by T. S. Ryder
On the day that marked two years after she and Max had made their deal to be fake engaged, Scarlett stared impatiently at the clock while her beautiful ten-month-old baby boy nursed. His clear blue eyes, the same color as his father's, drifted shut, signaling that he was ready to go down for a nap. Even though she and Max had planned for this, and had tried to adjust his sleep schedule so that he would be awake and happy during the ceremony, it looked like their son would be sleeping through the wedding.
"It's a good thing Max is so patient." She sighed as she eased the baby off. They had named him Maximillian after his father, but would be calling him Liam so as to avoid confusion as he grew up. "Do the guests look like they're getting impatient? A gentlewoman never keeps her guests waiting. I knew I should have fed him before we left the house."
Vanessa chuckled. Scarlett had chosen to have only the elderly housekeeper as matron of honor, with no bridesmaids. For the wedding, Scarlett and Max had planned the most elaborate affair they could, then taken all the money that would have been spent on it and gave it to various charities, instead putting on a simple wedding with only friends and family in the church Max's parents had married in.
"A gentlewoman takes care of her baby before her guests," Vanessa said. "Give him here so you can finish getting ready."
Scarlett handed the baby over and did up her dress before she took off the nursing cover. She'd gone with a navy blue taffeta number that laced up the front for easy feeding access. The hems and sleeves were embroidered with a white accent that looked stunning. While Vanessa rocked Liam to make sure he stayed asleep, Scarlett went to the mirror to check her makeup and pin back a stray curl or two.
The white orchids that were her wedding bouquet were waiting for her nearby. They were one of the extravagant items that Max had insisted on, once she had told him that they were her favorite flower.
"You look lovely, dear," Vanessa assured her. She beamed like a proud mother. "I always knew it would take a special girl to be with Max, and I'm glad he found you."
"Found me?" Scarlett giggled, giddy and excited with a dash of nerves. "Interrupted me, more like it. If he hadn't walked in on me trying to rob him…"
She let the thought trail off. If he hadn't arrived when he had, none of this would have happened. The thought left her breathless; it was so terrifying to consider the fact that it would have been so easy for them to pass by each other, never meeting. If she didn't have the man she loved, if she didn't have her beautiful baby boy… where would she be?
Vanessa smiled at her. "I don't like to think where Max would be if it weren't for you, Scarlett. You have really brought out the best in him, and for that, I am profoundly grateful."
"He would have been fine without me," Scarlett mumbled, feeling the heat rise in her face as she ducked her head. The tiara that used to belong to his mother was perched on her head, and she wore a matching ruby necklace around her throat. It complemented the dark blue of her dress perfectly. "I wouldn't be alive without him. I owe him so much."
"And he owes you more than you know. I hadn't seen him genuinely smile since his parents died. Not until you came along."
"Oh, goodness!" Scarlet laughed in embarrassment as her eyes filled with tears. "Stop that, or I'll ruin my makeup."
"That won't do," Vanessa said, shaking her head. "You collect yourself. I'll go tell that charming gentleman that you're ready."
Scarlett smiled at the elderly woman's description of Hao. As Vanessa left, the bride turned back to the mirror. She hadn't lost all the extra weight she had gained during her pregnancy, meaning her stomach was even rounder than normal, but she didn't mind. Every time Max saw her naked, he marveled at how beautiful she was. She only really cared about two opinions as far as her body was concerned–hers and his.
"This is it," she whispered to herself. She twisted the engagement ring that had belonged to Max's grandmother on her finger. "Who would have thought, two years ago, that I'd be getting married?"
She didn't have long to muse on the events of the past years. Vanessa returned with Hao, who beamed at her and kissed her cheek when he saw her. True to the promise she had made two years ago, she had asked him to walk her down the aisle, and he had been more than happy to oblige her.
Soon they were in the chapel, Scarlett's hand tucked into the crook of his arm.
Scarlett's breath caught in her chest at her first sight of her husband-to-be. He was wearing a black tuxedo paired with a white shirt. A navy handkerchief was just visible in his breast pocket. A smile lit his face, like he was seeing clearly for the first time. Scarlett's heart beat faster and she smiled back, the same feeling filling her. Hao had to pull her back when she picked up her pace.
"A gentlewoman never rushes," he whispered into her ear. "And this is exactly why I never play at things. It gets real far too quickly."
Scarlett wanted to remember every detail of this moment. The way Max's hair curled at the back of his neck. The way he held his hands in front of him but checked once for the ring in his pocket. The flash of light in his eye when he gave Vanessa a smile. And she did. Later she would remember a lot more, like how Hao choked up when they reached the front of the aisle, and how the wedding guests looked. But at that moment she was so wrapped up in Max's eyes that everything else disappeared.
She was vaguely aware of the exchange of vows, the words she had practiced coming off her tongue so readily that she didn't need to think about what she was saying. Liam woke up during the exchange of rings, and both Scarlett and Max smiled at him as he began gurgling and chomping on Vanessa's finger.
Scarlett could hardly believe this was real… it was all too good to be true. And yet it was happening, it was true.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said. "You may kiss the bride."
Max moved in to kiss her, but Scarlett was faster. She threw her arms around his neck and pushed herself to her toes. Their lips came together to the sound of a thunderous applause.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 4: The Billionaire Dragon's Mate
Description
A curvy witch helping her best friend PLUS a gorgeous billionaire with a secret PLUS a conspiracy to take his wallet and break his heart.
Jesse Barrett is a superhot billionaire businessman and celebrity. His rich lifestyle looks like a dream and women are ready to drop their panties instantly when they see him. But secretly, he longs for a woman who loves him for who he really is, and for the dragon inside of him.
Ella is a curvy, down-to-earth witch who isn’t interested in money or a new pair of Louboutins. What she is interested in is her BFF Charlotte who is in tears because Jesse just broke up with her. She’ll do anything to make her feel better.
Charlotte is out for revenge. She wants to hurt Jesse as badly as he hurt her. And she needs Ella and her magic for it. They want to blackmail Jesse for money with a plan that involves faking a pregnancy, revealing his deepest secret and breaking his heart.
But when Ella meets Jesse to put their plan into action, she finds out that all the magical spells in the world cannot save her when she looks into his eyes.
Can she go on with this game of trust and betrayal? Will the truth come out? Will she have to choose between Jesse and Charlotte?
Chapter One
Ella glanced at her ringing phone, which was sitting on her coffee table. She could have used her magical powers to see who was calling, but she was tired and it was easier just to reach for the device and pick it up. The screen said “Charlotte”. She answered the call, always ready to have a conversation with her best friend. And since Charlotte had started dating the super hot billionaire Jesse Barrett, her conversations had been filled with juicy gossip about her rich lifestyle.
“Spill,” Ella said.
But instead of gushing with joy, Charlotte was sobbing. “Ella—he—he—”
“What’s wrong? Did Jesse do something?”
“Yes—” More sobs and indecipher
able words.
“What?”
“He—broke—”
Ah. That was all she needed to hear. “He broke up with you? Why?”
“He—”
“Okay. Stop. Where are you right now, and what are you doing?”
“Home.”
Ella had no idea what Charlotte said next, but it didn’t matter. “I’m getting ice cream and wine, and I’ll be right over.”
She hung up and jumped into action. Her evening had just gone from Netflix in her pajamas to a night of consoling and crying and bad-mouthing another loser man who didn’t know how amazing Charlotte was. Ella threw on her yoga pants and a less-stained shirt, grabbed a few calming potions and slipped into flip flops.
On her way to Charlotte’s apartment, she stopped at the convenience store and picked up the double chocolate chunk ice cream and Merlot that were their typical comfort foods for a night of wallowing. Charlotte pulled open her door with puffy, red eyes and a wadded tissue in her hand. She threw her arms around Ella gratefully.
“Tell me everything.” Ella set the bottle on the table and grabbed two spoons from the kitchen, then joined Charlotte in the living room.
Charlotte held a box of tissues on her lap and she blew her nose one more time before she snatched the potion from Ella’s hand, gulped it down and started.
“He ended it,” she said simply, her tears gentler now. “After six months, that’s it.”
“What happened? Why did he end it?”
“He’s an ass. I should have known. How could I think someone so hot and rich wouldn’t be a complete jerk? Do you have another potion?”
“You can’t drink another one yet. Wait for that one to work. So what was his reason?” Ella asked, pouring some wine into the glasses. “Like, what did he say to you?”
“A bunch of lame lines. I’m not ready for a serious relationship. I don’t think this is working out. Nothing concrete. He basically wants to sleep around.”
“Really?”
“That’s the only thing that makes sense. Why else wouldn’t he want to be in a serious relationship? And if there was nothing specific, then he’s just an asshole.”
Ella took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. I know you wanted it to be more.”
“I thought I was going to marry him, you know? Have this amazing life of being rich and going to fancy restaurants and events and wearing designer clothing all the time.” She broke into sobs again. “I’ll never have Louboutins now!”
“Does all that really matter, though, if he didn’t love you? I mean, would you want a loveless marriage?”
“Who said it would be loveless? I loved him!”
Ella took a long sip of her wine. “Did you, though? Or did you just love his money? You complained about him a lot. And”—she took another gulp—“you said he wasn’t very good in bed.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I loved him enough. And the sex thing? No one who’s that rich doesn’t have yearly affairs anyway. We probably wouldn’t have sex that often.” She sighed and downed a glass of wine in one long pull. “If I were a witch, I’d just cast a spell on him and make him love me.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you a million times, it doesn’t work like that. Don’t you think if it did, I’d be married by now? Hello?”
“I’m sure you would have been able to cast some spell on him to make him want you. What good is being a witch if you can’t make people do things they don’t want to do?”
“And that would be exactly why the universe made me a witch and not you, dear. It knew you would use magic for evil.”
Charlotte downed more wine and set her glass on the table. “Well, we have to do something. Ooh, you know what would make me feel better?”
“More wine.” Ella filled their glasses.
“Well, obviously, but also revenge. We should get back at him for dumping me. There has to be some spell or something.”
“Revenge? Like, make him grow warts or slash his tires?”
“That’s child’s play. I’m talking revenge for real. I want to mess with his head and his heart.”
Ella raised her eyebrows. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, first, let me tell you his secret.”
Chapter Two
“He’s what?!”
“I know. Can you believe it?” Charlotte said. “The first time I saw it, I was kind of freaked out.”
“I’m surprised he even showed you if he has all these commitment issues,” Ella said. Though it was pretty obvious to her that Charlotte was exaggerating the problems they’d had.
“Well, who knows? So, I think the plan should be that we go and catch him in the act. We take pictures and use that as blackmail.”
“Okay.” Ella finished off her wine and set the glass down, reaching for her spoon and the ice cream. “But what’s the point of blackmailing him exactly?”
“Money. Obviously.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “I want to hurt him worse than that, though. How can we really mess with his head?”
“Make him fall madly in love, then break his heart?” Ella was feeling a little warm and tipsy from the wine, and after hours of talking about Jesse’s worst features, she was starting to feel the desire for revenge right with Charlotte, as if she’d been the one who’d had her heart broken by him.
“I like how you think.” Charlotte pointed at her with her spoon before diving back into the double chocolate chunk. “But you said love potions don’t work like that.”
“They don’t. But there’s a spell that’ll heighten whatever feelings he has.”
“Then why don’t we cast it on him for me?” Charlotte nearly shrieked at her.
“Umm, hello? It heightens whatever he’s feeling. He just broke up with you. If I did the spell now, whatever negative things he’s feeling towards you would be heightened. Is that what you want?”
Charlotte stuck out her lower lip. “No.”
Ella gave her a mischievous grin. “But, if we convince him to like me, we can cast the spell and make him love me.”
Charlotte leaned forward and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “And then you can fake a pregnancy and really mess with him.”
Ella scrunched her eyebrows. “There is a spell that does that, but what’s the point? We’ll have the photo for blackmail money and the love spell to break his heart. Why bring my pretend future child into this?”
“Because more than anything, Jesse wants to be a dad. If you get him to love you, then he thinks you’re having his baby, when you tell him the truth, it will shatter him.”
Ella poured the last drops of the wine into her mouth. “Well, I guess that’ll show him that you were the one for him all along.”
“Exactly.” Charlotte stuck a huge spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, then started to cry. “Why did he have to break up with me? I love him!”
Ella patted her hand. “I know. I know. It’ll be okay.”
Charlotte sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. When we get back at him, then I’ll feel better.”
“And I’m going to make it happen.”
Charlotte leaned forward and wrapped Ella in a tight hug. “Thank you. I love you.”
***
The next day, once she’d slept off her hangover and pumped herself full of aspirin, Ella drove to Charlotte’s. She was anxious to see if Charlotte was right and Jesse’s secret was for real. If it was, then that would be huge for the magical world. She was also a bit curious about Jesse. Charlotte had talked about him plenty in the months she was dating him and before. It was enough to make Ella interested in him as a person, and part of her just wanted to know if this was really possible. Could she actually make a billionaire fall for her, fake a pregnancy, then have the freedom to walk away from it all? That seemed like a great deal of power.
She figured the temptation level was low, anyway. She had no interest in the lifestyle Charlotte craved. Ella didn’t need expensive bags and clothing or fancy dinners. As a witch, she
had power beyond whatever money could buy. Most witches and wizards had a carefree attitude when it came to money. If she got desperate, she could always turn to alchemy and make some aluminum into gold.
Ella wasn’t used to getting a ton of attention from men. She felt good in her body and didn’t have a problem with her curves, but some men did. She wasn’t the perfect image of skinny glamor that Charlotte was. If Jesse was into that sort of thing, he might not go for her. Maybe she’d cast a spell to appear thinner since he seemed to like that sort of thing.
“Okay, so where are we going?” Ella asked.
“This is where he does it.”
Ella nodded and continued to follow Charlotte’s directions until they reached a part of the highway with a deep shoulder.
They parked and started walking, coming to Jesse’s car about a mile down the road.
“See, I told you he would be here!” Charlotte pointed at his car. “There’s something about Wednesdays. He always comes on Wednesdays.”
They walked farther into the woods until any hint of the road was obscured from sight. They followed a worn path for a long way.
“Shh. We’re getting close,” Charlotte said. “Get your camera ready.”
Ella took out her phone and opened the camera app. Charlotte crept along, making her movements slower and quieter. Ella did the same. They came to a flatter patch of ground, something of a clearing with fewer trees than the surrounding woods.
And there, in the middle of the clearing, was a huge silver dragon. He stood tall, eating some sort of green plant. His long tail, covered in spikes, lay behind him. He held the plant in large paws with long, clawed ends. He was a little scary. From this angle, they could just see his razor teeth chewing the plant.
