Page 42 of The Billionaire's Heart

“Yes. It’s Friday night at your club. I’ve worked out the details with Mrs. Wilcox and have hired a lovely event planner named Riley to organize the entire thing.”

“Mother, you can’t just throw us a party and not let us know.” I scold.

“Why not? You got engaged without telling your father and me.” My mother says with fake innocence in her voice.

Ouch. That one hurt, and she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Touche. You’re right. How about you, dad, and Sawyer comeover for dinner tomorrow night? You and Mia can get to know each other, and we can talk more about this party.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“Oh, and this party, if we’re going to have it, is not happening this week, so cancel any plans you’ve made. We’ll both be in the Bahamas later this week, and possibly the entire weekend.”

“Just as well, it’s kind of last minute. You know about those things, right dear?” My mother’s barbs are sharp today.

“You’ve made your point, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

We all hear her sigh. “Okay, tomorrow night for dinner. We’ll see you then.”

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too, Ian. Bye.” She hangs up, and I put my phone down.

Brinna looks at me, “Wow. You’re in deep shit.”

I nod, “Yep, I am.” I change the subject, “So, there’s no engagement party, at least for this week. I’ll have to convince my mother that we don’t need one, but that may be a moot point, seeing as she loves to throw parties.”

“Yep. And her oldest is getting married. Good luck with that.” Brinna says as she types on her tablet. “Okay, it looks like one of the anchors for theToday Showwill fly in tomorrow afternoon with a camera crew. They’ll be here around three, so I’ll be here around two to make sure that you two are ready.”

“What kinds of questions are they going to ask?” Mia asks Brinna.

“The basics at first, like where did you meet, how long have you been secretly dating, what do you see in each other… then, they may get personal. Actually, I’d be prepared for them to get personal since, and don’t take this wrong, since no one has ever heard of you and suddenly you’re engaged to one of the most eligible billionaires in the world.”

“I hate that moniker.” I mumble.

“Hate it or not, it’s out there and since you’ve said nothing to the press so far, they’re running it as either she’s pregnant with your love child or she’s got something on you and forcing you to marry her for the money.”

Mia jumps up off the couch. “That’s complete bullshit. All of it.”

Brinna remains unfazed. “Maybe, but that’s not what the public is being told right now. Especially since we’ve heard from your ex-boyfriend, but not from you. So, you can see why this is important to do tomorrow’s interview.”

Mia sits back down, deflated. “I don’t understand why this is anyone’s business, anyway.”

“It’s not, but people like to either knock down someone else or root for them. It’ll be up to you both to convince them to root for you.” Brinna checks her watch. “I’ve got to go. Make sure you both have your stories straight. I don’t care what you tell them about yourselves. Just make sure you both tell them the same damn thing. Okay?”

We all stand, and I walk Brinna to the door, “Thank you, Brinna and I’m sorry I didn’t call you about all of this.”

“You’re forgiven.” She hugs me and looks over at Mia. “It was nice to meet you Mia, and please make sure to call me first if you get pregnant. Okay?”

Mia blushes bright red and nods.

“Good night, Brinna.” I usher her out the door.

“Night. See ya tomorrow.” She calls over her shoulder as she makes her way to her Porsche parked in my driveway.

Chapter 21

Mia

Brinna came and went like a tornado and, just like the aftermath of those storms that you see on television, she was overwhelming.

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