The Billionaire's Convenient Bride: A BWWM Billionaire Love Story by Cj Howard Read Free Book Online

that it wasn’t a request.
         Peter nodded. “Yes, sir, I will do that. I give you my word.”
         Henri nodded back. “Good.”
         They stayed and talked with Henri through the early afternoon, and then after Emmaline had washed the sugar off of her clothes, they left him and headed out for their dinner date. Peter hired a carriage to take them through the Quarter for an evening ride and they sat together in the warm air as twilight started to descend and the stars came out one by one.
         “You know,” Peter said as they rode along quietly, “I really like your grandfather. No one has ever treated me with such genuine respect before. That was a first. You’re a lucky lady to have him in your life.”
         “I know it,” she said, smiling, and held his hand as the carriage rolled on.
         They spent every day together having lunch and dinner out in town, making sure they were seen by everyone, and all the looks of disgust and disdain began to quiet and calm over the weeks, and they noticed a subtle change in the way that people looked at Peter, and the way they treated him. Peter made sure that Henri went out to dinner with them on Sunday nights, and he got to love the weekly visits with him. Their conversations ranged over a wide array of topics, and none of them were ever boring.
         Emmaline had learned that Peter worked in his office in the mornings, and she left him to it, often doing laps in the pool or making breakfast for herself and Nelson and Peter, when they emerged from the war cave, as Nelson sometimes called it.
         She was making French press coffee one morning, three weeks into their deal, when Nelson slipped into the kitchen looking more than a little askew.
         “What’s going on in there today? Are you alright?” she asked him, slightly concerned.
         He shook his head and looked longingly at the coffee she was pouring into her cup. “No, it’s not going well at all.”
         She saw his face and handed him the cup of coffee, which he took gratefully. “We’re really struggling with part of the refurbishment in the plans. There’s a business associate from out of town who is in there right now, and we just can’t seem to reach terms on anything. It’s warm and tense in there, and I just had to break out to come grab some coffee before one of them kills the other one.”
         Emmaline nodded and patted him on the shoulder. Then she made a pretty tray, laying out a linen cloth on it, adding a small vase of fresh cut flowers she had chosen from the garden that morning, she placed a plate of cookies and a bowl of wrapped chocolates on the tray and then pulled a pitcher of sweet tea from the refrigerator and nudged Nelson.
         “Alright, I’m armed, let’s go,” she said conspiratorially.
         They walked into the office together and she set the tray down on Peter’s desk. He looked up at her, in a bad mood and she saw irritation flit across his perfect looking face. She turned her eyes to his business associate who was standing at another table in the office, looking at designs sitting on the surface of it. He was tall and seemingly built of solid muscle. He had jet black hair and light blue eyes. His extraordinary good looks caught her off guard for a moment and she blinked at him and then smiled. He smiled back at her warmly and looked at the tray in gratitude. He walked around the desk, his eyes never leaving her, and he reached for her hand.
         “Hello, I’m Tristan.” He kissed the back of her hand slowly and delicately, and then released it, his eyes watching her still as she smiled widely at him. “That looks so good. I think it’s just what we needed,” he said softly, glancing for a moment at the tray. “Thank you for bringing that in.”
         She shrugged and smiled, but before she could answer, Peter stood up and slammed his hands down on the desk. “No, that is not just what we