Marry Me For Money: A Billionaire Fake Fiance Novel

by Ali Parker

  She kissed me again. “I never knew I could ever love anyone this much. My heart feels full. I feel so complete with you in my life.”

  We held each other for several minutes, our hearts beating against one another. I stepped away, refilling her champagne glass.

  “Should we celebrate?” I asked her.

  She laughed. “Absolutely. Thank you for giving me my ring back,” she joked.

  “No other woman will ever wear that ring. I want it on your finger always and forever.”

  She grinned, taking a drink from her glass. “You know I’ll have to take it off when I’m filming, right?”

  I grimaced. “I don’t know if I like that. Can’t they edit it out or something.”

  “Terran, I am yours. I don’t need a ring to remind me of that. I have eyes for no one but you.”

  Her words gave me comfort and security. “I am yours as well. I will never look at another woman. I don’t want to. You’ve ruined me for life. You are the only one for me.”

  “I think you owe me a sunset,” she said with a smile.

  “It’s almost over,” I said with regret. “I guess that means we’ll have to come back out another day.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said with a smile.

  I kissed her again. “Want to check out the state bedroom?” I asked her in a low voice.

  She sighed. “I thought you would never ask.”

  Chapter 62

  Hailey

  I woke up before Terran, which had to be a first. The gentle rocking of the boat was foreign to me. I liked it, but it took some getting used to. Judging by the way Terran was sleeping, he was completely content. I looked at my hand, staring at my beautiful ring. I had missed it, even if I had only had it a couple days before I gave it back to him.

  I could hear his slow easy breaths and moved my head to the pillow so I could watch him sleep. His long lashes lay against his face that was perfectly chiseled. His bare chest where I had been laying had a little red mark from my head. One hand was thrown over his stomach while the other rested at his side. I couldn’t believe how much I loved him. I didn’t know that kind of love was possible. I looked at him, and my heart swelled. Everything about him was perfect. Watching him sleep was probably a little creepy, but it was the one time I got to see him with all his defenses down and completely relaxed.

  I sighed with supreme contentment and smiled. I was the luckiest woman in the world. I had the best man on the planet, and I was not about to share him with anyone else. I was going to marry him and keep him very happy. He would never want to leave me.

  His eyes fluttered open, and he immediately smiled when he looked at me. “Hey,” he said in a husky voice.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  “Were you watching me sleep?” he asked.

  I grinned. “I was.”

  “You woke before me?”

  “Strange, huh?”

  He rolled to his side to face me, our noses inches apart. “Is everything okay? Are you seasick?”

  I shook my head. “No. I mean the gentle rocking is different, but it doesn’t make me sick.”

  “Good. Are you hungry?”

  I nodded. “A little.”

  “I’ll make us breakfast. Joe put some stuff in the fridge,” he said, giving me a quick kiss before throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing in his beautiful birthday suit.

  “You better put some clothes on or we’ll be skipping breakfast,” I said in a low voice, studying his toned backside.

  He turned and looked at me with a sexy smile. “Maybe later.”

  I watched him pull on his underwear and a pair of basketball shorts before he walked out of the room. I lay there a bit longer, telling myself it was all real. It wasn’t a dream. I finally managed to get some clothes on and head into the galley. He already had hash browns frying in a pan and was cracking eggs into a bowl.

  “I didn’t know you were that much of a cook?” I said, watching him whisk the eggs.

  “I’m not going to claim I do this often or well, but like I said, I can get by. I think breakfast is one of the easier meals to prepare.”

  I walked to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup, watching as he added salt and cheese to the eggs. “Can I help?” I asked.

  “Sure, you can watch those potatoes while I try not to burn the omelets.”

  “I can do that,” I said, picking up the spatula and pretending I knew what I was doing.

  We worked side by side, me teasing him about his very misshapen omelets while he laughed at the mess I had managed to make with the hash browns going all over the stove when I tried to flip them. There had been a lot of touching and rubbing, which made the cooking all the more fun, if not a little messy.

  “I’ll take a plate up to Joe,” he said after we were finished cooking.

  I cringed, looking at the rather ugly plate of food. “I hope he doesn’t mind the way it looks. I’m guessing it will taste great.”

  Terran laughed. “He can eat with his eyes closed.”

  I took our own plates with a bottle of orange juice on deck so we could enjoy the scenery while we enjoyed our meal. Lord knew we needed something else to look at other than the plates of food we had thrown together. We sat and leisurely enjoyed our breakfast before we both got busy cleaning up the mini-disaster we had created in the kitchen.

  We both checked our phones. I felt guilty for putting mine in my purse when we boarded last night and hadn’t thought twice about it. I had a text from Mandy, wanting to go to the mall. I wasn’t sure if Terran had plans to be out all day and felt bad for asking.

  “Um, are we going to stay out for the day?” I asked hesitantly.

  He shrugged, looking down at his phone. “I wasn’t planning on it. What’s up?”

  “Mandy texted and asked if I wanted to go to the mall with her. I had told her earlier in the week I would, but I can reschedule.”

  “Go. I’ll have Joe take us back. I have some things I need to take care of as well.”

  “It’s okay. I can shop any day of the week. She’ll understand,” I assured him.

  He slowly shook his head, coming to stand beside me. “She’s your best friend. You need to keep her in your life. Don’t ignore her for me. I’ll always be here. I had you the last twenty-four hours. I can let you out of my sight for a day.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, chewing my bottom lip as I tried to decide what to do.

  “Absolutely. I like her, and if you made plans, I want you to keep them. We don’t need to spend every waking minute together. I’m sure we’ll want to kill each other if we do. Go,” he urged.

  “Thank you. I don’t know how you haven’t been swept off the market yet. You are just too damn good to be true.”

  He chuckled. “Because I made sure it never happened.”

  I watched him walk away to talk to Joe. I took a seat in one of the deck chairs and let the sun warm my body. I could see why he wanted to keep the yacht. It would be a lovely way to unwind without worrying about anyone disturbing you. I envisioned my life after the movie. Would I become famous? If I did, I had a feeling I was going to be begging him to help me escape on the yacht a lot more often.

  When we docked, I immediately missed being out on the water with just him and me. Back on land, it was back to the real world. He dropped me off at home, and I promised to call him as soon as I was done shopping. I showered and changed and headed for the mall, ready to do some shopping. I met up with Mandy in the food court, giving her a friendly hug.

  “You look refreshed,” she said, taking in my sun-kissed features.

  I nodded. “I am. And look!” I said, holding up my hand with my beautiful ring in place.

  “Did he propose again?”

  I laughed. “Yes, he did, and it was better than the first time.”

  I quickly told her about our trip out to sea and how he had got down on one knee with the most beautiful sunset as the backdrop. She was shaking her he
ad with amazement.

  “He is a good one. What about the other stuff?”

  “What other stuff? The interview went fine. Terran’s just waiting for the papers to be drawn up. Then he signs, and it will all be over.”

  She looked at me as we strolled through the mall. “Sweetie, I don’t want to be the Debbie Downer, but are you sure he’s going to sign over all that money?”

  “I’m sure he is. I believe him. He knows how important it is to me that he signs it over,” I said firmly.

  She nodded her head. “And how will you know for sure he gives the entire amount to the charity? I mean, do you know how much he is getting exactly?”

  “No, I don’t, but I have to trust him to do what he said he would. I don’t think he would lie to me.”

  We stopped at a store and headed inside to do some browsing. Mandy’s words were hanging between us. We purchased a few things and headed out, ready to do more shopping.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

  “For?” I asked.

  “Because now there is a weird tension between us.”

  “Are you talking about the Terran thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mandy, I have thought about it, but I really do trust him. He has been working so hard to prove he is serious about me. I want to believe him. I have to believe him.”

  “Okay, then I will support you and won’t say anything again. I only ask that you be careful. I know you’re in love with him and he does love you, but money is a funny thing,” she lectured.

  I laughed. “Trust me, I know.”

  “Well, I think you need to decide right now how important it is to you. Are you going to hold it against him if he puts a little chunk of the inheritance in a savings account?” she asked in a hesitant manner.

  I took a deep breath, mulling it over. “I don’t know. I shouldn’t be upset by it, but I have a feeling I would be if I found out later.”

  She nodded her head. “I want to believe him, Hailey, I really do, but you need to make sure you tell him what you expect. Maybe you can relax your demands a little. It’s up to you. No one is saying you have to. I just want to make sure you are okay with all of this. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

  “You’re right. I think I have to say something. I didn’t ask about how much. That feels pushy, but I’ll talk to him and see if he is serious about donating the money still. I don’t know what I’ll do if he goes back on his word,” I told her.

  “In your heart, you know he loves you.”

  “Absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind about that.”

  “Does the money matter?”

  I cringed. “It shouldn’t, but I want him to stick to his word.”

  “Talk to him. Tell him how you feel. He may not have really understood how important it is to you.”

  “I will.”

  She dropped the topic, and we focused on our shopping. We spent the day trying on clothes, picking up a few things for our homes, including a lot of scented candles before having a late lunch in the food court.

  “Thanks for hanging out with me today. I know your man is far more appealing than I am,” she teased.

  I laughed. “I will always hang out with you. I don’t think Terran would be a lot of fun at the mall.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I hope not. He can’t be that perfect.”

  I laughed, gave her a quick hug and headed home. She had given me a lot to think about. I hated that I doubted him at all, but she was right. He could give only a portion of the inheritance to the charity and assume that satisfied what I had asked for. I should be satisfied, but I couldn’t help but think that was deceiving me in some way. I was being paranoid, worrying about something that probably wouldn’t happen.

  I put it out of my mind and began unpacking my bounty for the day, pulling out the lingerie I had picked up for a night with Terran. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in it.

  Chapter 63

  Terran

  I had a feeling the emergency board meeting that had been put on my schedule after I’d left early on Friday was not going to be a pleasant one. My board was comprised of a few older men my father had appointed, a few guys I felt I could trust to keep the company running smoothly. As I strolled into my office, I couldn’t help but think I was getting ready to go in front of a firing squad.

  I sat down at my desk, quickly looked over the company financials and was very impressed with what I saw. They had no reason to complain. We were doing great. I quickly printed off the information, arming myself in case anyone wanted to question my business decisions. I hated having to answer to anyone, especially when I was the one at the helm.

  “I’m headed downstairs,” I told Lena as I walked out.

  “Good luck,” she said with a tight smile.

  “Have you heard something?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Not really.”

  “But something is circulating. What is it?”

  She sighed and looked up at me. “I heard there are a couple of them that are upset with the way things have been going the past few weeks.”

  “Obviously those people haven’t looked at the financials,” I said.

  “You’ll do fine, sir. Be tough and don’t take any of their crap,” she said with a sharp nod of her head.

  I smiled and winked. “Thank you, Lena.”

  I took the stairs to the floor below where the accounting department was located as well as the meeting room the board gathered in once a month. I strode in, holding my head high as I looked around the table and instantly knew it was not going to be a pleasant meeting. I took my seat at the head of the table and folded my hands on top of the file I had brought with me as a defense for the company’s current profits, staring at each one of them. It was insulting to be called in like I was a petulant child getting called to the principal’s office.

  “Gentleman, I hear you have something you’d all like to get off your chest. Let’s have it. We’re all busy men, and I have a full day scheduled,” I said with a tight smile.

  No one spoke. I looked each of them in the eye, waiting for someone to say something. I didn’t like the tension I felt in the room and was mentally reviewing the by-laws in my head. I knew they could remove me from my position, but it would take something big in order for that to happen. They had nothing on me. I would be furious if I fought like hell to keep the company only to lose it now.

  “Are we going to sit here and stare at each other or is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

  The man to my left, George Huckleberry, cleared his throat. “Terran, it has been brought to our attention that you have been out of the office quite a bit in the past month. We wonder where your head is at.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m allowed to take time off. I’ve been working from home as well,” I pointed out.

  George shook his head. “I believe it was more than time off. We understand you’ve had some personal problems to handle, and it has interfered with your work. We need to know if you’re capable of handling the position or if we need to start looking for other options.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Other options?”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “If you are not fit to run the company, it is our right to find someone who is. If you have personal obligations that are keeping you from being present, we need to know.”

  “I have a personal life, George. We all do. This company is running just fine. Have any of you paid attention to the recent profit and loss report? You’ll find we are in a very good position right now. I’m not sure what my personal life has to do with any of you,” I said in a firm tone, looking them all in the eye once again, my jaw set and the vein in my neck bouncing with my rising blood pressure.

  I was not a man to be easily intimidated. They could posture all they wanted, but I knew my stuff. They could not scare me with vague innuendos about what was happening with Hailey. My personal life was mine alone to worry about. None of them had to
answer to me about their mistresses and affairs.

  George looked at the other investors before meeting my eyes again. “We understand there’s an issue with your father’s will that could have an impact on all of us here.”

  I leaned back in my chair, taking a deep breath. Lance. Lance was still trying to cause problems for me. He must have called the board right after the investigator told him my engagement was the real thing. The guy was not going to let it go.

  “There is no issue. Your source should have told you there was a clause in the will, but it has been met. The company is fine,” I assured them.

  “We were told the company would be dissolved if you failed to be married. You’re not married, are you?” George asked boldly.

  “No, I’m not. Like I said, everything has been resolved. The company isn’t going anywhere. We are solvent and stable. I suggest you consider the source of your information before you start believing petty rumors.”

  George looked frustrated. “Terran, we all stand to lose if this company is dissolved. I think we deserve to know what is going on. It is disappointing to say the least that I had to hear about the possibility of losing everything I’ve put into this place through a man I’ve never met.”

  I took a deep breath and leaned forward. “You spoke with my uncle Lance. My father disowned him years ago. Lance doesn’t like me, never has. He attempted to cause problems by going to my father’s lawyer and suggesting my engagement wasn’t real. He hired an attorney to try and keep me from getting my father’s estate.”

  George was nodding his head. “What does that have to do with this company?”

  “My father was the major shareholder. I did not automatically receive those shares on his death. He added a clause to his will that stated I had to be engaged or already married by the time I was thirty-five in order to be eligible for the inheritance.”