“Want me to help with your hair, dear?” my mother asked me, as soon as I stepped foot inside.
“I've got it, Mom. Thank you though.”
My mom shared a warm smile with me. “Watching the feud. There’s a real big idiot on this one.”
“Good, Mom,” I said, and I raced up to my room to get ready. Even though I had plenty of time, I wanted to get to it right away. I picked my outfit – a light blue halter with a sexy keyhole that showed off a little cleavage. My flared hips were on blast. The smooth dress seductively rode the curve of my ass. In my heels, my bust was even more pronounced. I spent extra time on my makeup, and put on some big hoops.
I couldn't wait to see his reaction.
When I returned downstairs, my mother peered through our barred windows. She spun around when I caught her waiting for the limo.
“Oh my, don't get pregnant tonight,” she said, trying to hide her laughter by clasping her mouth. She cackled like a hyena instead.
It might've been the first warning of hers that made sense. “Don't, Mom. Don't make fun.”
“I'm not making fun. He's going to be all over you. Isn’t that what you want? Hmm? You do seem more interested than I've ever seen you.”
I sat down on our frumpy couch and my stomach turned over like a washing machine. I held my arms on my lap and tried to remain still.
“Please, I'm already nervous.”
“Don't be nervous. That dress does all the talking for you.” She sat back down on her recliner. It was more of a controlled fall. “I'm proud of you, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Twenty minutes later the driver pulled up, my mother gave me a kiss on my forehead goodbye, and wished me luck. I had a feeling I was going to need it. Tension wound me tight as I sat back in the limo with plenty of champagne to choose from. I thought about taking a sip to ease my nervousness, but thought better of it...the last time I showed up at Lucas's place, I'd gotten into a bloody brawl. It was best to keep sharp and focused.
This was an important day. Maybe the most important day of my life.
I tried to play it cool, like it didn't matter if Lucas picked me, but the truth was, I cared.
We came to a stop as the sun just started its slow shift past the ocean. Where and how would he make his proclamation to me? Truth be told, all he had to do was say it to my face and then send all the others away. That would be enough for me. I liked things simple.
But small wasn't Lucas's way of doing things. He did things in a big way.
I actually let the limo driver help me to the front door.
With my first step inside Lucas’s mansion, I spotted a crowd gathering outside. Oh God, they'd really made a show of it. There were tents, tables, and seats...it looked like it was already set up for our wedding. Beyond the pool, near the entrance to the beach, there was a podium with beautiful pink and violet flowers draped over alabaster arches.
I turned to the door. Time to escape?
No, I had to be brave. My nerves were fried, but I took every step with grace. Once I saw all the girls turn to me, I steeled myself and took faster steps in my high heels. I felt good. I felt confident. This was my time to shine. I wasn't going to let anyone take that from me. Like Lucas had told me, they were only jealous.
The other girls greeted me with less scowls than our last meeting. Some actually smiled my way with their eyes glimmering. They all looked beautiful, like we were waiting for the beauty contest to start.
Jayne, arms crossed rigidly over her waist, smirked at me and rolled her eyes. I ignored her. She would understand soon enough that she never had a chance.
Where was Lucas?
I froze in place at the entrance to the party. Other guests I’d never met were in attendance. They were sipping their wine in their fine suits and fabulous gowns. Nicole waved me over. I took off for her through the sea of girls, some of whom were chatting with the male guests in a way that told me they'd already given up on Lucas.
“Hey, your dress is so pretty,” I told Nicole.
“Me? You walked in here and every man's jaw dropped. Have you even been using our stylists? You've been doing it all yourself?”
“Yeah,” I said. Why was she being so nice to me? Wasn't I the competition?
“So, Lucas brought us all here because he's chosen who he wants. I wonder who that could be.” She took a sip of her wine while smirking mischievously over the rim.
“It could be anyone,” I lied.
“Don't worry,” she said, patting my shoulder. I didn't flinch. She'd shown me she was decent when she helped me after my fight. “I've already conceded defeat to you long ago. You two are so happy together. When he looks at you, it's this look that—how do I explain it? A look like he wants to put a ring on you.”
“I don't know about all of that. Where is he, by the way?”
“No idea. He's been missing the whole day. Thought you might know where our mystery billionaire is.”
“Please, I can't keep track of that guy. I try my best.”
“You did something right,” she said, without a hint of jealously.
The crowd quieted. Something caught people's attention, because they all turned to face the western edge of the house. On my toes, I glanced over the tops of heads. I spotted Lucas, his hair all moussed and straight. In a smooth, black suit, he seemed sharp and focused with his crystal clear eyes piercing through the crowd.
“There he is,” someone shouted. Lucas waved for them not to make a fuss.
“Please, please, get back to enjoying yourselves.” He slid between couples to emerge near the bartender. He spotted me instantly, and drank me in. I had a serious case of tunnel vision. All of his sexual exploration played out over my body again. I tingled in anticipation, and then rubbed the back of my heels together to make it stop.
His lips slid open slightly. They looked moist, as if his tongue was ready to plunge between my thighs again. He had this pained expression, like he was struggling to stay away. Hungry for me, Lucas's reaction was exactly what I'd hoped for when I spent so long getting ready.
Lucas forgot the drink. He strode toward me, instead.
It felt wrong, like we should've waited. Others glared at us. They knew what was happening. Lucas had made me his number one target.
I braced myself and trusted him to shield me from their jealousy. It wasn't like it would last long, anyway. In a few minutes, he would declare that I was his choice, and they would all go back to their normal lives, leaving me with Lucas. Lucas, all to myself...was it possible?
“Wearing that dress, you're asking me to cancel this event and take you to our bed right away.”
His usual hard lines softened in a playful grin as his eyes swept over my curvy waist, then all the way to the cut out keyhole on my chest.
Lucas made it clear he liked it with a wolfish grin.
“You're giving it away,” I whispered to him. Why not announce it now? He was being too obvious.
“Apologies. I will have to distance myself from you, then.” He brushed past me. His lips came close to my ear as he whispered, “It's best I leave before I decide to fuck you.”
Lucas left me with a shiver that settled into an aching need in my chest and between my legs. I headed in the opposite direction, away from him.
My ears still picked up Lucas's voice.
“Sean, didn't think you could leave the bar. Thought you couldn't touch the light.”
“Like a vampire? You're saying I'm a vampire? You're not wrong. I'm slathered in sunscreen.”
“Is that what that smell is?”
“Yeah, covered in it, like they dipped me in a vat of bananas. Hell, congrats, man. I wouldn’t miss this. I knew you couldn't be a total fuck up.”
They both laughed. It surprised me that someone would be talking to Lucas like that. A total fuck up? Was Lucas about to punch him in the face? When I turned, I noticed Lucas in good spirits. The man next him was pale with unruly auburn hair, clearly Irish, and h
andsome.
Interesting. Lucas did have friends, other than jet skis and yachts. It was nice to see him open with others, even share a laugh about his past failures...
“I still fuck up. The girl I've picked can attest to that.”
“Sounds like she knows you well.”
“Yeah, yeah, you've seen me down and out enough. And you were right. I did need something different. If it wasn't for you, I might've never done this and never met her, so I owe you. I owe you big.”
“Which is why you didn't ask me to bartend this thing?”
“Exactly. Enjoy the night, Sean. Maybe you’ll even learn from me, and pick up a bride,” Lucas said and Sean snorted in response. Lucas left, moving farther away where it was impossible to hear him. Besides, it was my turn for wine.
I slowly sipped and talked to Cara, who invited me to join her circle of guests, mostly Lucas’s coworkers. The DJ was playing some James Brown, and I was having a lot of fun for once. I relaxed. I'd been at so many of these functions that ended in horror. I was happy that the final meeting would end in some genuine happiness.
The crowd quieted, heads turning toward the podium to where Lucas was standing. I squeezed to the side of the taller men to get a good view. Someone gracefully handed him a wireless microphone. His voice boomed over the crowd, quieting them at once.
“Thank you all for coming.”
He loosened his collar like his throat was closing up.
“As you're all aware, my father tasked me with growing up these past few months. My goal was to find a woman, a beautiful woman who would be my wife. This was all my father's idea. And at first, I thought he was insane. I thought he must've really lost his mind if he thought I was going to grow up and settle down.”
His father was here? Everyone looked toward a man at the far end of the pool. Brent standing close to him, he looked like a scarecrow draped in an immaculate gray suit. Lucas shared his father’s sharp features, even his clear blue eyes, but his father was far frailer than Lucas, and was the epitome of a grumpy old man.
People didn't stare at him for long. They seemed to know better. He urged Lucas to continue with a nod.
“You're all welcome to stay here and enjoy yourselves, but after I'm done, I'm going to want to enjoy myself with my choice. So, I hope you'll excuse me after I'm done with this speech.”
I sank back into the crowd. Get on with it, Lucas. Was he going to tell them everything? How he tied me up, paddled me while I lay over his legs, and wanted to drizzle chocolate over my ass and lick me up?
“I'd also like to thank all the beautiful women who have participated for months. They had to deal with me. Now, most of them can go on and find someone who will truly make them happy.”
There was a brief outpouring of claps from the men in the audience. Others, mostly other women, gave them a death stare, knowing what they were trying to do. Did these girls deserve applause? They only wined and dined for free at a billionaire's mansion. Some of them were even getting paid to do it.
“I wish I could stand up here and say that this has been difficult for me. That I needed to deliberate on my choice. But I didn't need to. The moment I met this girl, I knew I had to have her. I had to make her mine. She's like no one I've ever met...”
Eyes were on me. People slowly shuffled away, forming a line from Lucas to me.
“Please welcome on stage, my choice, the brilliant, elegant, and beautiful, Tia Daniels.”
He held his hand out for me to take. His hand outstretched, I strode toward it in my heels, which seemed to take forever. Some were taken aback. Some were applauding. Some girls were frowning, knowing this day had to come, but it still stung.
I took his hand. He pulled me onto the stage then swept me into his arms. I remembered his voice yesterday when I was afraid to open up…trust me, and I followed his lead, opening my lips and letting him in.
He kissed me and truly claimed me. Pushing his body against mine, he washed away all fears from my mind.
I was on stage kissing him in front of everybody, and it was liberation. We declared our love with that kiss. When he pulled away from me, my eyes were twinkling with the beginning of tears, and my lips were still hanging open as I star gazed into his eyes.
We left the podium. People began to talk again while some congratulatory messages came my way. Others returned to their prior conversations. A few girls stewed over the outcome. They’d begun to talk behind my back already, but it didn’t matter. They would be out of my life soon enough.
My life with Lucas would now begin.
As he led me away, back to his house, I guessed where we were going.
“Wait,” I heard behind me. It was an icy, blunt voice that slammed into my back. Someone else had grabbed the microphone.
Lucas let go of my hand. He took a step forward to block my view, but I stepped to the side so I could see. It was his father. And he looked pissed. The large vein near his right temple pulsated. His eyes looked like a dark storm now, its path in our direction, ready to rip us apart.
He clenched his teeth, his nostril twitching for a second, and then spoke calmly and clearly. “Wait, Lucas.”
“Dad—” Lucas began.
“No, you had your chance to speak. Now it's my turn.”
“Don't,” Lucas warned, but he didn't have the microphone and his voice fell short. Everyone focused on what his father would say. It was clear who still held all the power in the company, because everyone employed in attendance meekly looked away.
“I was the one who created this game. I'm making the rules, not you, Son.” He straightened his collar, stretched his withered neck, and continued. “You have chosen someone, good for you right now maybe, but have you chosen the right woman for you in the long run?”
When he said ‘the right woman’, his eyes flashed and burned a hole through me. My dreams were turning to kindling as he continued.
“Who is this girl? I don't think she was even invited.”
I peered back to Brent. Upon seeing me, he mouthed the word, “Sorry.”
“You might think you like her because she's something new. But this wasn't about finding some random girl, some poor girl that you could sweep off her feet. This was about finding a wife, a woman of prestige and strength who will bear you children, who would one day run the company in our name.”
Mr. Moore seemed livid. What on Earth did I do to him? I wanted to run.
“What did you give me? This poor choice. A sad pick for a wife. This girl is nothing. No, this simply won't do. Lucas, you need to pick again.” He smiled and waved to the girls in the back. “The competition will continue. Lucas must find a proper wife. Until he finds a suitable wife who we agree will be good for him, the game will go on.”
There was some cheering. Others seemed to share my pain as they looked at me, destroyed.
Lucas charged toward the podium. When he jumped onto it, he saw me spin around and rush toward the exit.
“Wait,” he called after me, but I was long gone.
I didn't need to squeeze my way through. Everyone had moved aside to allow me to exit this world in which I clearly didn’t belong.
Tears should've been falling. But I was too numb. Too over it. How many times did the real world have to show its ugly face for me to understand that Lucas and I couldn't be together? It simply wasn't going to work.
I shoved open the front door and hurried to the limo. I rapped on the front window. The driver rolled it down and poked his head out.
“Yes?”
“You need to take me away from here.”
“Oh,” he said, clearly confused. “Is everything all right?”
“No. Everything's not all right,” I said, watching his eyes bulge out of his skull.
“Get me away from here,” I repeated, frantic to leave before anyone stopped me.
Chapter 13
Lucas
Regret wallowed in my chest, but I charged ahead, trying to catch her to make this right.
I had to salvage it.
While I’d expected my father to be displeased, I never thought he would publicly humiliate her. My first goal was to get Tia back. I needed to make sure she was all right. My second goal was to tell my father off. And oh boy, would that be sweet.
My chase didn't last long. Tia was arguing with the driver when I caught up to her.
“Wait, Tia.”
She turned and faced me. When I took a step closer to comfort her, she darted away.
“No, don't touch me, Lucas.”
“I'm sorry.”
“I know you are.” She leaned on the back door. “But I need to leave. He was right.”
“He wasn't right. You need to stay with me. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I might be arrogant for saying it, but I don’t care, I'm the best thing to ever happen to you.”
She reached for the door. I wanted to take her hand away, but she looked too afraid of me. It looked like Tia might scream if I tried again.
Hadn't she been through enough?
“I need to go. You need to let me.”
Tia rushed to me. Usually, I would spread my arms to take her leap and press her close. But she took my hands, clasped them in hers, and pleaded with me to let her go.
“You've got to let me go, Lucas.”
“Take her back,” I told the driver, who’d been watching the whole time. “Make sure she's safe and call me when she gets there.”
Tia dragged her heels to the side of the limo. She wanted to turn to me, but decided it was best not to at the halfway point. Her door slammed closed in my face and then she disappeared behind tinted windows. The limo drove away.
My heart felt like it was in a vice. Hollow, I trudged back toward the party, wondering what I would do next.
My father waited in the driveway. I was still thinking about Tia. My chief concern was fixing this.
Lucas (A Billionaire Bad Boy Novel) Page 12
