The Taming of the Billionaire, Page 2

  And then paused.

  There were voices coming from inside. Masculine voices.

  “So . . . what about Daphne?” one voice said.

  Edie heard the sound of what sounded like a bottle being opened, and then a pause. “Daphne’s not in the wedding.”

  “No?” the first man said. “Damn. I wanted to meet her. She’s hot.”

  “She’s a fucking mess,” said the other. “Rehab. Gretchen’s leaving her alone for now.”

  “Well then, what about the other bridesmaids?”

  A third voice came in, a deep baritone that was instantly recognizable. “Is pussy all you think about, Asher?”

  “Why you blaming me? Levi here started it.”

  “Everyone knows brides pick hot chicks for the wedding party.” That one was the one named Levi.

  “Yeah, but you haven’t met Gretchen, have you?” said the one she guessed must be Asher.

  “No, why?” said Levi. “She insecure?”

  “She’s weird,” said that abrupt baritone voice. “He’s trying to say her friends are probably fucking weird, too.”

  “Oh no,” Levi groaned. “Seriously?”

  “Probably cat ladies or some shit,” said the baritone voice again. “Cat ladies and astrologists. So your dick is just gonna have to wait for some other opportunity.”

  The other two voices laughed, and Edie brimmed with rage at the men. How dare they? From what Gretchen had told her, she and Hunter were insanely happy. And Gretchen was just picking her friends to be in the wedding with her, like any joyous bride-to-be. Did it matter if they were weird?

  Most of all, though, she resented that fucking cat-lady remark made by the guy with the baritone voice. Because fuck him. Just because girls happened to like cats didn’t mean they were hideous unlovable creatures. He was probably an ugly slob himself. Her nostrils flared with anger.

  “Come on,” said Levi. “You know the groomsmen always get to nail the bridesmaids.”

  “You’d probably rather keep your dick to yourself,” said Baritone. “Gretchen’s a pretty decent girl and she likes Hunter, so what the fuck else matters?”

  “Tits,” said another. “Tits matter.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” said Baritone with a laugh. “Or I’m gonna insist you hook up with the cat ladies. Just don’t get them too excited or you might end up with a hairball on your—”

  That was it. Edie shoved the door open and stormed through, ignoring the flare of pain her knee threw at her. She was good and pissy now. How fucking dare these assholes come into Gretchen’s house and judge her and her friends? They were her goddamn guests.

  The kitchen was utterly silent at her arrival.

  Three men lounged in the room, two leaning against the marble countertop island in the center of the kitchen, one at the fridge getting another beer. All three straightened at the sight of her.

  She gave them her most withering glare and limped forward.

  “Can I . . . help you?” the baritone rumbled, and she turned to give him the full fury of her cat-lady wrath. It was a shame that such an unpleasant man was so appealing-looking. Dark, short-cropped hair capped his head, a little too long to be a buzz cut, and a little too short to be anything else. His jaw was wide, his features too blunt to be handsome, but his eyes were an incredible shade of greenish-brown that were so vivid they practically glowed, and were framed by dark lashes. He smiled at her to make her easy, and his whole face lit up with that smile.

  He might have been appealing, but he was also a world-class jerk. She gave him another icy look that made the smile on his face disappear. “No, you cannot help me.”

  As she stormed past them and began to slam open drawers, she noticed out of the corner of her eyes that the men were exchanging looks. She suspected they knew she was a bridesmaid and that she had overheard them, and were probably now trying to figure out the best way to extricate themselves from the situation.

  She knew she came off as an abrasive, bossy bitch. She also didn’t care. Impressing these men? Not on her list of things to do that day.

  And they just didn’t know when to take a glare for an answer. “You here for the engagement dinner?” one asked as she rifled through a drawer.

  Edie looked up and gave him a nut-withering stare just as her fingers closed over a Band-Aid. With her prize in hand, she lifted her head high, straightened her cat-hair-covered clothing, and walked back out of the kitchen, taking care to hide her limp as much as possible.

  As the door closed behind her, she heard one of the men say, “What did I tell you? The bridesmaids are gonna be weird.”

  “Christ,” said another.

  Full of indignation, Edie limped back toward the red dining room, wrapping the Band-Aid around her finger and blistering the three men in her thoughts. Why did guys have to be such jerks the moment anyone’s back was turned? Also, who told those guys they were getting laid? Really. Being in the bridal party did not automatically make her someone’s date.

  It wasn’t too hard to find the red dining room again. After returning down the hall, Edie just listened for the low buzz of voices. She pushed the door open and gave Gretchen a smile as she slipped into the crowded room. Her friend looked excited and nervous all at once. She didn’t need to know about the horrible things the men in the kitchen were saying. This was her night and it was going to be an awesome one, damn it.

  “There you are,” Gretchen said, hurrying back over to Edie and taking her arm. “Come on. I want you to meet my Hunter.” She gave Edie’s arm a meaningful squeeze as she pulled her through the mingling people in the room. Off to one side, Bianca was talking with a man, a wineglass in her hand. Jeez, how long had Edie been gone that Bianca had already found someone to latch on to?

  “Hunter, this is my friend from college, Edie. She’s the one who gave me Igor.” She moved to Hunter’s side, releasing Edie’s arm, and gave her friend a challenging look.

  Edie could see why Gretchen was practically bristling. Hunter was . . . well, “unpleasant” to look upon would be the kindest way to put it. Deep, gouging scars bisected his face and made one corner of his mouth pull down in a ghastly fashion. Edie offered him her hand to shake, and noticed he was missing his little finger. No wonder Gretchen was so fiercely protective of him. People could be cruel when they perceived a deficiency. Edie and her leg sure knew about that. “It’s very nice to meet you,” she told him. “Gretchen speaks very highly of you.”

  “Oh?” he asked, voice rich and velvety. He looked over at Gretchen again, gaze heated, and Edie nearly swooned at how he looked at his fiancée. It was like he wanted to eat Gretchen up with a spoon. She wished a man would look at her like that, damn it.

  “You must have the patience of Job for putting up with Gretchen,” Edie teased.

  He gave her a stiff smile, his scarred mouth curving a little. “Not patience, just love for her.”

  Gretchen put her fingers to one side of her mouth and mock-whispered, “And I suck a mean cock.”

  Hunter’s face turned a blotchy red, which, Edie was sure, matched her own. “God, some people never change,” Edie commented.

  Gretchen just gave Edie a radiant look, clearly in love. “I hope you won’t mind that we did assigned seating tonight. I thought it’d be good to get everyone used to one another over the next year. Plus, I’m totally matchmaking.” She gave her friend an outrageous wink. “Lots of good bachelors here tonight, if you’re interested.”

  God, no. “I’m not,” Edie told her, and tried to keep the smile in her voice. “But I’m sure Bianca will be.”

  Gretchen wrinkled her nose. “Which is why I didn’t invite her. Oh well. She can sit with Cooper.”

  “Can you show me where I’ll be sitting?” Edie asked, because her knee was throbbing.

  “Of course,” Gretchen said, and stood on her tiptoes to give
Hunter a kiss right on his scarred cheek. Then she turned to Edie and gestured at the lovely table.

  The long wooden dining table was set with seven seats on each side and one at each end of the table. Edie’s assigned seat was stuck somewhere in the middle of things, which made her cringe because if she had to get up for any reason, it’d be a mess. But she said nothing and sat down at her place, noting she was sandwiched between a “Magnus” and a “Reese.” She looked around for Bianca, but she was still in a corner, lost in conversation with a guy. Since there were both booze and bachelors here, she’d probably ignore Edie for the rest of the dinner.

  A sour-faced butler swung by and filled Edie’s wineglass. She thanked him and took a sip, feeling conspicuous as the only person seated at the table. Hopefully something would happen to rescue her soon.

  She shouldn’t have thrown the thought into the universe; no sooner did it cross her mind than the dining room doors swung open and the three men she’d run into over in the kitchen came in. The guy with the bright green-gold eyes met her gaze and gave her a challenging look as he sauntered into the room behind the other two, then took a swig from his beer. Ugh.

  “Are you guys all beer’d up?” Gretchen called. “Okay, let’s everyone take our seats, then. Look for your name card and please make yourself comfortable. Once we’re all in place, we can start with introductions.”

  Edie waited, watching as the others in the room shuffled around the table, looking for their names. She began to inwardly cringe as the guy with the green eyes moved around the table slowly and began to head in her direction. Keep on going, she thought. Keep on going. Karma surely couldn’t be that cruel—

  He pulled out the chair next to her and flashed her another grin. “Looks like we meet again.” He set his beer down on the table next to her.

  She picked up her wineglass and took another swig, ignoring him. This evening was rapidly going from bad to worse. As she watched, others sat, and she fixed her gaze on a pregnant woman who looked like Gretchen—had to be Gretchen’s younger sister Audrey—being helped into her chair by a handsome man with a rakish goatee. He gave her a kiss on top of her head and then moved to the far side of the table, sitting next to Edie. “Hey there, lady. Hope you don’t mind if I sit with you?”

  “Fine with me,” she said, forming a smile for him. At least there was one person she’d be able to talk with tonight. She’d just have to pointedly ignore the beer-drinking caveman on the other side of her.

  A moment later, everyone was seated . . . everyone except Gretchen and Bianca. Bianca blinked her big dark eyes and gave Gretchen a sad little smile. “I know I’m interloping on the party. I’ll just go wait in the kitchen or something. You guys have fun without me.”

  A few of the men made protesting sounds. Edie noticed that one man in particular got up, as if about to offer his chair.

  “Oh, stuff it, Bianca,” Gretchen said, her tone irritated. “Go sit in my place. I’ll come sit with my honeybun here.” She went to Hunter’s chair and promptly dropped into his lap.

  “All right,” Bianca said in a shy, kittenish voice. She gave everyone a tiny little smile and then sat in the spot at the very end of the table—next to two men who lit up at the sight of her. Yeah. Edie wondered how it was that Bianca hadn’t been invited to the party and was suddenly everyone’s favorite, whereas Edie was one of the freaking bridesmaids and she was stuck between a married guy blowing kisses at his wife and a beer-drinking jackass who was disappointed he wasn’t going to get tits.

  Just her lucky day. Maybe she could feign sickness and go hang out with Igor for a bit. She’d take a few scratches in exchange for the cat’s company. Cats didn’t lash out because of pettiness. Cats didn’t demand to see tits.

  Edie definitely preferred cats to people.

  With a little wiggle atop Hunter’s lap, Gretchen picked up a wineglass—either hers or Hunter’s—and tapped it with a fork. “Okay, everyone. We called you guys here today because we wanted to talk about the upcoming wedding. If you’re here and you have a vagina, you’re a bridesmaid.” She pointed her fork down the table. “Except for you, Bianca. You’re not invited unless we need another usher or some shit.”

  Bianca just gave a shy smile, but Edie noticed that one of the men looked aghast at Gretchen’s ballsy words. Edie just sipped her wine and tried to hide her smile. It wasn’t that she hated Bianca—Bianca was family. Of course Edie loved her. But she also kinda loved that Gretchen saw through Bianca’s bullshit and put her in her place.

  “So,” Gretchen said, gesturing with her fork. “Penises, you are groomsmen. And since Hunter and I are going to be super picky about how this wedding is run—”

  Audrey coughed into her hand. “Cough-bridezilla-cough.”

  Gretchen reached over and thwapped her pregnant sister on the head with her fork. “That’s right. Bridezilla. I don’t care. It’s my wedding, and we’re going to do things the way I want, or else I will make people miserable. And that includes dressing my cat up in a clown outfit and making people pose with him as punishment. Feel me?” She cast a baleful look down the table. “Okay, good. Now, since several of us are new to each other, why don’t we go around the table and introduce ourselves? I’ll start.” She hopped to her feet, and beamed down at Hunter. “I’m Gretchen. I met Hunter when he brought me here to his house under false pretenses and we boinked like rabbits until he decided to put a ring on it.”

  A few people choked on their drinks. Edie just grinned.

  Gretchen pointed at her fiancé with her fork. Hunter cleared his throat. “I’m Hunter, and I decided to put a ring on it.”

  “Good job, baby,” Gretchen said. She gestured at her sister. “Let’s go this way.”

  Audrey got to her feet slowly—not an easy trick considering the size of her belly. She pushed a few wisps of carrot-colored hair away from her freckled face and sighed. “I’m the long-suffering sister of the bride,” she said, and put the back of her hand to her forehead, eliciting a few chuckles from the group. “And Gretchen has asked me to be her matron of honor, which is both sweet and a little terrifying.” She grinned at her sister. “I couldn’t be happier for these two, though, and I feel like this wedding is going to be wonderful and a match made in heaven.”

  Someone made gagging noises, and the room erupted in laughter, including Audrey. Okay, so they had a group of clowns tonight. That could make things fun.

  Next went a man named Cooper, who introduced himself as Gretchen’s old boss and a college friend who Edie vaguely recognized. He talked about working with Gretchen, and her dedication to her work and to Hunter, and how lucky Hunter was, going on and on to the point that it got a little uncomfortable. Eventually he sat, and the next person stood up. Kat Geary was Gretchen’s literary agent, and her speech was short and funny. From there, things picked up. There was Chelsea, who was cute and bubbly and rambled on and on as if she were terrified of silence. There was Asher, a good-looking man who made a total bro-speech and was one of the guys who Edie had seen in the kitchen. He seemed nice enough in his spiel, which just convinced Edie that no one could ever really know what a man was thinking. Then, a tiny little woman with a big dark ponytail stood up and said her name was Greer, and she was a wedding planner as well as Gretchen’s friend. Next to Greer was Levi, who was one of Hunter’s biggest and oldest clients, and a good friend.

  Levi also stared at Bianca the entire time he talked.

  Bianca, of course, sat at the foot of the table and smiled prettily as everyone spoke, but when Levi gave his speech, she gazed up at him as if he were the only man in the world. Edie could pretty much see the hooks sinking into him. Poor man wouldn’t know what hit him.

  On the other side of the table, there was a geeky young woman named Taylor who seemed a little shy. Sebastian, who was rather abrupt and succinct and unfriendly, who seemed an odd choice for a bridal party. There was sweet dark-haired wo
man named Brontë who quoted Aristotle and mentioned that Gretchen had been in her wedding, and next to her was her husband, Logan, who was also one of the groomsmen. Then there was the man next to Edie, Magnus, who mentioned he made video games for a living and was sincerely happy for his friend Hunter. Edie did her best to keep in her feelings, even though she knew Magnus was a big fat liar. Now wasn’t the time. She wasn’t like Gretchen, to bluster and shock people with her words. Gretchen had a big mouth but she also had a big heart.

  Edie? Now, Edie had a cold, bitter heart and she liked to remember grudges.

  So when it was her time to stand up and make a toast, she awkwardly rose to her feet and lifted her glass. “I’m Edie King, and I’m an old friend of Gretchen’s. As for what I do?” She let her gaze deliberately swing around the room and landed on three people in particular. Asher. Levi. And then, Magnus. The three men drinking beer. “My profession is a feline behaviorist. I guess you could say that I’m what you call a cat lady.”

  Somewhere down the table, someone spit out his beer.

  Chapter Two

  Magnus would give the cat lady credit—she had fucking stones the size of boulders. Sure, he still didn’t like her, but the way she’d archly delivered her set-down during the toastings? It was beautifully done, even if it was passive-aggressively aimed at him. Magnus enjoyed that sort of thing, and he enjoyed the way Levi got all flustered and Asher kept staring at his beer. They knew they’d been acting like dicks earlier in the kitchen with their sexist commentary, but Magnus tended to blow that sort of shit off. Levi was a dreamer who chased after anything with a skirt, and Asher, well, Asher had recently had his heart broken by his childhood sweetheart. So if he was desperately trying to score some bridesmaid pussy, Magnus couldn’t blame him.

  He was pretty sure the cat lady was having none of him, though. Which kind of made him laugh inside. Not that he was interested in the cat lady himself. She was cute enough, in that scholarly, boho-nerd sort of way. He was a man, and a man’s brain had a “fuck switch” every time he saw a woman. The fuck switch either went On or Off depending on how the woman looked, and his fuck switch was definitely on for the cat lady, because she had a nice pair of tits under that ugly dress-thing she was wearing, and a perfect heart-shaped little face that was marred by her perpetual scowl. Magnus’s dick’d do her, because his dick liked interesting things, and she was interesting. Magnus’s brain, not so much.