The Billionaire and the Con Artist: A Bad Boy Romance (Bad Girls Series Book 1) (15 page)
Read The Billionaire and the Con Artist: A Bad Boy Romance (Bad Girls Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Leanne Brice
Well, Nate and Pete did—apparently, Scott’s still busy with Taylor aka Rachel, but that’s okay—April and I might throw a bigger party later with suits and dresses and everything. This was kind of short notice.
I look over at my bride, gorgeous in her hoodie and jeans, her blond hair down, her eyes sparkling.
But most of all, still here—right where I can reach out and touch her, kiss her.
I’m ecstatic April has decided to trust me with her protection, her love.
I’m overjoyed that she agreed to be with me. To stay with me. To belong to me.
April Addison.
Once we’re done, I sweep her up to carry her out, Nate and Pete following.
I try not to laugh when I hear a female voice behind me say, “Excuse me, but are you Lance Gross?”
What I don’t do is turn around to see Pete’s reaction; my eyes are stuck on April.
With April at my side, I am, without a doubt, the luckiest guy in the world.
They say the house always wins, but I definitely won this round.
S
ometimes
, I still think it’s all a dream.
That the Vegas trip I took for my birthday resulted in me partaking in some superior mushrooms.
As a result, I produced this illusion where I basically clobbered a billionaire over the head and made him love me.
Of course, this wackadoodle hallucinated vision didn’t start out that way—in the ugly first part of the lucid dream, my best friend betrayed me, and my mom rejected me once again, but I eventually realized I’d be just fine without both of them and got the best revenge of all—I carried on, picking up someone who decided they wanted to look after me, whether I needed it or not.
And that’s where things really got weird.
Between dancing fountains and heartbreaking operatic tunes, green-eyed women coming onto me and men handing me stacks of cash for no real reason, I’m Alice down that rabbit hole, meeting talking animals and homicidal queens, and soon, a pack of cards will attack me and I’ll eventually wake up.
I had a nap once that felt like hours, but when I awoke, realized it had only been a few minutes.
That’s what this feels like—like I’m living a huge chunk of a lifetime in one of the best power naps ever.
I don’t mind not waking up.
Axel comes behind me and kisses my neck, his hand affectionately on my protruding stomach.
"You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me," he says, and my heart melts yet again.
Every now and then he slides in something like that, catching me off guard, and though his words essentially say the same thing, each time, it’s like he’s saying wedding vows again.
He still sounds so genuine, so awed when he says sweet nothings to me.
He tells me he loves me every day, like he knows I need to hear it.
Axel and I pretty much immediately started our honeymoon after our quickie marriage—after we sorted out my true documents—and it kind of still feels like we’re on a honeymoon, even though we’re now all settled in a huge mansion in La Jolla.
I felt kind of bad about not returning to L.A. and seeing Lorax again, and when I jokingly told Axel about missing the rat, the next day, I suddenly had two pet guineas.
It’s not the same, of course, but I suppose guinea pigs are better pet materials than alley rats.
I called them Thing 1 and Thing 2.
I had to give them away once I found out I was pregnant, though—too risky to have around at such a time.
Axel happily replaced them with goldfish at my request.
It’s funny watching Axel react to my needs—and I have a whole lot of them now that I’m pregnant.
Anything I even hint at wanting, he takes care of it, like he’s still determined to prove himself to me, even though I definitely believe him now.
I still didn’t quite believe him when we got married, but since then, he has proven he means what he said, over and over.
We haven’t bothered throwing a bigger celebration yet—I have no one to invite, and his best friend, Nate, was our witness the first time around, so the most important people to him already attended our wedding.
Plus I don’t care for all that attention; I’m way too used to laying low.
I did agree to consider throwing a bash for our first year anniversary in a few months, but it’s just so Axel can see me in some white froufrou dress.
Bleh.
I don’t care for it, but Axel wants it, so I’ll do it for him after this munchkin of ours pops out and I get my figure back.
We’re having a boy, thankfully—I hear they’re less fuss, and I’m hoping he looks like his dad.
As for Taylor—apparently, Axel’s friend Scott is ‘taking care of it,’ whatever that means.
I don’t really care how or if she gets punished or not—I’m just glad she’s out of my life for good.
Axel told me what happened when they captured her and that Scott thought he recognized her and called her Rachel.
I was mildly surprised by the name, even though I suspected she never gave me her real one, but was anything about her real? Was that scar a fake too?
Whatever—she’s gone now, and Axel and I got our shit back, and Axel promised me I never have to worry about her or anything ever again.
I realize I’m pretty much the luckiest girl in the world.
For both Axel and me, despite our original intentions when it came to scoring, that Vegas trip turned out to be a beautiful resounding success. A gift that keeps on giving.
My hand joins his on my stomach, and I can’t help but smile as I feel a small kick.
* * *
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eanne Brice loves writing
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She’s a fan of comic books and heroic real-life women.
