Alpha Billionaire Series
Hot Mess Chapter 26

NICK,

I sat back and watched as Grace cinched Kayla into an elegant dress.

Kayla stood on the dais in the middle of the room, and I lounged on one of the side chairs.

“What color is that? Is it purple or gray?” I asked.

“It's a silvery lilac,” Grace answered.

I grunted.

“Don't you like it?” Kayla tried to look over her shoulder at me. She could have more easily looked at my reflection ir the mirror in front of her. It's how I was able to stare at her beautiful face.

Grace tapped Kayla on the hip, and she straightened up with an apology.

I shrugged and made another noncommittal sound.

“He doesn't like it” Grace announced as she started to unfasten the back of the dress.

“I didn't say that”

“You didn't have to. I've been dressing you long enough to know those noises. If you don't like something you end uj fussing with it all night. If you're doing that, I'm not doing my job right”

“Oh,” Kayla sighed. “I thought it was pretty”

“If you like it, wear the dress,” I said. “You know I'll be fine in whatever. A tux is a tux”

I thought Grace was going to choke. She certainly glared at me hard enough.

She held up a finger. “If that were the case you wouldn't need my services” A second finger flashed up. “And I don't have a basic black tux on my racks. Isaac was very clear, this is a couple's look, and that Kayla should not appear in black”

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“Oh, honey, not with your completion. You..” Grace made a gesture at Kayla, but I knew what she meant.

“You radiate a warmth that black would try to kill. You practically glow with golden radiance”

The blush that lit her cheeks only emphasized my point.

“Exactly; Grace continued. “Like Nick said, you glow. And now that I really look at you, this silver color is all wrong fo you."

“Well if the color is important to you, why don't we start with Nick's tux first?”

I shook my head. “I'l be fine in anything. I want you to be comfortable and feel as beautiful as you look”

She blushed even more. “'m background scenery. Everyone will be looking at you”

Grace snorted.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Kayla asked as she stepped out of the skirt.

I could help but stare at her as she stood there in the shapewear, she wore under the fancy dresses. I knew it was all about functionality and binding and supporting, but it was pretty damned sexy in its own right.

“Are you serious? You're showing up dressed as a couple. And I've heard a rumor...”

I shook my head furiously. Grace needed to stop now.

The look on Kayla's face said I was too late.

“Grace, what are you talking about?”

“You should probably ask him” She pointed right at me before returning to sorting through the dresses on the rack. “Nick?”

I grimaced. Busted. I had intended on telling her last night, but the second I had her in my arms I forgot about anything other than how many orgasms I could give her before I couldn't handle it anymore. Three, I made it to three before I had to be inside of her.

Maybe if I hadn't let her out of my sight for two weeks, I could have held off longer. Then again, maybe not. I loved how she turned me inside out. 0*****s with her were more intense than I could remember. Maybe my body just really, really wanted to get her pregnant. I had to stop thinking that way, because I found that idea entirely too appealing. The last thing I wanted to do was accidentally compromised a condom. Pregnancy was her choice, not mine.

I shrugged. “So maybe on set I told a few people they needed to not disrespect my fiancée the next time she was around if they wanted to continue on projects I was associated with.”

“Fiancée? You told people we were engaged?”

“Grace, can you give us a minute?” She was already headed toward the door when I asked her to step out.

“It's not a big deal”

She covered her mouth and looked at the clothes racks. “That's why the couple's look. Oh Nick, I don't know if I can do this”

I stood and crossed the room to her. Part of me understood her panic, part of me was not happy. Why wasn't she happy that I had told people we were engaged? It wasn't such a bad idea, was it?

“It's just a rumor. The matchy-poo outfits play off of that. It doesn't mean anything. You won't be wearing any rings, and if anyone asks, you can't confirm that.”

Her jaw dropped a few times. “That's only going to make people think we are hiding something”

“Look, the studio is going to eat it up. If you're worried about your mom finding out, just tell her the truth, and pleas do not say anything to anyone else”

“I can't tell my mom!” Kayla sat on the edge of the dais and put her head in her hands. “My mom thinks I work for a personal assistant and that you are one of my boss's clients and an old man.”

“Hey, fourteen years isn't that much older than you. So your mother doesn't know why you're in LA?"

She shook her head. “And my cousin is spying for her. If I'm fake engaged and they find out... What am I going to do Nick? You said I was going to be a pretty girl in the background, no one would notice me, and the studio would get off your back”

I sat next to her and pulled her against my chest. “Look Kayla, you are not just a pretty girl in the background anymore, are you? You are so much more than that. I was mad that someone on that set hurt your feelings, and it was the only way I could think of to get them to treat you with the respect you deserve. We have tonight and then I'n gone again for another month finishing up this shoot. I don't want you mad at me?”

“Pm not mad, Nick”

“No, but you are worried. Right now, it's simply a rumor. I may have started it, but there is no truth behind it” My chest tightened as I tried to soothe her. Having anything fake with Kayla was simply not possible for me. Our fake dating hadn't lasted long before I made something official between us.

Maybe I should consider making what we had more official. I certainly reacted to her on a physical level in a way I never had before. Well, today wasn't the time to be thinking about this.

We had a red carpet to get ready for, and the longer we kept Grace, the more we pushed back the rest of the team. There were still manicures and hair and makeup to be done.

“Hollywood is full of random rumors, how you respond to them is the true measure of your character. You can continue to tell your mother 'm an old man you work for, and your cousin can shove it. Ignore it all. Keep your eyes on me all night. If anyone asks you a question you don't ike, tell them to ask me”

I tipped her face up so I could look into her eyes.

“Can you do that for me?”

She nodded.

I kissed her. It was the only thing I could think of to take away the fright I saw on her face. Kissing her made me want to cancel tonight and carry her up to my room and stay there until my flight in the morning.

“You should go get Grace. We need to figure out what we're wearing,” she said as she wiped at her eyes. “At least I cried before Carly did my makeup.”

I left Kayla sitting on the dais as I crossed the room and opened the door. I walked down the hall and found Grace playing on her phone.

“Ready for me?”

I nodded.

“Just so I'm clear, the engagement is...”

“It's just a rumor, and Kayla hadn't been aware of it. It caught her off guard, in a big way. But we're good”

I followed Grace back into the fitting room. Kayla stood in front of the rack of tuxedos. She pulled out a dark brown velvet jacket.

“What's the dress look like that goes with this one?”

Grace smiled and crossed to the dressed rack. She pulled out two different dresses. One was brown with burgundy. Kaylars face lit up when she saw it.

“Thats the dress,” I said as I reached for the tux jacket.

“I haven't even tried it on”

I shrugged into the jacket. I rolled my shoulders, it fit well. I smoothed my hands down the front. I shuddered, there was something sensual about velvet, it almost seemed like a waste for it to be on me and not on Kayla.

“What shoes do I wear with this?” I asked as I looked through the shoes Grace brought with her.

“I didn't bring anything for the brown velvet. You have dress slippers in your closet from Manolo Blahnik. I remembe them from before;” Grace said as she helped Kayla into the dress.

“You want me to wear last year's shoes?” I joked.

“I know, tragedy. But the perfect shoe is the perfect shoe?”

Kayla emerged from the armful of skirt like a flower emerging in the spring.

“You have Manolo Blahnik shoes? Like from Sex in the City?”

I laughed. “Not exactly. Mine arent stilettos. But yes, I have designer shoes”

She preened in the dress and adjusted the way the burgundy side of the dress draped over her shoulder. “I like it” She was gorgeous. Yes, that was the dress. “Yeah, like it”

“Sorry, I didn't know you had a designer preference for shoes. Next time I'l get something from Manolo for you, but will Louboutin work for tonight?”

“Are you serious?” Kayla grabbed the shoes. She flipped them over and held out the soles for me to see the designer branded red bottoms. “Real Louboutins!”

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