Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part Four (BWWM Romance Serial) (6 page)

It smelled of leather, old books and berry potpourri. The
polished wood floors gleamed from care, and book-filled, glass-fronted cabinets
lined most of the walls. A grouping of sturdy, comfortable furniture was
arranged on a thick Aubusson carpet.

In a burgundy leather chair, Trey sat with one leg crossed
over the other. He glanced up and acknowledged Ian and Jada with a nod.

But they hadn’t come to see Trey. The one they’d come to see
was sprawled on one end of the tufted leather couch, dressed in a gauzy peasant
blouse and tight short shorts, long and lean bare legs akimbo, an open baggie
of trail mix nestled in the crook of a slender arm.

Sasha. The woman of the hour. She scooped up a handful of
trail mix, shoved it in her mouth and managed to look rapturous and supremely
bored at the same time.

Jada and Ian sat in chairs next to Trey, across from Sasha.

Ian smiled smoothly at the munching woman. “Thanks for
waiting and not fighting us.”

“She fought me, instead.” Trey sent a disgruntled look in
Sasha’s direction.

Sasha didn’t notice, brushing crumbs from her lips with the
back of a languorous hand. “I get it already. The gig is up. Gotta spill the
beans. Time to pay the piper. Ha! Get it? Pay the piper?”

Jada was unimpressed. “I thought you might take this
seriously, but I guess not.”

“Come on, Sasha,” Trey said. “Quick acting like this. You
already told me everything. Now tell them what you told me.”

She flipped a shiny blonde tress over her shoulder. “Fine.
You people really know how to bring down a mood. Where should I start?”

“At the beginning,” Ian said.

“Oh, that’s too far back. And it doesn’t matter, anyway.
Let’s just start with how Piper Sandy always was a jealous, mean bitch. But she
was the bomb in bed, so I may have overlooked certain character flaws for a
while. I’m not proud of it. It was what it was.” She tossed back another
handful of trail mix and crunched blissfully.

Confused, Jada glanced at Ian, who didn’t appear to
understand either. They both looked at Trey, who nodded sagely.

“Piper Sandy?” Jada asked. “What’s this got to do with her?”

“You know,” Sasha said. “She’s still jealous. I should have
fessed up right away when everyone was wondering why Piper was being so mean to
Jada on her show. On and on, mean Piper, poor Jada, Piper’s picking on Jada,
why-why-why. Hey, I didn’t want to admit I’d ever been with that shrew. Would
you?”

“So, you’re saying, Piper’s been on the warpath because
she’s angry you broke up?” Jada asked. “And she attacked me because ...”

“She told me she made you the perfect villain so I’d look
even more pathetic as the jilted loser. She thought that would really piss me
off, knowing how I hate it when people feel sorry for me,” Sasha said blandly.
“But she was wrong. It might have worked in the past, but I’ve grown. I’m not
as sensitive to other people’s opinions anymore.”

“That’s an understatement,” Ian mumbled under his breath.

“Of course,” Sasha continued, “Piper went into high gear
today when she learned that I married you, Jada.”

“We didn’t actually get married,” Jada said.

“She doesn’t know that. She lost her mind. You ought to see
the texts she sent me and the things she called you. It was even worse than
when Ian and I started dating or when I got pretend engaged to him. What can I
say? I’m sorry my ex went after you, Jada. I like you. You’re a sweet girl, and
Piper’s an evil cow. I wish there was something I could do to make her stop,
but talking to her only makes it worse.”

Jada sat silently, letting Sasha’s confession settle in with
the rest of what she knew.

The supermodel sealed off her baggie and sat up straight.
“So, that’s everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Piper and me sooner.
I guess that’s that. Can I leave now? I’m supposed to be getting a massage with
Marina right now.”

Trey nodded, but Ian shook his head.

“Not so fast, if you don’t mind,” he said. “We have some
questions for you.”

TREY WASN’T PLEASED. “SHE CONFESSED and apologized. It’s
clear enough. I don’t see why this needs to be dragged out.”

Sasha stared at Trey like he was sitting on a proverbial
white horse. Who was relying on a man to solve her problems now, Jada thought
wryly. Didn’t matter. It wouldn’t work.

“Humor us, Trey,” Ian said. “Jada and I have some questions
and Sasha’s answers would be helpful.”

“Okay, then,” Trey said. “A few.”

Sasha drooped back against the sofa cushions and sighed
dramatically. She glanced at her watch. “Forget the massage. Dinner’s going to
be ready soon.”

“We’ll take as little of your time as we can,” Ian promised
with a Cheshire Cat smile. “Jada?”

“Thanks,” she said. “And thank you, too, Sasha, for telling
us about Piper. I’d wondered why she was so aggressive, and now I know why. It
couldn’t have been easy to come clean after lying for so long. I appreciate
it.”

Sasha made an airy “say nothing of it” gesture with her
hand.

“I don’t think you’ve heard,” Jada continued, “but Marina
finally got through to Freya Volker today. They had a nice long chat about ...
everything.”

A flicker of uncertainty passed over Sasha’s face so quickly
that Jada wasn’t sure she saw it. “No. I hadn’t heard. I didn’t think ... I
mean, Freya’s taking a break right now, isn’t she, a vacation? Didn’t think
you’d get through to her.”

“I realize that, now,” Jada said. “Good thing Marina kept
trying. When you said that you and Freya had gotten more friendly lately, you
didn’t say
how
friendly you two had become in say, the last few weeks.”

Trey shifted in his seat and frowned.

Sasha reverted to type, cool and apathetic. “I don’t kiss
and tell.”

“We have ample evidence of that, don’t we?” Ian’s tone was
dry.

“Well, you may not kiss and tell, Sasha,” Jada said, “but
Freya does. She told Marina an interesting story about what happened when you
two hooked up recently after a show in the city. I was hoping you could
corroborate some of the details.”

This time, Jada was certain she saw Sasha flinch.
Unfortunately, Trey flinched, too.

“I don’t think this is appropriate,” he said. “And I don’t
see why you’d need to know anything about my sister’s love life.”

Ian looked hard at his friend. “I know you care about Sasha.
You want to protect her. But you know me, Trey. When would I do anything like
this without a purpose?”

Trey thought for a few charged moments before saying, “Go
on.”

Jada wasted no time, not while she had it. “Sasha, Freya
said you two drank a lot, had some fun for a few days in the city, and fell in
love. She said you talked about how sick you were of being in the closet and
wanted to get Agatha off your back once and for all. Freya said you convinced
her that—”

“I didn’t convince Freya of anything,” Sasha interrupted.
“Whatever we did, we did together.”

“Thanks for clarifying that.” A sense of satisfaction
swelled inside Jada. “So you both worked out a plan to solve your problem. You
were going to drive all the way to Iowa and get married. Afterward, you planned
to leak a copy of the marriage license to the press so they’d out you to the
world. That was what you decided to do, right?”

Sasha was up against it, and everyone but Trey knew it.

Jada could almost see the gears grinding in Sasha’s head.
She picked crumbs off her shirt as a ploy to buy time.

“That was the plan, right?” Jada prompted.

Sasha shrugged. “I don’t remember. Something like that. We
were drunk. You say and do all sorts of stupid crap when you’re drunk.”

“And yet,” Jada continued, “you went on the road trip anyway.
You didn’t make it far, though. Freya said you stopped the first night at a
charming little bed and breakfast in a small town right outside the city. What
small town was that, Sasha?”

She shrugged again. “No idea. You know how we lesbians are
about bed and breakfasts. Can’t resist ’em.”

“Freya remembered the name of the town, Sasha. It was
Springers Glen. Ring a bell?”

She didn’t look up, simply kept running her fingertip along
the hem of her shorts. No answer.

“It’s been all over the news lately,” Jada continued.
“Springers Glen is my hometown. Remember? No? That’s okay. Freya says you spent
a couple of nights there, that every time you headed out in your car, you
passed another cute bed and breakfast and had to try that one out. You must not
be kidding about the allure of B&Bs.”

Sasha’s posture went from boneless wilt to bone stiff.
“That’s probably right. Can’t be sure. The days run together when you’re having
a good time, you know?”

“I do,” Jada said. “Eventually, good time or not, you two
decided it was a long drive to Iowa, and at the rate you were traveling, it’d
take you a year to get there. Freya said you created a second plan to out
yourself, one where you didn’t actually have to get married. You decided that a
fake marriage would work as well as a real one. You went so far as to use the
B&B’s computer to print a fake marriage license off the internet. You even
filled it out.”

“We were drunk,” was all Sasha would say, her go-to excuse.
“You remember how it goes when you’re drinking, don’t you Jada? The first night
I met you, you called yourself a man-sealing harlot. Ha!” Her laugh was hollow
and forced.

Trey leaned forward, concerned. Jada wondered how much
longer it would take before he realized the truth.

Jada ignored Sasha’s jab. “Freya talked a lot about how
drunk you both were. She also said that when she finally sobered up in the wee
hours of the morning, last Wednesday, she realized your scheme was probably
illegal, and she didn’t want any part of it. So she wrote you a Dear Jane
letter, packed up and skipped town ... in your car.”

“It never works out,” Sasha said. “None of my relationships.
And Freya didn’t even care enough to wake me up and tell me to my face.”

There it was. Some honest emotion, finally. “For what it’s
worth,” Jada said, “Freya told Marina that she feels badly about how she
handled it. She wants to apologize but you won’t return her calls or texts.”

“Screw her,” Sasha said. “I don’t need it. I don’t need
anybody.”

“Even me?” Trey asked.

Sasha didn’t answer, her beautiful face frozen in defiance.
She stared at the door. Jada wondered if she was contemplating escape. Probably
not. Everyone in the room knew there was no escaping now.

“I’m sorry she hurt you,” Ian said. “But it doesn’t excuse
what you did.”

Her response was clipped. “I know.”

“What did you do, Sasha?” Trey asked. “This is sounding like
... talk to me. Tell me what you’ve done.”

Sasha’s mouth tightened and she crossed her arms over her
chest.

“You might as well tell him,” Ian said. “Better it come from
you than us.”

“Confession is good for the soul,” Jada said. “That’s what
my grandmother used to say.”

Sasha whirled on Jada, her blonde curls swinging wide. “What
do you know about it? When have you ever had to live a life that was less than
normal, less than perfect? You and your best-friend sister, your perfect
parents and storybook home town. What do you know about being on the fringe?
Has anyone ever disapproved of you just for being who you were? I think no.
Don’t talk to me about confession, not when the worst thing you’ve ever had to
confess was skipping Sunday School so you could go to a Save the Puppies rally
instead.”

Whoa. Jada felt blown backward ten feet.

“This isn’t about Jada,” Ian said, obviously angry. “Don’t
turn this into—”

“That’s okay,” Jada interrupted. “She can say what she
wants. You think I deserve what happened to me, is that it, Sasha? I had it
coming because I have a past that you’ve idealized? That makes it all okay?
Well, good for you. You never have to feel bad about a damned thing. I’m the villain.
Piper’s the villain. Freya’s the villain. And you’re the long-suffering,
misunderstood hero. Good for you.”

Sasha glared at her. “Fighting back? Guess I hit a nerve.
Miss Perfectly Normal has a weak spot after all.”

“Shut up, Sasha.” Trey’s voice echoed in the high-ceilinged
room. “Shut the hell up.”

The model’s smooth skin blanched. She kept her chin high,
though, when she looked at her brother. “I’d love to. I never wanted to talk
about this in the first place.”

“You know what I mean,” Trey said. “Leave Jada alone. It’s
not about her. It’s not about Ian, either. This has become all about you and me
now because I’m putting this together and I can’t believe what I’m coming up
with.”

Sasha took a shuddering breath, but said nothing.

“I want the whole story, everything that happened,” Trey
said. “And if you value me as your brother, tell it straight. Quit acting like
you’re above everything. I’ve never bought that anyway. News flash, I know you
have feelings. Now tell me what you did.”

A long look passed between the two. Some of the hardness in
Sasha’s eyes faded. Her pride, however, never faltered. This was fine with
Jada. She wasn’t there to browbeat Sasha. She just wanted the truth.

Sasha regarded each of them in turn, stopping on her
brother. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It snowballed and got away
from me.”

Trey nodded encouragement.

“It was hard,” Sasha continued, “when I found Freya’s note
that morning. She ruined everything by running away. This isn’t an excuse, but
I threw back a drink or three, to take the edge off. All I could think about
was how close I’d been to getting what I wanted, and how now I was right back
where I started. I felt hopeless, like I’d always be under Agatha’s thumb.”

Sasha shifted, folding her legs up, pulling herself into a
smaller space. “I kept staring at the marriage license we’d filled out and
before too long, I’d almost convinced myself to file it anyway. Then I came to
my senses and realized Freya would deny everything and sic her legal watchdogs
on the story before it could get hot. I decided it was over and I’d have to
face life as Ian Buckley’s fiancee.”

“Sorry our engagement was so distasteful,” Ian said, his
tone well-laced with irony. “I thought I was doing a friend a favor.”

“I don’t mean anything by it,” Sasha said. “It’s nothing
against you. It just wasn’t me. I only did it for Agatha and Trey. Sorry, Trey,
it’s the truth. Anyway, I was sitting in my room, trying to figure out what to
do next. I had another drink, maybe two, I don’t remember. I was flipping
through tourist pamphlets and booklets, the kind they always put in your room.
I wasn’t paying much attention when this one picture caught my eye. I stopped
and really looked at it.”

Foreboding crept up Jada’s spine.

“It was a story about a local clean-up day at the river,”
Sasha said. “And this picture in particular, it’s hard to explain, spoke to me.
There were a handful of people in it, and they were all decked out in these
gawd-awful clothes. What are those big rubber pants that people go fishing in?”

“Waders?” Trey suggested.

“Yeah. They were up to their knees in the river and they
wore these huge, ugly waders. And there was this one woman who was lovely. She
was dressed like all the rest of them, but she stood out and not only because
she was fine. It was her expression.”

“She was holding out this slimy piece of trash. You know,
like this.” Sasha pinched her forefinger and thumb together. “It’s the way you
hold something when you don’t want to touch it. I thought it was funny. She had
on these big black gloves to protect her hands and she still didn’t want to
touch that trash. I read her name in the caption. Jada Howarth. I liked the
sound of it.”

Jada had figured as much. She remembered the picture well,
particularly since it had recently been aired during CGTV’s hatchet biography.

“I was drunk,” Sasha said. “Not sloppy drunk, but I’d had
enough to make the impossible seem possible. I looked at that picture and
imagined what it might be like to have Jada’s life. To work a normal day job,
to stay in one place, to have friends and meet them at the river to do a good
deed. And that woman, Jada, was grossed out with the job, but she didn’t really
mind it, not really. I could tell.”

Sasha avoided Jada’s gaze. “I got this brilliant idea that
the woman in the picture wouldn’t mind helping me out. She was so nice and
friendly, I thought. And I won’t deny it, I figured she didn’t have the money
to hire a bunch of lawyers the way Freya did. The more I thought about it, the
more I liked the idea and I became convinced that it would work. I had this
fantasy that Jada would like the attention, love being famous and being married
to a supermodel, so she wouldn’t mind a teeny fib and wouldn’t fight it.”

Jada gritted her teeth. It was hard not to interrupt, and a
glance at Ian and Trey showed her they had similar feelings.

“I know you’re going to say I was an idiot, Trey,” Sasha
said.

“Idiot isn’t the word I’m thinking of,” Trey answered. “But
let’s not go there for now. What happened next?”

“It was easy. I went downstairs to the lobby and got on the
internet, found the same license, filled in the blanks, printed it out and
signed it. Done deal.”

“Why did you put Trey and me as witnesses?” Ian asked.

“Because you guys always back me up. I knew you’d stand
behind me no matter what. Duh. Who else would I put there?”

Jada thought she heard Ian mutter, “Unbelievable.”

“What did you do next?” Trey asked, a snap in his question.

“The owner of the B&B was leaving to run some errands so
she dropped me off at the courthouse,” Sasha explained. “I went to file the
license and I was surprised when the clerk wouldn’t accept it. Right away, she
said it was fake.”

“It
was
fake,” Ian said.