Marrying My Billionaire Hookup - Nadia Lee Page 0,16

me date you again. You’re lingering like a guy two hours after the last course has been served. The restaurant is dark, the kitchen is closed. It’s time for you to go home. Alone.”

“But I need you to marry me.”

I can’t help it. I snort, and then start laughing. We dated for four months. In the beginning, I was entranced by his dance moves—he’s an excellent dancer—and he made me laugh with silly jokes. But we were never in love. The sex was just okay, at least on my end, even though he groaned and grunted like a pig in mud. The memory, in retrospect, makes me wonder if those sounds were the reason I got over him so fast. My experience with Edgar says yes. Because when Edgar groaned…

Stop, stop, stop. My lady parts are clenching hard, trying to ease the empty ache.

“I’m serious.” Aaron’s whiny voice cuts my Libido Express off like a katana through a bra strap. His face is turning a dull red.

No longer laughing, I squint at him. “Did you get hit by a car or something?”

“No, I—”

“Fall off a ladder? Some kind of head trauma?”

“My grandpa wants me to prove I’m good and settled, or he’s giving all the money to my brother. Why should that little weasel get everything?”

“No idea, but it’s not my problem.”

“Grandpa likes you! Says you’re a nice girl. He never said that about any other girl I dated.”

That makes me feel slightly warm and fuzzy, because while Aaron might be a dick, his grandfather is a gentleman. I blame Aaron’s mother for the way he turned out. She’s a piece of work. The only reason Aaron’s younger brother grew up to be an upstanding citizen is that he’s actually Aaron’s half-brother and was raised by his own very normal and nice mom.

“So?” I say carelessly. “You aren’t my type. Not anymore.”

He looks around and then pulls his phone out. He clicks a few buttons and then pushes the screen toward me. “Look at this. You think you’re in control here? You’re not.”

“Get that thing out of my face.” I’m too pissed off to give a damn now. I can’t believe I’m wasting my time here when I could be eating Tío Manny’s tacos along with Tía Bea’s guacamole.

“Oh, you want to see this,” Aaron says. “After all, you’re the star…”

Huh? I squint at the screen. It’s a video of two people…having sex. After a moment, I realize it’s me and Aaron. The camera is angled on my face enough that you can tell. And the setting is familiar enough—those blue sheets and the black metal furniture. Aaron’s man-cave condo.

For a moment I stare, my brain working to put things together. Obviously, there were cameras hidden in his bedroom. Fucker!

Then another thing strikes me. I look sort of…bored and disengaged. So it wasn’t just me overanalyzing and nitpicking after the fact. He really wasn’t that good in bed, even before Edgar ruined me for other men.

“See?” Aaron says smugly.

“Yeah, I see. So what?”

“It’s a video of you having sex!”

“If you think you can turn me into some kind of puppet with this, you’re wrong. I was born and bred in Los Angeles, and it isn’t like a sex tape is some novelty these days. Nobody hires me for my virginal image. Besides, if you do release this, you’d better leave the country. My brothers and cousins will turn you into ground pork, and Tío Manny will turn that into tacos for his neighbor’s dogs.”

At the same time, a terrible guilt and concern writhe in my chest. My parents could see this. But I can explain that I couldn’t let Aaron blackmail me into marrying him. I want what my parents have—a loving, devoted marriage—and no way am I letting Aaron ruin that for me. Mama and Papa won’t like the situation, but they’ll understand, especially since I’m going to tell them it wasn’t my idea to make the stupid video in the first place.

It’s his. All his. Totally his.

Yeah, but you dated him, so you’re, like…a little bit responsible? Maybe one percent at least?

Shut up.

“And I can sue you for violation of privacy,” I say.

“Go ahead. See if I care. It’ll be too late. I already thought of everything, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. If you serve me with court papers, I’m going to let everyone see it. If you go to the police, same thing.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, so everyone will see it. And