job, I used to do a lot of work on the side for absolutely impossible
people, because I simply couldn’t afford to say no. It was comforting to know
that even people on Lindsey’s level still struggled with such things.

Of course, I’d never have to do
anything like that again, if I played my cards right.

“Well, you won’t have to
worry about that for much longer,” Lindsey said after a moment, like she
was reading my thoughts. “Lucky, lucky.”

“Yeah,” I said, staring
into my drink.

“Well, I wouldn’t ever want
to quit work anyway,” said Lindsey lightly, pushing her drink aside as the
server came back with our orders. “I’d go crazy. I’m like one of those
sheepdogs that always needs something to occupy my time, or I’ll destroy
everything. Oooh, who got the bleu cheese burger? That looks fantastic.”

We dug into our food, and the
conversation fell silent for a while. I kept glancing at Daniel. It was strange
to see him in a place like this, and stranger still to see him not looking
uncomfortable in the least. Even with barbecue sauce dribbling down his chin,
he was somehow still the man I knew - and yet, utterly not.

I was deathly curious to know
more about his childhood memories of this restaurant. They were obviously
bittersweet, perhaps more bitter than anything - but that didn’t kill my
curiosity in the slightest. I had a feeling if I could get Lindsey alone, I
might be able to learn a little bit.

“Mmm,” said Lindsey,
setting her burger down in its basket to wipe her hands and face. “The
burgers here haven’t changed a bit. I love it.”

“That’s because they’ve
never cleaned the grill,” Daniel said, dryly.

Ray looked down at the burger in
his hands. “Gross,” he said.

“All the best burger places
don’t,” I supplied. I was pretty sure I remembered seeing something about
it on a T.V. show about the world’s greatest diners. “It gets so hot that
nothing ever goes bad, so all the flavor stays on there for years and
years.”

“You’d better be
kidding,” said Ray, downing the rest of his margarita.

“Deadly serious,” said
Daniel. “She’s right. It’s nothing to worry about, don’t you think the
health inspectors would have said something about it by now if it was?”

Ray shook his head, regarding the
burger hesitantly for a moment, but then he shrugged and raised it to his mouth
again.

“And the burger wins
out!” Lindsey grinned. “The burger always wins out, doesn’t it?”

“If it’s the right burger?
Absolutely.” I broke a huge steak fry in half and dipped it in ketchup.

“Maddy.” Lindsey leaned
across the table. “I know you’re busy, wrapping up work and planning the
wedding and everything, but can I take you shopping tomorrow? Just us girls.
Those two can hang out and toss a football around in a parking lot or whatever
the hell they do. I’ve been doing a little independent research, so I know all
the best vendors and boutiques. I’d love to take you around. What do you say?”

I grinned at her. “I’d love
to!”

By the time we all left Jerry’s,
everyone was in a happy mood. Daniel and Ray were joking around with each
other, and Lindsey was telling me about all the ridiculous mishaps from her own
wedding ceremony and planning process. I hadn’t actually given any real thought
to the whole thing - I supposed Daniel would go along with whatever I wanted,
but I didn’t know what I wanted.

“…the point is, no matter
what happens, everything will be fine. We can talk more about it tomorrow. I know
it’s stressful as hell, the industry puts all this pressure on us, but there’s
no reason why it has to be a big old mess. Especially not with me helping you
out.”

She hugged me goodnight, and then
we all parted ways. I found myself getting into the town car with Daniel and
not even questioning where we were going; I’d spend the night at his place, of
course, and that was all right with me.

The next morning, Lindsey came by
at ten o’clock on the dot. We started out with breakfast in a trendy vegetarian
diner - “I’m not vegetarian, obviously, but sometimes I like to
pretend” - and then hit the fancy shopping district.

“So do you have a dress
picked out yet?” Lindsey wanted to know. “I got the impression that
Daniel wanted to have the wedding sooner rather than later. He hates
anticipation and long-term planning. Always has.”

I shook my head. “I figured
I’d just pick something off the rack. Doesn’t have to be a ‘bridal gown,’ you
know? Just something nice.”

“Yeah, that’s for the best.
Some of these places, they tack another eight hundred dollars on the price tag
of anything that’s ‘for a wedding.’ I know it doesn’t really matter, but I
object to it on principle.”

I nodded. “I really just
want to keep things casual.” This was true; I just couldn’t reveal why.
“I want to marry Daniel because I love him, not because I want to have a
Big Day. You know?”

Hell, I was almost convincing
myself. Well done.

Lindsey was nodding. “I can
see how you two ended up together,” she said. “He’s never been that
much of a romantic - or a traditionalist, I guess. You know what I mean.”
She hesitated. “How do your parents feel about the whole thing?”

The inevitable question. I paused
for a moment. “They’re not really…I haven’t exactly told them yet.”

“Oh,” she said,
understanding dawning on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to bring up
something difficult. We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Thanks.” As much as I
was growing to like Lindsey, I didn’t really feel like discussing my awkward
situation with my parents with anyone, least of all someone I’d just met.

We visited a few bakeries, more
than one stationery shop, and a few dress places, just to try things on.
Looking at myself in the endless mirrors, I felt next to nothing. It was just
me in a big fluffy white dress. I wasn’t a bride. I was just playing a part.

“I’m surprised I can fit
into my normal size, after those burgers last night,” I commented as we
left one of the dress shops.

“Tell me about it.”
Lindsey laughed. “Worth it, though, right?”

“Always.” I hesitated.
“So, you guys used to go there a lot when you were kids, huh?”

“Not as much as we would
have liked to.” She turned to look at me. “Has Daniel told you very
much about his childhood?”

I shook my head. “Almost
nothing.”

“I figured as much,”
she said. “He doesn’t like to talk about it. That’s his way of coping, I
guess.” She was silent for a moment. “I don’t mean to make it sound
like our family life was some kind of horror show. It wasn’t really all that
bad. But it was hard, sometimes. We didn’t exactly have a lot of money to
spread around in the early days. The first time Dad took us out to Jerry’s
Grill, it was because we came home from school early - there was a problem with
the gas lines or something, I don’t even remember now - and we walked in on him
with another woman. He promised to take us out for burgers if we kept our
mouths shut. Being a couple of little brats, of course we kept demanding to go
back every time we were unhappy, or he did something we didn’t like. I feel
terrible about it now. I’m sure Dan does too. But we didn’t know what we were
doing at the time, really. Kids are selfish. We just wanted to eat something
for dinner that wasn’t out of a box from the discount store. I have no idea how
my dad scraped the money together to keep taking us there, but he found a
way.”

I had no idea what to say in
response to all that. My head was swimming. I just nodded silently and waited
for her to continue.

“My mom never found out, as
far as I know. I guess it was better that way. I don’t know if my dad kept
doing it. They were both young, and I realize now that I’m not sure if they
ever really loved each other. It could have very well been a shotgun wedding.
For years, I shied away from close relationships because of what they’d taught
me through example. Thank God I met Ray. He stuck by me even when I tried to
push him away.” Her eyes were very far away as she spoke. Finally, she
turned back to me. “I’ve got to say, I was really happy when Daniel told
me that he’d found someone. I was afraid it would never happen for him. I think
the whole situation affected him more than it did me. It’s hard not to get
cynical about love, coming from a background like that.”

“Yeah,” I said.
“Believe me, I know. I mean…I don’t know if my parents cheated on each
other, but they definitely weren’t in love.”

Lindsey nodded. “There’s a
lot of that going around, isn’t there? People getting married for every
possible reason, except for the right ones.”

Tell me about it.

I wanted so badly to tell her,
then - to just blurt out the truth. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle the
way her face would fall, realizing that Daniel hadn’t found his true love after
all. I had to let her believe we were happy together, at least for a little
while.

I was horrified to realize tears
were welling up in the corners of my eyes. I forced them back, swallowing the
lump in my throat and walking forward.

“Anyway,” said Lindsey.
“Enough of this depressing crap. Have you picked a venue yet?”

“No,” I admitted.
“To be honest, I’ve been putting a lot of things off…it’s just so
overwhelming, but I know it’s not going to get any easier the longer I
wait.”

“That’s what I’m here
for!” said Lindsey. “Why don’t we head back to the apartment and
start looking at places online. We’re going to want to narrow it down before we
start driving all over the state looking for the perfect place.”

We headed back to Daniel’s, and I
was suddenly grateful for the key he’d left me with. The doorman smiled and
nodded in recognition as we walked past. Once we were inside, Lindsey made a beeline
for the fridge and poured herself a glass of juice. She was infinitely more at
home in the place than I felt.

“Now, where does Dan keep
his laptop?” she wanted to know.

Oh, shit.

“Um…it’s hard to say, he
kind of takes it all over the place with him,” I fibbed. God, I had no
idea.

“Well, we’ll just have to
search then. Why don’t you check the bedroom? I’ll look down here.”

I was halfway up the stairs
before I remembered the very obviously lived-in guest room down there.

Shit, shit, shit.

I had to keep going. I couldn’t
act suspicious, or like we were hiding anything. If she said something, I’d
just explain that I wasn’t…used to sleeping in a bed with someone else? Maybe?
Oh God, would I be able to say it with a straight face? My face was already
burning.

I searched through the bedroom
blindly. There could have been ten laptops in there and I might not have
noticed. I came back down the stairs slowly, empty-handed of course, and saw
Lindsey standing the middle of the hallway, looking confused. Hopefully just
because she couldn’t find anything.

Or…not.

“Hey,” she said.
“So did you guys - have someone over recently?”

I tried to pretend like I was
confused for a moment. “Oh! You mean, in the guest room? That’s my
stuff.” My own voice sounded like a strange, distant echo in my head. My
heart was pounding. “I’m just not used to sleeping in the same bed with
somebody, you know?”

There was a beat of silence.

“Oh, of course,” said
Lindsey. “I was the same way with Ray at first. I’d never spend the night
with him when we first got together, it drove him crazy.”

“I’m glad you know what I’m
talking about,” I said, feeling my anxiety level ratchet down a few
notches. “Some people would think it’s weird.”

She waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry about it. Whatever you’ve got to do. Did you have any luck up
there?”

“No,” I said.
“But, I’ll go look again. I actually forgot to check in the closet. He
keeps his laptop bag in there, maybe it’s still packed up.”

I had no idea if any of this was
true, but I needed an excuse to go back and actually check the bedroom now that
my brain was functioning again.

And a good thing, too - it was
sitting on the dresser, in plain sight. Lindsey would have thought I was the
biggest flake in the world.