Free A Hollywood Bride (Billionaires' Brides of Convenience Book 2) by Nadia Lee

don’t have high-end bars or strip clubs.”
    “Ouch,” he says with a wince. “Guess I deserved that.”
    I give him a look.
    “Can I come in?”
    “If Ryder sent you—”
    “He didn’t.”
    I gaze at him, wondering. “All right,” I say finally. “You can come in.”
    He walks in, looking around the humble living room. It’s smaller than Ryder’s bedroom, and it is decorated with inexpensive furniture and second-hand items. Shelves have tons of framed pictures of Oliver and Bethany—an unbroken photographic record from the time they became an item to the present.
    “Nice,” he murmurs.
    “I bet you’ve never set foot in a house that’s worth less than three million.”
    Something flashes in his gaze, then disappears just as quickly as it appeared. “Now who’s being a snob?” He sits in the couch. “Elizabeth called me.”
    I frown. “About?”
    “You.”
    Crossing my arms, I lean against the wall across from him. “If there’s anything she wants to talk to me about, she knows my number.”
    “Yeah, well. I thought I should do this face-to-face.”
    I keep my mouth shut and wait for him to go on.
    “Nothing happened at the strip club,” he says.
    My lips curve. “Riiiiiight.”
    “Look, Ryder wanted to talk, I was already there, and I didn’t want to leave. So he came by.”
    “Regular bars not good enough for you guys?” I say, uncrossing my arms.
    “You know about the deal with our father, don’t you?”
    I nod. No point in being coy with him.
    “I thought so.” He taps his lips like I’ve just confirmed something important for him. “Then you know I need to marry too.”
    “And how does that relate to the strip club?”
    He frowns and smiles at the same time, like you do when someone doesn’t get an obvious joke. “I’m looking for a wife.”
    My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. His announcement has short-circuited my brain.
    Now he actually laughs. “You haven’t heard?”
    “No.” I blink. “But why? You could have anybody you want.”
    “Maybe that’s exactly why I want a stripper. Besides, it’ll be more fun this way. You watch.” He winks.
    Then it hits me. Why he’s doing this—it’s to show to his father that he can’t be controlled. I snort a laugh. “You are
terrible
.”
    “Thank you. I try very hard.” He grows serious. “Paige, why are you making this more complicated than it needs to be?”
    I sigh, then shake my head. “Ryder doesn’t trust me.”
    “And? So what? It’s only for a year. I’m certain my brother offered more than enough to make up for a year of your life, and he’ll take care of the baby as well.”
    Elliot’s right. I know that. But I need Ryder’s trust if I’m going to do it. It’s the least I want from him, and I don’t even know how to articulate that so I don’t end up sounding like a whiner.
    “If you have…feelings for him, you should tell him,” Elliot says, his eyes gentle and understanding. “He doesn’t do well with games.”
    “Like that woman.” The bitter words tumble out of me before I can stop myself.
    “Yeah. Like Lauren. But that was a long time ago. Even if she left scars, that doesn’t mean he’s unsalvageable.”
    We talk for a while longer, but don’t make much progress. Elliot finally gets up. “I’ll show myself out. Just think about what I said…but if you really aren’t going to go through with the wedding, tell him now. He’s going to need to come up with a contingency bride.”
    * * *
    Ryder
    If I had things my way, I would’ve been up and out early this morning. Started drinking early, too, because alcohol is great for making me feel less bad about the crap in my life.
    But Elliot isn’t answering my calls. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume he’s avoiding me.
But why? He never does that
. It’s got to be Elizabeth getting in the middle of things. She can be pretty meddlesome when she puts her mind to it.
    I’m already feeling like shit.
Guilty
shit. I