Page 42 of The Billionaire and the Maid

“That would be really nice. Thank you,” Ella replies before I practically drag her across the room while my parents watch.

“Shit. Do you think Nancy said something stupid?” Ella whispers to me.

“Probably, but we stick to our story. OK?” I reply and she nods. We’re about twenty paces from Greta when Nonno walks over to her and pulls her into a hug, kissing her on the lips.

We both stop walking and stare at them.

“What. The. Fuck,” Ella says not so softly.

“My sentiments exactly,” I state.

“I’m so glad you could be here, Greta,” Nonno says as he pulls back, his smile beaming and his eyes twinkling. Wait. Do eyes actually twinkle? Because that’s exactly what it looks like.

“Happy birthday, Lorenzo,” she replies with an equally big smile.

We start walking again, and when we get a few feet away, they both turn to look at us. Then they look back at each other.

“You know him?” Ella asks Greta.

Greta looks a little sheepish and nods. “I do.”

“Nonno, I didn’t know you knew Greta,” I state in confusion.

Just as I’m about to start up the Spanish Inquisition, another older woman bursts into the room like she’s the start of a film.

“Marie!” Nonno says happily as the woman walks over and double-cheek kisses him.

“Lorenzo, happy birthday, my dear,” Marie says.

“Who the hell is Marie? Wait. Do I know her? She looks familiar,” I say to no one in particular.

“Oh, that’s Greta’s friend,” Ella explains. “She owns the laundromat on Second Street. We saw her in the garden at the tennis club.”

“Oh, right. Do you know everyone in Storyview Falls?” I ask.

“I didn’t know your family, now did I?” she whispers back to me.

“You knew me,” I remind her.

“That doesn’t count. I didn’t know I knew you,” she states under her breath.

“Ella, are you here with Chase?” Marie asks as she pulls back from Lorenzo.

“Ella’s dating Chase,” Greta says, playing along because I know without a doubt Ella has told her some variation of the truth. I feel my shoulder tension release a little knowing she won’t rat us out.

“Oh, how lovely,” Marie says. “Chase here is a real catch. It’s nice to see you again,” she adds, glancing toward me.

What the hell? I don’t even know this woman.

Greta waves her hand. “Marie, Chase is one of our town’s most eligible bachelors. But he also has a good head on his shoulders just like his grandfather. Isn’t that so, Lorenzo?”

Nonno pats my back. What the hell is going on here? I feel like I’m in an episode of that old showThe Twilight Zone. “My grandson is indeed a great man. I’m very proud of him. And Ella is a lovely young woman. I think they make a great pair.”

Ella blushes under my grandfather’s praise.

Marie leans in toward Ella. “I bet he’s great in bed, too,” she whispers way too loudly.

Ella’s mouth falls open and I press my lips together to keep from laughing because this entire situation is so fucking ridiculous.

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