Page 16 of Billionaire in Disguise

That was another lie.

“Everyone will believe exactly what we tell them.”

Gimme an L! Gimme an I! Gimme an E!

Adrianna rubbed the bridge of her nose. Pretended she was somewhere other than the front porch of her parents’ white stucco ranch home, poised to fool her entire family into thinking she had a boyfriend. How had this seemed like a good idea?

A boyfriend with secrets of his own. His response when she asked to see his driver’s license had been downright suspicious. Was he hiding something? She would consider the query later, if she somehow survived this week.

“Are you all right? You look a little freaked out.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said cheerily. “Because I am a lot freaked out.”Breathe.“But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

He looked at her skeptically. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“Both really.”

As his gaze softened, she relaxed. He grasped her hand, and all calmness fled. His large hand eclipsed her small one, as he held her firmly, almostpossessively.

The door opened.

“He’s here!”

“It’s fantastic to meet you!”

“We’ve been waiting all month!”

It was like a tornado. Or a stampede. Or a shark frenzy. Or perhaps a stampede of sharks in a tornado. Two sets of grandparents, four aunts, three uncles and an assortment of cousins of all ages surged forward, their arms opened wide, their smiles wider. They shook hands, patted backs, kissed cheeks and gave all sorts of assorted greetings appropriate if one were seeing a close relative after a year-long separation. A perfect stranger – not so much.

She squeezed her eyes shut, opened them to an empty porch.

That could have gone better.

Adrianna rushed into the house. Right now her mother was probably asking Nick how many children he wanted. Then she would ask what names he’d picked out, before suggesting they name their firstborn after her great aunt. Finally, she would show him the clothing she had already bought for the child named after her great aunt.

She needed to save him.

The tornado had calmed from an F5 to an F1, yet the room was still electric with movement. Clearly, she had turned invisible, as no one noticed, mentioned or otherwise detected her arrival in the large dining room with its huge oak table, three side tables and enough folding chairs for a small city. Nick was perched at the head of the table on thethrone, a massive, gilded chair they had inherited from the same great aunt who would likely be her child’s namesake. He was staring at her mother.

“Don’t be shy. How many do you want?”

Oh. My. Goodness.

She lunged forward. “Mom, that isn’t something you should be asking!”

Everyone turned to her.

She wasn’t invisible after all.

This fact was made inexplicably clear as the masses descended. There were bear hugs and gentle embraces, pecks on the cheek and wet smacks on the forehead, which then required a rubbing thumb to get rid of the resulting lipstick smear. Questions abound, about her work, social life, eating habits and more. For a group of people who agreed on nothing, they all agreed that her eating habits were atrocious. There were smiles and clucking and a lot of advice.

Yet despite the chaos, she loved it.

Because she loved every single one of them.

“Now please explain why I shouldn’t be asking how many he wants.” Her mother, now suddenly as calm as the Dead Sea, waited expectantly.

She stepped towards him, yet couldn’t make it through the mob of relatives surrounding him. Personal space was not a relevant concept in her home. “It’s just not appropriate.”

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