HOW TO LASSO A BILLIONAIRE
A Second Chance Romance
Katharine Sadler
Copyright © 2020 Katharine Sadler
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
CHAPTER ONE
"Come with us, Aunt Bri," Addy said, her little arms squeezing Bri's neck so tight she had to sip air into her lungs rather than take full breaths. Bri didn't ease her arms or push Addy away. She'd rather hold onto her niece for a bit longer than breathe.
"I'm sorry, Ads. I can't go with you, but you're going to have so much fun with Aunt Louise that you won't even have time to miss me," Bri said, as soon as Addy loosened her grip enough for her to speak. Addy's silky blond hair blew across Bri's face as a warm breeze floated their way. She breathed in her strawberries and mint scent and pushed back tears.
Addy finally released her hold on Bri's neck and stepped away, her little face scrunched up tight like she was trying not to cry. How had Addy learned to hold back her tears at only four years old? "Grammy says Aunt Louise has horses," Addy said with her adorable little kid pronunciation.
"She does." Bri stood, barely resisting the urge to grab Addy up for one more hug. Bri's best friend, Isla, wrapped an arm around Bri's shoulders like she knew what Bri wanted to do and was holding her back.
"Don't worry, Addy," Isla said. "I'll take care of your Aunt Bri."
"Thank you, Miss Issy," Addy said with a solemn nod. "Call me if she's sad or if she needs my help with something."
"And make sure she has fun," Bri's mother, Maureen, said, stepping up next to Addy and reaching for her hand. "Come on, sugar, let's get you in your car seat. We've got a long drive ahead of us."
Bri bit her tongue to stop herself from suggesting she drive them to Aunt Louise's. It would be silly for her to offer. She'd have no way home, and she needed all the time she could get to make the money she needed.
Maureen walked back over to Isla and Bri. Addy, in her car seat, hugged a teddy bear tight to her chest, her big, green eyes zoned out, sleepy. Maureen pulled Bri into her arms for a tight hug. "You don't worry about a thing, honey. Have fun in Vegas, hang out by the pool, be lazy, and do something for yourself for a change."
Bri hugged Maureen and rubbed her back. Her mother's grip felt strong and she'd put on some weight, maybe she really was as healthy as she kept telling everyone.
Maureen pulled out of Bri's arms and glared at her. "Stop testing my strength, Brianne. I've been well for over six weeks now, and I'm doing great. There's not a thing for you to worry about."
Bri forced a smile, though her chin wobbled. Maureen did look better, the dark circles under her eyes were gone and she stood to her full five eleven height, instead of hunching in pain. "You can't blame me for worrying, Momma. If you'd told me sooner you were feeling bad, we could have gotten you the treatment you needed, and you'd never have gotten so sick." Never have nearly died, she thought, but was smart enough not to say. Maureen hated to be reminded of her mortality and Bri was just fine with that, because she didn't much want to think about it herself.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the privilege of ignoring the financial doom Maureen's prognosis had brought with it. They'd been living on the edge of financial ruin since the day Addy had moved into Maureen's house four years ago, and Maureen's wicked bout of pneumonia had pushed them right off the cliff. Not that Bri would ever tell her mother that. The last thing Maureen needed was the stress of more bad news.
"I know," Maureen said with a sigh. "I promise it won't happen again. I'll tell you every time I feel the slightest bit bad. A text for every sniffle and a phone call for a coughing fit."
"Good," Bri said, ignoring her mother's sarcasm. "See that you do."
She hugged Maureen again. "I love you, Momma. Have fun with Aunt Louise and call if you need anything."
"I love you, too, honey."
Maureen pulled out of Bri's arms and hugged Isla. "You make sure she has fun, Isla Cassidy. Don't let her waste a moment worrying."
Isla squeezed Maureen tight. They'd been close since Isla and Bri had become best friends when Bri was nine and Isla was seven. "I promise to keep her drunk and happy for the next six weeks."
Maureen laughed, unfazed, and waved as she walked to the car. She knew Bri well enough to know drunk and happy wasn't how she rolled. "I love you girls. Send lots of pictures."
Isla wrapped her arm around Bri's shoulders as Maureen pulled out, Addy waving madly. They waved until the car faded into the distance and Bri managed to swallow the lump in her throat and force back the tears.
"None of that," Isla said, shoving Bri out of her embrace. "It's time to get you packed and on the road. I'm going to keep you so busy and so deep in beautiful men that you won't have a moment to miss them."
"I'm not going." Bri stared down her best friend. In jean shorts and tank top, thick dark hair up in a messy bun on the top of her head, Isla looked casual and comfortable, tanned and lean. With high cheek bones and brilliant sapphire eyes, Isla was beautiful, though she'd never believe it, no matter how often Bri told her. The thick scars on her right cheek were all Isla saw when she looked in the mirror, but Bri barely noticed them anymore.
Isla snorted. "You're going, babe. I just promised your mother I'd make sure you relaxed and had some fun for a change. I don't lie to Maureen."
Bri glanced at the pot-holed blacktop of the road, looking for any way to distract her best friend, but there was nothing. She had no choice but to tell the truth, to admit to Isla that she'd failed. "The bank is going to foreclose on the house. We're three months behind on the mortgage. I have to find a job, three jobs, and work my ass off while Mom and Addy are gone."
Isla frowned, her eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell me how bad it was?"
Bri sighed and led Isla out of the Arizona summer heat and into her small, but air conditioned, home. She poured two glasses of lemonade and handed one to Isla before taking a seat at the kitchen table. She was stalling because she wasn't sure how to answer that question without insulting Isla or admitting how pathetic she'd become. The truth was that she envied Isla.
Bri loved Addy and wouldn't trade a day she'd spent with her, but she sometimes wished she could have finished college, that she could have taken her shot at becoming a professional tennis player, that she could live her dreams the way Isla was living hers. That envy had made it nearly impossible for her to admit the truth of her circumstances, to tell Isla that she had trouble falling asleep at night worrying how she was going to take care of Addy and Maureen. And maybe she'd liked being able to pretend with Isla, the one person in her life who didn't need anything from her. She opened her mouth to try to explain it, but those weren't the words that came out. "Like how you told me what was going on at home after I left for college? How you came to me for help?"
A part of her wished she could take the words back, but the rest of her wanted an answer. Isla had refused to talk about it, but Bri had long suspected trouble at home had caused sixteen-year-old Isla to start hanging out with a rough crowd, drinking, smoking pot, staying away from home for days. Bri had been away at college by then.
She hadn't been there for her best friend when she'd been at the lowest point of her life. When she'd gotten into the car accident that had scarred her face and nearly killed her. Bri had always wanted to know the truth about those days, maybe absolve herself of some of the guilt she still felt about not being there for Isla, but curiosity wasn't the only reason she brought it up. Pure deflection and self-preservation drove her. She felt too raw and scared herself to find the energy to worry about Isla's feelings.
Isla wrapped her arms around her middle. "There was nothing to tell."
Bri immediately felt bad. She could push. She could list all her suspicions, and she might get a real answer out of Isla, but she knew her best friend better than that. Isla would shut down, would turn inward and walk away before she told Bri the whole story. It's what she'd been doing all her life, and the only way Bri knew there was a story at all was because she'd paid attention and seen more than Isla wanted. Isla raised her eyes to meet Bri's, the pain there raw and pulsing even all those years later. "I'm sorry, Isla. I know you don't want to talk about it, and I'm not going to push, but if that ever changes. If you ever need to--"
"There's nothing to talk about," Isla said. "I'm an adult. I'm not going to cry to you about my sad childhood. I'm over it, long over it, but this stuff with Addy and your mom, this is happening now. Why didn't you come to me?"
Bri stared down at her nails, bitten to the quick with stress and worry, pale blue from an afternoon nail-painting session with Addy. She and Isla used to have home spa days, and Bri had taken pride in her shaped nails and her clear skin, her make-up routine a daily time for herself she never missed. That girl she'd been felt so far away, except when she talked to Isla. "There was nothing you could do but worry. I was sick to death of thinking about our finances and Mom's health, and it was the last thing I wanted to talk to you about." She held up her hand when Isla opened her mouth to argue. "Talking to you and texting with you about silly stuff gets me through the rough times. You are my escape when Addy's having a grumpy, tantrum-filled day and you were my escape when I thought Mom was going to die."
"What about Max?" Isla said his name carefully, like she'd just avoided adding a nasty modifier to the name of Addy's absentee father, Bri's brother.
"He doesn't make a ton of money working construction in Idaho, and--"
"He's still working construction? With his brain he should be doing something amazing and making sure you and Maureen and Addy are all taken care of."
Bri rubbed a hand over her face and took a sip of lemonade, the sugary drink giving her the hit of energy she needed to face the conversation. "I don't know, Isla. He doesn't exactly confide in me, and it's not like he's ever around for us to talk in person."
"I don't understand. You two used to be so close."
Max was only sixteen months older than Bri. At one time in her life, she'd called him her best friend. Now, he felt like as much of a stranger to Bri as he was to Isla. He talked to Addy on her birthday and at Christmas, but he never had the time for a real conversation with Bri or Maureen. He'd shut them out four years before, when he'd abandoned Addy. "It doesn't matter. I need to focus on finding work and saving this house." The split-level, three-bedroom house have been paid off by the insurance money left to Maureen after Bri's father's death ten years before, but Maureen had insisted on putting the money into a college fund for Bri and Max. When Bri had gotten a tennis scholarship, and Max had made it clear he didn't need college, Maureen had once again considered paying off the house. Instead, she'd ended up caring for Max's daughter and using the money to pay for day care and diapers. Money had only gotten tighter over the years, and paying off the house hadn't seemed important. Maureen's near brush with death by pneumonia had wiped out the last of the money and then some. Maureen hadn't been able to work, and Bri's job as a waitress barely covered their basic expenses.
"How did this happen?" Isla asked. "I thought you were doing great."
Bri sighed. "I might have exaggerated a little."
Isla leaned back in her chair, her lemonade untouched. "You're my best friend. Did you think I wouldn't understand?"
The lemonade went sour on Bri's tongue, and she wished she could take it all back. "Of course not." She stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out a way to make Isla understand. "I just needed to be able to hold it together, Issy. I love Mom and Addy, but with them I'm daughter and aunt, responsible for looking out for both of them. With you, I just wanted to be me." She shook her head. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"
"I'm worried about you." Isla's voice was loud in the quiet kitchen. She leaned in and crossed her arms on the table. "I'm glad I'm here, Bri. I'm glad I can be your escape, that I can be your fun, but when you're actually hurting and in trouble, you ought to be able to come to me."
Bri sagged. "You're right. I'm sorry. I really thought I could get us out of this mess, that I could fix it this time."
Isla knelt and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you, honey. I can be your escape, but I can also be the person you vent to, the person you bounce ideas off of." She leaned back and looked at Bri. "Like this crazy idea to work three jobs. You already have the only decent paying job in Towle."
"They fired me." Bri couldn't help but wince. She'd never been fired from any job before and she still felt the sharp sting of shame every time she spoke those words.
Isla stood, her cheeks bright red. "Susy fired you? Why? Because your mom needed you?"
Bri crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the worn wood of the table. Why was it so hard for her to tell her best friend the truth? Why did she want so badly to pretend everything was better than it really was? But she couldn't do that. If she lied to Isla and she found out, Bri would lose her for sure. "I don't blame Susy. This last bout, with the pneumonia, was the worst, but I'd been missing a lot of work and showing up late. When Addy's sick, I have to be the one to stay home with her, because Mom's job brought in more money." She sighed. "The truth is, we haven't been able to afford day care on more than a three-day a week basis since Addy came to live with Mom. I tried to get night shifts, but . . . I was never reliable, Isla."
"You had a great reason. Susy should have understood."
Susy had gone to school with them, had been a year ahead of Bri. "She has a business to run, Issy." Susy had never been a close friend, but Bri respected and liked her. "She cut me as many breaks as she could, but the other staff revolted about having to cover so many of my shifts and she finally had to hire someone to replace me."
Isla sat and tapped her fingers on the table. "You're never going to find a decent job in Towle, much less three jobs."
Bri knew that, but she was out of options. "So, I'll take three or four crap jobs, or I'll commute to Nelson or find some sort of job I can do on-line." The truth was, Bri hadn't really worked out the details, but she'd find something. She had no other choice.
Isla smirked. She knew Bri didn't own a computer or a car. "You need to come to Vegas with me."
Bri wanted to drop her head on the table and scream. Isla knew how hard life could be and she'd chosen to be laid-back about everything she couldn't control. It was a survival mechanism, one that had served her well, but it didn't do a damn thing to help Bri. "I have to work, Issy. If we lose this house, we'll have to move into that run-down motel outside town or the trailer park."
"You could move somewhere else."
"If we go somewhere we can find decent work, the rental rates will be astronomical. We'll have to be homeless until we can save up enough for a down payment and--"
"Fine. So, come to Vegas and work. I've got connections, and I can guarantee you'll make a shit load more money than you would doing some part-time, minimum wage job in Towle."
For the first time in days, the heavy tightness in Bri's shoulders and jaw loosened. She'd never been to Vegas, had never been anywhere but college out west and Towle, but she knew there were all kinds of ways to make good money in that glittering city. "I'm not working for Jud
e, Issy. I can't be around him."
Isla's grin didn't comfort Bri. "Jude doesn't own the only casino in Vegas. I promise you'll never have to see him."
Bri didn't trust Isla's promise in the least, but freedom to turn down a job opportunity was a luxury she didn't possess. "I'd need a job as soon as possible," she said, getting up and pacing a bit. "I can't waste any more time."
Isla bounced in her seat. "Give me an hour, babe. I'll make some calls."
#
"Here it is." Isla stepped inside and spread her arms wide. "My glamorous home."
Bri followed and closed the door to Isla's efficiency apartment. The place was tiny, no more than two hundred square feet, with a king-sized bed and a big-screen TV taking up most of the space. So Isla. Her two favorite things, sleep and movies, dominated her home.
It had taken Isla twenty minutes on the phone to find a job for Bri. She'd be working as a waitress and a cocktail server, with the opportunity to make six times the tips she'd made in Towle. Bri hadn't asked any questions, she'd just packed and jumped in Isla's car.
Isla's place was a couple blocks from the strip, which meant a short commute to work. And work was what Bri would focus on, not the chance to see the casinos and have some fun. She wrapped her arms around herself. She missed Addy like she'd left her right arm behind, but she couldn't help the excitement trilling through her. A new start, a new place, even if it was only temporary, was an opportunity she'd been dreaming of since she'd had to leave college behind.
"Sorry it's so small," Isla said. "It's all I can afford right now."
"It's plenty big enough for me." Bri dropped to sit on the bed. "And more than big enough for you, since you're going to be away so often."
Isla chewed on her lower lip, doubt clouding her gaze. "I hope so. I only got this job because Jude--" She stopped herself and shook her head as her lips curled slightly. Years ago, Isla's brother, Jude, and Bri's brother, Max, who had been best friends for most of their lives, had had a falling out of epic proportions. The two men had built a business on a successful app designed by Max, and they'd planned to open a casino. A casino Jude had ended up building and running without Max, because Jude had fired him from his own company and ended their friendship. As far as Bri knew, Jude had acted only out of greed and a desire for complete control of the company. Isla and Bri had figured the only way to maintain their friendship would be to agree never to talk about their brothers to each other again. It was a rule that had served them well. "I mean, he who shall not be named knows the journalist's cousin. If I screw this up . . ."
How to Lasso a Billionaire Page 1
