Page 71 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 8
“I do trust you. I just don’t trust Nigel.”
“It’s going to be great. And Nigel was so excited to have it here.” At least, I think he was excited. We’d communicated exclusively through fax. But he’d sent a lot of smiley faces.
“So why was Nigel building train stations in the 1870s?” asked Chastity.
I’d gotten the whole story from Nigel via fax too. “Because he owned a train company. He got interested in trains when they crossed Panama on the Panama Railroad with the first Japanese embassy to the USA. So Nigel became a robber baron. And at the time with big beards and hats in style, it was easy for Tanner to look much older. So he pretended to be Nigel’s father for a sprint and helped him get funding. Wait, I have a picture.” We stopped on the stairs and I pulled out the sheet of paper Nigel had faxed me when I hounded him for more details.
There was a scanned image of a tile mosaic of Nigel. He was wearing an old-fashioned suit, top hat, and had a big full beard. A peasant was on one knee in front of him, polishing his shoes. And a beautiful girl in a very low-cut train conductor outfit was lighting his cigar for him.
“I guess that vaguely does look like Nigel...” Chastity’s voice trailed off as she squinted at the photo.
“It’s definitely him. Either way, the train station hasn’t been used in over a century. Not since they fled to Europe to escape DODO in the late 1800s. It was replaced by Grand Central Station.”
“No wonder. Because Grand Central Station isn’t underground. Seriously, why are we going so deep?”
“I think they were worried about bombs or something.”
“What?!”
Yeah...I wasn’t sure that was right. I needed to learn more history since I was dating an ancient being. I ignored her andpushed the heavy doors open at the bottom of the stairs. The bright lights were almost blinding. I blinked until I could see the huge old train station. It actually looked a lot like Grand Central Station with the vaulted ceilings. And I wondered if they’d just made an above-ground replica after Nigel and Tanner fled. The craftsmanship down here really was impeccable.
But that wasn’t even the best part. It was the way it was decorated for a carnival. Everything was laid out in a circle so I could see all the games and rides from the entrance. It was freaking perfect. Just what I’d imagined! There was a carousel, Ferris wheel, tons of game booths. And beautiful lights were strung from the ceiling 100 feet above.
And the place was already packed. Music was playing and bells were ringing from the different games. The energy was electric. I could even see a few people making out while waiting in lines for rides. We were going to get so many matches!
“Wow,” said Chastity. “I take it all back. This truly is perfect.”
I nodded. I just hoped Nigel didn’t do anything weird. His final fax indicated that he had a “wonderful surprise planned.” And when I’d asked for more details, he’d stopped faxing back. But if he’d somehow pulled all this off, maybe I had nothing to worry about.
“You okay?” asked Chastity. “You look a little pale. Don’t tell me you’re suddenly scared of Ferris wheels? They’re nothing like centipedes.”
I laughed. “No, I’m not scared of Ferris wheels. That would be ridiculous.”
She smiled.
“But I look okay, right? Like this is a normal carnival outfit?” I gestured to my cutoff jean shorts and white tank top. I’d always imagined going to a carnival with a boyfriend I never had in high school. This seemed like the epitome of romance. And I wanted Tanner to have a good time. I’d told him to meet us here. I wanted to surprise him. I wanted him to love everything.
“We’re literally wearing the same thing,” she said.
We literally were not. Yes, she was wearing a white tank top and jean shorts too. But her jean shorts were way shorter. She was wearing sky high heels instead of sneakers. And she’d forgotten a bra.
“I can’t wait to go in the dunk tank to show off my nips,” said Chastity. “When’s Tanner coming?”
“He should be here any minute...” I turned around and ran right into him.
Tanner laughed and caught my arms so I wouldn’t fall over. “Are you stalking me, baby?”
I was smiling so hard it hurt. “You’reclearly stalkingme.”
He leaned down, silencing my protests with a kiss.
Chastity whistled.
I laughed and pulled back.
“Nice to see you,” Tanner said to Chastity.
He was wearing one of his classic Society-esque suits. This one was swirled with colors that matched the array of colors of the carnival perfectly.
