Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

“Oh no,” he murmured, seeing the message.

Grandmother’s blown up the family phone line, I see.

“Do you need to take that?”

He looked up from his phone to the gorgeous woman sitting next to him and turned his phone off.

“Not now. Let’s just have this evening together.”

He loosened his blue tie and undid the top button of his shirt. Emily raised her brows at him.

“What are you doing?”

Her words fell like rocks in the pit of his stomach and he promptly stopped moving. Staring into her eyes, he saw the same heat he knew was reflected in his. Cautiously, he lifted his hand and caressed her cheek, leaning in for another kiss. She obliged. This time their exchange was slow and tender.

David felt Emily’s hand press against his chest, but instead of it roaming, she gently pushed him back. He looked down to see wet eyes she was trying to conceal.

Is she crying?

“I’m sorry.” She appeared to be wrestling with her thoughts. “I think I’ve been leading you on, and that’s not fair.”

David stood up too and straightened his shirt. “You are giving mixed signals.” He wiped his mouth and looked down at the faint smudge of lipstick staining his fingertips. Then looked up to see Emily straightening her dress.

“I want you to know this wasn’t what I planned.” She crossed her arms and looked at him furtively.

It wasn’t what I planned, either. But I’m not complaining.

David chewed the inside of his lip as he eyed Emily carefully. Her brows furrowed as she looked downcast with her shoulders hunched. David wondered if she was already regretting their heat-of-the-moment exchange.

“It’s okay,” David said in an attempt to be reassuring.

Emily’s eyes snapped up. “What do you want to do? I’m sure we can stop this before the news gets out.” She wrung her hands and looked wildly around the room, almost as if expecting David’s grandmother to pop up on the TV again.

David scratched the bristles along his jawline. The night was wearing on and based on the messages he received, there were already questions to answer. What was the best course of action? Call his sick grandmother and tell her it was a ruse? But then it would raise the question of who Emily really was, and what she was doing in his penthouse, alone. He would be forced to confess that he had never been married, and the consequences of doing that were costly.

The doorbell interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes,” David called out from the living room, looking past Emily who had walked over to the breakfast bar. Robert stood in the front doorway with his hands clasped together.

“Sorry for the intrusion, sir.” David gestured for him to come into the room. “We have a situation downstairs,” he whispered, nearing the sofa.

David studied his face. Robert’s eyes shot to Emily briefly and he cleared his throat. Whatever it was he wanted to say, he did not feel comfortable sharing it with Emily in the room.

“Emily, would you mind––”

“Yes, of course, I’ll see myself out.” Emily placed her mug on the breakfast bar and walked through to the front entryway. Her heels clicked against the marble flooring, and David stole a glance at her figure as she sauntered away. He turned back to Robert.

“Talk to me.” Robert relaxed his shoulders and stood upright.

“Your father is here.”

A sense of dread flooded David’s veins and the hairs on his forearms stood on end. Before he could say anything, the sound of loud voices echoed around the room as the front door opened.

“So, you’re David’s secret wife? When I heard that you were here, I had to come over and see....” David’s father strolled in with Emily’s arm linked with his and rested his other hand over hers in the crook of his elbow.

Mr. Marks was never seen in public wearing anything other than a designer suit. His perfectly buffed shoes shined in the lighting and squeaked against the floor. He sported his usual side parting and a neatly trimmed silver moustache. He, too, towered over Emily, though he was slightly shorter than David. However, having a height disadvantage did not deter Mr. Marks from reminding his son who was boss.

Emily held a beaming smile, but he noted her eyes were wide and frantic.

“David. Where have you been hiding this wife of yours?”

Robert offered an apologetic smile at David and inclined his head. He resisted the urge to glare back. Instead, he looked over to Emily, who was staring at him with intent. He didn’t need her to speak; he could hear her screaming inside his head.

How do we get out of this?

Chapter Five

An Unexpected Guest

Emily wrestled with her thoughts as she maintained a perfectly poised stance, still holding onto the arm of Mr. Marks. The look on David’s face would usually have made Emily laugh, but this situation was far from amusing. What could have been corrected as a simple case of misunderstanding, had now developed into a growing web of lies. She was getting in too deep, she never planned to get family involved.

What do you want to do?

David’s jaw jutted out, his smile tense. Following an awkward moment, where no one made a move, Robert excused himself and vacated the suite. Emily watched him with envy.

“I apologize for arriving here unannounced. I just got off the phone with your grandmother and had to come over.” Mr. Marks’ voice was serene and charming. There was a gentleness about him that threw Emily off guard. She clung onto him as if his calming nature were a magnet and she had no choice but to remain by his side. Despite the bizarre situation, she wondered if everything would sort itself out after all.

“Yes, we were caught by surprise earlier, I had been hoping to wait––”

“Not inviting your family to the nuptials is one thing, David,” Mr. Marks interjected, “but to keep me from meeting my newest daughter-in-law is most inappropriate.” He turned and gazed adoringly at her, as if he were her loving father.