The Virgin Billionaire: Switched at Marriage Part 2 (3 page)

Leaving me to swallow hard and watch her. I just needed a glimmer. A sliver of hope that she
could
love me.

She wiped her hands on a towel and grabbed a hand mirror. She spun it around and held it out to me. "I never thought I'd say this. But you are one hot, bearded guy."

She was teasing me again. She had to be. But when our eyes met, there was no hint of mocking.
Maybe it's not impossible
, I thought.

K
ayla

I dressed in the guestroom and did my hair and makeup in the guest bath. He was waiting for me in the living room, like a date. Still almost a stranger to me. My heart thumped. Could I really fake it and fool his friends at the billionaires' club?

I checked my reflection in the mirror. The dresses Allie had sent over were each perfect in their way. I went with the original pink one I'd asked her for, only because the image of me wearing it was stuck in my head. Along with the thought of a pink wedding dress. When Justin had said I'd worn a pink dress to our wedding, this was the one I'd thought of. So maybe my subconscious was trying to give us a real memory. One we could take with us when this year was over. This was our big night. Justin's big night. Justin's big life. I was just along for the ride.

I tugged down the formfitting dress and touched up my lip gloss. I hadn't teased Justin. He
was
nice looking. Just not in a classically handsome way. But he'd grown into his face and body since college and was no longer gawky and boyish. His features were interesting, making him arresting to look at. And there was something attractive about a guy who didn't know he was attractive.

I hoped I'd guessed right about the style of suit I'd picked out for him.

I slid on my thousand-dollar heels, grabbed my bag and jacket, and met Justin in the living room. He was standing at the windows, looking out over the city with his back to me. The beard was hidden. All I saw was the smooth, close, stylish cut of his hair on the back of his head. This time of evening the light was still strong. He was silhouetted, the impression of shadow and time standing still highlighted by his gray suit and the collar of his black shirt peeking out.

A feeling washed over me—this was a historic moment in my life. A defining one. It was like a premonition. I'd missed the wedding, but I was a married woman now. How I handled the next year would define the rest of my life. If I could lie and fake and learn and grow, what an adventure! Something to tell my future grandchildren, whoever they were with. All about my adventures being married to the billionaire. And this was the very first exploit. The night I met the club.

I wanted to hang on to this moment. Burn the vision of him standing there into my memory so that it lasted a lifetime, fresh and new. In vibrant hues, never turning sepia with age. When he turned around, the vision would surely shatter. He would just be Justin, a casual friend from college that I barely knew now. But there was something…something about him I wanted to hang on to.
Forever
.

The suit fit Jus exactly as I imagined it would. As if it was made for him. Not a bad effect for an off-the-rack suit that had been hastily run through alterations in an afternoon. I gave a silent nod to the tailor. He was good. I wanted his name for future reference.

Jus had square, broad shoulders, and a trim waist. The perfect triangle. Slender legs that looked good in skinny-leg pants.

An athletic build
, I thought with a start. More like that of a runner than a football player. But still. Athletic and Justin hadn't gone hand in hand before.

I loved the visual appeal of athletic men, apparently. I even loved the cockiness of them. And their warrior spirit. The thought that a warrior would come to my rescue and carry me off with the spoils to the temptations of the bedroom. That man, the one with his back to me at the window, looked like he could be that kind of guy. If only I hadn't known he wasn't. So there he was—my billionaire for a year.

I had a vision of what he could look like in the future, if he chose. A classy, classic businessman, strong and powerful. Totally in control. He was confident when I wasn't looking.

He must have heard me come in. He turned around. His face lit up. I was right. The illusion was shattered by the happy, boyish grin behind that beard. And the sense of awe in his voice. "You look beautiful."

He sounded as if he meant it. Not as if he was saying what was expected. Rote. The way Eric used to tell me I was beautiful. Mostly when he wanted something.

I smiled, admiring my work. "So do you."

He shrugged, so slightly it was almost imperceptible. A gesture that meant he didn't believe me.

"I mean it." I joined him at the window and ran my hands over his shoulders, straightening his suit. The fabric was soft and wonderful with the feel of luxury and money beneath my fingers.

The man was hard and firm. Still. As if he was holding his breath and nervous.

"You should wear a suit all the time," I said.

He shook his head and grinned, self-conscious. "It's surprisingly comfortable."

"Good quality is. The suit makes you look powerful, too." I grinned at him. "I can't believe Allie and I did this in an afternoon. If we'd had you in the store where you could have tried options on…"

I stretched my arms up and out, palms up. "We would have made you into one of Seattle's Most Gorgeous Guys, no problem."

He laughed again. "You're an eternal optimist and full of yourself."

"Fashion geniuses usually are. And
you
don't give yourself enough credit."

He held his hand out to me as if turning aside my praise. "Shall we?"

When I took it, it was warm and squeezed mine firmly, as if reaffirming the deal. "You still haven't told me where we're going. I don't even know what kind of car you drive."

"Depends on the day," he said, pulling me toward the door. "Tonight we're taking the car service. So we can both party like animals." His eyes danced.

"Barnyard animals, I hope. Highly appropriate at an EIEIO meeting." I squeezed his hand, enjoying the warmth of it holding mine. And the way he so easily took it and tucked my thumb beneath his. Holding hands was a small thing. But it was intimate and possessive. And I liked it. I realized with a start that Eric had stopped holding my hand a long time ago. That I'd been the one continually reaching for him. It was nice to have a guy reach for me for a change.

"We prefer Jet City Billionaires." He laughed. "Let's go."

We paused at the door of the building. The driver was waiting for us on the street, standing by the car door, ready to throw it open for us. The throng of reporters had grown. My tweets and posts and status updates had had the desired effect. The crowd of eager journalists was waiting for a picture to go with the story of the day—Seattle's most eligible billionaire had taken a bride. Sorry, single girls. The media had missed the wedding. But we could give them this, the follow up. The first night out. This was a story much like when Bill Gates had married decades ago.

"It's almost as if someone tipped them off that we would be making an appearance," I joked as I squeezed his hand. "This is where we sell it. Give them what they want—the romance of the decade. Starry-eyed newlyweds. Young, improbable love. Beautiful clothes. Impeccable grooming. This is the fantasy every girl wants. American royalty."

"You mean marrying a nerd is every girl's fantasy?" His eyes absolutely sparkled with teasing. "If only I'd known earlier. Like junior high, when I was getting the crap beat out of me and having my head held in the toilet on a daily basis. Now I see. Those big, muscly guys were just jealous of my sex appeal. Is that what you're saying?"

I laughed. "Those days are long gone. Junior high girls always want the wrong kind of guys. You need to adjust your thinking. You're rich. And you definitely don't
look
like a nerd anymore." I took a deep breath and thought of the crowd waiting for us to make an appearance. "You've had media training, right?" I should have asked earlier.

He nodded. "Yeah."

I let my breath out. "Excellent. Use it. Remember, everything is a sound bite. Don't give them anything they can clip and use out of context to make you look bad." I took another deep breath. "Now smile for the camera and follow my lead."

Justin opened the door and we were on stage. The local news crews had been joined by the entertainment rags and their fashionably dressed reporters. How had they gotten here so fast?

I felt like a modern-day princess. Much like I thought Kate Middleton probably felt her first day in the public eye as a real princess.

I wasn't a complete social bumbler. I was raised in an upper-middle-class family. That the paparazzi had absolutely zero interest in. And there's the rub. My family had a certain amount of style and good taste. But this was a new, overwhelming animal. As the cameras started flashing, I did my best to bring up some inner social diva.

There was a collective gasp as the news crews got their first look at the new, improved Justin.

"Justin! Justin, love the new look!"

"You mean the girl on my arm." He looked at me with love, faked love, but very convincingly faked, shining in his eyes. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?"

I could get used to being adored.

As the cameras clicked, I cuddled into Justin and beamed up at him as if I was doting, smitten, and so in love with him I had eyes for no one else. But I was dying, of course, to be on the entertainment news. I mean, if you were at all related to the fashion industry, this was the ultimate.

"Where did you meet?"

"How long have you been in love?"

"How did you stage a secret romance and wedding?"

"Where are you off to?"

"What about a honeymoon?"

"All the single girls across the country will be heartbroken now! Look at him, folks, the newlywed Justin Green positively glows. Who's your stylist, Justin?"

Okay, now
that
was the ultimate compliment to me.

Jus paused in the middle of the group like a seasoned professional used to being in the spotlight. "We were college sweethearts." He looked at me and smiled, though in truth the smile, which reached ear to ear, hadn't faded since we'd opened the door. "I've loved this beautiful creature since I first laid eyes on her."

That should really get Eric, the thought that Jus and I had been college lovers. I just hoped the press didn't find out about Eric and interview him. Particularly about how recently we'd broken up.

I reached up and touched Jus' cheek. Without coaching, he leaned over, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me in front of the crowd. Genius. It was the photo op they'd been looking for.

When he pulled away, we smiled into each other's eyes for a second, long enough to give them what they wanted.

"Kayla, how did you catch this guy? Let the ladies know—how do you marry a billionaire?"

"You hook them when they're young. Before they've made their billions." I laughed and squeezed Jus' arm.

"Let's see the ring? We want to see the ring."

My heart nearly stopped. And then I thought,
Why not?

I flashed them Jus' Order of the Engineer ring and had to fight not to lose my composure and laugh hysterically when their faces fell at the sight of it. "It's Jus' prize Order of the Engineer ring. We got married on the spur of the moment and had to improvise. We're going ring shopping tomorrow for the real thing. In the meantime, this means so much to me. He's never without it." I blinked back fake tears.

He leaned in and whispered, "I thought you didn't want a ring."

"It's not for me. It's for them. And so you don't look like a cheapskate, like you said. They'll blame you for being cheap. Not me. I'm just saving your reputation."

"Thanks for that." He wasn't being sarcastic.

"Who's the lucky jeweler? What kind of ring do you have in mind?"

"Later. We'll fill you in on all the details
later
," Jus said, pulling me close. "But now, we have to go. We have a private engagement we can't be late for."

"This is the new, surprising Justin Green," one of the entertainment reporters said into her mic. "Quite a change from the private, media-shy Justin of just a few days ago. Is Kayla to credit for this change? Or is it love?"

The crowd of reporters parted respectfully for Jus and let us through, snapping pictures as Justin handed me into the car while the driver held the door for us. When we were all shut in, I leaned back against the leather seat and sighed happily.

"Jus, can you believe this? I'm wearing a dress that cost more than a month's rent. Riding in a car with a billionaire, who's my husband. We're going to be on the entertainment shows! Is this crazy or what? When we were in college, who would have predicted this? Or even imagined it? It feels like a dream. Just this morning I was worried about how I was going to pay my rent." I paused and shook my head. "This morning. It seems like a lifetime ago." I turned to look at him. "How do you live like this?"

He shrugged. "You get used to it."

"You can tell me now—where are we going?"

He grinned. "Boeing Field to catch a helicopter. That's all I know. The rest is top secret."

"Is that usual?" I said.

"For the Jet City Billionaires, it's standard operating procedure. Especially when Lazer plans the gig."

K
ayla

"Lazer? You mean Lazer Grayson? The boy billionaire?" I asked, impressed to the roots of my hair.

"Oh, you know him, huh? Of course you do." Justin grabbed a bottle of wine chilling in an ice bucket and popped the cork.

"I don't
know
know him. Every single girl in Seattle knows
of
him. He was voted Seattle's Best Man two years running. He's rich
and
eligible."

"And, judging from your tone, hot." Jus sighed, apparently unimpressed. "And one of my best billionaire friends. Previously the youngest member of the Jet City Billionaires." He poured two glasses of white wine and handed one to me. "To us and wedded bliss!"

"One year of it, at least!" I added, and stopped myself from saying more. Remembering, belatedly, that even though we were alone in the car, we weren't alone in the car. The charade had to be maintained every minute that we were out of the house. Every minute that we were in the house and not alone. Basically,
every
minute. "And to totally beguiling the press with our beautiful love story."

I took a sip from my crystal wineglass. It was the most heavenly wine I'd ever tasted. And my college buddy, and former sorority houseboy, Seth, had introduced me to some pretty fine ones. His dad owned an award-winning winery east of the mountains. "You even had
me
convinced you're madly in love with me."

"Aren't I?" he said, mildly, his eyes gesturing toward the driver.

"Of course you are. Just like I love you, sweetie." I leaned forward and brushed his lips with a kiss, catching a whiff of that heavenly smelling beard. "After the media reaction, can you blame me for being insecure?"

"Never doubt my love for you, Kay. Never."

Traffic was surprisingly light. The drive to the airfield took no time at all. The driver took us to a private part of the airport, where a helicopter waited for us. Jus grabbed my hand and we made a run for the copter, the wind from its blades blowing my hair in my face while we ran. The pilot helped me inside.

"Jus, good to see you," the pilot said to Justin, as if they were old friends.

"You, too, Gary." Justin looked around the copter. "Just the two of us tonight?"

Gary nodded. "The rest have gone ahead. Mr. Grayson's orders. He thought you might get tied up with the press." He looked at me and back at Jus. "Congratulations, by the way."

Justin beamed. "Thanks, man. This is Kayla, my gorgeous bride.

"Mrs. Green, pleased to meet you."

I took Gary's hand and clasped it between mine. Mrs. Green! That sounded so crazy. And old. "Please, call me Kayla." I glanced at Jus and smiled. "I haven't gotten used to being Mrs. Yet. It sounds like his mom to me."

Gary laughed. "You'll get used to it soon enough."

There's no point getting used to it
, I thought.
This time next year I'll be Kayla Lucas, millionaire divorcee. Free, free, free!

Jus and I buckled in.

"Ready?" Gary asked.

Jus nodded and we were off, almost literally into the sunset. It was June, so the days were long. So not quite sunset. But getting there. The sun cast long shadows over Puget Sound and the mountains. Lighting Mt. Rainier off to the south in brilliant pink. A strawberry ice cream cone. That was what my dad called it on evenings like this.

We took off and headed west and south, over the sound into that sun.
Ocean beaches?
I wondered. Was that where we were headed?

Gary banked north. He acted as if we were out for an evening drive, in a helicopter. Just out to admire the scenery.

We rode in silence. It seemed too dangerous to say anything. At least, I was afraid I would slip. And the view from up in the blue took my breath away and made me speechless.

Beside me, Justin held my hand and smiled. It was clear we were both trying to guess where we were going. It could have been anywhere. The peninsula, Whidbey Island, the San Juans, the mountains…

As we turned more and more directly east, it became evident we were heading into the Cascades. Deeper and deeper into wooded, mountainous territory. Higher and higher. I was flying inside, too.

For an instant, I wondered why I had even hesitated about marrying a billionaire. This was the life.

It was almost a pun, but the ride flew by. Gary piloted the copter deep into the woods, high up into the mountains. To a place in the wilds where the roads ended. Over the rugged terrain until a cleared patch on the side of the mountain came into view. And a retro hunting-style lodge from the 1940s era. In the back, a deck cantilevered out over the mountain. A deck filled with people casually mingling and a glass-bottom pool that glistened like a light blue diamond.

I spotted a helipad ahead. The trees blew and bent as if bowing before royalty as we landed. Gary gently brought us down in front of the largest, most beautiful mountain lodge I had ever seen. I was experiencing a lot of firsts today. And all of them seemed larger than life. Like something out of a fairy tale.

"Lazer's lodge." Jus shook his head as if he were amused. "I should have known."

A tall, dark-haired man waited for us in the front of the house. After the helicopter landed, the man jogged toward us with athletic grace. He was young, no more than thirty. Gary jumped out and Jus handed me down to the newcomer.

As he took my hand, our eyes met. His were deep brown and sincere. Beautifully shaped, just like his full mouth and generous lips. His jaw was square. He was delightfully clean-shaved. His face so baby smooth I had to resist the urge to stroke it. He must have owned the world's best razor. Crap, I was a sucker for a smooth face.

He looked as if he should have been on a billboard in the window of a men's store, clad in only his briefs so the ladies could drool over him. I knew exactly which briefs I would put him in. And which ones I could easily imagine taking him out of.

He was immaculately dressed in a tailored suit I would bet my soul was custom made for him. Nothing short of custom would fit like that. A man who could dress himself. Be still my heart. I was ready to swoon.

It was probably unseemly, almost cheating, for a bride on what was really her wedding night, for all intents and purposes, to be inwardly drooling over another man. But ours was a marriage of convenience. We weren't in love. I was nothing more than a decoy bride. And when staring into the eyes of Lazer Grayson, what
was
a girl to do? Especially considering the spark between us.

I was a major fan girl of his. He'd been a designer on my all-time favorite game before selling it and forming a gaming networking company that I didn't understand the technical details of. Just that it had been a major innovation. He'd sold that and was now mostly an investor in other companies. He'd given me many happy hours of bashing bad guys and blowing things up. Playing kickass and beating the crap out of the guys. Lazer Grayson not only designed my favorite game, he owned major stock in all the companies that had designed my other all-time favorite video games.

Being near him brought out my inner geek girl, my inner warrior, and my not-so-inner princess. I realized with a start that one of the main male characters, my main crush in my favorite game, was clearly patterned off Grayson. Being handed out of a helicopter to him was like being handed out of a dreamy cartoon into heady real life. Right into the arms of my waiting prince.

I silently cursed my cousin Dex for getting me hooked on that damn game to begin with. And always beating me. Being this close to the game's creator made me wonder if I could get some top-secret tips out of him. Beating Dex at his own game would make my summer. And so would spending time with this man.

Lazer pulled me away from the whirr of the copter, with Jus following behind. The three of us paused at the edge of the circular drive in front of the lodge and watched the copter pull away. He smiled into my eyes. "Damn, Jus, where have you been hiding this gorgeous woman?"

His voice was as smooth and sweet as fondant on a cake. He was obviously a shameless flatterer. And I thought,
Where have
you
been all my life? Why didn't I meet you four days ago?

Oh. Yeah. I wouldn't have met him
now
if not for Jus.

Jus removed my hand from Lazer's, where it had lingered too long, and put his arm possessively around my waist. "Lazer, meet my wife, Kayla. Kayla, Lazer Grayson."

I stopped myself just in time from saying,
I know who he is. Man, do I know.

"Wife! That's just so bizarre." Lazer held my gaze, seemingly as mesmerized by me as I was by him.

Which made no sense. I was just an ordinary girl. And he was Lazer Grayson, the boy billionaire.

Justin cleared his throat.

Lazer snapped out of the trance. He slapped Jus on the back. "You tight-lipped bastard. You snowed everyone. None of us knew you even had a girlfriend." His smile sent my heart racing as he turned to me. "What do you see in this guy?"

"Jus has always been completely adorable." I leaned into my husband for emphasis. My words sounded innocuous and playful enough. But in truth, I flashed Lazer a flirty smile.

Lazer shook his head, like he didn't see the adorable in Jus. "Must be the new haircut and suit." He focused his attention on Justin. "Jus, did you finally break down and hire a stylist? God knows Ophie couldn't pick out something that nice."

"I have a wife now to do my styling. A wife with incredibly good taste. Which is why she married me." Justin sounded put out. And jealous.

Fair enough. Jealousy didn't have to mean anything other than pride was at stake. I knew the feeling, and told myself to behave and tone it down.

Lazer looked at me. "You're responsible for this?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Genius. Jus, you married a fashion genius. I can't believe you got him to get rid of that baggy sports coat and T-shirt shit he usually wears."

"Who says they're actually gone?" I said with a laugh.

Lazer arched an eyebrow comically, indicating, at least to me, that Jus was already henpecked. That I had completely pecked him into that new haircut. And how could I argue? But it was for his own good. And my pride.

Jus squeezed me tighter.

Suddenly Lazer laughed. "We'd better head in. Everyone's waiting." Lazer waved us toward the house. "Welcome to Lazer Lodge."

Lazer Lodge was the size of a respectable resort lodge. At first glance, I estimated it had to be fifteen to twenty thousand square feet. It was fashioned like a hunting lodge of the 1930s or 1940s, out of logs and river rock, with a contemporary twist. And built from the finest materials.

Lazer ushered us in.

I held back a gasp. People actually lived in this kind of magnificence?

We stepped into a large, open great room with windows along the back so large and clear it looked as if it was open air. Almost a tree house nestled in the evergreens. A row of sliding doors opened to the patio, making the place truly feel like a nest.

There was a Washington State Lottery commercial on TV where a guy lives on top of a mountain and parasails down into town for a coffee. Then zip-lines back up. I wondered whether they'd patterned it as a modest version of Lazer's Lodge. Or if Lazer had been the one to take that fantasy one step farther.

He had a breathtaking mountaintop view of the rest of the Cascade Mountains beyond. The ceilings had to be twelve feet tall at least. And something smelled delicious. A buffet was being set up on the patio.

A small crowd of fifteen to twenty people milled around on the patio.

"Come meet the members, Kayla." Lazer led the way to the patio.

The moment I stepped out, the introductions, congratulations, and ribbing flowed nonstop as Jus and Lazer introduced me to their crowd. I felt like I was drifting through a receiving line at a wedding, meeting only the groom's side. It was a blur of faces and names that danced in the air. The introductions flew too fast for me to keep track of people. Or would have, if most of the people hadn't been widely known public figures and frequently featured in magazines like
Forbes
. The terrace pulsed with the sense of power, influence, and money colliding.

Meet billionaire so and so. He made it big in the cellular technology field.

Oh, and this guy, software
.

Another one, a forest industry magnate.

The congratulations to Jus on his recent IPO flowed as easily as the cocktails the waiters were passing around.
Welcome to the club
was as ubiquitous as a fight song during homecoming.

And finally, the winks, the sly looks, the congrats and backslapping over his marriage. This was a boys' club. Only one woman, the Canadian, was a billionaire in her own right. I looked around for more wives and girlfriends. They were suspiciously missing.

"There aren't many women here. Where are all the rest of the wives and girlfriends?" I whispered to Jus.

Lazer heard me and answered for him, "Girlfriends aren't allowed. Spouses rarely choose to come."

I better absorb everything, then
, I thought.

I was under the microscope's eye. Sideways glances took my measure. Was I worthy of being the wife of one of their gang? Trophy-like enough? I certainly wasn't successful enough on my own to be anywhere near making this club. What other reason was there for Justin to choose me? Or was I a blatant gold digger? A mistake? Would this last the month?

Funny how I could go from feeling like I'd been raised in a respectable, middle-class family to feeling like trailer trash in an instant. Not that any of them made any accusations. They were all perfectly pleasant. So maybe it was only my insecurities sitting on my shoulder and whispering.

Beside me, Jus beamed with pride and soaked in the compliments and congrats. The men were naturally curious about my sudden appearance in Justin's life. He deflected the subtle inquiries and digs with good humor. I felt almost guilty, suddenly, for intruding on Jus' big night. For our surprise "marriage" shadowing, though not necessarily overshadowing, this night of supreme accomplishment for him.