Page 53 of The Elusive Billionaire

Moose steps close and quietly slips an iPad in front of me, open to a webpage for celebrity gossip with an image of me dancing topless. The headline reads “From Center Stage and Crashing Cars to Rent-a-Womb: How Savannah Monroe Snagged the Elusive Billionaire.”

As my worlds collide, my vision blurs, and my lungs burn as though I’m inhaling battery acid. Madi, my best friend for over ten years, swims in front of my face as I get lightheaded.

Secrets I’ve tried to keep buried and far away from my new life are now in vivid color for the world to see and judge.

“The scornful glares make sense now,” I whisper to no one in particular.

Grey swipes up on the iPad, and the screen goes blank.

“Someone had better start explaining what the fuck is going on,” he roars.

If it were anyone else, I’d fight the hostility in his tone, but I’m numb. My limbs tingle; even my lips feel cold.

There’s only one man who would’ve had access to those photos.

And I happen to know he was released from prison not that long ago.

I stand, and the world tilts, or maybe I do, because everything quickly goes peacefully, thankfully, black.

A low rumbleof words stirs me from a restless sleep. The second I open my eyes, I find my legs ensnared in twisted sheets.

Wait.

The light blue walls and the matching coastal bedding tell me I’m at the Hideaway, but why?

My stomach revolts as images of the day come back to me.

“Do you often pass out from stress?” Grey’s low voice has me clutching my chest.

“Why are you sitting in the corner like a creep?” The bed is covered in mud. Shit. So am I.

It takes thirty frustrating seconds to unwind myself from the sheets, but when I attempt to stand, Grey places a hand on my shoulder and holds me down.

The guy moves like a freaking ninja.

“What are you doing?” I hiss. “I’m ruining all Madi’s new linens.”

“She’s married to a billionaire. She’ll be fine.” He’s so droll, I could scream. “We need to talk.”

My throat instantly closes.

“It seems we’re the new talk of the town. And not just small-town talk, but worldwide, and now we have a predicament.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Less than ten minutes, but when I tried to tuck you into bed, you kicked as though I were trying to tie you down.”

Well, the tangled sheets make sense now.

Ugh, focus. I wish my brain didn’t feel like mush, because I need to be on my A-game with this guy. As much as I love annoying him, I can’t trust him with my past. If I do, I run therisk of losing the only family that has ever loved me. I have to spin this.

“You were probably dehydrated because you don’t drink enough water, and I know you haven’t been eating enough. Then our…situation, and well, here you are. Clover is so freaked out, she let Chief drive her to Walmart to get you some hydration packets. Now answer me, do you faint often?”

Not in years.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

He raises one perfectly sculpted golden brow. I bet he gets them waxed. There’s no way that arch is natural.