Page 9 of Marrying a Billionaire

They nodded to her as they passed by. Once they were all standing in her living room, she glanced over at Reed who had his hands shoved into his front pockets. He looked so relaxed. How was he this calm?

“Lil, this is Bernard. He’ll be packing up your apartment and bringing it to my flat.” Reed waved toward the shortest of the five men. He had a bushy beard and was wearing a ball-cap. He nodded toward Lillian as he reached out his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Lillian said as she shook it.

“Don’t you worry, miss. We’ll get you situated and treat your items real nice. My boys are the best in the business. Never broken anything yet.”

Lillian’s gaze made its way around her apartment. After her divorce, she thrift store shopped. Nothing here really had any sentimental value to her. It never really felt like a home. Just a holding place while she waited for something more. “You know what? Don’t worry about it. Just pack my bedroom and bring all of the rest of the stuff to Salvation Army.”

Reed glanced over at her. “You sure?”

Lillian nodded. After all, she was going to make a killing from this fake marriage to Reed. After all was said and done, she’d be able to stock her next apartment with brand new things and not items that reminded her of her failed marriage and previous life.

“You heard the lady. This shouldn’t take you much time at all.” Reed reached out as if to touch her shoulder but then hesitated before he let his hand fall to his side. “We’ve got other things to do,” he said, nodding toward the doorway.

Lillian stared at him. Her heart began to pound as if it had suddenly dawned on her what was really happening. She was going to marry billionaire Reed Williamson. Granted the feelings weren’t there, but the paperwork was. Suddenly, she needed a paper bag.

“You okay? You went really white,” he said, peering into her gaze.

Lillian swallowed as she forced a nod. “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. I guess I just realized that this was really happening.”

An uneasy expression passed over his face. “Is that okay? I know Orson said there’s no out, but I’m sure I could come up with something. I could say you died?” He raised his eyebrows.

“That’s okay. I really need this,” she said. If only Reed knew how true that was.

“You seem to be doing okay.”

Lillian stifled a laugh. “Yeah. I’m doing great.”

Reed opened the front door and waited for her to pass by him. “Well, after this whole arrangement is over, you’ll be sitting pretty.”

“That’s the goal,” Lillian said as she walked out into the hall.

Reed pulled the door closed and then paused to study her. “So it’s agreed then.”

She shot him a sideways glance. “What?”

“I won’t fall in love with you if you promise not to fall in love with me. We’ll call this a mutually beneficial arrangement and make sure we both fulfill it without any scars.” He leaned closer to her.

She could feel his warmth wash over her. She felt like an idiot when her breath caught in her throat. Of all the times to be stunned speechless, this was not the time. So she foundher voice and whispered, “Agreed.”

He hesitated before he extended his hand. “Promise?”

She nodded and shook his hand. A tingling sensation started in her palm and raced up her arm. As much as she wanted to pull away, she kept his hand grasped firmly in her own.

“Deal,” he said and then dropped her hand. He cleared his throat as he glanced down the hall and then back to her. “Let’s go get engaged.”

Chapter Four

Reed kept his gaze focused on the road as he drove into the city with Lillian next to him. The silence in his Corvette was deafening. He needed to say something.

Had she felt something as well?

He gripped the steering wheel as he pushed the memories of holding her hand from his mind. For some odd reason, there had been a zap of electricity that raced up his skin when they shook. It must have been the heat in her apartment. It felt as if it was one degree cooler than boiling.

He reached over and turned the fan of his blower up a notch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lillian rub her upper arm. Feeling bad, he turned the air down. “I’m sorry. I’m just really hot. Was your apartment’s air out?”

Lillian glanced over at him and shook her head. “That’s how it always is. The air conditioning is not the best.”

---