Billionaire's Betrothal by Barbara McMahon

Author:Barbara McMahon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, sweet romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, billionaire romance, fake engagement, san francisco romance
Publisher: Barbara McMahon

Chapter Seven

Promptly at six forty-five, the doorbell rang.

“Businessmen obsess about time like they do everything else,” Kori muttered as she crossed to open the door.

She caught her breath when she saw Beau. He wore a tux. She’d thought he looked yummy enough to eat earlier that day in running attire, now she knew why women wanted men to wear tuxedos. Wow!

“Ready?” he asked, his gaze running down the length of her.

She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a flare of heat in his eyes.

“Just about. Come in and meet my next door neighbor, Shelly.”

Kori quickly made introductions, amused by Beau’s wariness and Shelly’s open suspicion.

“It was your idea about the false engagement, wasn’t it?” Beau asked.

Shelly nodded. “But you added a twist. In my scenario, there was no guy.”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” he said.

“And this will? What happens when someone catches you two?”

“As long as it’s after my mother recovers, no harm done,” he shrugged.

“Don’t mind me,” Kori said, reaching for a light coat. “I do have some say in this.”

Beau looked at her, his expression impassive. “Shall we go?”

“Have fun, and don’t forget what my mother said,” Shelly said, heading out of the flat before them.

She waved and entered a door down the hall.

As Kori checked to make sure her own door was locked, Beau asked about Shelly’s last comment.

Kori could imagine his expression if she told him.

“Nothing, just some motherly advice. Is there anything I should know before we get there or am I to just wing it all night?”

“We’ll be sitting with some friends. The Flemings and the Carters. I’ve known both men for years. Tim Fleming’s wife is his second, and they’ve only been married a few months. Betsy and Baxter Carter have been married since college days.”

“Is that where you know them from? College?”

They reached the car and Beau opened the passenger’s door for Kori. She shivered slightly in the cool night air. The fog had blanketed San Francisco bringing a damp chill. It also gave a luminescence to the city lights, diffusing them and mingling to provide an eerie overcast that glowed.

Beau joined her and soon had the car heading for a rival hotel where the charity ball was being held.

“Your friends?” she reminded him. “From college?”

“No.” He flicked her a glance. “From when we were boys.”

“They lived near you?”

“We saw each other at Mrs. Porters’s Dance Academy, if you must know. My mother insisted I attend, as did the others.”

“Dance Academy?” Kori murmured.

“And if you breathe a word of that to anyone, heads will roll.”

She laughed softly. “I’ll keep that in mind. So both your long-time friends are married, but you’re not.”

“No.”

“Ever been?”

“No.”

“Ever going to be?”

He was silent for a moment.

“I expect so, one day. Don’t you?”

“Eventually, if I find the right man for me.”

“And how will you know?”

“I’m hoping I’ll recognize my soul mate when he shows up. Marriage is for so long, I sure don’t want to make a mistake.”

“Divorce is easy enough.”

“Not for me. I’m getting married and planning to stay that way until we die.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.