The Billionaire's Favourite Mistake: Billionaires and Bridesmaids 4 (25 page)

There was an achingly long pause, and then Asher spoke. “I’m in love with her.”

Greer silently fist-pumped in the booth. Hot tears of happiness sprang to her eyes. There was no reason for him to bring her up unless it was the truth. Whatever else was going on, she could believe in that.

“Oh.” Donna’s broken little voice barely registered over the phone. “I . . . I see.”

“You probably don’t.” He sounded almost amused. Cold.

“Actually, you’re right. I don’t.” Donna’s voice strengthened and Greer’s hands got sweaty with nervousness on the phone. “What is it about her that you’ve fallen in love with? Because I’m not seeing it. Is she rich or something?”

And just like that, her gut clenched. This was difficult to hear. Hurtful, too. Donna had warned her, but every word was like a dagger in her chest, and she dreaded Asher’s response. What was he going to say?
It’s just the baby. There’s not much else to it.

Oh god, she might shatter into a million pieces if she heard those words come out of his mouth.

She didn’t want to listen, but she pressed a finger to the earbuds anyhow, trying to increase the volume so she wouldn’t miss a word.

“You wouldn’t understand, Donna.”

“Try me?”

His sigh of irritation made Greer’s shoulders hunch defensively. “She’s the only person in my life that has ever completely and totally had my back.”

Oh.

That . . . that wasn’t what she expected to hear. Nor had she expected to hear the soft note in his voice as he spoke. Hot tears poured down her cheeks. She’d had his back? When? How? She’d always loved him, but lately—

“What do you mean?” Donna’s voice had resumed its sugary note.

“I mean that looking back, I see a lot of things I was too blind to see in the past. Greer’s always been there for me. When I needed a friend, she was the first to extend her hand. When I needed money, she sent me a loan. She saved my business. She saved me. She’s given me so much of herself and I’ve given her nothing but grief, but I’m determined to change that.”

Greer gasped. He knew about the money? But she’d been so careful. She swiped at the tears running down her face. He’d never said to her . . .

“So it’s gratitude? Is this like a pity fuck?”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe, Donna, but I’m actually interested in Greer as a person, not just as a wallet. I love her. She makes me happy. Happier than I’ve ever been.”

“I love you,” Donna said, voice pleading. “I made you happy. Don’t you feel anything for me anymore?”

“Actually, yes. I do feel gratitude toward you, because if you hadn’t made my life so miserable, I would have been too blind to see the greatest thing in my life standing right in front of me.”

Okay, she was going to openly start sobbing right about now. Greer pressed a napkin to her mouth to quiet herself, but the tears kept rolling down her cheeks.

“You’re an idiot,” Donna said, and there was a wealth of hurt and anger in her voice.

“I guess you’ve given up thoughts of reconciliation if we’re back to calling me an idiot?” He sounded amused. “That was fast.”

“You think she has your back? Your sweet little Greer will always support you?” There was another rustle of fabric and what sounded like stomping feet. “You want to know the truth, Asher? Come with me.”

Oh no. Greer stared down at the phone in her hand.
Don’t do it, Donna. Don’t—

“There you go,” said a triumphant voice just as Greer pulled the earbuds out of her ears. Donna stood at Greer’s booth, extending a triumphant hand at the guilty party. Asher was there with her, a hint of a frown on his face.

Greer just swiped at the tears on her cheeks.

Donna waved her rhinestone-crusted phone in the air. “You’ve been on speakerphone the entire time. How’s that for trust?”

The look on Asher’s face darkened. He looked at Greer, then at Donna. “This was all a setup by the two of you?”

“No,” Greer said quietly.

“If by setup, do you mean we want you back?” Donna put her hands on her hips. “I thought I did.”

Asher looked back at Greer again, as if daring her to deny what had happened.

She couldn’t. She licked her lips, anxious, and quietly turned her phone off and stuck it in her purse. “Asher—”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. “Come with me, Greer. We need to talk.”

Yeah, they did. Greer nodded and slid out of the booth. She couldn’t help but notice that Asher grabbed her hand again the moment she was standing.

“So what now?” Donna asked. She tossed her beautiful red hair. “What about me?”

Asher leaned in to her. “You can go fuck yourself.” Then he tugged on Greer’s hand. “We’re leaving.”

Asher was furious.

Furious, and he knew he didn’t have any right to be. Seeing Greer there with Donna and realizing they’d pulled a trick on him? Realizing that he’d been going on and on about how Greer had always been there for him only to find out she was deceiving him right under his nose? It pissed him off and he knew that made him the world’s biggest hypocrite, but he didn’t care. They needed to have a private discussion and not in front of Donna.

So he clasped her fingers in his and pulled her along in his ruthless march onto the sidewalk. Greer’s small hand was clammy in his as he dragged her through the crowded streets of New York.

“Where are we going?” she asked after they swerved through a tangle of people.

He didn’t know that, either. His brain was a jumble of anger at the situation and relief at seeing her again. He wanted to pull her against him and kiss her until she was blue in the face just because she looked healthy and whole and he’d found her. He was so damn glad he’d found her. And yet . . . he wanted to bend her over his knee and spank her for leaving him without a word. He wanted to spank her again because she’d been deceiving him.

“Your apartment?” she suggested delicately when he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and people began to swerve around them.

He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to protect her. Even in his anger, he didn’t want her to be shoved or hurt. He noticed that she moved instinctively closer to him, and it helped cool his anger a bit. Asher nodded. “My apartment.” He moved to the curb and raised a hand, flagging a taxi. When one stopped, he opened the door for her and she got in.

The moment he slid in next to her, her thigh brushed his and a rush of memories came crashing back. His anger and frustration at her disappearing without a trace again. His misery when he realized he’d somehow fucked up again and she was ignoring him. His frantic need to find her again, only to be turned away at the door to her building. Hours staring at his phone, willing her to text him back, just to get nothing in return.

On impulse, he pulled her against him and cupped her chin. “You can be mad at me later, but right now, I’m going to kiss you.”

She gave him a puzzled look from behind her glasses. “What—”

He silenced her with his mouth. No excuses, no explanations, just a meeting of lips and a quiet reassurance to him that she was there and she was his. She didn’t fight or protest; she melted against him. Her arms twined around his neck and she leaned into his body, her tongue stroking against his, and he felt a surge of fierce, possessive pleasure.

Whatever was going on between them wasn’t too broken for her to kiss him. He’d take that small victory.

He continued to kiss her, licking at her sweet mouth with deep strokes until the car stopped. She stared up at him, dazed, a look of drugged pleasure on her expressive face. “Upstairs,” he said between kisses. “We’ll finish this upstairs.”

Of course, by the time he’d paid the cabdriver and they’d taken the elevator back to his apartment, his head had cooled a little. He watched her, noticing the guilt in her expression and the way she fussed with her glasses to deliberately avoid eye contact. Yeah, someone was definitely feeling a little awkward at being caught. As well she should, he thought with irritation. What she’d done was a shitty, shitty thing.

He shut the door to the apartment and watched her as she stepped into the foyer. “So, you want to tell me what all this is about?”

“Not particularly, but I suppose I should, shouldn’t I?” She nervously tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I asked Donna to meet you and throw herself at you to see how you’d react.”

Just the thought made his head want to explode. “What the
fuck
, Greer?”

“I knew it was stupid,” she continued in that calm, even voice. “I just didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to know how you really felt about me and that seemed like the only way.”

He raked a hand through his hair. Fuck. She’d pushed his ex in his face just to see how he’d react? She’d fucking tried to trap him. Anger surged. “Why didn’t you fucking ask me how I felt? How’s that for starters?” He threw his hands up in the air. “Or how about listen to me all the times that I tell you that you’re beautiful and I love you?”

“First of all,” she said, stalking a few steps away. Gone were the nervous movements. Greer looked . . . angry. At him? He was the one who should be angry. “Men will tell a woman anything and everything to get in their bed. And second of all? Ask you?” She laughed and the sound was bitter and unhappy. “All you do is lie to me, Asher. How am I supposed to trust what you say to me?”

“I lied to you?” He thought back to all the times he’d kissed and held her in bed and told her how beautiful she was, how sweet tasting, how much he liked touching her. Did she really think those were lies?

“The wedding?” she spat, crossing her arms. “The lawyer?”

Oh fuck. He felt the blood drain from his face. “I can explain—”

“I’d certainly hope so.” A hurt look crossed her face. “Are you trying to steal my baby, Asher?”

“What? No!” The thought was the furthest thing from his mind. He was shocked she’d think that.

“Then what was with the contract? Your lawyer trying to bribe mine? Writing in loopholes that would make the contract null and void?”

Fuck. This was blowing up in his face. He’d done it and hadn’t given a damn about the consequences. But seeing her in front of him, hurt, worried, and scared, no wonder she’d run. “Greer, sweetheart—” he reached for her, only to have her jerk away. “Okay, yeah. I’m an asshole and I told my lawyer to give you the contract you wanted but to make it crap.”

“Why?” The look she gave him was incredulous.

His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. “Because I want you,” he gritted out. “I want you and the baby both. I don’t want you walking out of my life. I love you. I wanted a chance to prove it to you and you wouldn’t give me that chance any other way. That’s why I made the lawyers come up with bullshit clauses. That’s why I went to your dad and bribed him to put on a ridiculous wedding. Because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I couldn’t think of any other way to get close to you.”

Her angry expression softened. Her big brown eyes shimmered with tears and a moment later she ripped off her big glasses. “Stupid lenses fogging up.” She sniffed and crossed her arms again. “I just . . . it was a real low blow to bribe my father and make me do all that work for nothing.”

“I know. God, I know. I was just desperate. I went to him and tried to have him call the wedding off once I saw how those three idiots were running you ragged.” He took a daring step forward and brushed the tears off her cheek. Seeing her cry was breaking his damn heart. “He actually refused and tried to blackmail me. Said he’d expose everything if I didn’t go along with it and I was just so afraid of losing you when I had you again.”

She gave a watery chuckle. “So my father truly wanted to get married?”

“Once he saw how much money it could make him? Yes.”

“Figures.” She shook her head sadly. “My father is such an asshole. I never mattered to him. It was just his stupid company.” Greer sighed. “Someday I’m going to realize that he’s never loved anyone.”

“Wanting your father to love you isn’t a flaw, Greer. You just happen to hope that he’s a better person than he is. And it sucks when you find out he isn’t.” He pulled her against him and was gratified when she went into his arms. His hands stroked up and down her back, and it was a pure pleasure just to hold her.

“So how much did he shake you down for?”

Asher chuckled. “I offered him an unspecified amount, though my original idea was the five million I thought he’d loaned me. Until I found out it wasn’t him after all. You hid your tracks pretty well.”

He felt her stiffen. “When did you find out?”

“The evening of the big
Prospectus
Businessman of the Year party. I went to him to thank him and he had no idea what I was talking about. I figured out then that it was you.”

She pulled away from him, a look of horror on her face. “So . . . you went after me because you felt obligated?”

Holy hell, he was just saying all the wrong things, wasn’t he? “Of course not! I love you. I think I realized I loved you when I saw you that night—”

“And saw I was pregnant!”

“—and realized that when you hated me, I’d lost everything and you’d been right there the entire time, and I’d been too blind to notice it.” He reached for her, trying to pull her against him again. “Hearing that you gave the money to me and never said a word just made me realize that you were the one that had always been there for me. And I’m a selfish bastard because when I realized I’d lost you, I wanted you back and I didn’t care how I made it happen.”

She eased a little, and he tugged her closer.

“You want me to get my checkbook out? Write you a check for five million? I will right now.”

“No,” she said in a glum voice. “I just wanted you to want me for me. Not because of the baby or my money.”

“I do want you. If those other things didn’t exist, I’d still want you.” He dropped to his knees and put a hand to her stomach. “When we get married—and I’m marrying you at some point, you know—we can keep separate accounts if it’ll make you feel better. Or you can have mine. I don’t care. Prenup, no nup, whatever you want. Money doesn’t matter to me.” His fingers lightly touched her stomach. “But I can’t pretend this doesn’t matter.”

Her lower lip quivered. “So you do want the baby? You’re not just saying that?”

“I love you, Greer. I want you
and
our baby.”

Her eyes filled with more tears. “I love you, too, Asher. I always have. I’m so sorry about Donna.”

He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry about the fake wedding and the fake contracts.”

She pinched his side. “That was pretty lousy of you. Did it have to be a fake wedding? I worked my ass off for them, you know.”

“You’re a wedding planner. I couldn’t think of any other way to force you to be around me than to be in the wedding itself.” He stroked her soft, gorgeous hair. God, it was like a dream having her in his arms again. She felt perfect against him. Like she belonged there. Hell, she
did
belong there. “I was wrong to do it.”

“You were.”

“I made mistakes.”

“Mmm.” Her cheek pressed against his heart.

“I’ve fucked up a million times. I admit it.”

“Like getting me pregnant?” Her voice was soft.

“Nailing you in the gardens was my favorite mistake,” he admitted. “It woke me up and made me realize you were there all along. It gave me you and the baby. How can I regret any of that?”

“I’m glad, too, in a weird way.” She looked up at him. “I hated you and hated that my life was out of control and that I was so stupid. But it did bring us together.”

He grimaced. “Best worst first date ever.”

Greer chuckled. “You’re lucky I’m a forgiving sort.”

“I’m beyond lucky,” he said, and caressed her lovely cheek. Her lovely face. He traced the backs of his fingers along her jaw. “I love you. If you can forgive me for being utterly blind for so long, I want you and the baby both in my life. Forever. Always.”

Her eyes shone with tears but there was a bright smile on her gorgeous face. “I love you, too.”

“I never want you to leave me again.”

“I won’t.”

He lifted her into his arms. “Not even for a change of clothing.”

Her mouth quirked and she looped her arms around his neck to support herself as he hauled her into the air. “Can I go to the bathroom by myself at least?”

“We’ll discuss bathroom privileges if you’re a good girl.”

“I’m the best girl.”

God, hearing her say that sent a bolt of lust straight to his groin. “Fuck yeah, you are.”

Her dark eyes grew liquid with heat, and her fingers lightly pushed at the back of his head, encouraging him forward for a kiss.

Like he needed urging?

He captured her mouth with his and then Greer’s hands were all over him. She made a little hungry noise in her throat that drove him crazy, and he groaned and blindly began to maneuver their twined bodies toward the couch. Fuck the bed, the couch was a lot closer. When his leg found the couch, he carefully leaned forward and tipped them onto the cushions.

“Here?” She gasped against his mouth.

“Here,” he agreed.

“Good idea.” She ripped at his shirt, her hands frantic.

Damn, this woman was sexy. He was the luckiest man alive. He tugged at her leggings, trying to rip them down her legs even as she twisted against him. It was like they were in a race to undress each other, and he was determined to win.

“You should probably get off me so I can take my clothes off,” she said breathlessly, even as her hand moved to his belt and began to undo it.

“Fuck that,” he told her, and hauled her leggings down her thighs. He got them to her knees and figured that was good enough. Her panties went next, and then he grabbed the bunched material and hauled her legs into the air. “This seems like a pretty sweet situation to me.”

She giggled and tried to pull at his clothing, but her trapped legs prevented her from moving. She wiggled, her beautifully brown bottom enticing him along with the expanse of rounded thighs. “I’m stuck.”

“You are, aren’t you?” He deliberately pressed her knees forward, until they were practically on her breasts. It exposed even more thigh and her sweet, slick folds to his view. “Is this hurting you?”

“No.” She wiggled again.

“Good.” He slid a hand to her sex and rubbed the gleaming wetness between her thighs. She jerked against him and moaned hard, her hands flying to the couch cushions as if to anchor herself. “You’re so wet already. How is that possible?”

“Kissing you,” she breathed, and rocked against his hand when he fingered her again. “Kissing you does it for me. I love it when you touch me.” She gave him a soft look. “Love you.”

He groaned. His heart felt like bursting in his chest. He’d never been so damn happy in his life. “I love you too, sweetheart,” he said, voice hoarse. His hand went to his pants and he finished undoing his zipper, freeing his cock. “And I’m going to take you hard and fast right now—”