The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance by Cami Checketts, Jeanette Lewis Page A

the way Maryn had phrased that. She stretched out on her bed and pressed the phone to her ear. “No more scoops. I told you about the first day we spent together. You said nothing else was going to get printed in that stupid article and you promised no names.”
    “Of course, no more scoops, like that kind of scoops, unless we’re talking about ice cream.” Maryn laughed. “I just love hearing about your romance.”
    “Yeah, yeah, sadly I know you too well to believe that.” Beck had been so thoughtful to buy her and Stockton ice cream and the look in his eyes as he wiped it off her hand... Was Maryn right that he’d understand or was he going to hate her?
    “Hey, I’m offended by that calloused remark. This is all best buddy here, off the record. I already promised not to write any of this, but you have to give me some dirt. Any lip action happening yet?”
    Alyssa let out her breath on a whispered sigh. She pointed her toes and enjoyed being lazy and thinking about Beck’s kisses. Maryn was right, it was smarter to wait and get to know Beck better before she stressed over revealing all her secrets. “It was amazing.”
    “Now that’s more like it. I’m demanding best friend rights, describe, please.”
    “Which time?”
    “Oh, yeah! Loving that. First time then we can get all the grit later.”
    Alyssa laughed. “All I can say is he rescued me from some druggie, and then he completely took my breath away.”
    “Ah, that’s beautiful. So, you’re really liking this guy?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you really appreciate your best friend setting this all up?”
    “Yes.” Alyssa was wary again. “But you already owe me twenty favors so I’m not doing anything more for you.”
    “I’m hurt! I just wanted to hear your gratitude.”
    “I am grateful. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever met.”
    “See, that’s all I wanted. Now go find him and kiss him some more, and I expect you to name your first daughter after me.”
    Alyssa hung up the phone with a smile. Maryn was a cute name for a little girl. She laughed. She was getting more than a little ahead of herself. Alyssa was one of the few from their group of twelve who regretted making the Billionaire Bride Pact at twelve years old. As Maryn liked to tease her, Alyssa was the dark side of the pact. She really had no desire to marry a Richie. She smiled, but Beck was so much more than some rich guy. He didn’t act anything like her father or all the men her father had tried to push on her over the years.
    She opened her computer, to try and stop her daydreams and worries over Beck, and started sorting the pictures she’d taken of the village of Nahiku last week. A local had taken her there, otherwise she would’ve been met with hostility as a tourist. A popular tourist book recommended people explore the village, but the locals wanted their privacy. When tourists appeared, it was an awkward situation at best, sometimes even resulting in arguments or attacks on the tourists.
    The villagers had welcomed her with open arms, partially because of Jerry’s friend who took her, and partially because her dark coloring helped her to fit in. The beautiful village brought such a sense of another era of time. A simple life where children played in the streets without fear and laughed unabashedly because they were loved by family and neighbors alike. Alyssa had never experienced that feeling.
    She heard a rap on her door and her heartbeat immediately quickened, hoping it might be Beck. She swung the door open wide. Beck leaned against the frame. Her breath hitched at the warmth in his blue eyes and for the first time in longer than she could remember, she wasn’t afraid to have a man standing outside her room. She could invite him in and not worry that he would try to seduce or attack her. Though she might not mind if Beck tried to seduce her.
    “Do you want to go for a walk?”
    She glanced down at the sweats and raggedy T-shirt she’d thrown on after her