Page 42 of The Billionaire's Bride

The rest of the men chuckle.

"Now, the homeless man," I glance between the men, "Guess Baron told you that he was a student at St. Lucian’s?"

Damian nods, "We also know that he used to be a junkie, hard up on his next fix, who was used by the Mafia to supply the whereabouts of our locations to them."

"And yet," I tilt my head, "he helped all of you at various points."

"He did?" Baron scowls.

"He’s played a role in smoothing the way for the five of them to get their women."

"Not me," Sinner points out, "though I admit, it was intriguing to read his Byron quotes… Shit," He straightens. "Byron. He quoted Byron."

"So?" I turn to him. "You remember something, Sinner?"

"Summer’s father, before he died, he mentioned something about Byron. Fucking hell." He drags his fingers through his hair. "I never could understand the significance of it…but it’s too much of a coincidence, don’t you think, that the homeless man was quoting Byron?" He glances at me. "Surely, he must know more than he revealed to you."

"Only way to find out is when he wakes up." I turn to Weston, "Which could be when, Doc?"

"Anyone’s guess." He narrows his gaze on me, "You sure lost your shit there, Ed. It’s not like you to cause bodily harm to anyone."

"Yeah, well," I chuckle dryly, "apparently, there’s a lot about me that I am discovering for the first time."

The guys stare at me with something like understanding…empathy… Even pity, on their faces. Jesus...and now I am using the Lord’s name as a swearword. Which, I shouldn’t, but I can, now that, technically, I’ve walked away from the priesthood, but bloody hell... I am, clearly, losing my head right now.

"I think it’s time you guys left," I mutter. "Baron and I have shit to sort out."

No one moves. They stare at me, then at Baron.

"What?" I bark. "I may have almost strangled one man. Doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything to Baron, who, by the way, can defend himself really well, considering he is the ex-soldier here."

"You’re not too bad at holding your own in a fight, Fath—I mean Ed," Saint finally says. "Shit, it’s going to take some getting used to, to not call you Father anymore."

"Tell me about it," I say bitterly.

Sinner stares between Baron and me, then nods. He turns to Weston, "So, you’ll tell us when either of the men awakens?"

"You guys will be the first to know," he affirms.

"Well, then," Damian straightens, "time to get the hell out of here and let these two jokers sort their shit out."

The guys, one by one, hug Baron, then me. They say their goodbyes and walk out of the door. I rub the back of my neck, then turn back to the booze. I pour whiskey into my glass, top up another and push it toward Baron.

We raise our glasses, toss back the drinks. I place my tumbler back on the counter with a thump, then turn to him.

"About Ava," he begins at the same time as I say, "We need to talk—"

We both chuckle, then he gestures to me, "You first."

I top up my glass, then his, pick up mine and stare into the depths of the amber liquid. I take a sip, turn to him, "I have a plan."

15

"You know what I really hate? Boys. Okay, maybe I don’t hate them but I hate how my mind reacts to them. I get so freaked and panicky about them. If I message them and they don’t reply straight away, my mind’s like, ‘he’s moved on to talk to another girl,’ or ‘you’ve pissed him off now; well done.’ I also feel like I reply too fast to their messages… But maybe that’s just irrational thinking. The thing is… I’m kind of scared of them. As in, I’m scared of what a relationship is (not friendship—I can be friends, easily). It’s like foreign ground. I’ve never done the whole relationship thing. I’ve always thought you should start out friends to stop the awkwardness, but if someone doesn’t want that, what are you supposed to do? Anyway, I’m going to go sleep or do something else that is totally unproductive whilst I try not care about boys..."

-From Ava's Diary

Ava