Single Dad's Fake Marriage: A Billionaire Romance (Billionaire Lovers Book 1) Read online

  “Hi, Diane. Why weren’t you at the café? I drove past to say hi to you, but the door was closed and the lights were off. Is everything good with your mom?” She sounded worried and I loved her for that.

  “Hi, Mims. Yes, everything is good and Mom’s saying she’s stronger this time, but I think she’s just saying that to make me feel better. I couldn’t stand up anymore; I was wiped out, so I closed the cafe a bit early. I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me, just for a drink or two. I really need to get out. The stress is getting to me and I’m turning into a mess.”

  “I’m so glad you asked because that was what I wanted to come and ask you. Do you want me to pick you up and then I can drop you off afterward?” I thought about the offer and decided to go home for a quick shower and then she could pick me up for our drinks.

  “Thank you. I’ll be ready in an hour. I just need to go home and get dressed.”

  I went inside and Mom was already working on the books. I took the ledger from her, “Mom, you don’t need to do that. I’ll do it early tomorrow morning. All I want you to do is rest. I’m going out with Mimi for drinks,” I said, kissing her cheek.

  “My little baby girl has grown so big and I am so proud of you. I am so happy that you’re finally going out and taking a break. Enjoy your outing, sweetheart,” Mom said with that peaceful smile on her face.

  “Bye, Mom!”

  “Bye! Have fun!”

  ∞∞∞

  I took a quick shower and grabbed the dress Andrew had given me on my last birthday. Mimi was waiting outside. I quickly grabbed my purse and checked the mirror one last time. My red eyes would most likely scare off any potential suitors, but that was all okay with me. I wasn’t interested. I didn’t have any time for men in my life.

  “Hey, Mimi,” I said, sliding into the seat next to her.

  “Hey! You are looking hot,” she said, moving her car.

  “Ha! You know this was a gift.”

  “Yes, a gift from screw.” For some reason, she had never liked Andrew and never called him his proper name. As far as she was concerned, “Screw” was his given name.

  We laughed out loud on this. My head was getting little lighter now. We drove to a local bar. It had been there as long as I could remember. The owner had passed away a few years ago. His son kept the business running and the drinks were still the same price as when his father was still around. How he could run a business like that? Maybe he had another source of income to cover the costs of the bar.

  I was thinking about our prices, as we had to increase the rates twice the past year and a half. Not because we tried to milk our customers, but because the cost of everything had gone up, all thanks to the economic slowdown.

  The bar was lively; not packed, but busy. Maybe the number of customers made up for the low prices. We were seated at a corner table.

  “So, how is the business really doing?” Mimi drew my attention back to our conversation.

  I had to sigh at that question. I didn’t have the energy even to relay the sad news of a business going under. So, I gave Mimi a pathetic smile. “Can we please not talk about it. I’d rather discuss your life, because I need some distraction.”

  Mimi smiled at me and just then the waitress arrived at our table, “Hi, ladies. We’ve got a special on cocktails tonight. Might I interest you in some?” Mimi’s eyes lit up and she excitedly ordered two pina coladas.

  The waitress turned to me and asked, “And for you?”

  I was slightly taken aback, but Mimi came to my rescue and told her, “The two cocktails were for both of us.” She smiled and turned to place the order at the bar.

  “Shocking to think anyone would immediately order two drinks for themselves.”

  Mimi laughed at my shocked expression. “Lighten up; I don’t think she meant any harm by it. Maybe she just wanted to confirm what appears to be obvious to us.”

  A few minutes later, the waitress returned with our drinks. She placed them on our small table and then left to get the next order from the neighboring group.

  Suddenly a large man with tattoos all over his arms and shoulders moved in asked us, “Can I buy drinks for the ladies?”

  “No, thank you. We’re fine.” Mimi smiled at him in a friendly manner and showed him a thumbs-up as she took her first sip.

  He looked a bit disgruntled and says, “Fine, bitches. Have it your way.” He turned around and left. Both me and Mimi looked at each other with what-the-fuck expressions and shook our heads. Some men really have their heads screwed on the wrong way.

  “Let’s ignore the bastard,” Mimi said, leaning on the table.

  I nodded as we both were there to chill and relax and neither of us was in a mood to create a scene.

  Mimi started telling me about her day and some of the things she had been up to the past week. Her cast on her foot had come off that week and she could at least walk without the crutches. She had fractured her toe during a volleyball match and had been out of action for five weeks now. Her trainer had told her to take the rest of the week off and they could start getting back into training next week.

  “Let’s go dance! My feet are itching to move and I haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate the cast coming off fully.” I took the last sip of my drink and nodded my head in agreement. I followed her onto the dance floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a broad-shouldered, handsome guy staring at me. Maybe he was just absent-mindedly looking in my direction, so I shrugged that off. We found a corner on the dance floor that was unoccupied and Mimi was now facing the man that was staring into nothingness, or maybe at me.

  “Diane, I think you have an admirer.” She smiled and winked at me. “He is rather good-looking, well-built and toned. I bet if you swing your hips a little bit more, you’ll catch him.” I just laughed her off and in my tired daze, I enjoyed the music. And as I danced with my best friend, some of the stress melted off my shoulders and I felt like the music was taking me to a place far away.

  The next moment, I felt a pair of hands on my middle and as I turned around, I saw tattoos all over the arm all the way to the top of his shoulder. I tried to push him away to get out of his grip, but he just pulled me even closer. Even Mimi tried to push him off me, but he was too strong. The next moment, two of the bouncers with that attractive guy were at my side. The bouncers grabbed one of his hands, yanking it backward and punched him in his face. Mr. Handsome pulled me to his side to save me. The bouncer took the man towards the entrance and that was the last we saw of that asshole that evening.

  “Are you okay?” Mr. Handsome asked. “We usually don’t allow creeps like that ever to return to our bar. Please know you’ll be safe here, even in the future.”

  I was completely at a loss for words. Watching the handsome stranger that closely made me freeze. Mimi probably saw that and intervened. “Thank you, we’re fine. Is this your bar?”

  He turned towards Mimi. “Yes, it was my father’s before me, but he passed away. Can I get you drinks on the house?” I was slightly caught off guard, maybe my tired mind wasn’t processing everything as quickly as it should. Before I realized what happened, we were sitting at his table with his two friends.

  Everyone introduced themselves and now Mr. Handsome had a name. Xander. Mimi was giggling at something that his friend Jared had said and I could see she was enjoying Jared’s attention. She had always been more comfortable with men, whereas I was conservative. And with the recent break-up with Andrew, I wasn’t ready to even look at another man. So, I decided to just play along and enjoy the evening and not make anything of his irresistible smile and confidence.

  And a few moments later, I found myself staring at him. It’s simple to decide something, but sticking to it was altogether a different thing. I rolled my eyes at myself and Xander caught me with that expression. He just gave me a mischievous smile, as if he knew I was drooling over him. I quickly looked away and tried to follow the conversation between Mimi and Michael. She was laughing at
everything Jared was saying and agreeing with everything that Michael was saying. She was playing both of them and I wondered who would get her number first.

  Chapter 3

  Xander

  She caught my eye the moment she entered in that red dress, which hung just above her knees, giving the perfect view of her slender legs. Her brown mane of curly long waves accentuated her face. There were so many girls at the pub, but she was the first girl who held my attention in a long time. She was beautiful.

  Holy shit! How can someone be that attractive?

  The thought of staying away from women had vanished the moment I laid eyes on her and I had no control. My eyes followed her around. I saw them ordering drinks and laughing. When her luscious lips touched the glass, my member started throbbing.

  Damn it!

  She looked so timid, like an innocent deer out in the big corrupted world. Just as I imagined, a hunter came along and tried to offer them drinks, but her friend told him off.

  I couldn’t blame that man completely; the lady in front was insanely hot. But I wondered how a man could be so bold to approach a lady as innocent as that without any effort to impress or win her over.

  I had seen the exact same scene played out so many times in my bar before. Sometimes the young damsels naively accept the drinks and then get the shock of their life when the so-called heroes crossed their limits. I’d had numerous pigs thrown out of this bar and I had thrown out one or two on my own.

  I called one of my bouncers. “Mark the man with the tattoos. If he makes another unwanted move on the ladies over there, please escort him outside.” He nodded and returned to his post just at the edge of the dance floor. The DJ was playing an excellent rock mix. The dance floor was active; not full, but definitely lively.

  Michael and Jared were having conversations about different women on their respective lists that had shown interest in me, but none of the names rang any bells for me. To be honest, I was not ready for such a thing.

  Just as I was about to ask them if I could get us a fresh round of drinks, the brunette started walking towards the dancefloor. The light caught her eyes just right and I could see she had beautiful green eyes, with slight freckles on her nose and some on her cheeks. I couldn’t help but stare at her innocent face. There was this innocence on her face which enhanced her beauty and it caught my attention for the whole evening. But I could tell her beautiful eyes were tired and depressed for some reason. She looked away and I was able to peel myself away from her for a moment.

  I turned to Michael. “Can I get you something from the bar?”

  Michael just shook his head, “I’m good, thank you.” I looked over at Jared, but Jared was just smiling at me with a sneaky face.

  “I know what I can get you,” he teased me. “That little brunette in the red dress, all sweet and innocent on the dance floor.”

  Feeling guilty as shit, I just asked, “Do you need another drink?” He laughed at me, but quickly pointed towards the dance floor again.

  As I turned around that brute with the tattoos was making his way towards her again. I signaled the bouncer and he was there, standing next to the man. As she grabbed her and she and her friend tried to push him away, the bouncer took hold of his hand and bent it at an awkward angle before punching him. I made my way beside them to make sure that the women were okay and to have a closer look at the brunette. It almost got a bit violent, but the bouncer used a firmer grip on him and he soon submitted.

  “I’m so sorry for this incident. I promise he won’t bother you again.” She simply looked at me. I knew she was in shock.

  “Can I get you drinks on the house?” I offered, as I did not want to lose the chance to know Ms. Innocent.

  “Yeah, sure,” her friend answered and I was thankful for the distraction from her eyes.

  The two of them followed me to the table.

  “I’m Mimi and that’s Diane, my best friend”

  “Hi,” Michael and Jared replied.

  “Hello.” Finally, Diane said something in her sweet voice.

  We settled down in our seats and the waitress came over to take our orders. This time, even Michael ordered another drink. I ended up smiling, seeing he was interested in her friend, Mimi. Mimi wasn’t bad; she was bold and confident, but my eyes were only upon Diane. I caught her staring and stealing some glimpses and I couldn’t help but smile back at her. But she looked away and it made me want her even more.

  Our drinks arrived and I noticed that Diane had ordered a plain soda, no alcohol. It sort of made me curious what kind of woman she was, she could have ordered any drink from the menu. I leaned over to her and asked, “Just a soda? You can order anything. It’s on me.”

  She smiled at me. “Thank you, but I’m actually exhausted and had a long day and still have a long day tomorrow. I don’t think it would be wise to take on tomorrow with a head still spinning from the previous evening.”

  Without really thinking, I asked, “Tell me about it.”

  She looked at me intently, boring her green eyes into mine.

  “Really?”

  Hypnotized by her eyes, I could only nod my head in confirmation. “I had decided not to talk anything about that today. But…” she said, looking down at the table. “My mother has been in and out of the hospital for months for chemo treatments,” she continued with that concerned look on her face. “I’m running her café as she’s not well. I had to let some of the staff go just to make ends meet and now I’m working every shift. I have two cooks, one for the morning shift and one for the evening who helps clean the kitchen before closing the café.”

  She stopped talking and looked at me, “Are you sure you’re not getting bored with my sad tale of hardship?”

  I smiled at her and shook my head. “Not at all. In fact, it’s refreshing to listen to someone else’s problems. It helps me to forget about mine, if only for a while.”

  She looked at me with her eyebrows in a knot, “What do you mean?”

  And I suddenly realized it sounded like I was enjoying her hardship. “Sorry. I mean it distracts me, refreshing is wrong word I used. It’s not that I enjoy hearing about your hardship. It’s just that it helps me to remember I’m not the only one that has a tough life. I hope that makes sense.” Her eyebrows relaxed.

  “I understand. So, now tell me your story to return the favor.” She asked looking deep in my eyes and I was getting lost in her angelic green eyes.

  I told her about Kayla, Lolita and the court case. “Kayla is my three-year-old daughter. She is my life. Lolita has concocted some lies about how poorly I’ve been treating her and that I would probably treat our daughter in the same way. She told the judge about my own parent’s divorce and how I grew up in a broken home and have no idea what a good and steady home should look like. I think the judge saw right through her lies and deceit as he did say he would like to give me full custody, but I had a few things in my life that I had to sort out first.”

  Michael, Jared and Mimi decided to hit the dance floor, as Mimi felt like enjoying their company.

  They asked us to join, but Diane declined the invitation, so I also chose to remain behind and chat a bit more. It felt so easy to talk to her. I ended up telling her about the entire history of my short-lived relationship and how Lolita became a party animal and left me with a two-month-old baby to run away with her boyfriend.

  What is wrong with me? Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the beautiful woman sitting just in front of my eyes. So close…

  “I caught my boyfriend cheating on me, so I understand how it feels. People can be so selfish and cruel to hurt the ones they love. Or maybe they never loved us…”

  I realized we both had similar thoughts about things.

  Her phone chimed on the table. Maybe there was a message. We were too lost in our conversation; we didn’t even realize we had talked to each other for over an hour. I could sit and listen to her melodious voice for hours, staring at her plump lips.

&n
bsp; “It’s Mom. Let me just say goodnight to her.”

  “Yeah, sure thing.” As she was typing her message I played with a lock of her hair, slowly moving my fingers across her cheek tucking the lock behind her ear. She shuddered and I could see goosebumps on her arms.

  What the fuck am I doing?

  I was a strong man and no woman had the power to melt me. “I am sorry; it came from nowhere.”

  “No worries; it’s okay.”

  “I think we should go and dance. What do you think?”

  “Yes, we can,” she agreed and I led her back to the dance floor. We joined others and I could see that Jared was really into Mimi, but that Michael was turning her eye. What a love triangle, but just as long as I didn’t have to pick a side, they were free to do whatever they wanted.

  Diane immediately picked up the beat and started moving her arms and swaying her hips. She looked completely natural on the dance floor and I loved devouring each part of her body with my eyes. Every curve was accentuated with her movements and I noticed her breasts, which could perfectly fit in my hands. I knew I was being a jerk, but I didn’t fucking care at the moment.

  Her eyes were closed and that gave me the opportunity to admire her soft, full lips. I could feel my body drawn towards hers and as I moved closer, her eyes suddenly opened. I felt caught in the act and I took a step back and allowed her more space. I was definitely drawn towards her.

  Jared tapped me on my back and whispered in my ear, “Kiss the girl, don’t be scared of her. She really looks top class. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, buddy. She should be at your side.” He gave me a slap on my shoulder and then returned his attention to Mimi.

  I was left with my own fantasy as Diane closed her eyes again, dancing in her own little world. I wished I could hold her body close to mine, kissing her lips and tasting her mouth.

  She was smiling and looked comfortable around me. As the crowd increased on the dance floor, she danced closer. Now it was too much, I placed my hands on her waist softly and I pulled her closer to me. She opened her eyes and looked into mine. I knew she had the same feelings for me and as I leaned in to kiss her, a sudden thought came in my mind. Why don’t I marry her? A fake marriage, she needs the money and I need a wife?