Mr. Black's Proposal (Part One: A Billionaire Erotic Romance) Read online

  “Different how? She has three tits?”

  “She’s… I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

  I paused. Jake was acting all kinds of funny.

  “What’s there to explain? You got sucked in by some sexpot. Fuck her a couple of times and get it out of your system.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “What, you found true love or something?”

  Jake was silent. When I looked over at him, he had a scrunched up expression, like he couldn’t find any words in his memory bank.

  “Oh, you are kidding me,” I said. “No way.”

  “Way.”

  “The elusive Jake Carville fell in love with a random chick at a party?”

  “She’s not some random chick—”

  “New York City’s wildest billionaire playboy, taken down by a rogue vagina.”

  “She’s not—what the hell are you talking about, Lucas?”

  “I’m talking about a magic cooch knocking you out of the arena.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe I don’t want to be in the arena anymore.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say, so I said it again. “Well.”

  “She’ll be there tonight. I just wanted to let you know.”

  “Why? Does she hate me already? She hates me, doesn’t she?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I was the one who sent you that birthday present. Of course she hates me.”

  “As long as you don’t send me any more presents, I think we’ll be fine.”

  “Sure. I’ll keep all the hot ladies to myself. ‘Can I meet Jake Carville?’ they’ll say. ‘Sorry, he wants you to fuck me instead,’ I’ll say. I’ll get all the girls from here on out.”

  “Clint’s coming tonight, too,” Jake said. “So you two can fight over all the girls.”

  “So this is for real? You’re settling down? What are you going to do, propose to this girl?”

  Jake hesitated. The shock hit me all at once.

  “You are!” I said. I wiped my forehead with a sweat rag and came out from the lifting cage. “You’re going to propose to her! I can’t believe it. Goddamn! I never would have thought you would do something like that, not on my life.”

  “I’m thirty-one.”

  I shook my head.

  “So what? I’m a year older than you, and you don’t see me settling down.”

  “Well, maybe you will someday soon.”

  I laughed. The thought of proposing to any of the girls I’d been with in the past year was too ridiculous to even imagine. I could handle their annoying tics for one night, maybe two. But forever? Yeah, right.

  “That’s never going to happen, Jake.”

  “Never say never.”

  “Alright. We’ll see how long it takes before I’m down for the count. Maybe Clint will give you an over/under to bet on.”

  Jake’s face turned serious for a moment.

  “It’s not a bad feeling, falling in love,” he said. “It’s nice. I hope it happens for you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Sure. I’ll call Belle about tonight, okay?”

  “Okay. Then you’ll be there?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “Great.” Jake looked for Otis, but he had already jumped back into the pool and was gnawing at his tennis ball. “See you later!”

  “See you later, lover boy!”

  Chapter Three

  Steph

  I was both excited and nervous to meet Lacey’s new boyfriend. From what I knew of him, there was definitely something strange going on. Not just that he was super-ultra-mega rich. But that he would steal Lacey away from her job and give her an art gallery.

  He was either really, really in love with her, or…

  I didn’t even want to think about the other possibility. That he was just buttering her up for the short-term. They had been dating for only a few weeks, and I didn’t want my Lacey bug to get hurt. I guess he was going away for business to Paris. I wondered what it would be like to jet around the world at a moment’s notice.

  “How do I look?” I asked Andy and Rachel. Lacey had invited us all to Jake’s party to meet him, and I didn’t want to stick out in a bad way.

  “You look gorgeous,” Rachel said.

  “Divine,” Andy chimed in.

  “Divine?”

  “Literally divine. Like a goddess.”

  “You don’t think I look like an eggplant? I think I look like an eggplant.” My dress was a deep maroon color, and it fitted tightly over my curves, dipping low in front.

  “A divine eggplant,” Andy agreed. “The sexiest kind of vegetable.”

  “You’re not helping.”

  “It really looks great,” Rachel said. “You look sexy.”

  “Yeah, but what about the top? Is this top too sexy?” I wished that I had brought a shawl or something to cover my cleavage. The top showed my chest, and I’d worn a loosely looped gold necklace that hung down in front, inviting attention. I’d wanted to look sexy, but now I felt kind of like it was too much. Rachel’s dress was much more demure.

  “There’s no such thing as too sexy,” Andy said. He patted my shoulder to console me.

  “It’s fine,” Rachel said.

  “Easy for you to say,” I said. “You look like the girl next door.”

  “Hey, now!” Rachel cried out.

  “Not in a bad way,” I said. “Sorry, I meant that in a good way!”

  “This is a farm dress,” Rachel said, looking down at the flowery A-line that was buttoned up all the way past her collarbone. “It’s not too bad, though, right?”

  “It’s definitely not as sexy as the eggplant dress,” Andy mused, stroking his chin. “Here.”

  He reached out and unbuttoned the top two buttons of Rachel’s dress.

  “There you go. That evens you two out. Of course, neither one of you is as sexy as me in a tux,” he said, preening in the mirrored wall of the elevator.

  “I feel like a whore of an eggplant,” I said.

  “Don’t worry.”

  “I’m worrying.”

  “Don’t.”

  Just then the elevator stopped. The doors opened and a servant motioned us into the apartment.

  “Right this way,” he said. “You are Lacey’s friends?”

  “Yup,” I said, my fingers twisting together anxiously. I wanted to cross my arms over my cleavage, but the servant in the suit didn’t even seem to notice. He led us through a high-ceilinged room and down a few marble steps.

  “Steph! Rachel!”

  It was great to see Lacey looking so happy. We introduced ourselves and started eating the appetizers. Jake seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and even though I wanted to be suspicious of him, he really seemed to care about Lacey.

  Everything was going fine, and then the servant came back in with another guest.

  But it wasn’t just another guest.

  It was him.

  The man from the shop this morning, Lucas Black. He walked into the room like he belonged here, and I suppose he wouldn’t be out of place at a party for billionaires.

  I shrunk back, not sure if I should run out of the room screaming or just try to sink slowly into the floor before he noticed me.

  There was a woman on his arm, but it wasn’t the same woman from this morning. It was a different woman, with long sleek auburn hair. She was slim, and gave off the air of old money. The kind of person who looked like she woke up in the morning already made up to perfection.

  A different woman, though? Are you kidding me? What kind of asshole player changes his women from morning to night?

  “Lucas!”

  Jake greeted him with a warm embrace. I stood, frozen, as Lucas’s eyes moved over Lacey, then Andy, then Rachel. And then… me.

  When he turned to me, he paused only briefly. I could see the surprise in his eyes, but it was only a
momentary shock.

  Okay, Steph, don’t make this anymore awkward than it has to be.

  I stepped forward and held my hand out bravely. Instead of shaking my hand, though, he bent down and kissed me on the cheek. His cologne was strong, a crisp ocean air scent that was layered over his own heady musk. It made me dizzy, and my heart beat fast as his lips grazed my skin.

  “Nice to see you again,” he whispered, so low that only I could hear. My skin turned hot.

  “Nice to meet you,” I blustered.

  Lucas only smiled. He could tell that I was embarrassed, and he quickly turned away to talk with the other guests. I fought to keep my skin from burning bright red as I talked with Lacey. Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed my reaction to meeting Mr. Lucas Black.

  “Do you like the bruschetta?” she asked.

  “It’s incredible!” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the tomato stuff on top. I couldn’t risk making eye contact with Lucas again “You’re a good chef, you know.”

  “Not nearly as good as you.”

  “Well, I’m not a chef,” I corrected her, savoring the tomato and bread appetizer. “I’m a baker. Much different.”

  “How is it different?”

  “Bakers are scientists,” I said. “Every measurement has to be precise.”

  “And chefs?”

  “Chefs are artists. That’s probably why it suits you,” I said. “What—uh—kind of art have you been doing?”

  That was enough to set her off for a long time. She was talking above my head, something about acrylics and texturing and abstract realism. I tried to follow along, but all I could think about was Lucas and how I was going to get out of this party without talking with him.

  “Excuse me,” she said, after winding down the conversation. “I’m going to go check on Jake.”

  I moved off to the side of the room, listening in idly on my brother’s conversation. I couldn’t help stealing glances over at Lucas. His hair was tousled, windswept like a surfer’s hair. And his eyes were the clearest, purest sky blue.

  Belle caught me looking over at Lucas. I quickly retrained my eyes on my wine glass, but it was too late. She swept down on me as soon as she caught me.

  “Got your eyes on someone?”

  “No,” I said. “Just enjoying the scenery. This place is lovely. The chandeliers—”

  “Right. You came here to look at chandeliers.” She sneered.

  The meanness in her voice stopped me in my tracks. I stammered out a reply.

  “I—I came here because my friend invited me.”

  “That’s too bad. None of you fit in here. Not you, not your little friend from Iowa, not that New Jersey cow—”

  “Shut up.” My hand was shaking. I didn’t want to make a scene in front of Lacey and her new boyfriend. I knew how much she cared about making this a great night. But this lady was downright nasty.

  “I hope you enjoy tonight,” she said. “Because there is no way in hell it’s happening again. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  I took a sip from my glass of wine and plastered on the most fake smile I could muster. If there was an acting Oscar for awkward party conversation, I was going to win it.

  “I don’t know. It looks like Jake is having a great time,” I commented, looking over where he was wrapping his arm around Lacey.

  Belle seemed like she was about to burst with anger.

  “You and your friends are nothing but gold diggers,” she said. “You see an opportunity, and you jump on it.”

  “In this scenario, am I digging, or am I jumping?” I asked lightly. “Or both at the same time?”

  “Just letting you know: it’s not going to work. Not with Jake, and not with Lucas.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

  That was a lie. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I was attracted to Lucas Black. Who wouldn’t be? But he had the looks of a supermodel and the bank account of an oil tycoon. I really, really doubted that Belle had anything to worry about. There was no way he would be attracted to me.

  “Stay away from them,” she hissed. “You and your fat friends—”

  “I can’t speak for Lacey,” I said, leaning forward so that we were face to face. “But you’re barking up the wrong tree. From what I know of Mr. Black, he’s nothing more than a superficial playboy. So you can keep him to yourself, and good riddance.”

  Belle pinched her lips together. I swear she was about to claw out my eyes. But Jake’s servant came by to refill our wine glasses and she shut up long enough to let him pour. As the servant walked away, she leaned toward me.

  “Lucas Black is no angel, but he has his standards. You think you’re going to be able to sneak your way into his pants, but you’re wrong.”

  “It looks like it’s plenty crowded in Mr. Black’s pants already,” I said, and walked away before she could say anything else.

  When we went into the dining room to eat, Lacey had already set up the places. Our names were hand-painted onto little parchment cards. I could tell that she had spent a lot of time on it. I found my spot and slid in. Andy sat next to me.

  And—oh God, no. No way.

  There was no way Lacey could have known, but there it was. Lucas pulled out the chair for his date, that awful woman Belle. And then he sat down.

  Right in front of me.

  I busied myself with my water glass and spent an inordinate amount of time settling my napkin onto my lap. But when I lifted my eyes, he was sitting right there, his gaze fixed onto me.

  “Tell me about your cupcake business,” he said, leaning forward over his plate.

  “You run a cupcake business?” Belle asked. She pretended to be interested, but her eyebrows arched in a way that said: fat bitch making cupcakes? Of course.

  “It’s going well,” I said. “We started before it became more of a trend.”

  “So it’s just a fad?” Belle asked.

  I did my best not to snarl at her. Instead, I focused my eyes on Lucas. His face was carefully devoid of expression.

  “I hope not,” I said, sipping water to cool off my temper. This was Lacey’s big night to show off her boyfriend. I wasn’t going to ruin that by jumping across the table to mash Belle’s face into the butter dish.

  Yet.

  “You said you’ve been expanding?” Lucas asked. His voice was low, and for a moment I imagined what it would feel like to hear him whispering to me while he fucked me from behind, his mouth against my ear— No. He was off-limits. I’d already seen him with not one, but two other women. That alone was enough to tell me that going after Lucas Black was a Bad Idea. I put on a polite smile and answered.

  “We’re thinking of opening another store, or maybe just renting out some warehouse space,” I said. “The coffee shops we bake for are asking for more cupcakes, and the new custom cakes lines are doing well.”

  “That’s how we met,” Jake interjected. “Lacey was delivering a cake for Steph for my birthday party.”

  “Oh?” Lucas asked. “I don’t think I saw it.”

  Lacey’s cheeks turned pink.

  “It—ah, it didn’t make it out to the main party,” Jake said. I looked at Lacey for an explanation, but she was shaking her head and I didn’t want to press it. It sounded like an interesting story. Oh well. I would have to get it out of her later.

  “When she was seven, Steph wanted to be the most famous baker in New York,” Andy said. “Do you want to know what she did one Christmas?”

  “What?”

  “Oh, Andy, don’t tell this story.” I put my face in my hands. He always had to tell this story.

  “It’s fine, sis,” he said, laughing. “She was just starting to learn how to bake with Mom, and so she decided to make Christmas cinnamon buns all on her own. As the dutiful young brother, of course, I was her assistant.”

  “You were the worst assistant,” I corrected.

  “I do not dispute that,” Andy said, holding up a finger. �
�And that was why, when she told me to put in a scoop of yeast, I scooped up a handful of yeast and threw it in there.”

  “We went to watch a cartoon while the dough rose,” I said, taking over telling the story. If I was going to be embarrassed, I was going to be part of the joke. “You see where this is going.”

  Lacey laughed, knowing exactly where the story was going. She’d heard this tale multiple times when she came over to our family gatherings. It was a staple of the Hart household.

  Lucas, though, was staring at me like I was the most interesting person he’d ever met. It made me feel uncomfortable, especially in front of his date. Belle was steaming out of her ears.

  Andy jumped back into the story.

  “And by the time we got back—”

  “The dough was everywhere!” I said, getting into the storytelling. “It had risen up over the bowl and spilled all over the table. We tried to scrape it up, but it was all over the wrapping paper, ribbons, tape—it was on everything!”

  “Mom was so mad,” Andy said. Jake looked over at me in sympathy.

  “Ugh!” I said, throwing up my hands in mock frustration. “Just be glad you don’t have a brother!”

  I knew immediately I’d said something wrong. Every person at the table tensed up, and Belle turned to Jake.

  Oh, shit. Jake Carville. I’d forgotten. His brother had been in that apartment fire when he was young. My face burned red once I realized what I had said right in front of him.

  “Oh,” I stammered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “That’s perfectly alright.” Jake said. God bless him, he smiled at me like it was nothing, but I knew I had pricked him in a sore spot. Belle was looking at me with a triumphant expression, like I’d just tripped at the end of a marathon, right before the finish line.

  A buzzing rose in my ear. I’d fucked it up. Lacey wouldn’t even look at me. God, I’d fucked up so bad.

  The rock star friend made a joke that everybody laughed at, so I laughed along. But in my mind, I was still replaying the stupid, insensitive comment I’d made. I couldn’t look up at Lucas, even though I felt his eyes burning on me. I couldn’t look up at Belle. I sipped my water and pretended that nothing had happened, wishing all the while that I could sink into the floor and disappear forever.