Page 51 of The Billionaire's Heart

“What?”

“Is she pregnant? It’s a simple question Ian and one that I won’t be the only person to ask you today. Is. She. Pregnant?”

“No. Mia’s not pregnant. No, this isn’t some stunt. Mia and I are getting married. Period. Got it?” I stand, kicking my chair out from behind me in frustration.

“Then you’re going to need a ring. Do you have one because I didn’t see one on her hand yesterday when I was here? And you bet your bottom dollar the interviewer from theToday Showwill notice as well.”

“Mia has a ring. She just wasn’t wearing it yesterday.”

“Good.”

“Good.” I repeat back to her.

“These are the types of questions you and Mia are going to be asked today. It’s what everyone’s talking about online.”

“I don’t care what everyone is talking about.”

“Well, you should, Ian, because it’s not just your reputation on the line. Your business and everything that you and your brother and parents have built over the last fifteen years are at stake here.”

“How does my brother factor into any of this?”

“Your brother is also a billionaire and the owner of a company called Gallo Construction, in case you have forgotten, even though you each have your own businesses, what he does affects you and vice versa. Don’t bring him down with you.”

“He won’t.” Mia says as she stands in the doorway. Neither Brinna nor I saw her walk in during our heated argument.

“Mia.” I walk over to her, and she takes my hand and kisses me on the cheek. I don’t know if it’s for Brinna’s sake or if she really wanted to kiss me, but I’ll take it.

Chapter 25

Mia

Icould hear both Brinna and Ian arguing about me from upstairs and I decided to make an appearance for Ian’s sake. Brinna’s not wrong. Everyone online is talking about how I’m pregnant, have something on Ian, or this is just a stunt to help his corporation. That last one isn’t wrong, but right now, only Ian and I know that. There have been some things said about the playboy brother Sawyer, in all of this, too. He sounds nothing like Ian and I’m not too excited to meet him tonight at dinner.

“He won’t.” I say as I stand in the doorway to Ian’s office. Neither one of them saw me walk in while they were arguing.

“Mia.” Ian walks over to me with a look like I’m a sight for sore eyes and I’ve got to say, I like that look he’s giving me, so I kiss him on the cheek.

“It’s nice to see you again, Brinna. Does my outfit look okay for the interview? I know sometimes certain colors or patterns don’t look good on camera.” I ask her as I pat down the pink pantsuit that the personal shopper sent me.

“Mia, you look great.” Brinna looks at my left hand and I know what she’s looking for. She looked yesterday, too. She’s looking for a ring, which I don’t have, but Ian must have thoughtof that, right? I’m sure he’s got something lying around this place that we can use for a ring.

I grab my hand. “Oh, I forgot my ring. Ian, can you please go grab it for me? I think I left it in the other room.” I smile, hoping he picks up my hint. Maybe Paula has a ring he can borrow.

“Sure. I’ll be right back,” Ian says as he leaves Brinna and I alone in his office.

“Look, Mia. I like you, but I’m not convinced this is real.” She holds her hand up as I’m about to protest. “And I don’t need to know. Plausible deniability and all. But you should know what you’re getting into with Ian. He’s a great man, and not too hard on the eyes, either. But he’s got a lot on his plate and playing house with you, or anyone else, isn’t in the cards for him. He’s meant for great things and he’s accomplishing that quite well alone.”

I stand quietly and let her finish her tirade as I decide I don’t think I like Brinna as much as I thought I was going to.

“Are you done?” I ask her.

“I’m just trying to protect Ian. He’s a great friend, and I’d hate to see his business, reputation, or family get hurt in all of this. That’s all I’m saying. I’m just doing my job by protecting him and Gallo Enterprises.” Brinna raises her hands in defense of her speech.

“Well, if you’re quite done. Ian and I are in love. Because no one’s ‘heard of me’,” I use air quotes to quote her from earlier, “doesn’t mean that this is fake. Has it occurred to you that maybe I just needed to make sure he was ‘the one’ before I announced myself to the world? Before I subjected myself to the vultures online?” I shake my head, “No. It has not. Ian has been respecting my wishes by keeping everything between us and below the radar, and that’s another reason I love him and can’t wait to be married to him. Which will happen, Brinna. Ian and I are getting married. No matter what everyone else thinks.”

“I don’t mean to offend you, Mia.”

“It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t mean to do, Brinna. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, says, yearns, imagines, or talks about. What matters is how Ian and I feel about each other. That’s it. We matter to each other.” I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, “And when did women decide to berate each other instead of applauding each other? Why does it have to be so hateful? I’ll never understand that.”

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