Law #1: Never Bet on Love: A Sweet Billionaire Love Story (Laws of Love)

by Agnes Canestri

  “I thought you wouldn’t care about it. Given that you don’t love her.”

  “I still don’t want to hurt her. And finding out the truth would do that.”

  Murphy presses his lips into a line. “I see.” Then he shifts his weight and puts a hand on his chest. “By the way, brother, I completely understand you. Eva is a beautiful woman, but she isn’t from our social class. Perhaps I should have found an even more challenging and desirable candidate for you if I wanted to make this bet a real pain for you. I’ve given you too much of an easy task.”

  Easy task? What’s Murphy even talking about? “Eva might be poor, but it doesn’t make her less of a challenge or less of a wonderful person. On the contrary. She sees many nuances in life that you or I would never even perceive. There couldn’t be any girl who would entice me more than Eva. No, Murph, Eva is the right choice.”

  Murphy purses his lips, and I realize that I’m gushing.

  “Interesting,” he says, “so Eva is the right choice…but you don’t love her. I see. It makes perfect sense.”

  The way my brother’s shoulders pull back like a peacock about to open his feathers, raises my doubts as to whether Murphy’s whole speech is some kind of reverse psychology. If it is, he has got me messed up big time. Right now, I’m not sure what I’m feeling or thinking anymore.

  But I still remember what to tell Murphy if I don’t want him to see my confusion. “For this bet, I mean. She’s the right choice for this bet,” I mumble.

  Murphy puts his hands together, arranging each of his fingertips perfectly aligned on the other. “Yes, yes. I’m glad I picked the right woman then. But what about Eva? Are you confident she loves you?”

  Does she love me?

  No, Eva doesn’t love me. After our kiss, though, I hope that she’s feeling the same giddy, fuzzy warmth about me that I feel about her. My task today is to convince Eva to do what I’m determined not to do for myself. To give her blossoming devotion the label that Murphy expects to hear.

  But a label doesn’t turn a feeling into something deeper, so I should be safe with regard to Eva’s heartache after our break up—as long as she doesn’t find out I lied to her about the bet. I can’t, however, confess this to Murphy, unless I want to ruin everything.

  I wave dismissively. “I think that’s an aspect we won’t have to worry about.”

  “I’m glad, Nathan.” Murphy grins at me. “Keep up the good efforts till the ball then. It will be worth it. After all, what could be more important than you becoming the CEO, right?” His voice is filled with some hidden meaning, but it’s impossible to decipher what it might be. He glances at his watch. “Okay, brother, I’ll go so you can get to your meeting and lunch.” He walks to the door, but before he disappears, he points at Eva’s black box. “By the way, I want some of that luxury stationary for my study too.”

  I saunter to my desk, still turning Murphy’s question back and forth in my head. It should be like tossing a trick coin. However I flip it, the same answer should stare at me.

  Except it doesn’t. How is that possible?

  Stop, Nathan. Certain wishes are fleeting, while others are well-anchored in one’s personality. My wish to stay with Eva is likely to be in the first category, no matter how strong it feels right now. While my ambition to lead our company? It’s the dream I nurtured growing up and that has governed every action I’ve taken since I quit university.

  But if that’s the case…then why do I feel like a hesitant poker player who is about to regret his all-in move?

  A loud Spanish tune jars me out of my thoughts. It takes me a second to realize it’s coming from my cell phone. Eva downloaded some music for me to use in my morning workouts. Last night, before going to bed, I switched the ringtone signaling her incoming calls and messages to the song she said was her favorite.

  I pick up my phone and open her message, my lips curling up. But the smile freezes on my face as I read her words.

  “Nathan, I need to cancel our date. Something came up after meeting my ex-boyfriend last night. I’m sorry. When we meet, I’ll explain it better. I have something important to confess to you. Eva”

  I blink twice rapidly, not trusting what I’m seeing.

  Eva met her ex last night…when, please? After I dropped her off? At her work? Where?? I didn’t even know she had an ex. I mean, of course, I should have assumed she had—perhaps even several, considering her beauty. But somehow I didn’t think it was necessary for us to inquire about each other’s past relationships. I based this decision on the fact that I didn’t have any special women. Eva, nonetheless, must’ve had at least one special man. A man she met last night…after seeing me!

  I can’t believe her words. I read them again. And then again. Wondering each time if I’ve missed something. A small word that could put sense into this. But no. Her message is as short and formal as the first time. Hinting at something big that she needs to confess to me. I can guess what it is.

  And here I was, just before her message arrived, pondering what I truly wanted from my future, when in reality, I might not have a say in it at all. If Eva is back with her ex then all my self-assurance toward Murphy was in vain. I won’t get my promotion—at least not in the foreseeable future.

  I suddenly have difficulty breathing, as if the air around me has condensed into a thick oil, and as I inhale, it wraps itself around my lungs from inside like a medieval corset. I need to get out. Some fresh oxygen, yes, that will do me good.

  I shuffle to the door, leaving the black box with the pink ribbon on the chair. It’s unlikely now that Eva would attend the ball with me anyway—her ex might not be her ex by then.

  I bump into Rachel as I reach the elevator.

  She eyes me with surprise when she sees me heading downstairs. “Sir, your eleven-thirty is on this floor. I booked you into meeting room nine.”

  “I’m going out, Rachel. Cancel my appointment, please,” I bark and step into the elevator. I choose the button for the garage.

  Maybe I’ll drive home and do a climb? Or I could head over to Marjorie’s? Even if I don’t know yet where I’m going, I certainly can’t stay at AMEA building, so long as I’m this confused jumble of nerves.

  I bend my head to the mirrored wall.

  But didn’t Eva say in the car that I made her feel out of her element? I hoped that it could only mean one thing. It had to mean that one thing, no? Wrong. I have to be wrong. Otherwise why would Eva ditch me while mentioning a meeting with her ex?

  I stare at my reflection and the realization appears. I’ve made a mistake with this entire bet thing. A giant mistake.

  Chapter 26

  (Nathan)

  I feel the urge to bolt to my car and slam the door behind me. But instead, I march with my chin up and pretend to be having a gloriously calm moment.

  We have surveillance cameras all over the building’s garage. If the guards see me sprinting, they might assume someone is chasing me and either come to fetch me or call the police. Neither option is something I’d be able to handle right now.

  My self-control is already cracking as I grab the handle. I hop in, start the engine, and drive. As soon as AMEA’s gate appears in my rear mirror, I allow my foot to harden on the gas.

  My Jaguar rushes down the highway. I keep my eyes on the road, but my head is somewhere else, the nasty worm of jealousy eating away in my chest. I automatically adjust gears and accelerate even more. Eva met her ex last night. After the kiss we shared.

  So it didn’t mean anything to her.

  All the better. It didn’t mean anything to me either.

  All of Murphy’s insinuations and psychological games …yes, it must be those that messed with me. That’s why I started to have these dreamy thoughts about Eva and me. But it doesn’t matter. I can easily stop my budding sensations. Somewhere along the way I might have gotten lost and taken my eyes off the prize. It won’t happen again. I’ll focus entirely on the bet from now on, like I should have from the b
eginning.

  And I’m going to win it. Next time I kiss Eva it won’t be to calm my thirst for her lips. I won’t let my mind turn it into more than it is. It’ll be solely to dazzle Eva. Sure, the appearance of this mystery man from her past is a hiccup. I’ll find a way to overcome it.

  I slow my Jaguar and peek up at the traffic light.

  A traffic light? Wait, what?

  How is this possible? Last I remember, I was on the highway, and there are no traffic lights on the highway. Where on earth am I?

  I tap my fist on the side of my temple and exhale loudly. I scan my surroundings desperate to find an explanation for how I ended up in this suburb.

  My eyes zoom in on the crumbly, yellow walls of the building across the street and my chest tightens as recognition sinks in.

  I’ve driven to Eva’s house on autopilot. Well, that’s just great. Nothing better to show how worked up her message got me than getting spotted by Eva or her siblings slinking around this district.

  I freeze mid-thought as Eva steps out onto their porch.

  She’s wearing a white dress with black stripes that looks elegant but also formal. Her heels click on the pavement as she hurries to her old wreck of a sedan and gets in.

  I shift in my seat. Should I follow her and find out where she is going? No, I’m not a stalker. Besides, I already know what she’s planning.

  The only question is why she dressed like a candidate for a job interview instead of a woman going on a date with her ex.

  My bitterness chokes me. I’m not used to feeling fooled by women, or people in general. Mostly because I never give anyone enough power over my emotions to disappoint me.

  I wait for the sedan to leave. If I drive past Eva, she might see me.

  But instead of firing up the engine, Eva opens the door and jumps out. She rubs her temples, her face contorted in an expression of anguish.

  Something is off. She seems to be in trouble. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’ve already pulled into her driveway and rolled down my window.

  “What happened, Eva? Are you okay?”

  “Nathan?” she squeaks, and her eyes widen.

  “I’m glad you’re this happy about seeing me.”

  She flinches. “Sorry, I’m just a little bewildered. What are you doing here?”

  I raise my shoulders and drop them nonchalantly. “Driving around. Why, what does it look like?”

  She wrinkles her nose. “In my neighborhood? Why?”

  “Why not?” It’s ridiculous to pretend that I drove over to this part of town for any other reason than to see her. But in the end, I’m not lying. I didn’t consciously choose to end up in front of her house. “And you? Where are you going? Going to meet your ex?”

  Her face moves into a flustered grimace. “My ex? Why would you…” She claps her hand to her mouth and a small giggle escapes her throat. It doesn’t have an amused tone. No, it sounds rather like a hysterical snort. “You thought I would go out with my ex?”

  I get out of the car. This is a conversation to be done eye to eye. I step over to Eva and cross my arms in front of my chest. “Yes, Eva. That’s exactly what I thought. Because that’s what you wrote to me.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Eva rolls her eyes. “Check your phone if you don’t believe me.”

  I grab my phone and run my eyes run the words she sent me. “Okay, you didn’t explicitly say you were going out with him, but that something came up. However…” I give her a slow once-over. “You’re obviously on your way somewhere, and it isn’t to run errands, is it?” I hate myself for the bitter tone. My jealousy is so palpable, it might as well be tattooed on my forehead.

  “I didn’t write why I cancelled on you, because…” She sniffs and drops her chin to her chest. She chews on her lower lip, and I try to ignore the delicious raspberry hue that her skin acquires with the movement of her teeth.

  I want to stick to my promise of keeping my eyes on the prize. I want to disregard my accelerated pulse and this uncomfortable sensation of breathlessness. I think I almost can…

  Then I glance at Eva’s head, still hanging, and my arm moves unconsciously. I lock a finger underneath her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Eva, please. What’s the matter?”

  “I’m going to see my…brother,” she whispers.

  “Your brother? Juan? Where is he?”

  “No, my other one. Alejandro. He’s in Litchfield.”

  “Litchfield? As in Litchfield, the correctional center?”

  She nods and swallows hard. “Yes. He’s serving a three-month sentence for possession of narcotics.”

  “Your brother is in jail? Why didn’t you tell me this?” My attempt to hide my shock isn’t very successful.

  On the one hand, my heart is doing triple-somersaults, because I misunderstood her text and Eva didn’t mend things with her ex, whom I already dislike without knowing a single thing about him. On the other hand…prison? Holy cow.

  I wrack my brain to recall anything about her brother that might’ve slipped by me, but the only time she talked about Alejandro was when she told me he wasn’t at home when I brought her those earrings.

  “Nathan, it wasn’t an easy topic to address. First, I didn’t even know whether it would make sense. We were just, you know…nothing serious.”

  “Wait…are we serious now?”

  Eva shifts her weight on her leg. “I don’t know. But we kissed.”

  “Yes, we did.” I prohibit my brain from jumping back to the alluring image of pressing Eva’s lips to mine. I also ignore the joy that her words’ hidden meaning could unleash in me. I need to understand why she kept me in the dark. “So when were you planning on telling me?”

  “Next time we meet. That’s what I meant when I told you I needed to confess something. That…and about my ex.”

  Oh, I’d totally forgotten that. “What about your ex?”

  Eva sighs. “Before judging me, please understand, I had no idea what kind of a man my ex was when we started seeing each other. I was young, and he was my first real boyfriend. As soon as I found out, I left him. I left San Sebastian to be as far away from him as possible.”

  “Found out what?”

  “That he sells drugs. And that he cheated on me more times than not.”

  Eva’s ex is a drug dealer? And a cheater? Gosh, add in what I know of her biological father, and I can see why she had such a hard time trusting me in the beginning. “Was it your ex who got your brother in prison?”

  Eva’s jaw tightens and she nods.

  So her brother is a dealer, too? No, then he would have received a far longer sentence than three months, right? Be it as it may, I would have loved to know of this much sooner. “Eva, this isn’t information that you should have kept secret from me.”

  Eva flinches and a spasm runs down her neck.

  Seeing how hurt she is by my accusing tone, the irony of the situation slaps me in the face. Who am I to tell her off like this? Her brother might be an inmate and her ex a small-time criminal, but what I’m hiding from Eva is no better. If I’m honest, if I had known about her family’s entanglements sooner, I still wouldn’t have quit the bet. And not only because I’m determined to win. I rub her shoulders. “Sorry for being such a jerk. It’s obviously not the most casual conversation starter. Was your brother working for your ex?”

  “No!” Eva shakes her head so vehemently that her long tresses cover her face almost entirely and tickle my fingers. “My brother used to look up to Fernando when we dated. They didn’t have contact after we split, but when Ale got older, he befriended Fernando’s gang without knowing they were involved with illegal stuff. Fernando asked my brother to deliver a package…and Ale was stupid enough to do it. He got busted. It was all my fault.”

  “Your fault?”

  Eva’s eyes fill with a painful, self-accusing glint. “Yes. I should have never left my family. If I’d stayed, Ale wouldn�
�t have ended up hanging out with Fernando and his pals. But above all, if I had only been honest with my brother…”

  I can’t stand seeing Eva this distressed. Her trembling lips make my chest constrict with an impotent rage, and my hands roll into fists. I want to share my opinion of a man who not only betrayed Eva’s trust, but also got her brother convicted.

  Eva swallows twice. “Do you know why Ale didn’t rat out my ex to the police or to us, his family? He thought it was an honest mistake, that there must be an explanation for why the package he was carrying contained a large stash of hashish, instead of documents. So he didn’t want to get Fernando in trouble.”

  “Young boys are often trustful of their role models,” I murmur. “Unable to see them for what they are. Their shortcomings are invisible through the lens of admiration.” As I say these words, I remember what Marjorie told me several times about Father not being the man I thought he was. Could it be that I had also idealized Father’s actions and his zeal to succeed at work, while refusing to see his lack of affection and dedication to his loved ones?

  Eva clicks her tongue and the sound echoes in the silence between us. “Yes. Perhaps part of it was Ale’s young and trustful heart, but the large chunk is on me. I kept him and my other siblings in the dark about why I ended things with my ex. Only Abuelita knew.”

  “Why?”

  “Shame, Nathan. Pure shame. I didn’t want them to learn that their older sister has been such a nitwit. After his first month in jail, Ale finally decided to trust me with his truth, and I also shared mine with him. He never blamed me, even after learning that I lied to him. But there is not one day where I don’t blame myself for his misfortune. My only excuse is that I never thought Fernando would mingle with my brother once I left town. But it’s no consolation when I think that my brother will live his life with a criminal record.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Eva’s gaze darkens. “So you see, I didn’t tell you because…” She shrugs. “I don’t know. I think I wasn’t sure how you would react.” Eva buries her face into her hands. “Oh, I’m such an awful sister…I behaved as if I were ashamed of Ale. But I’m not. I’m only ashamed of myself. I just didn’t want you…didn’t want you to stop…wntsssmee” Her last word is muffled by a big sob, but I understand the meaning all the same.