Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (57 page)

“And you’re willing to give away a quarter of a million dollars just so you can defy your father?” Nick still wasn’t buying it. Her offer, plainly put, sounded too good to be true.

She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but held the most serious look on her face. When she finally did speak, her eyes drifted up to Nick’s as she talked. “Well…I suppose that is it, in a nutshell, as my American sisters-in-law would say.”

Damn. She must have a lot of money if she could easily give away a quarter of a mil without batting an eye.

Nick didn’t know what had caused it, but suddenly he was overcome with intoxication for her scheme. Maybe it was the allure of the money, the thought of clearing his debts away so he could concentrate on the community center, or maybe it had something to do with the way the fire pit cast this faint glow over Lecie, making her beauty divinely enticing.

Whether it was one or all those things combined, Nick looked at her and said, “Okay. I’m in.” He nodded. “If you’ll have me.” He was agreeing, yet his skepticism was still firmly rooted in his head. “But I’m gonna need a little more than your word that once we’re married, I won’t end up with a check that’ll bounce like a rubber ball.” He chuckled to ease the sting of his words, but he was completely serious. He wanted to be able to call the bank and his suppliers tomorrow and tell them they’d have their money, paid in full, next week.

L
ecie couldn’t help feeling empathy for Nick. He was a man with a bruised ego. “My attorney is drawing up a prenup that basically states you are entitled to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars upon our marriage, and when we divorce you will not be entitled to any more than the initial payment,” she said. “But if it makes you feel better, we can visit my bank tomorrow where I’ll have a cashier’s check drawn up and made out to you…which you’ll get as soon as we say,
I do
.”

He nodded. “That’s agreeable.”

“I still have a few reservations, though,” she said with a slight tinge of doubt.

“Okay,” he said calmly. “What can I do to put you at ease?”

“You do understand that you’ll have to live here at my house for the duration of the marriage, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I get that this marriage must appear real to immigration.” He paused, his brown eyes probing her with this intense gaze that turned her inside out. “Trust me… everyone we meet will wholeheartedly believe that I tripped over you at the restaurant and got swept off my feet.”

Damn, he’s good
. Lecie felt herself swooning. Well, if he could do this to her, maybe he’d be able to accomplish the same thing if Papa managed to get immigration to come snooping around. Hopefully though, it wouldn’t come to that.

Nick said, as if he were thinking out loud, “Maybe everybody’ll start thinking you’re the reason Ginny and I didn’t get married.”

“What happened?” Lecie couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Why didn’t you two get married?”

Nick let out a bit of a groan, then said, “I’d really rather not talk about it.”

“Well…” She’d been waiting for the opportunity to toss his own philosophy back at him. “If I’m going to give you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars…” She paused and looked him square in the eye. “I think I have a right to know if there’s somebody out there who can foil my plans.”

“Fair enough.” Nick gave her a conceding nod. Even when he was annoyed, he was still strikingly handsome. Golden highlights in his chestnut-brown hair glistened under the fire’s glow. His matching brown eyes sparkled with a tawny hue. He was unbelievably handsome, looking like he belonged on the cover of GQ, rather than sitting here in her backyard discussing an arranged, and temporary, marriage. “What do you want to know?”

She wanted to know why they hadn’t gotten married, but obviously he was avoiding that question. Lecie gave it time to ramble around in their heads a bit, then asked, “What if she comes back? And you’re married to me.” She stuck her forefinger in her own chest. “I can’t imagine that’s going to go over well.”

Nick shook his head. “She’s not coming back.” There was an eerie finality in his tone. He was so sure, and she wanted to know why.

“How do you know?” she asked. “It hasn’t been that long. Give her another couple of weeks…time to really start missing you…” Lecie giggled to hide her own desire for him.

She couldn’t be happier that Nick and Ginny hadn’t gotten married, for whatever reason. Lecie couldn’t be more grateful for whatever had or hadn’t passed between them that caused the wedding to be called off. But she had to remember, Nick looked heartbroken, and she guessed that he probably was. After all, he’d thought enough of Ginny to ask her to marry him. Lecie had to remember to be sensitive about that.

“Trust me,” Nick said. “You and I, in our arranged and completely platonic marriage…we’re more likely to have a child than see Ginny walk back into the picture.”

Well, whatever had transpired between the two of them, at least for Nick, it appeared to be over.

That was good enough for Lecie. And once she and Nick got to know one another…who knew what could happen?

CHAPTER TWENTY

NICK GUIDED HIS TRUCK INTO the driveway at Lecie’s house. They’d just come from the bank, and he’d been a little more than shocked when the teller issued a cashier’s check for two hundred and fifty grand—made out to him. Nick Matthews. The only time he’d ever seen that much money at once was when he’d gotten the inheritance from Walter.

He looked at Lecie and smiled. They truly did come from different worlds. “I’ve got to get to the restaurant,” he said. “Make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

“You’re coming over tonight, right?” she said in a sweet voice.

They’d already discussed it, and decided it might carry more weight if he appeared to have been staying at the house every spare minute since they’d “met”, even before their whirlwind wedding tomorrow.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ll bring some of my stuff over. I’ll try not to be too late. The kids will probably be tired out after a day at the beach.”

Lecie let out a sigh. “I hope they didn’t run into any paparazzi down there. They like to roam the beaches around here, hoping to spot a celebrity or two.” She looked away shyly, as if almost embarrassed. “And they show a keen interest in my brothers and their wives.”

“But not you?” Nick found that curiously odd.

She shook her head. “My brothers used to be jet-setting playboys.” She laughed as if she were revealing some scandalous secret. “The press has always been interested in
their
activities. But I’m not sure the media even knows who
I
am. I was the sheltered one, being the only girl. This is my first trip to America.” She opened the door and stepped down onto the ground.

“Well…” Nick mused, “if they did run into any paparazzi at the beach, I’m sure Tasha gave them hell.” He chuckled. That woman was a firecracker. One he would not want to tangle with.

“Yeah…” Lecie paused and took on a stern look before saying in a perfect American accent, “She don’t take no crap from nobody.” And Nick knew she was imitating Tasha.

Amused, Nick shook his head, and said, “I won’t be late.” He shifted the truck in reverse, and Lecie closed the door. He watched her amble up to the front door. The blue dress she wore showed off her slender body and her long legs. Her hips swayed as she walked. Her blonde hair glistened in the moonlight. No, it wouldn’t be hard to convince anybody that he’d fallen head over heels, madly in love with her. He might end up looking like a cad to some, those who would assume that Lecie was the reason he and Ginny didn’t get married, but better to be thought of as a cad than a loser who’d been left at the altar.

Minutes after Lecie had disappeared inside the house, Nick finally headed out. He knew he shouldn’t be partaking in this scheme of hers—taking money from her like this—but she was a sweet girl and he liked her. And she was entirely too naïve. If he backed out she wouldn’t stop, and worse yet, she might run across some guy who’d do to her what Ginny had done him. Only difference was, Nick was pretty sure that Lecie had a lot more to lose.

One good thing about all this was that her house was technically within walking distance of the Hang Ten. On the drive over, Nick had barely had time to collect his thoughts when he rolled into the crowded parking lot and parked in his spot. The one designated “No Parking”.

The place was busy, as usual. That was good. He went inside, into his office, and sat down behind his desk and began tallying up numbers.

A few hours later, between numerous interruptions from the staff and several phone calls—none of them from Lecie—he deduced that after paying off what he owed his suppliers, the bank fees, and the line of credit, he should have around a hundred grand left. Maybe that’d be enough for the bank to take him seriously and extend a loan for the community center and its land.

Nick pushed away from the keyboard and rubbed his hands over his face. He needed a drink. He got up, glancing at his watch. 4:30. He planned to head out to Lecie’s around seven, so he figured he had plenty of time for the alcohol to wear off.

While heading to the bar, Nick surveyed the restaurant’s dining room. Jerry Parker and his mistress were at a table near the bar. Regulars. They came in once a week, like clockwork. All the way up from L.A. Nick supposed it was because the likelihood of Jerry’s wife showing up here wasn’t good.

Nick strolled over to say hello. “Parker, it’s good to see you again—” Whoa! When Jerry turned to face him, Nick was drawn instantly to the shiner taking shape around the guy’s eye. “You’ve had a little mishap, I see,” Nick said, shaking Jerry’s hand and nodding to the mistress.

“Some broad clocked me down at the beach.” Jerry laughed, like it was no big deal. “She was a little irate that I was taking pictures of her kids.”

That might’ve come across as a little perverse, except that Jerry was a freelance photographer who made his living stalking celebrities around southern California. “You’d better take care of that,” Nick said, and walked away. His cell phone rang as he glanced over his shoulder and gave Jerry one last piece of advice, “Put a steak on it.” He laughed, reaching for the phone on his belt clip. He leaned against the bar, looked at Pete and said, “Give me a draft, would you?” Then he clicked the call on and laid his cell against his ear. “Nick Matthews.”

He wouldn’t have known it was Lecie if not for the accent. “Oh my God, Nick!” The girl was frantic. “You’re never going to believe it. Tasha’s been arrested.”

“What?” Nick struggled to restrain the surprise in his voice.

“She caught some photographer taking pictures of the kids at the beach. She literally punched him in the face. Camille says he’s going to have a black eye.” He could hear her trying to catch her breath. “The police just showed up here and arrested Tasha. What do I do?”

Nick could hear Camille in the background, saying, “I’m going to call Julian.”

Must be Lecie’s brother.

“Do we have to?” Lecie asked, and Nick knew she wasn’t talking to him.

He looked at Jerry Parker. Nick didn’t need to be a math whiz to add this up. “Tell her not to call anyone,” he said to Lecie. “I’ll take care of this.” He ended the call and stalked back over to Jerry. Leaning down, he said calmly, “That broad from the beach is my sister-in-law.” He straightened up, eyes still glued to Jerry. “What do you say you and I talk in my office.”

Jerry stood, looking a little nervous. Good, Nick thought as he led him into his office.

“Look…” Jerry said the minute the door closed. “I didn’t know she was your sister-in-law.” A fearful look crossed his face. That meant he knew exactly who he was photographing.

“You had her arrested?” Nick tossed some extra anger at him, just to let him know he was serious.

“Hey, man, I’m sorry.” He threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m just trying to make a living.”

“Okay…what’ll the papers give you? Five, six hundred?” Nick asked with a shrug. “I’ll give you a thousand.” He tallied the numbers in his head quickly. He’d been saving that money for Molina’s Bakery on Friday. But considering that he and Lecie were getting married tomorrow, by Friday he’d have plenty of money for Tony. “And I want the memory card, too.”

“For only a grand?” Parker objected.

“Let me put it this way…” Nick said with a bite. “You wouldn’t want your wife to find out about your weekly visits up this way, would you?”

“That’s not even cool.”

“Neither is what you’re doing to my sister-in-law.”

“All right. A grand and we have a deal.”

“I want the memory card now.” Nick dangled his hand between them. “And if I find out you’ve kept a single copy of those pictures, I’m gonna call your wife.”

L
ecie paced the length of the couch in the living room. Tasha was home now, but mad as hell, and threatening to call Andre.

“Nick said he’d take care of it,” Lecie tried to reason with her. “You were released…and all charges were dropped.”

“I want those damn pictures.” She was adamant, but cordial enough, Lecie knew, because Tasha was talking to her. If it’d been anybody else, except maybe Camille, Tasha would’ve let them have it by now.

Camille laid a hand on Tasha’s arm. “Let’s just wait and see what Nick says when he gets home.” She looked at Lecie. “He did say he’d take care of it. Let’s give him a chance.” She nodded and then looked back to Tasha. “You never know.”

“All right.” Tasha dropped onto the couch and let her fingertips tap out her anxiety on her lap.

Camille shook her head at Lecie. “Tasha’s simply forgotten how resourceful working class Americans can be,” she said proudly.

“That’s true.” Tasha looked at Lecie. “We really know how to get things done.” She shook her fist and laughed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

AT A QUARTER AFTER SIX, the doorbell rang. Lecie headed for the door only to be cut off by Gerard. She threw her hands in the air, growled and headed back into the living room. Having him around, when she’d just gotten used to doing things for herself, was at times a bit annoying.