The Billionaire's Proposition (The Romero Brothers, Book 4) (9 page)

“Carl, I noticed your grandfather started
to read the newspaper about what the press is saying about you and well, at
times, I would be speaking to him while he had the newspaper in his hand and he
would suddenly zone out for a few seconds. I wasn’t sure what caused it but
it’s been happening quite a bit. You know your grandfather is already having
some challenges with his health,” she added.

“I know,” he said, still reeling in shock.

“Well, it distresses him when he sees the
press taking potshots at you like that. He’s worried about you running for
mayor.”

“But our granddad is always worried about
us, doing anything.”

“Yes, but politics is a whole different
arena, Carl. He kept talking about them making a fool out of you, mocking you,
trying to knock you down before you have a chance to accomplish anything. You
know your opponents want nothing more than for you to be out of the
competition,” Shelly continued.

“Yeah, and so what? I’m not backing down
that easily,” Carl shot back.

“I know, man, but it’s really something to
think about,” Jules added.

“So I’m to just back out and let the
incompetent haters take over?” Carl demanded, a bitter taste rising in his
throat.

“We’re not saying that, it’s just…” Shelly
hesitated at first. “You see how the media can be with mayors from other cities
who get wrapped up in scandals.”

Carl rubbed the stubble on his chin. Shelly
did have a point. Damn, the media could be darn right brutal!

Then, he thought about Venus for a fleeting
second. His mind trailed to the secret she was hiding, whatever the hell it
was, and his own background. Were there any proverbial skeletons that he had
forgotten about that could resurface from the graveyard of the past?

Not that he had any crazy exes that he was
worried about making a name for themselves, but still, one could never be too
careful. All it took was for one person to blow things out of proportion with
half-truths, untruths and everything but…the truth. The papers fed on scandal
and
The Hills Times
was no exception.
Heck, they had it out for the Romeros for the longest time dating back to an
old family feud with the newspaper’s founder and their great-grandfather over
some damn land issue.

“Thank you, Shelly,” Carl said
dismissively. “I’m sure Granddad would appreciate you by his side now.”

Shelly appeared stunned at first but took
her cue. “Good luck with everything, Carl. Are you going to make the
announcement soon?”

“Soon enough.”

Shelly left the boys out in the hallway and
re-entered the grand master suite, closing the French double doors behind her.

“What was all that about, Carl? You seemed
really peeved with her. She was only trying to help.”

“It’s not that. I was about to tell Grandfather
my plans but I don’t know how he would take it right now. I’d rather not do
anything that could rattle his nerves or get him upset.”

“Upset?” Jules appeared puzzled at first.
“Oh, wait a minute. You’re still going through with that fake wedding, bro?
Gotta
be careful the press doesn’t get wind of that. It
wouldn’t be pretty.”

“I know. But it’s not going to be a fake
wedding. We will be getting married. And I need you to be there.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Venus finally agreed to the
arrangement. I’ll do whatever it takes, Jules. And besides, I really like Miss
Jackson, a lot. She’s a good woman. People get married for all kinds of
reasons.”

“Yeah, but love should be one of them.”

Carl grinned. “I know.” Who said Carl
didn’t
love Venus?

The truth was, Carl was falling for Venus.
He was falling damn hard for her. Thinking about her right now got his body
aroused. Shit! That kiss was something else. He’d never tasted anything more
beautiful, salacious than sweet Venus. She turned him on in every way a man
would be turned on by a beautiful woman. This wasn’t purely a contractual deal.
He really was feeling something for her. Even if it were for just a
year—since he could never really do the lifetime commitment
thing—he still wanted to have a meaningful temporary relationship with
her. He was going to enjoy playing man and wife with darling, marvellous Venus
Jackson. And he was all too happy to play the doting father to her adorable
son. He felt oddly comfortable in taking on his new role.

“And
where is Venus now?” Jules asked, as the brothers walked down the corridor to
the grand stairwell.

“She’s
with her son in the daycare center.”

The
Romeros had built a twenty-four hour care center for staff
who
worked for them around the clock but needed the odd assistance with last-minute
childcare. Venus at times would always tell him that she didn’t want to take
advantage and preferred not to use it too much on her off days but it worked
well. They had their
own screened
childcare
professionals. Especially since his cousin Antonio and his wife Lucy had their
little Alexander. They were often busy taking business trips and in meetings
with clients, so it was a convenience. Lucas, his brother, and his wife, Maxine,
also used the private care center in the west wing of the Romero Manor for
their little girl, Mary-Louise.

“I’m
going to take her home but we’ll need to get a few documents in place,” Carl
finished.

“You’re
really going through with this, aren’t you, bro?”

“You
know it means a lot to me…and to the people. They deserve the best. If we
didn’t get lucky with Granddad, what would have happened to us?”

“You
don’t have to tell me twice,” Jules agreed. “Listen, you know I’ve got your
back, regardless, right?”

“I know.
And I’m not going to tell Granddad yet. Maybe tomorrow, before we leave. I’d
hate for him to read about any weddings in his own family that he wasn’t
invited to in the newspapers, if you know what I mean.”

Jules
grinned. “Yeah, I get you. I agree with keeping it from him for now given his
recent situation. I just wish Granddad wouldn’t read those damn rags.”

“I hear
ya. So you’re with me?”

“Yeah. Just
say the word and I’m there, Carl.”

“Good.
We all leave for Vegas, the day after tomorrow.”

Jules
appeared caught off guard and almost missed a step on the marble staircase spiralling
down. “Man, you really don’t waste any time.”

Carl
grinned. “Time is way too valuable to waste, my brother. Time is all I’ve got.”

Early on Wednesday morning, a private plane
touched down in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States on a glorious summer day.
It was the hottest day in the year thus far in the region. And, it was the beginning
of a whirlwind adventure.

Since deplaning, Venus felt shaken inside
as they drove in the limousine. Her nerves were a hot mess. And
it wasn’t the heat from the sun that melted her inside
,
it was Carl Romero
.
 

Her heart palpated every time she was near the
man. At the moment, he looked ravishing in his dark gray business suit, white
crisp shirt and navy blue tie. His dark
short cropped
hair was slicked back and accentuated his beautiful cheekbones and complemented
his smooth tanned skin.

The expression on his handsome face was,
however, serious. Something was bothering him and Venus wished she knew what it
was. Was he having doubts? Or second thoughts about the whole marriage thing?
She knew full well that he had a heated conversation with Toni, his grandfather,
prior to their departure from Canada for this trip. What had that conversation been
about? Carl mentioned to Venus that Toni had finally learned about their plans
and intentions as soon as he his condition had become more stable. He told
Venus that his grandfather was speechless at first and then scolded Carl for what
he was getting into but the elder Romero decided he would leave it be—for
now!

If only Venus could have been a proverbial
fly on the wall at that time. Carl insisted that everything was still a go and
that all was well with Grandpa Romero. He left the conversation at that. There
was no room for questions when he had told her. Instead, Carl had immediately
turned to his phone at that time which annoyed the heck out of Venus.

But having thought about that, she wasn’t
exactly open about every aspect of her own life with him, either, was she? That
was one heck of a way for a couple to start off a fake relationship, Venus mused,
mentally shaking her head at the irony of the whole situation.

Next, Carl and Venus went to the Clark
County Building to obtain their marriage license. They had already sped up the
process by filling out the online marriage license pre-application form in
advance. Since the state of Nevada had no waiting period for
couples
eager to tie the knot, spur-of-the-moment weddings were as common as playing
slots. Nevada was known as a state where weddings happened quickly. Venus’s
mind was still reeling from this whirlwind pretence romance with her boss. But
her mind was still spinning, her heart still galloped hard and fast in her
chest. She still couldn’t process all that was happening.

It was no secret why it was one of the
world’s most popular hot spots to tie the knot. Pamela had already given them
information about the legalities on getting married in Vegas so that the
marriage would be validated once they returned to Canada. The last thing they
would need was to have their marriage not recognized—which was rare,
after getting married in Vegas.

Talk about a fast-and-easy way to get
hitched!

After they left the Clark County Building, Carl
glanced in Venus’s direction as they sat beside each other in the super stretch
Hummer limo heading back to the hotel. Jules had travelled separately with
Pamela.

“You seem nervous,” Carl commented, his
dark, chocolate gaze capturing Venus.

Butterflies fluttered inside her belly again.
His voice, his smooth tone always had that effect on her.
 

“I’m good,” she lied, sounding as calm as
her voice would allow. The truth was, she was going crazy inside—in a
good way. She was just nervous as hell. What was she getting herself into? Good
heavens! What was she doing? Getting married to a high-profile mayoral
candidate?

Breathe
deeply, Venus. Take a deep breath. Everything will work out fine. It has to
work out fine.

Long before Venus knew that she could never
really get married and have a happily ever after like most women dream about,
she had never in her life thought that if she did tie the knot it would be in
the famous Sin City! She felt like an A-list celebrity, hiding from the paparazzi
and doing a spur of the moment quickie nuptial to escape a possibly media
frenzy. This was somebody else’s life, Venus thought to herself, not hers.
Nothing seemed real about the day—except for the fierce beating of her
heart and spine-tingling sensation she was having being near to Carl, knowing
that by the end of the day, she would be his lawfully wedded wife.

My
goodness!

Her body perspired at the thought. Her sex
throbbed just thinking about him. She was having trouble breathing without
trembling. Why did the air around her seem too thick to breathe all of a
sudden?

Venus was about to become Mrs. Carl Romero.
Have mercy!

“You sure now?” he asked, raising a brow.
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“Well, the only thing I’m not sure about is
finding a wedding dress with only a few hours notice. I’m not exactly a
supermodel thin type.”

“No. You’re not,” he agreed. “You’re so
much more beautiful, more shapely.” His silky gaze captured hers.

Her stomach flip-flopped. Her heart
squeezed. Wow! What a thing for Carl to say. How was it that this man always
knew the right words to speak to make a person feel…so good? So appreciated?

“Th-thank you,” she said softly, almost
breathless, “for the compliment.”

“It’s the truth,” he affirmed, his eyes still
engaged with hers.

Venus drew in a deep breath. He wasn’t
making her nerves any easier to manage, she mused with delight. Carl was so
charming, so good in every way.

“I’m sure we’ll find something in due time,”
he continued, turning his attention to his jacket, whipping out his smartphone.
The partition of the limo was closed.

Venus didn’t know if he was calling the
chauffeur, or Pamela, who had taken up a duel role of assistant in addition to
being the family’s personal press secretary. She was now their official go-to
girl and executive assistant whenever they needed. And Pamela was such a
darling sweetheart and seemed to enjoy working for the Romeros as much as Venus
did.

“Right,” he said, after finishing his brief
conversation. “There’s a wedding boutique off the strip. Pamela will assist you
in picking out a gown.”