Sinfully Rich: A Steamy Billionaire Box Set

by Vivian Wood

  Owen stays quiet, watching Madisyn through slitted eyes. They never got along very well. I can’t say that Owen was sad in the least when Syn dumped me. He crosses his arms reflexively, tugging on his dark blue hoodie.

  “I see you’re shopping…” Madisyn looks around. “I don’t see your wife, though. Where is she?” She pulls a sad face. “She isn’t fake, is she?”

  Owen snorts. “Cate is realer than your fake ass handbag.”

  She shoots him a glare, adjusting the big purse on her elbow. “This is a Birkin, you cretin.”

  He leans forward but I silence him with a hand gesture. “We’re shopping for the bar. Trying out a few new recipes.”

  “And she’s… what, at home?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t keep tabs on her. We’re in a healthy relationship that relies on both us wanting to come back to the other every day.”

  Owen coughs and I eye him. Yeah, I know it was a lie. So what?

  Madisyn gives me a bored look. “I want to meet her. See what my life would have been like if I hadn’t… you know…” She makes a face. “Broken your heart.”

  “Okay,” Owen says, rolling his eyes. “I think I should go look at something… somewhere else. I’ll be in the next aisle, man.”

  “Mm,” I answer, narrowing my gaze on Madisyn. “You’ll have to catch her some other time.”

  She makes a sad face again. “That’s too bad. I really want to meet her before my wedding. Make sure she’s not a psycho before I let her into a ballroom full of my loved ones.” She pauses, thinking. “Maybe I’ll try to catch her at your house!”

  That catches me by surprise, as I’m sure it was intended to. “My house?” I echo, my face showing a little of the horror I feel. I can just imagine Madisyn coming by the house to meet Cate and concluding that she isn’t real.

  “Yes, silly.” She rolls her eyes.

  “Well… you can… but Cate is in the middle of moving in still. Boxes everywhere, that whole thing. I don’t think she would take kindly to a visit. I feel like she would think that you’re being an intrusive busybody.”

  I just let that lie, putting my insult onto Cate. Madisyn glares at me. “I think that’s an excuse. Either she is real and you live together or she isn’t and you don’t. Which is it?”

  “The first,” I say. My gaze slides around the store. I can feel Madisyn wearing down my edges. She already knows that listening to her talk about any topic for more than three minutes will bore me to death.

  “Well then,” she says brightly. “I’ll just feel free to pop by and try to meet her sometime soon.”

  “Well, you should call first. I mean, you have to realize what you might be interrupting. Cate is so fucking hot and it hard for us to keep our hands off each other.”

  There, that one was only a partial lie. Cate is hot. It’s only the touching each other part that is completely untrue.

  She rolls her eyes. “I’m willing to risk it.”

  Eyeing a very bored-looking Reggie, I shrug. “Doesn’t your man Reggie have any concerns about you coming to my house? After all, you did practically live with me for a year…”

  She looks completely smug. “Nope. Reginald knows where his bread is buttered, okay?”

  She giggles, glancing at Reggie. Reggie shrugs and nods, which is apparently enough to satisfy Madisyn.

  “See?” she says. Her phone chirps and she peers inside her giant purse, looking for it. “Anyway, I’ve really got to get moving… so much to do for the wedding, so little time. Right Reggie?”

  “Yup,” he rumbles.

  “I’ll be seeing you soon though, don’t worry.” Madisyn gives me a cheesy smile. “Bye bye, Luca.”

  With that, she starts walking toward the front of the store. Reggie dutifully wheels the cart in her wake, utterly unbothered by anything at all. I stare after him for a second, shaking my head.

  Maybe Madisyn would never have dumped me if I just went along with every stupid thing she said. If that’s what she was looking for in a mate, I’m very glad that we broke up when we did.

  Very, very, very glad.

  I hurry to find Owen, my mind spinning. Do I just hope that the wedding hoax works out and Madisyn never finds out? Or do I escalate things by asking Cate to move in with me for the duration?

  I mean, it really wouldn’t be a big deal to have her move in. My place is huge. We could practically live together and never see each other. And Cate’s home life is… well, from what little I know of her situation, it seems like it’s chaotic at best.

  Really, I would be doing Cate a favor. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I decide to ask her to move in.

  Once I drop Owen back off at the bar and unload the groceries, I head to Cate’s place again. It’s a drive, way on the very outskirts of Seattle, in a big old house next to a set of railroad tracks. I pull up out front and walk around the vegetable garden growing in her front lawn.

  A very old black lab watches me skeptically from a dog bed on the front porch when I pound on Cate’s front door. After a few seconds, I’m about to knock again.

  The door is yanked open by Cate, wearing a bathrobe, a towel in her hair, and a face mask. “Yeah, yeah,” she starts. Then she sees me and stops. “What... what are you doing here, Luca?”

  She pulls the edges of her robe closer together, as if I care about that. I clear my throat.

  “Move in with me.”

  The surprise on her face is clear. “What? Why?”

  I shrug. “Because. You’re my wife for the next seven weeks. We should present a united front.” I look behind her, where three dogs are fighting over a rope toy. “Plus it would be your own space for a while. I doubt that this place can boast that.”

  She sucks her lower lip into her mouth. “I don’t know, Luca. Won’t we be tripping over each other just the same at your house? At least here, I know I’m not… you know, unwelcome.”

  Rolling my eyes, I challenge her. “I have a ton of space. And you’d be doing me a favor.”

  Arching a brow, she crosses her arms. Her little pink bathrobe hitches up on one side, showing me more of her hip than she probably wants me to see. But I can be gentleman, and to prove it I keep my eyes raised.

  “How much of a favor?” she demands to know. “Are we talking an extra bonus? Because I’m pretty comfortable here already.”

  My nose wrinkles. “All right. Let’s say… eight thousand dollars, as opposed to five. At the end of the whole thing, for your signature on the annulment papers.”

  “Ten,” she fires back. “And I get to bring my cat.”

  Grinding my teeth, I pause for a second. The cat is no thing, but… is Madisyn not being able to find out that we’re not married really worth an extra five grand? Well, not married in the long term, anyway.

  Blowing out a breath, I concede. “Fine. But you have to start moving in immediately.”

  Cate narrows her gaze on my face, as if she knows that I’m up to something but can’t quite figure it out. She sticks her hand out, and I shake it briefly. Her hand is warm and soft in mine. When I lean closer, I get just a whiff of vanilla scent.

  Mmmm, I think. It’s automatic, just enjoying the clean smell of a freshly showered Cate.

  “I work tonight. You know what the boss can be like.” She smiles, pursing her lips. “Tomorrow I can move my stuff in, though. There isn’t much.”

  “All right.” I glance at my watch. “I have to stop by my house and then go to work… I guess just call me when you’re ready to move tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” She closes the door without ceremony.

  I can’t be too worried about that, because I’m officially running out of time. Work is in less than two hours and I have to squeeze a shower in before then. After driving back to my side of town, I pull the car in the driveway of my three story white colonial and sprint up to the house.

  I stop briefly to check the mail and then flip through it as I let myself into the house. It’s mainly junk
, but there is a large padded envelope from someplace called Chapel of The Bells. I recognize that name; I tried to go there the morning after I woke up next to Cate, wretchedly hungover.

  Setting the rest of the mail aside, I tear open the envelope. Inside are a thumb drive and several sheets of photos. I brace myself for the photos: surely we’re good and toasted by this point in the evening. Who knows what we’ve had to drink, how we got to the chapel, or what we are even wearing.

  I’m expecting… I don’t know, one of us to be wearing a foam finger and the other to be dressed as an alien, or something. Red faced, sweaty, looking like we are about to puke. Maybe even mostly passed out.

  But when I look at the photos, I’m surprised for a different reason.

  In every single photo, I’m staring at Cate like she is the only woman I’ve ever loved. Like she’s the reason for my existence, something I’ve never felt for anyone. And her eyes are glued on me as she beams. In the photos, she’s wearing a round pink piece of plastic on her fourth finger and looking blissed the fuck out.

  Sure, we’re a little intoxicated. But we are both bright eyed and bushy tailed, so to speak. There is absolutely no reason that anyone wouldn’t marry us, especially a Las Vegas chapel.

  Wow. When have I ever been that happy before? I guess never, which is why I had to be extremely drunk for those pictures to be taken. Still, it’s better if no one else sees the photos. Especially not the judge that we are about to plead incapacitation to, hopefully.

  Shoving the pictures back in the envelope, I drop the entire envelope into the fruit bowl in my kitchen. That’s as good a spot as any while I decide what to do with the photos.

  The expression on my face in the pictures keeps coming back to me as I shower, though.

  What did she do that made me so happy? And vice versa, how did that happen exactly?

  As the shower washes away my shampoo, I know I can’t do anything to make myself remember, but I would really like to know.

  11

  Cate

  I haul a box of my things through the front door of Luca’s house, ignoring the little voice inside my head. The one that screams as I walk into Luca’s foyer. The one who whispers nasty things to me as Luca shows me around.

  “This is the living room,” he says. “There’s a more formal parlor around the corner, but I never use it.”

  And the little voice, the one that sounds just like my cranky grandpa before he passed… it whispers, don’t even think about getting comfortable here. You know that someone as rich as Luca has a dozen girls lined up, ready to take your place the second you falter.

  I take a deep breath, carrying the box through the open concept living room and up the stairs to the right. The floors are covered with pristine white carpet, the walls are very muted jewel tones. Even back before my parents died in a car accident, we never had the kind of money that this house suggests.

  I can just imagine my mother’s face as she looked around this place. So light! So airy! I bet it gets good sun.

  My mouth twists. My mom was fairly obsessed with the amount of light a room affords her plants.

  I really, really miss her a lot right now.

  Turning a corner, I nudge my bedroom door open and drop the box of stuff on the bed. Luca is right on my heels, dumping a fourth box on the bed. He frowns at the boxes.

  “Is this really all you have?”

  My cheeks flush. I don’t mean to, but I automatically go on the defensive. “Some of us weren’t born with a lot of money, okay?”

  Luca flinches just a hair. “I didn’t mean that. I just mean, did we leave something behind? It seems like you should have way more stuff.”

  Cheeks burning, I shake my head. “This is it. Everything I need for the next seven weeks, anyway.”

  Okay, it’s everything I have period, but he doesn’t need to know that.

  The voice in my head snickers. You’re just lucky you happened to get drunk and marry him. Look at how wealthy he is! Don’t expect it to last.

  I clench my teeth. Luca shrugs. “Okay. Just checking.” He glances at his phone. “Shit, this is the manager for the Tells. I’ve got to answer this.”

  “Go,” I wave him off.

  He gives me an odd look as he heads out of the room, answering the phone. “Hey, Jared? Yeah, man. Yeah, I was just hoping…”

  The sound of his voice fades away. I turn back to my boxes, exhaling. It shouldn’t take me very long to get them squared away. Not long at all. I stare at them for a second longer, my face glum.

  I reach into one of my boxes, pulling out a little wooden crucifix. That goes on to the bedside table, along with a stack of books. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, partially read. A copy of Sherman Alexie’s autobiography. Both copies were checked out of the library just a couple of days ago.

  To that list, I add my well-thumbed bible. My dad always said that he could sleep anywhere his bible was unpacked; I guess I feel that way too today.

  The little voice in the back of my head laughs. I ignore it.

  After unpacking the rest of my stuff and putting the flattened boxes in the closet for later use, I glance at my cell phone. Just enough time for a quick shower in my new bathroom before I have to run to catch the bus.

  Every other Tuesday I give my evening to the women’s shelter. I volunteer wherever they can use me, usually leading a prayer group at the end. The bus going to that part of downtown only runs once an hour, so I will have to be economical with my time.

  I sprint through showering and change into my regular old clothes. I like the fabric of my new work dress, but going downtown on the bus… it’s just better if I don’t attract any attention.

  Wearing a long gray skirt and a buttoned up black cardigan achieves exactly that. I make sure to grab my coat as it promises to drop below freezing tonight. Snagging my shoulder bag, I hunt around inside it for my necklace. My head is down as I reach the living room, frowning. Then I find what I was looking for.

  A skinny silver chain with a little silver cross, given to me on my confirmation day by my parents. Of course I immediately drop it on the floor right in front of Luca, who gives me another odd look. He bends down to pick it up, eyeing my outfit as he rises again.

  “Where are you going dressed like that?” he asks. “I thought we had moved beyond the librarian’s garb, princess.”

  I give him my best glare. “I have to catch the bus. I’m going to be late.”

  He dangles my necklace within my reach. He’s so much taller than I am that it’s a little ridiculous, him standing there holding it over my head. I reach out to grab it, but he has other ideas. “Uh uh uh. You didn’t answer my question.”

  Gritting my teeth, I give him an answer. “I’m going to First Hill.”

  He pauses, cocking his head. “You’re going to that part of town right now? It’s a little late, don’t you think?”

  “Give me my necklace,” I snap. “Or you can find someone else to play house with. I swear to the Lord, I will walk away from this marriage.”

  Luca’s brows rise, but his hand does drop. “Touchy, touchy.”

  I grab the necklace from him. “My parents gave me this necklace, you complete jerk.”

  “Oh.” His smile falls away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

  Stamping my foot, I glance at my phone. Then I roll my eyes. “Oh crud. I just missed the bus. That’s just… do you even know how much more an Uber will cost?”

  I make an infuriated sound and then manage to drop my necklace again.

  Luca is too fast for me, picking the necklace up again. “I’m sorry, Cate. Here, turn around. I’ll put your necklace on for you.”

  Eyeing him angrily, I heft my coat and my shoulder bag. “No.”

  “Please?” he asks. No smirk this time, no humor at all.

  I still. That may be the first time I’ve heard that word ever leave his lips. Huffing a sigh, I pull a face. “Fine. But hurry.”

  I turn around, s
hifting things in order to lift my long hair away from my neck. But Luca is no slouch; he helps me bundle my hair up and then smoothly brings the necklace around my neck, clasping it fast. He smooths it down onto my neck with his calloused fingers. The heat they leave, lingering on my nape just for a second, causes me to shiver.

  He pauses for just a second, his fingers staying there. I wonder what sort of illicit thoughts he’s having as we stand there, frozen in place.

  It’s the first time that I’ve actually thought that he actually finds me attractive. Not just hot, whatever that means, but attractive enough to fantasize about. If only for a moment.

  I feel my cheeks begin to heat. Then before I can protest he withdraws.

  “Alright,” he says, moving away. “Now get in my car. I’ll drive you to First Hill.”

  Shaking my head, I move toward the front door. “I’ll just take an Uber—“

  “Will you stop being such a pain?” He heads toward the kitchen. “I said I’m driving you. Just let me grab my keys and coat.”

  I stick out my tongue at him and he rolls his eyes at me. He’s as good as his word though, ushering me outside into his Porsche Cayenne. I climb in the passenger seat of the luxurious vehicle, a little intimidated.

  The seat warmers start heating up the second he starts the car. He presses a few buttons on his lit up center console, then looks at me. “Buckle up.”

  I slide the seatbelt across my body, already giving myself a pep talk. It’s just a car. It may be fancy, but I shouldn’t be worried. In any event, I only have to be inside for twenty minutes, tops.

  Luca pulls out of the driveway. “Where are we going exactly? Do you have an address?”

  Squinting, I try to remember what the intersection is. “Columbia and 9th, I think?”

  He punches it into the car’s navigation system. “All right. You don’t seem entirely sure.”

  Raising one shoulder, I shrug. “I know the place by sight. I’ve been going there for almost two years now.”

  He gives me an annoyed look. “Are you going to tell me what this place is?”

  Looking away out my window, I sigh. “It’s a women’s shelter, all right?”