A Bossy Roommate (Next Door to a Billionaire #2)

35. Carter

35

CARTER

A fter indulging in the cupcakes in various delicious ways, places, and manners—the inevitable happens. With a loud crack, the bed frame collapses beneath us. A crash echoes, cupcakes fly. We look at the mess, then at each other, and erupt in laughter. After paying for the damages, we maneuver all of Eden’s stuff and us back into our apartment, where we drift off to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

The next morning, I wake at my usual time: 5:00 a.m.

However, instead of getting out of bed to exercise, I stay for half an hour longer, enjoying her sleeping presence. I decide to let her sleep in as long as she can afford and wake her after my workout.

Eden stirs and rolls over onto her back, her green eyes sliding open to meet mine. The beautiful soft smile that spreads across her face tugs at my heart.

“Good morning,” she mumbles, voice hoarse from sleep.

“Good morning, baby. You sleep okay?”

She nods, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a quiet groan, which goes straight to my dick. “Better than I have in days,” she says. “Probably because of the unforgettable night. Even the bed couldn’t handle us.”

“It’s seen better days, that’s for sure.”

“It was fun, though,” she says with a mischievous glint.

“Absolutely.” My hands still itch with the memory. I can barely keep them to myself. No matter when or where, I can’t help wanting to touch her. Even now, I push her hair away from her face and place a kiss on her forehead. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“You know what actually does sound good? A smoothie. I bought the stuff the other day…”

“Say no more. I’m on it.”

I give her another kiss on the forehead before climbing out of bed. I slip on a pair of black shorts and a white T-shirt, then head to the kitchen to make my woman her drink. How quickly things change. When Eden had moved in, my main concern had been the disruption of my routine, and yet here I am, happy to break it so I can make sure my woman gets something in her stomach before she leaves.

I’ve been so wrapped up in the news and what Bradley told me, that I haven’t had a chance to tell her my start-up idea. There’s a lot we have to talk about and not enough hours in the day to do it.

By the time Eden is finished getting ready, I have her smoothie and lightly buttered toast waiting for her. She gives me a kiss as she joins me at the table.

She’s barely taken a few sips from her glass when she points to my phone. “Ready to call your aunt?”

“Yeah.”

One thing we’d discussed before we’d fallen asleep, was inviting Aunt Eleanor to our wedding. It won’t be an easy call, but we know we have to come clean about our fake act. In our hearts, we hope she’ll let it slide once she gets the invite to our “official” grand wedding. Ensuring she’ll get first-row seats and be the very first to know, may also sway her heart to be lenient about the disclosure. Okay, who am I kidding? The shitstorm that’s about to hit us will be fucking massive.

However, we agree that delaying will only make matters worse.

Glancing at the screen, I dial her number and try my best smile when I see Aunt Eleanor’s picture pop up. She’s accepting a video call, something Eden had shown her how to do before she left.

“Good morning, Auntie.”

“Cartie! Finally!” she exclaims, the phone too close to her face so all I see are her eyes and forehead. “Am I doing this right? Can you see me okay?”

“Just pull the phone back a little.” When she does as I say, I can see her full face. “There, perfect.”

Eden leans in close, allowing my aunt to see us both. “Hi, Auntie!”

“Oh, Eden, you look beautiful this morning. How have you two been?”

“We’re fine, Auntie,” I tell her. “Listen, we would like to invite you to our wedding. To our real wedding. Eden and I haven’t been married. We were faking being in love.”

Yep, that’s exactly how I say it. Direct. Honest. To the point. I prepare for the tsunami to unleash its fury upon me.

“Cartie, I know. I’m old, but I’m not stupid.”

Eden’s jaw drops.

My jaw drops.

Aunt Eleanor counts down her bony fingers while I stare at her, processing. “First, the story was ridiculous. Second, you didn’t have a marriage certificate. Third, you didn’t even go on a honeymoon. Fourth, keeping it a secret at work, please . Last but not least, Hattie confirmed my suspicions.”

Eden snort-laughs. Me, I don’t. I breathe in and out, still trying to wrap my mind around the news. “Why didn’t you tell us anything?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Because I could see deep and profound affection, vrai amour , true love, devotion in its purest form, so I played along. Also, because Hattie said I shouldn’t so she wouldn’t get into trouble for telling me.”

“Sweet Jesus.” Those two will be the death of me.

“I will gladly come to your wedding, Cartie! Of course! Congratulations to the both of you. About time! I’ve been waiting for this call. Make sure to invite Hattie too.”

Eden leans closer to the phone. “Thank you! We will, for sure. Auntie, how are you doing? Have your coughs improved?”

“Yeah,” I jump in, not wanting to drag the whole thing out. There are more important matters to focus on. “Any updates regarding the lab results?”

“Right, see about that…” My aunt’s face twists, and she suddenly looks guilty.

I already know I’m not going to like where this conversation is headed. “About what?”

“The whole going to see my doctor thing…”

“Auntie, what happened?” I feel like I’m missing something, like she’s holding back information. “Tell us everything.”

“I’m not really dealing with a medical issue.”

I sit there for a moment, stunned. Her words register, yet I can’t react until I process them. Eden looks as shocked as I feel, but then her lips quirk.

“What do you mean you aren’t dealing with a medical issue?” I demand.

“Okay, now, before you get angry, just know I had a perfectly good reason for faking poor health.”

Faking? She had been faking poor health this whole time? What in the world? “I should hope you have a good reason,” I try to keep the tension out of my voice. “Explain.”

“Cartie, you were consumed by work, never taking time for yourself. I knew you weren’t going to bring ‘your new wife’ to see me and I wanted to see you both so bad. I needed a serious enough reason for you to drop work. So, I told a little white lie.”

“That wasn’t a white lie, Auntie. A white lie is telling someone you like their shirt when you don’t. Pretending you have an illness is not a white lie, it’s a nightmare!”

She raises an eyebrow. “Look who’s talking.”

I huff. “Auntie, faking an illness can’t be compared to faking a wedding.”

“I beg to differ. I at least never, not once, said I was ill. I just implied it.”

“Stop being stubborn.”

“All right, maybe I shouldn’t have done it. But it worked, didn’t it?”

I’m speechless. Eden looks way too amused, as if she had suspected it all along. She grabs the phone. “Auntie, I’m glad you’re healthy, you’re wonderful, but don’t you do that ever again.”

“I only did it because I thought my nephew needed to be reminded that there were more important things than work. Now that you’re taking the plunge into the wonderful world of marriage, this old lady can finally retire from the ‘tying the knot’ business, right, mes chéris ? It’s time for me to kick back, put my old feet up, and enjoy watching you two embark on your journey of eternal love!”

Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable. She’d faked everything and had me worried sick for absolutely no reason. I want to be mad at her—hell, I feel like I should be mad at her. But honestly? I’m relieved she’s okay. A huge weight lifts off my shoulders, and I’m able to take a breath. I take the phone back from Eden.

“Despite the fact that you’re a crazy, wicked woman, I’m not angry,” I tell my aunt. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Me too! My goodness. Now, I know you two have work to do so I’ll leave you to it. Let’s do this video thingy again soon. Don’t forget to send me the date, time, and location as soon as you can. I love seeing your smiling faces. Say hi to Hattie for me.”

“Wait. That’s right. About Hattie—is that why you told her to stay put?”

“But of course! Nothing gets past you. And aren’t you glad I did? That and pretending to be unwell was the best idea I’ve ever had. You know I’m right. All right, gotta run. Bye, you two. Au revoir! à bient?t! ”

“Bye, Auntie.”

We hang up, and Eden and I sit there in stunned silence. Eventually, my eyes meet hers. “I…have no words.”

“She’s a trip.”

All of this, the fake marriage to Eden to give my aunt closure, everything we’d gone through when she was here, it had all happened because of Aunt Eleanor’s “illness,” and it turns out that that “illness” didn’t exist. Part of me is utterly relieved, part of me is still in disbelief.

“I can’t believe we went through all that hard work,” Eden says, “and she turned around and conned us. We can’t even be mad at her.”

“We honestly can’t.”

“Dear God, now I know where you got it from.”

That makes me chuckle, it’s so damn ridiculous. Eden’s right. My aunt and I had played the same game on each other. She’d faked being sick to draw me away from work and try to show me happiness, and I’d faked being married to make sure she was happy. Eden joins in laughing, and before I know it, we’re both cracking up—more from the ease of nerves and the sheer liberation that Aunt Eleanor is fine.

Eden wipes the tears from her eyes, still chuckling. “My God, does the universe have a twisted sense of humor.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

Eden shakes her head and goes back to her morning smoothie and toast. “What are your plans for today?” she asks, mixing her smoothie with her straw.

“I had an idea that I wanted to run by you. Remember when I told you about working on other plans?”

Eden looks up. “Yes, of course! You want my input?”

“I’d like to hear what you think.”

She gives me a wide smile and props her chin on her hand as she leans on the table. “Shoot. What were you thinking?”

“Instead of getting a job at another construction firm, I’m debating on starting my own consulting business,” I explain. “People have been asking for my advice for years, and it would be the perfect time now that I’m not working at Legacy anymore. If I went off on my own, I could handle things the way I want without a board to answer to.”

Eden’s eyes light up. “Yes! Do it. I think that’s a fantastic idea!” She reaches over to lay her hand on my arm.

I take her hand in mine and squeeze it.

“It’ll be a lot of work, but it wouldn’t be as difficult with my connections to find clients and eventually investors.”

“You would do amazing consulting people. Hell, you did it all the time when working with clients. Even my sister—and trust me, she’s harder to please than a picky child at dinnertime—can’t stop singing your praises. You should go for it!”

Her excitement starts to make me excited. “It’s still only an idea. I have a lot of work to do before I can start legitimately looking for clients. But at least this time, when I put my heart and soul into something, I don’t have to worry about it being taken away.”

“ Exactly .” Eden gets up from her chair and slides onto my lap, her arms coming to rest around my shoulders. “I’m behind you on this, one hundred percent. You’re a smart, clever, dedicated man, and I know you’re going to do great things.”

“Wait, what did you say? Can you repeat that?”

“OMG. Did Mr. Fun Time make another joke?”