The Billionaire's Mistress Complete Series: Alpha Billionaire Romance by M. S. Parker Page A
Authors: M. S. Parker
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spun back to the conversation I’d had with Jal just a couple days ago. How would things have gone if I’d realized who he was marrying? I wouldn’t have gone to New York City, I knew that much. I would have told Alistair something. I would have lied through my teeth and told him that no one could pick up TJ. I would've stayed as far away from Jal as possible, even if it cost me.
But I’d gone, and damn it all, I liked the guy.
I'd been nervous at first, and I always ran my mouth when I was nervous. I'd told him a story that was highly inappropriate to be telling a customer, but he'd laughed, and that'd made me relax. Then we'd gone for a walk and ended up talking about his engagement and marriage. Both of us had been vague.
The idea of getting married any time soon was almost laughable. The last time I’d brought a guy home to my family, it had been so awkward I’d ended up never talking to him again. Hearing people weren’t often comfortable around the deaf, and if somebody couldn’t take my family, they weren’t going to get me. On the flip-side, being somebody who could hear made a lot of the deaf men I knew not that interested in me.
It was no wonder I found my friends-with-benefits arrangement with Tao to be so much more appealing than actual dating. All of the pleasure of sex without any of the shit that came with pretending to believe in love.
Or risking having someone describe me as suitable.
Damn, that word rankled and it wasn't even about me.
The sound of a car blasting down the street drew me out of my memory, and I sighed, shoving my hair back from my face.
I was cold, so cold I was shaking with it, and I knew it was less because of the early March weather and more to do with the shock I'd had this morning.
Slowly folding the paper, I stood up. They did suit each other, I decided.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, staring at their picture, both of them so elegant and refined, Paisley with her perfect sweep of expensively cut hair and clean, classic beauty. Jal was just as beautiful in a clearly masculine way, and the two of them complemented each other. The picture looked candid enough, but my gut said it'd been a little more posed than that.
Before I could crumple the paper into pieces, I went inside and left it on the chair where Tyson would find it and read it. Mom might see the announcement or she might not. Either way, we wouldn't talk about it.
I headed upstairs, determined to get out of my clothes, into the shower, and try to wash away the feeling of inadequacy, that sense of being out of place.
Always out of place, no matter where I was.
Chapter Two
Jal
C old air stung my lungs as I rounded the corner. My destination lay ahead although I didn’t particularly want to go there. Not yet.
Pretty pathetic. My new fiancée was back in our warm bed, probably still asleep, and I could slide in next to her and warm myself up while waking her up, and I had absolutely no desire to do it.
I wasn’t about to slip into bed with Paisley right now. I’d hoped the run would clear my head, and in a way, it had. But instead of making me feel better about how things were going, I just felt more certain that I was making a big mistake.
We'd come home after the proposal rather than staying at a hotel in New York, but that had been more my doing than Paisley's. She'd have been fine with upgrading to a more decadent room, spending tons of money on champagne and the most expensive room service she could order. But I wanted at least some of the comfort that came with being at home.
Even that wasn't the same anymore though. Paisley and I kept some clothes and things at each other's places, but I'd successfully avoided any conversation about us moving in together. I had a bad feeling that I wouldn’t be able to keep that going for much longer.
As I slowed to a walk in front of the building, the doorman greeted me. “Good morning, Mr. Lindstrom. Did you have a nice run?”
“Good as you can expect
But I’d gone, and damn it all, I liked the guy.
I'd been nervous at first, and I always ran my mouth when I was nervous. I'd told him a story that was highly inappropriate to be telling a customer, but he'd laughed, and that'd made me relax. Then we'd gone for a walk and ended up talking about his engagement and marriage. Both of us had been vague.
The idea of getting married any time soon was almost laughable. The last time I’d brought a guy home to my family, it had been so awkward I’d ended up never talking to him again. Hearing people weren’t often comfortable around the deaf, and if somebody couldn’t take my family, they weren’t going to get me. On the flip-side, being somebody who could hear made a lot of the deaf men I knew not that interested in me.
It was no wonder I found my friends-with-benefits arrangement with Tao to be so much more appealing than actual dating. All of the pleasure of sex without any of the shit that came with pretending to believe in love.
Or risking having someone describe me as suitable.
Damn, that word rankled and it wasn't even about me.
The sound of a car blasting down the street drew me out of my memory, and I sighed, shoving my hair back from my face.
I was cold, so cold I was shaking with it, and I knew it was less because of the early March weather and more to do with the shock I'd had this morning.
Slowly folding the paper, I stood up. They did suit each other, I decided.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, staring at their picture, both of them so elegant and refined, Paisley with her perfect sweep of expensively cut hair and clean, classic beauty. Jal was just as beautiful in a clearly masculine way, and the two of them complemented each other. The picture looked candid enough, but my gut said it'd been a little more posed than that.
Before I could crumple the paper into pieces, I went inside and left it on the chair where Tyson would find it and read it. Mom might see the announcement or she might not. Either way, we wouldn't talk about it.
I headed upstairs, determined to get out of my clothes, into the shower, and try to wash away the feeling of inadequacy, that sense of being out of place.
Always out of place, no matter where I was.
Chapter Two
Jal
C old air stung my lungs as I rounded the corner. My destination lay ahead although I didn’t particularly want to go there. Not yet.
Pretty pathetic. My new fiancée was back in our warm bed, probably still asleep, and I could slide in next to her and warm myself up while waking her up, and I had absolutely no desire to do it.
I wasn’t about to slip into bed with Paisley right now. I’d hoped the run would clear my head, and in a way, it had. But instead of making me feel better about how things were going, I just felt more certain that I was making a big mistake.
We'd come home after the proposal rather than staying at a hotel in New York, but that had been more my doing than Paisley's. She'd have been fine with upgrading to a more decadent room, spending tons of money on champagne and the most expensive room service she could order. But I wanted at least some of the comfort that came with being at home.
Even that wasn't the same anymore though. Paisley and I kept some clothes and things at each other's places, but I'd successfully avoided any conversation about us moving in together. I had a bad feeling that I wouldn’t be able to keep that going for much longer.
As I slowed to a walk in front of the building, the doorman greeted me. “Good morning, Mr. Lindstrom. Did you have a nice run?”
“Good as you can expect
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