Billionaire On Fire: The Complete Series (A Bad Boy Alpha Billionaire Romance) (58 page)

“Hey, hey, hey,” I said sympathetically.
“You need to calm down a little there, Nicholas. If you freak out so much while
buying the ring, how do you suppose you’re going to handle proposing?”

He quietly sat on the edge of my bed,
looking deeply sickened. “I haven’t quite thought that far yet. One step at a
time. It’s the ring first. Just the ring.”

“Nick.” I looked at him incredulously and
even though as Stacey’s best friend, I should have been nothing short of a
complete cheerleader when it came to this looming engagement, I was also Nick’s
friend, so I had to ask, “You’re sure you want to do this, right?”

His eyes widened as though understanding
exactly what I was thinking. “It’s not... I’m not being forced into this
proposal or anything! Stacey has absolutely no idea. It’s just that the other
day – you were around for this –when I mentioned us being married in the
future, her reaction really took me by surprise. She looked shocked at first,
as though this simply hadn’t occurred to her, which was not a good sign. After
you left she started tearing up and seemed so happy...”

“And that gave away that she was ready so
you decide to propose right away?” I asked starting to somewhat tear up.

“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve been ready for
years now. Honestly, a couple of months into us dating I knew where we were
going, that we would obviously get married someday.”

“So did I,” I said and nodded thinking
back to those days. “And everyone else knew, really. You and Stacey were a
match made in heaven, Nick. It’s incredible that you found each other. I can’t
imagine a world where you hadn’t…”

“That’s really sweet, Aria,” Nick said,
looking like he was about to tear up too. It made me a little uncomfortable
because Nick wasn’t exactly an expert at showing his feelings. “It gives me
quite a boost. I am so glad we have you in our life.”

I took his words as my cue to tell him
something that I had been considering over in my mind since I had first run into
him with the magazine and found out what his plans were.

“And I am really glad that I have two of
the most amazing people in the world as my best friends,” I said sweetly. “Who
are now going to be married, which is an incredibly wonderful thought. I can
safely assume I’ll be the maid-of-honor at this wedding since Stacey already
promised me that when we were like fifteen. That’s a role I am looking forward
to fulfill in your lives. There is one role that I can no longer play, Nick,
because you guys are about to start an epic life ahead and you need your
privacy. Don’t even try to deny that! After the proposal I am going to move
out.”

Nick looked disappointed but nodded.
“Stacey is not going to be happy about it. Neither am I.”

“I’m not happy about moving out, Nick!” I
exclaimed, hoping he didn’t think it was because of anything they did. “I love
living with you guys! You’re my second family. And my god, these past few years
have been some of the best of my entire life. You guys are growing up now though
and I have to do the same. I can’t be living with a couple that’s about to be
married.”

“If there is anything I or Stacey can do
for you – in terms of finding a place or beating someone up or anything – you
just have to say the word.”

“I know that. I always knew that, don’t be
silly, Nick. Nothing has changed. I do need your help telling Stacey about this
after the proposal though. I’ll need someone to grab the pillow she will most
definitely throw at me,” she joked.

He bowed as to say ‘at your service.’

“Of course that’s not for a while and I
have this freaking party with Zayden tonight to worry about too,” I said,
suddenly remembering. “When do you plan on doing it anyway?” Then I eyed him
suspiciously and added, “And how do you have so much money for a fancy ring?”

“I want to do it next week on her
birthday. And my grandma gave me the money. She was quite the anarchist back in
the day so her and my grandpa decided to get married without spending a dime –
something about love not needing a show – so there was no ring. Now that she’s
older, she thinks there should have been one so she could pass it on to my
bride. Since she can’t, she’s been insisting on buying it for me.”

“That is so adorable,” I said and smiled.
“Okay, let’s get going, Nick. We don’t know when Stacey will be back and we
need to spend as much time as we can to find the perfect ring. Both Stacey and
your grandma deserve that.”

---

By the time Nick and I were back with a
beautiful princess-cut diamond ring that she would definitely adore, Stacey was
already home and in her baking gear.

“Where did you two go?” She raised her
eyebrows. “I thought you were supposed to be setting up the place, Aria.”

“I was! I was scrubbing the floor. Look
how much cleaner it is now,” I said, pointing at the floor which hadn’t been
touched, but she would probably believe me because who can really tell the
difference? “I got super exhausted from doing that so Nick and I went for a
walk…to get some ice-cream.” I must have sounded obvious to anyone in the
world, but Stacey shrugged oblivious, focusing on the batter she was beating
with surprising intensity. “When are you going to start the chicken? I only ask
cause the stove is going to be very hot for the next two hours because of the
oven beneath and I don’t think you cooking over that heat is the best idea.”

She looked at her watch. “We still have
about three and half hours before your boyfriend is supposed to get here.” She
paused and gave me a very amused half-smile. “You’re grinning really hard,
Aria.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said, feeling the sides of
my mouth stretched. “I didn’t realize I was doing that. It’s just that…you
called him my boyfriend.”

Stacey made an “aww” face and said, “If I
wasn’t completely covered in cookie batter I would give you the biggest hug
right now. But more importantly, let’s make the best of our time here. Why
don’t you go get ready – it’s bound to take over an hour since your man is
coming – while the oven is on and then you can make the chicken? I’ll cook
everything else. I already have the rice cooker running. I would do the chicken
too but he has yet to try your cooking and your chicken and sausage curry
really is to die for!”

“No, I want to make it!” I said, thinking
of how he had grilled everything on the night that I had been to his house.
“But not after I get ready. I hardly want to smell like chicken and curry.” I
giggled.

“Okay then, if you wait for the oven to be
done you’ll only have about a half hour to get ready, so if you can manage—”

“Of course,” I cut her off, grinning once
more. “My boyfriend is coming. Part of the charm of that particular terminology
is that I get to spend less time getting all dolled up. He has seen me right
out of bed and right out of a shower so he knows what I really look like.”

“Shower?” Stacey looked at me with her
eyes wide open. “You guys have already managed to hit the shower?”

Nick, who had been sitting on the couch
and too busy munching on chips so far to speak, chose this moment to quietly
exit the living room.

Stacey and I both giggled for a second because
of Nick’s reaction. “I thought I told you. So much has happened these last few
days. The shower was fun…but Zayden will be here soon so we better get all set
up. Thanks so much for agreeing to hang out with us tonight.”

“Are you kidding?” She pointed her spatula
at me. “I’ve been dying to properly hang out with the dude since we first –
ahem – corresponded about you.”

“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten,” I said,
trying to be reproachful, but was glad that all those months ago Stacey had
tipped off Zayden, believing he would be the right guy for me.

---

“So where is your living room?” Zayden
looked at me expectantly as he sat on our couch sipping on the Margaritas that
I had freshly made.

I looked at him with my mouth open, unable
to answer, while Stacey and Nick burst into a chortle.

“Did I say something funny?” he asked.

Before Nick or Stacey could answer with
something sarcastic, I jumped in. “We only have one. Most people only have one,
Zayden.”

My face was getting scarlet red.

Zayden grinned softly. “I was only
joking.” He chuckled.

“So, uh, Zayden,” Nick said nervously.
“What do you do for fun?”

Zayden shrugged, non-committal. “Stuff.
Work mostly.”

“You do work for fun?” Nick was trying
hard not to laugh.

“No, I mean…I work a lot. Sometimes I go
golfing, but it’s mostly for networking purposes. Can’t say I particularly
enjoy the sport. I did play basketball in college, but no time for that sort of
a thing these days.”

“You watch T.V.!” I interjected. “Why else
would you have a 80-inch television in your room?”

“News mostly. Bloomberg is usually always
playing in the background wherever I go.”

Stacey, who had been quiet so far in a
respectful attempt not to laugh, spoke, “Bloomberg is not watching T.V. and you
sure don’t need eighty inches of television screen to analyze the stock market.
Wanna switch?” She pointed her head towards our regular thirty-two inch T.V.

“Sure, you can just have mine. I hope you
don’t feel offended if I pass on yours though,” Zayden said nonchalantly to
everyone’s surprise. We all sat quietly for a few minutes before we bursted out
laughing.

“We don’t actually want your T.V., Zayden.
Stacey was joking.”

He probably knew that, but with his kind
of money probably didn’t care.

“But why not?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You guys seem to have a real interest in it and sure look like you could use a
better set. A wedding present perhaps—”

Everything escalated after I gasped and
gave Zayden a look that meant to say I was ready to commit murder. Nick looked
like he would throw up and Stacey just sat there motionless in complete shock.

“He doesn’t mean you guys,” I said lamely,
trying to rectify the situation, while still glaring angrily at Zayden. “My
other friends are getting married. From my Stats class. You don’t know them.”

I was rambling nonsensically, making the
situation worse and worse. After a few minutes, things got increasingly
uncomfortable so I looked at Zayden and said, “Can you come with me to my room
real quick? We need to talk.”

He seemed to have gathered he had said
more than he was allowed to and looked guilty and nervous. If the situation
hadn’t been so bizarre and ridiculous, I would kiss him for how adorable he
looked.

Quietly, he followed me into my room,
leaving Nick and Stacey to themselves.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, I
snapped. “What the hell, Zayden? I told you it was supposed to be a secret! He
is not proposing to her until next week.”

Covering my face with my hands completely
horrified about having ruined Nick’s surprise, I threw myself on to my bed.
“You can sit, you know,” I said when he continued to stand awkwardly by the
door.

Carefully, he walked closer and closer to
me until he was right next to me. He ran his palms through my face and sighed
deeply. “I am sorry. I had completely forgotten you mentioned it was a
surprise. I didn’t mean to ruin it for your friends. You know I wouldn’t do
that.”

“I know,” I said, pulling him towards me
to cuddle. “But what are we going to do now?”

“We are going to sit here for a few more
minutes and let your friends figure things out. Then we are going to go out,
I’m going to apologize for my blunder and we are all going to have a nice
evening. How does that sound?” He stroked my hair, pulling me towards his
chest.

“It sounds like all we can do for now.”

“It will be okay. Don’t think about what’s
happening outside. Let’s talk about something else. Did you get your paper
back?”

I removed myself from his embrace and
lying by my elbow looked at him and said, “Yes, I got an A and the teacher said
it was one of the best papers he had encountered on the subject.”

“If only he knew how we got to the idea.”
Zayden snickered.

“I want to write all my papers with you
exactly like that from now on,” I said, getting slightly cheerful again.

“I don’t know how much writing will
actually get done, but I am not going to protest, baby.”

His use of endearment made me feel the
ground beneath me disappear.
 

“I love you,” I said, looking him straight
in the eyes this time. He didn’t say anything but I was sure I saw a twinkle in
his eyes. He leaned in and kissed me softly and passionately. Then I
understood. He was not able to say it just yet but he loved me too.

We just lay there holding each other for a
long time before going back out.
 
When we
finally made it back to the living room, Nick and Stacey seemed engaged. They
were beaming with joy. It wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter
9

Zayden

Aria had somehow convinced me to redo the
dinner with her mother, but go about things a little differently this time. For
one, she had picked me up in her car, a blue Ford Taurus that she managed to
drive pretty well but kept me on my toes the whole time nonetheless. I wasn’t
sure I had sat in a car quite like it before. It was incredibly small, the
seats felt like they were made of plastic, and my legs were hurting from the
little room in her front seat.