Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 Laura Burton (books to read this summer .TXT) 📖

deal?” Edward motioned to open the car door, but Sam grabbed his arm with a hiss.

“This game you want to play… you can’t involve Catherine. It breaks the code.”

“What? The bro code?”

“Have you forgotten?” Sam gave him a hard look. Edward let out a light laugh.

“Anthony is technically your friend mate, not mine. This doesn’t count.”

“And when he finds out about the deal?”

Edward hummed in thought. Realization dawned on him that Sam was not really concerned about Catherine’s feelings, or breaking a code. He was worried about how Anthony would react when he found out the two of them had planned to play his cousin in a wager. Edward patted Sam’s hand patronizingly.

“Fine. Let’s call it off. I didn’t want to give up my apartment anyway. Allow me to pursue things with Catherine. I’ll tell her the truth about who I am.”

Sam laughed derisively.

“Right, whisk her off to Europe and buy her a chateau in France. She won’t be able to resist you.”

Edward’s nostrils flared as Sam’s word stung. He had assumed the challenge was devised on a whim. He didn’t think he was serious.

“You really do think I need money to win a woman’s affections, don’t you?”

Sam raised his hands in the air and puffed air out of his cheeks.

“Hey, you said it. Not me.”

Edward huffed and shifted in his seat as Sam’s words grew like weeds inside his mind and sprouted doubt.

Is it possible for a woman to love me… for being me?

If he told Catherine who he was, how could he ever know her feelings––if she were to develop any for him––were genuine?

Had that not been the problem? Every girlfriend he had, fleeced him for whatever agenda they had. A once-in-a-lifetime trip to Iceland. A VIP dinner with their favorite celebrity. A luxurious shopping spree at Tiffany’s. The women came and went like buses. No one stuck around long enough to show any genuine interest in who Edward was. Sam was right, Edward did flash the cash. It was all he knew. Treating a woman like a queen made him feel good about himself.

“I’ve got to do the challenge. But Sam, I’m going to need your help.”

Sam shook his head so fast his neatly combed hair tousled in front of his eyes.

“I told you, it breaks the code. Not Catherine.”

Edward pushed open the car door and got out of the limousine. Sam followed. The two gentlemen stood face to face in the moonlit street.

“I feel a connection with her. I want to find out if there’s something there. And I want to be… me. Just me.”

Sam folded his arms and glanced up at the moon as if having a private conversation with it.

“No lying. She can’t know you’re rich, but everything else you have to be real about,” he said as he wagged a finger at him. A smile grew on Edward’s face as he nodded along, excited.

“Right. In that case, the limo is all yours, and the Bentley. I’m going to need your keys.”

“To the T-bird?”

Edward nodded.

“Yeah, she’s a classic car, it’ll be the perfect cover up.”

“No lies remember?” Sam warned. Edward scratched his neck. He did that when he was troubled. He traced a finger along the sore ridges along his skin, a sign he had been nervously scratching all evening.

“How am I supposed to convince her I’m not loaded with this?” He gestured to the shiny limousine idling beside them. Sam followed his line of sight, the deep line between his brows appearing again.

“Look, an undercover cop has to tell a few white lies to make sure his cover doesn’t get blown.”

“Fine.” Sam turned to him, thrust his hand in his pocket and handed him his keys. “Don’t ride the clutch hard and she’s just had a respray, so be careful with the paintwork.”

Edward retrieved his luggage from the trunk of the limousine and offered Sam a salute.

“Here’s to the next nine days.”

Sam shook his head to himself and climbed the steps outside Edward’s apartment.

“Good luck. You’re going to need it. Oh, and by the way––” He stopped at the top of the steps. “The alarm is faulty, so don’t bother trying to set it.”

“Got it.”

“And I expect you to come to my gig this week. Don’t bail on me for a chick, okay?”

Edward waved and made to walk down the street when Sam called out to him again. He stopped and turned.

“Anthony can’t know about any of this. If she tells him about you, he’ll blow everything up.”

Edward frowned.

“Right,” he said. He walked down to the parking garage deep in thought. He would have to convince Catherine he was a normal guy, but get her to fall in love with him, and convince her to keep their dates secret from her cousin––who she appeared to be close to.

Piece of cake, he thought.

A 1994 maroon Thunderbird flashed its lights after Edward clicked the key fob. He grinned.

“At least I’ll get to drive in style,” he thought as he climbed into the driver’s seat and caressed the leather steering wheel. With a satisfied sigh, he rested a hand on the firm gear stick. Then fastened his seatbelt, turned on the ignition and drove out of the garage. Heading for what would be his home for the next nine days.

Chapter Five

It’s only Brunch

“Cathy. Do you like my slime Cathy?” The dark-haired male asked softly from her laptop as he stretched a gloopy pile of red slime between his fingers. Catherine inwardly cringed but smiled despite herself. She hated slime but did not have the heart to quash his excitement.

“I like it very much, Johnny,” she lied. “What are you up to today?” she asked, as she combed her long hair, glancing at the mirror sitting behind her laptop.

“Ma is going to take me to the zoo. I’m going to see the lions.” Johnny’s watery eyes sparkled as they turned into tiny slits. A huge beam spread across his pale face. He put down his slime and clapped, interlocking his stubby fingers. Catherine’s heart swelled. She