Marrying My Best Friend's Sister: A Billionaire Enemies to Lovers MC Romance (Secret Love)

by Nikki Bloom

  All these hoops I was jumping through better be worth it.

  10

  Nicolette

  “He’s not my boyfriend.” Jacinda was ready with mockery as soon as I stepped back into the office. I sighed, shaking my head.

  “He really isn’t.”

  “Pull the other one, Nico. I was born at night, not last night.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my fiancé.” Might as well start living this new reality. Jacinda’s jaw was on the ground. My mouth twisted. “Surprise!” I said faintly.

  Jacinda screamed. “What?”

  “Yeah, I know. It was a little sudden.”

  Jacinda leaped off her stool and skidded across the room to perch on the one next to me. “Tell me more.”

  I shrugged deprecatingly and grinned. “It was last night. I went off with that Rooster guy like a dumbass. Dom and my brother had to follow me. Rooster took me to this biker clubhouse in Queens.”

  Jacinda gasped.

  “I swear I thought I was done for.”

  “Oh God, and there I was just drinking and thinking you were having a good time.”

  “Yeah well…I was being a stupid ass; that’s what I was doing.”

  ‘So then what?”

  “Well, when Dom and my brother followed me; they found Rooster dragging me to some backroom. Dom got into a fight with him, telling him that I was his fiancée.”

  “Aww.” Jacinda looked at me all soft-headed.

  “Anyway, so once he got me out of there, we went to my place and well…I guess it was the spark we needed to really understand what we meant to each other.”

  “That is the most romantic story I’ve ever heard. But marriage? Aren’t you at least going to date first?”

  “We’ve known each other for so long. And he was worried about that guy Rooster coming back. It felt like kind of counter-intuitive to wait.”

  Jacinda sighed. “And I can’t even get a text back.”

  “I thought you were engaged to that guy from Mumbai.”

  “Oh my God, so not the same.”

  “Those scorching hot emails you exchange beg to differ.”

  “Anyway,” Jacinda replied loudly, “We were saying about your fiancée.”

  I laughed. “There’s not really much else to say really.”

  The door opened and Danna strode in, coming straight to me. “Well, well, seems there’s more to you than meets the eye. What’s this I hear about you having lunch with Domenic Cliff?”

  “How did it become any of your business?”

  “Hey, I’m just curious. I would have thought you’d not miss the opportunity to boast about being his flavor of the week.”

  I cocked an eyebrow, noting the envy in her eyes. I sensed there was more to this than met the eye. “Well, unlike you, I do not have time for gossip, so if you’ll excuse me…”

  Her face underwent this metamorphosis as if the glamor had dropped and now I was seeing her true face – her true witch face. “You think you have a chance with him, but you don’t. Domenic is never with anyone for longer than a week,” she spat.

  My eyebrows rose of their own accord. I was so surprised. “Well, okay then… bye, Felicia.”

  She actually whirled around and stomped away like we were in a play or something. I gawked at her, shaking my head while Jacinda giggled.

  Once she had left, I picked up my phone and called Chaz.

  “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

  “Well, Domenic’s asking for my contract. By any chance are you done with it?”

  “Weirdly enough, I just finished. You want me to email it to you?”

  “Yeah, sure. I should probably read it, huh?”

  “The smart money would be on yeah.”

  “Alright. But also send a copy to Leyland Greystone.”

  “Will do, darling. Bye now. I gotta go get beautiful for work.”

  “You’re gorgeous as you are though. Mason is blind if he doesn’t notice.”

  “Well, thanks or whatever. I’ll see you later, darling.”

  “Bye.”

  Not a minute later and my notification beeped with a new email message. I opened the attachment and read the contents. Everything seemed on the up and up, including a monogamy clause. I couldn’t wait to see how Dom reacted to that shit. Still, I had work to do, so I put my so-called love life aside and got to work.

  Jacinda spent most of the afternoon being distracting with excited questioning.

  “Do you have a wedding dress all picked out? Ooh, we should look at websites.” She immediately began to google it.

  I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. It was sweet. Still, I clocked out at five on the dot. Gathering my laptop and any notes I might need, I left while it was still light. To be honest, I was still a little freaked out about what I went through last night and I wanted to be home before dark.

  My phone rang just as I was entering my apartment block. It was Dom, which surprised me. “Twice in one day? Careful or I might think you’re obsessed with me.”

  His laughter was low and deep in my ear and I shivered. “Funny you should say that because I was just calling to clarify one of the points in your copy of the contracts.”

  “Oh?” I had a feeling I knew which point he was talking about and my heartbeat sped up.

  “Yeah. The monogamy clause.” He was silent for a while and all I could do was swallow. “I was wondering er, what you meant by er…”

  “Well, I mean, I suppose we’re gonna be married for a while and I also suppose that you don’t plan on being celibate the entire time.”

  He made a surprised sound. “Can you believe I hadn’t even thought of that?”

  “Yeah, I mean I hadn’t either, but my lawyer brought it up and I was like, good point.”

  “Yeah ah, so you’re saying you want this marriage to be like…consummated?”

  “I don’t know, I mean, it’s not like by force or anything.”

  “No, I mean I would be down to…you know.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course. If you want to.”

  “I do.”

  There was a rather awkward silence with both of us apparently not knowing what to say. How we went from giving each other the stink eye to this, I seriously don’t even know.

  “Well…good. So that’s settled.”

  “Yeah. Pretty much everything’s settled. Leyland says you’re more than reasonable and congratulated me for choosing so well. I added a few amendments to your document. The copy’s been emailed to your lawyer. Get it signed as soon as possible?”

  “Sure.”

  “Leyland will put an announcement in the paper tomorrow. Send the picture you’d like him to use for the papers, as well as a short bio.”

  “Wow, that’s soon.”

  “Yeah, we thought the sooner the better, right?”

  “Right.” I put my trembling hand to my chest. “Of course.”

  “Do you think you could find time for all of us to meet and resolve any remaining issues?”

  “Umm, when?”

  “How about this evening? You and your guy could come to my place. I could host dinner while we hash out the details.”

  I really wasn’t looking forward to going out at night.

  “I can send a car for you.”

  “Yeah, alright.”

  “Great. Is eight o’clock good for you?”

  “I’ll make it work. I have to confirm with Chaz.”

  “Chaz?”

  “My lawyer.”

  He legit sniggered. “Your lawyer’s name is Chaz?”

  “Hey, yours is called Leyland. You do not have a leg to stand on.”

  Again with that laugh. “Fine. See you later.”

  He hung up on me and I slumped down on my bean bag and just stared at nothing. Life was changing for me so fast it was difficult to keep up. Last week, I was just another cog in the FDA wheel, dreaming of getting the grant and maybe, getting a chance to take my research to th
e next level.

  Now, I was contemplating marriage to a man I thought I hated and talking about having sex with him. Life comes at you fast sometimes.

  I got up and went to see what I could come up with as a suitable arranged-marriage discussion outfit.

  Little black dress?

  That seemed appropriate to me plus I had just bought one recently that I’d yet to wear. It was made of stretchy material and looked like a t-shirt except for the belled sleeves. It stopped just above my knees and looked great with my black, knee-high, despair combat boots. I topped the outfit off with my silver necklace embedded with a tiny emerald. Jacinda had reliably informed me that it brought out my eyes.

  It’ll do for dinner.

  At exactly 7 p.m., Chaz breezed into my apartment, dressed in blue doc martens, black skinny jeans, and a ripped shirt. He didn’t resemble any lawyer I’d ever seen.

  “I have a late shift tonight.” He answered my raised eyebrows.

  “You look hot.”

  “Yeah, everyone but Mason will probably notice.”

  “Have you thought that maybe he does notice, but he’s just keeping a proper employee/employer distance?”

  “Ugh, if that’s true I’m resigning tomorrow.”

  I slipped my hand into his. “Better find out first. Come on, let’s go downstairs. The car’s supposed to be here any minute now.”

  We’d barely stepped outside the door when a black SUV came to a stop in front of us. The passenger window lowered and I peered inside to see Morgan grinning at me. “Your ride is here.”

  Something that I hadn’t realized was tight with fear loosened. Despite myself, I was grateful to Dom for not sending a stranger. “Hey, big bro. This is my neighbor, Chaz.”

  He glanced over in surprise. “That’s your lawyer?”

  “Yeah. He has a degree from Stanford.”

  He snorted beneath his breath and unlocked the doors for us. I got in the front seat while Chaz got in the back. The ride to Dom’s apartment was achieved in silence. Soft rock music playing as Morgan focused on his driving. We arrived right on time and Morgan signed us in using his finger.

  “State of the art security, I see.”

  “Yeah. No one can enter the building without a bio pass.”

  “Well cha cha cha, we are definitely no longer in Kansas, Dorothy,” Chaz said, swinging his hips in a little dance.

  I laughed softly. “You can say that again.”

  I didn’t want to think about the fact that sooner or later, this would be my life too – albeit temporarily. The door to Dom’s apartment was open and I could hear voices emanating from inside.

  Morgan gestured for us to enter and closed the door behind him. We were standing in a foyer which held a table and a coat rack. Both of us hung our coats before Morgan led us down a short corridor, which opened out into an open plan living room dominated by a huge, white leather square sofa.

  Domenic was sitting on one end, with a man impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit that could only be designer. Domenic was dressed more casually in grey slacks, his robin’s egg blue shirt sleeves rolled back to the elbows. He turned as we appeared, face lighting up.

  “Hey, guys. Welcome.” Getting to his feet, he came to me and took my hand. “Nice to see you again, Nico.” Then he legit lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. Honestly, all the breath was knocked out of me. The delight on Chaz’s face at this display was just mortifying. I didn’t know where to look.

  Domenic held a hand out to my neighbor. “You must be Chaz. Domenic Cliff at your service.”

  “Christopher, actually. Christopher Brady.” He extended his hand, knuckles in front of Domenic’s mouth. I rolled my eyes even as Domenic grinned and kissed Chaz’s knuckles as well.

  “Pleased to meet you.”

  Domenic turned, gesturing for them to precede him. “Have a seat. Can I get you a drink? What do you like?” he asked Chaz, as his eyes glanced at me, “I know Nico is a Cosmo girl.”

  Sue me, those things are delicious.

  “I’ll have a White Russian if you can swing it,” Chaz said.

  “Absolutely. Coming right up.”

  11

  Domenic

  Leyland spread his hands out as I introduced him to Nico. “Thank heavens, not only beautiful but innocent looking too. This is great!”

  Nico blinked, looking nonplussed, and I wanted to get between them, protect her from his general seediness. But if she was to be my bride, Leyland would be the least of her worries when it came to dealing with sharks.

  “I’ve barely booked space in tomorrow’s papers and rumors are already swirling. My assistant has been deluged with requests for interviews. Everyone wants more info on the girl who’s managed to get Domenic Cliff to the altar…” He turned to me. “You need to get this marriage done soon because it’s about to be a circus around here.”

  “I already started the application for a marriage license.” I turned to Nico. “Maybe tomorrow you can come with me to City Hall. We could get the license then.”

  “Are you able to get some time off?” Leyland cut in, his eyes boring into Nico’s.

  “Um, no.” She shook her head briefly. “It’s not a good time.”

  “What? But you need to go on a honeymoon!” Leyland seemed surprisingly invested in my love life all of a sudden. “And I have some interviews I could line up as well. We need to get on this fast.” He turned back to me. “Tell her, Dom.”

  Yeah, like I was going to insist on her doing anything she was uncomfortable with.

  “I think if Nico were able to, she would get time off. So for now, why don’t we just go with she can’t, huh?”

  “Fine, but she needs to be there with you tomorrow.”

  “That I can manage,” Nico said quietly with a smile. “I just have to go in briefly to arrange it.”

  “Excellent. Good. Let’s move on.”

  The meeting was pretty productive. Nobody had any major objections.

  “Wait a minute. What’s this about a million dollars?” Nico asked, looking horrified, as she turned her eyes to me. “I swear I didn’t ask for a million dollars.”

  “Of course you didn’t. I’m the one who put that clause in there.” I grinned at her, expecting happiness. She just looked even more horrified.

  “But why did you do that?”

  “It’s called an inconvenience fee.” Maybe I was talking down to her a bit, but I had never before come across someone objecting to having a million dollars.

  “I don’t want it.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at her.

  “I don’t!” She seemed truly sincere.

  “Let it sit a while. I’m sure you’ll come around.”

  “I won’t.” Her face took on a very familiar stubborn set and I knew she was painting herself into a corner.

  “Okay, well, to be honest, it’s mainly to protect me, so I would consider it a personal favor if you just let it sit in your account for now.”

  She stared at me as if wanting to suss out if I was pulling her leg –which I totally was– before leaning back and nodding her agreement.

  I sighed with relief and we moved on. By the time we sat down to dinner, it was very late, but we had an agreement and a wedding date.

  Nico met me at the Office of the City Clerk the next day, and we went in to get our licenses. Our engagement announcement had come out that morning and already the phones were ringing off the hook. I had to change cars three times to shake off the paparazzi tail I’d acquired and go in through the back. Since all they had of Nico was one picture, she was able to slip in unnoticed. Mostly because she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Who would expect Domenic Cliff’s fiancée to be dressed like that?

  I wanted to take her for breakfast afterward, to celebrate, but she was feeling too insecure in her down-home clothes.

  “Hey, okay, how about you come over to my place and we can have breakfast there?”

  She hesitated, biting her lip. “
I did skip breakfast.”

  “See? We can’t have that. Let’s go.”

  She wasn’t too excited about the evasive maneuvers, but she went with it. Fortunately, it’s not possible to hang around my building without someone coming to move you along, so we were able to enter with no issues.

  I crossed to the kitchen as she made herself comfortable, putting some coffee on as I fried up some eggs and toast. She wandered into the kitchen as I was cooking and leaned on the door, arms crossed.

  “I never pictured you as the cooking type.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, well, I would have sworn you were a great cook, but Morgan says you burn water.”

  “That’s not true!”

  I laughed at how gullible she was. She came up to me and slapped my shoulder. “Bitch.”

  “Hey, watch the merchandoise.”

  I plated the eggs and added toast, putting it on the table. I searched out the honey, sugar, and cream, and placed them on the table too before pouring her a cup of coffee.

  We sat down, with twin sighs. “So, how are you feeling about this wedding idea? Cold feet yet?”

  She laughed. “Nope. Haven’t had time to think about it yet.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thinking never led to anything good.”

  The meal was surprisingly companionable and just sitting in my kitchen together felt so natural, it freaked me out a little.

  After she finished eating, Nico stood up and took her plate and mine to the sink. She washed them and put them to dry on the rack as I blinked stupidly at her.

  “Do you have to go back to work?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. It’s the strangest thing. I explained to my boss that I had to meet you to get a marriage license and she literally fell over herself to give me the whole day off. It was weird.”

  “Not really. If she knew who you were marrying.”

  She laughed. “You know I came up with this idea for this very reason, but seeing it in action is just…” She shook her head wonderingly. “It’s crazy.”