Page 4 of The Billionaire's Wife

“Hi,” she says timidly, shaking his hand. “I’m not sure—”

“Go on inside with Betty, sweetheart,” I interrupt her. “I’m just going to show Marcus out.” I gently push her toward the door, and thankfully she goes, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.

Luckily, Marcus seems oblivious to everyone’s discomfort. Not just mine and Ella’s, but also Asher and Aiden’s. They’re both standing as still as statues, their eyes wide in horrified confusion as they watch me continuously dig this hole deeper and deeper.

Fuck. What have I done?

But I don’t have the time to mull it over now.

The four of us step into the elevator and head down to the lobby. We walk Marcus out to his car, say our goodbyes, and express our excitement for seeing him again soon. As his car pulls away, the three of us stand in the Seattle drizzle, watching it disappear down the street.

Aiden turns to me pointedly, and I feel dread worming its way through my veins. “What the fuck, man?”

Chapter 3

Alec

What the fuck is right. He’s absolutely right.

“Yeah, Alec. Um, what was that?” Asher says quietly.

The drizzle is starting to accumulate on my suit jacket, and I can feel it soaking into my hair. But I can’t quite make myself move. Not just yet.

“Alec.” Aiden shakes me.

“Okay, yeah,” I say, taking a step back and heading into the lobby. My brothers follow me, Aiden a little more insistently than Asher.

“What do you mean, ‘yeah, okay’?” Aiden asks. “A wife? You have a wife? Where? Your dog walker?”

I’m speed-walking to the elevator, but Aiden and Asher are keeping pace. “I don’t know what happened, okay? I was afraid he’d pull the deal if he knew I wasn’t married. He seemed so enamored with the fact that you two are such family men, and then he assumed I was one too. What was I supposed to do?” I hit the button on the elevator, and the doors close.

“Not make up a fake wife, that’s what,” Aiden answers.

Asher simply shakes his head.

“I’ll deal with it,” I assure them.

“Please do,” Asher breathes, running his hands over his face. “This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to our company, and I’d rather not blow it over something this … weird.”

“I know that, okay?” I snap back just as the elevator doors open. I step out into the hallway and beeline toward my apartment, leaving Aiden and Asher alone to no doubt discuss my embarrassing and ridiculous predicament.

I enter my apartment, relieved to be free of my brothers’ scrutiny, but now I’m faced with an even bigger problem.

Ella.

She straightens from where she had been leaning against the kitchen counter, Betty snoozing on the floor at her feet. Her frizzy dark hair frames her face—a face that is currently scrunched up in disbelief.

“Uh, so are you going to tell me what that was?” she demands, placing her hands on her hips. She can’t be much taller than five feet, so her attempt at an intimidating pose isn’t exactly working. Although I am nervous. Not so much because of her but because of this idiotic hole I’m continuing to dig for myself.

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay. This is going to sound crazy, but I have a favor to ask of you.” I open my eyes to see that hers have narrowed.

“A favor,” she states.

I nod.

“Does this favor have anything to do with the fact that you told three men out there that I’m your wife?” She crosses her arms across her chest.

“You guessed it,” I say with a humorless chuckle, although it doesn’t quite get the reaction I’m hoping for.

---