Page 11 of A Bride for the Billionaire

“Oh I will. I need this money to have a deposit on an apartment for myself. Not that it will be up to his standard, but it will be mine.” I sit on the edge of the bed.

“Right, I’m going to bed. I’ll be here in the morning and I’ll drop you off for ten.” She walks towards my bedroom door and then smiles at me before closing it behind her on the way out.

The room is silent. I climb into bed and my mind is racing. What the hell have I let myself in for?

There’s a knock at the door. “Come on Cora, you don’t want to be late,” Louisa shouts through the door.

“I’m coming.” I hardly slept last night and I got up early. I’ve showered, got dressed in a beautiful blue dress, my makeup and hair are en pointe, but I feel sluggish and don’t want to go. I know I have to go, but can I just be a child for a moment and put my foot down. I don’t want to go.

Taking a deep breath I open the door and walk to the kitchen. Louisa has made breakfast for me. Pancakes, bacon, maple syrup, fruits and coffee are all laid on the table. “What’s this for?”

“I thought you could do with something I know you like. Sit down. Enjoy this food and then we’ll leave. I don’t want to disappoint her but I think I want to be sick, eating this food is not going to help. So, I take a seat and reach for the coffee. Then I take a pancake, bacon and pour some maple syrup over it. I need to look like I’m thankful.

Louisa sits next to me and takes a pancake too. “Do you think you’ll get breakfast like this every day?” she asks. “I’m sure he doesn’t cook for himself, so I’m guessing he has someone do it for him. Hopefully, he’s not expecting you to cook for him.” She laughs.

I nudge her with my elbow. “Hey, I’m not that bad at cooking.”

“Do you not remember when we were learning how to boil eggs, you walked off and forgot about yours and the pan dried up and the egg exploded.” Louisa laughs. I join her, it was funny.

“I might poison him, that could be a good idea.” We both start laughing again, and so I feel better. I reach out my hand and touch hers. “Thanks, Lou. I needed this.”

“I know.”

After breakfast, I carry my suitcase to her car and then slide into the passenger seat. “Let’s get this over with,” I say to Louisa as she starts the car.

“You’ll be fine, Cora. If not then just forget about the money and come back to me.”

Twenty minutes later she pulls up at Caleb’s apartment block. She pulls into the underground car park and turns the car off. “Okay, this is it. If you need to leave, just walk away and come home to me.”

“I’m sure I’ll be okay, Louisa.” We both get out of the car and I grab my suitcase from the trunk.

Louisa pulls me in for a hug and I step back and wave. Walking into the lobby I take the elevator to the top floor, as directed by Caleb. My heart is racing and I don’t know what to expect. I shift from foot to foot as the elevator climbs higher.

Finally, the elevator stops and I take one last breath as the doors open. I expected the doors to open to a hallway, not to a beautiful apartment dining room with the sun bursting through the floor to ceiling windows.

“Hey, Cora, you came,” Caleb says as he walks closer to the doors. “Let me take your bag.” He reaches to grab my bag and I let him, it’s heavy.

I look around as I follow him down the corridor to a room. He opens the door and then carries the case inside. “This is your room. Mine is just next door. You have use of the main bathroom, I have an en suite so I don’t tend to use the other one.”

“Thanks,” I say, standing away from him.

“Come and I’ll give you a guided tour.”

I don’t speak as I follow him out of my room.

“This is the bathroom.” He points to the room opposite mine. “The kitchen.”

“It’s beautiful.” I can’t believe how gorgeous this apartment is. He lives here on his own, well I’m sure it must be on his own, or else I wouldn’t be moving in.

“I can take it for granted, but I love this room the best.” I follow him as he goes up some open stairs into a mezzanine area. There is a beautiful couch, TV, fireplace and even more floor to ceiling windows. “This is where I come to relax and unwind.”

“I can see why. It’s so beautiful and peaceful, even though when you look out of the window you are in the middle of the bustling city. Standing at one of the windows I take a few breaths. What it would feel like to live here and come home to this wonderful place every day. Well I can live it for two months, if I can stand living with Caleb that is.

“Come there’s more.” He holds his hand out for me to take. I ignore it and walk behind him.

He opens a glass door that I hadn’t even noticed and we both step out onto the terrace. Well, not sure it could be called a terrace, it’s huge. There’s a swimming pool, some sun loungers, a lot of shrubbery, possibly for privacy from the office building to the right.

“Wow, it’s like your own little oasis in the city. It’s beautiful, the greenery makes it feel like a garden, even though it isn’t.” I turn around looking at everything out here. “I think I’d spend a lot of time out here.”

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