The Billionaire's Surrogate (A Small Town Billionaire Brothers Book 3) Read online

  The Billionaire’s Surrogate

  A Small Town Billionaire Romance Series

  Lauren Wood

  Copyright © 2020 by Lauren Wood

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Joey

  2. Angel

  3. Joey

  4. Angel

  5. Joey

  6. Angel

  7. Joey

  8. Angel

  9. Joey

  10. Angel

  11. Joey

  12. Angel

  13. Joey

  14. Angel

  15. Joey

  16. Angel

  17. Joey

  18. Angel

  19. Joey

  20. Angel

  21. Joey

  22. Angel

  23. Joey

  24. Angel

  Epilogue

  Knocked Up By The Boss

  Chapter 1

  Also by Lauren Wood

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  Prologue

  My senses went into overload as my eyes slowly opened. I rapidly took in the throbbing pain in my head, followed by the realization that I was not in my own apartment. The silky gray sheets wrapped around me were much nicer than anything I owned, and the giant window overlooking my hometown of Cherry Falls next to the bed was completely foreign from anything that existed in my tiny efficiency apartment.

  I rolled over, trying to remember the events that transpired the night before. That’s when I felt the slab of warm bare flesh beside me—one that awakened a renewed surge of arousal. I looked over slowly, taking in the sight of the delicious body that rivaled the stunning view of our city.

  Joey Williams. It had finally happened. I had finally landed in bed with Joey Williams, the obsession of all my fantasies from the moment I first met him at my best friend’s boutique.

  He had olive-toned skin that matched the slight Bronx accent. He had that whole Italian, bad boy, New Yorker vibe that was enough to slay any woman. His gym-rat muscular body certainly helped, with its chiseled curves and a six-pack unlike anything I had ever seen outside of a magazine or billboard, much less next to me in bed.

  I couldn’t help but smile and let out a quiet squeal under my breath. He was still sleeping soundly, giving me the chance to feel around the nightstand for my phone. But it wasn’t there. I looked around the room, spotting my handbag thrown off into the corner.

  Flashes started coming back to me. I remembered how we burst into the room with my legs wrapped around his waist, him effortlessly holding my entire body weight. I didn’t realize my purse was still draped over my arm until he went to take off my shirt. It was kind of a miracle that I had managed to hold onto it for so long since we had been making out with a passionate fury from the moment we found ourselves alone in the back of his limo.

  I had tossed it into oblivion, not caring at that moment where it landed. Its contents were scattered across the plush carpet of his bedroom, and I couldn’t resist taking the risk of slipping out of bed to creep over and snag my phone. I winced, trying to be as quiet as humanly possible as I climbed back into the sheets next to him. Thank goodness that expensive mattresses rarely creaked or made a peep.

  I opened my phone’s camera and snapped a picture of him sleeping like a baby, making sure to catch the way the light shone across his bulging muscles in all their glory. Those arms… Those pecs… I followed each curve right down to the V-shape beneath his stomach. Everything below that was covered in the sheet that clung to his hips, which made me feel a lot less guilty about the picture. Him being shirtless and sleeping was one thing. I was not about to go so far as to snap a pic of some guy’s dick without his permission.

  I needed a souvenir to remember all of my pent up fantasies finally becoming a reality, but I also needed proof. I flipped to my ongoing group text with my two besties, Del and Lizzy, and sent them the photo of Joey followed by a plethora of emojis communicating a wide range of emotions, covering everything from heart eyes and a drooling face, to a wide-eyed freakout and a scream.

  I wouldn’t have expected them to be awake, considering we all had a late night out drinking for the opening of Damon’s new club. That is, all except for Lizzy, who was pregnant and due any day now. Of course, she had still come to support her fiance’s newest venture. I was surprised when the phone immediately started dinging back in rapid-fire responses, each one indicating a freakout on par with my own.

  Me: How are you guys even awake right now!?

  Lizzy: Uh, girl…it’s noon.

  Oh shit, I thought, glancing at the time in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to confirm it was true.

  Del: I’ve been up with the baby since six. Glad we made the call to close the show today.

  Me: Ditto. Way too hungover for work.

  Lizzy: Right, but… Can we talk some more about the fact that ur in bed next to JOEY WILLIAMS right now!

  Ding. Ding. Whoosh. Bloop. Ding. My phone continued lighting up with the incessant messages, each one threatening to make me burst out into a roar of laughter. I got so caught up in the screen that I didn’t notice Joey had been woken up by the messages and was staring me down.

  He cleared his throat, startling me into rapt attention. I chucked the phone back down to the carpet like a kid that had just been caught red-handed stealing from the cookie jar.

  “Something funny?” he asked, stretching out his perfectly sculpted arms, making my mouth water.

  “It was nothing!” I smiled innocently, with maybe a little too much guilty desperation.

  He jumped out of bed and grabbed his boxers. “I’m going to hop in the shower. Want me to call you a cab?”

  My heart sank. It wasn’t like I expected anything to come out of our hook up. I was a big girl and understood the concept of a one-night stand, even if it was with someone who played such an integral role in my closest group of friends.

  Joey had come to Cherry Falls, North Carolina, with his real estate partners, Nick, Damon, and Ben. When our little small town became the newest up and coming destination, they couldn’t resist relocating from New York to get a piece of the pie. They wanted to be big fish in a small pond, rather than face all the competition back in the Big Apple. It had proven to be a smart move for them, and not just for the sake of their business. Nick had coupled off with my best friend, Del, almost instantly. They had since gotten married and had a kid. Then it was Damon and my other best friend, Lizzy, who paired off and were now expecting their own baby.

  It was only a matter of time before one of the guys got together with me, the last remaining single member of my girlfriends. Ben and Joey were the only two left, but I only had eyes for Joey. I had finally found my way into his bed, and now he was in a rush to get in the shower and send me off on the walk of shame.

  “Angel? Did you hear me?” he asked, popping his head around the corner of his bedroom door with a towel thrown over his shoulder. Those gorgeous brown eyes and kissable lips made me ache inside—all things of the past for me now. “Sorry, I’ve got to get into the office. I have a meeting at two. Did you want me to call you a car?”

  I did my best to hide the hurt expression on my face. “No, that’s okay,” I answered finally. “I don’t live far. I’ll walk. I could use the…” Jo
ey had already nodded and slipped off into the bathroom with apparently no interest in what I could use. “Fresh air,” I mumbled to myself.

  I sat up in bed, looking around the room. My stupid phone was still blowing up on the floor. I didn’t have the heart to tell Del and Lizzy how unceremoniously I was being dismissed from Joey’s bed. A happily ever after like what they found was not exactly what I hoped to get out of this. But morning sex? Breakfast? Was that too much to ask? The excitement I felt when I first texted them had already dwindled into nothing but the glaring symptoms of my hangover.

  I hadn’t felt this cheap since my random drunk hookup phase in college. I found myself feeling angry as I crawled out of bed and scrambled to find my clothes. I wasn’t a prude by any means, but I was still a small-town girl and didn’t think having casual sex meant that there was no room for a little chivalry. I guess Joey had other ideas.

  With all of my clothes back on and the contents of my purse put back where they belonged, I headed for the front door. I paused by the bathroom, where steam was billowing. I could hear the water running inside and see Joey’s silhouette through the curtain.

  My lips parted to yell over the sound of the gushing water to let him know that I was leaving, but I stopped myself. He obviously didn’t care, and I was not about to chase him around like a lost puppy. All of my giddiness over the night before was yanked right out from under me and replaced with a scornful rage.

  With my fists clenched, I spun on my heels and marched right out the door, making a point to slam it loudly behind me. It wasn’t until I got in the hall and found myself face to face with an elderly woman who lived next door that I realized I had never checked my appearance in the mirror. Judging by the stunned, judgmental look on her face, it was safe to assume that my kinky black spirals were frizzed out in every direction and that my eyeliner was smudged all around my eyes. Maybe that was part of what turned Joey so cold, though no guy from my past had ever complained about my morning-after look.

  I blushed and smiled, offering a polite wave before jetting off to the elevator. I only felt a little better by the time the fresh afternoon air hit me outside. I took my time walking home, kicking pebbles along the sidewalk as I went.

  In between Joey’s place and mine, I stopped outside the old Italian restaurant that had shut down in recent months, unable to keep up with the rapidly changing economy and clientele since the infamous Cherry Falls population boom. I was sad for the owners. Nick, Joey, and the other guys worked hard to make the changes in our town as kind to natives as it could be, but not everything was immune to gentrification.

  I looked longingly at the boarded-up windows and noticed a sign saying it was for lease posted out front. Cooking had always been a passion of mine, and I dreamed of owning my own restaurant. I noticed the Ransom Realty logo in the corner of the lease sign. It was one of Nick and Joey’s properties now. Too bad, I was broke. I sighed to myself. After the way Joey had just treated me, I imagined I could have leveraged my way into a good deal on the place if I only had the means.

  Oh well. I tried to shrug off my dream of ever owning that place right along with the ridiculous notion that anything could have come out of my night with Joey. Not even a simple, “Last night was fun. Hope you have a great day.”

  I started back down the sidewalk to my place. Luckily, I knew the best recipe for a banging hangover cure breakfast—one that I would have cooked for him if given a chance. His loss. That just meant more for me once I got home and started cooking.

  1

  Joey

  I had just finished my last email for the day when my secretary chimed in over the intercom. “Mr. Williams, I have Vincent Milano for you on line one.”

  “Thanks, Sheila,” I quickly shot back before picking up the phone and holding down the button to take the call. “Joey here.”

  “Joey boy. How’s it hanging?” Vincent’s greeting came through the receiver in a thick Italian Bronx accent that made me long for my familiar neighborhood back home.

  “Hey, Vin. I take it you’ve had time to think over the property I showed you the other day?”

  “You’re straight down to business. I like that. No bullshitting. My kind of guy. As a matter of fact, I have, and I’m very interested.”

  I winced a little at his reply. I was hoping he would decide he wasn’t interested so that I could avoid having to tell him I couldn’t approve a leasing contract for him. I had a feeling the kind of business he was hoping to get going in the space was not the kind of thing I wanted to promote in Cherry Falls. But I also hated to judge people, having been misjudged most of my life.

  “Listen, Vin. Before we proceed any further, can you send me a business plan? Or give me a run down of what you’re envisioning for the space?”

  “Certainly. I can do that right now, as a matter of fact. It’s simple,” he replied. “Titty bar.”

  “Come again?” I asked, just to be sure. Though his response was exactly what I had expected.

  “You know. Girls. Dancing. Topless. I believe you suits call ‘em strip clubs.”

  I leaned back in my chair, glancing up to the ceiling in irritation and disappointment. I hated to crush people’s dreams, but I was not about to let Vincent turn that upscale restaurant space into some seedy strip joint that would probably have all sorts of other underground illegal schemes going on left and right. Not only was it too risky as a landlord, but it wasn’t the right image we wanted to portray with Ransom Realty. Or for the small-town innocence that we were trying to maintain through the growth of Cherry Falls.

  “You there, Joe? Did you hear me? What do ya say I round up some of my girls and have ‘em give us a little private show when we get together to sign the papers? My treat.”

  “Ah, no thanks,” I answered slowly. “I appreciate the offer, but…I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Both the private show and drawing up the lease. Unless you have some other kind of business idea in the works.”

  “Excuse me? The line must be breakin’ up. I thought I just heard you say you didn’t wanna rent me the space.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. There were times to be gentle and timid, and then there were times when you had to be straightforward. I had no problem being either, even if it meant pissing this guy off. I didn’t come all the way down to North Carolina just to get bullied into stuff I didn’t want to do by the same type of characters who ran rampant in the big city.

  “You heard right, Mr. Milano. My apologies for wasting your time. I should have asked for more information when I showed you the space. I’m afraid your business model doesn’t align with our values here at Ransom Realty. I hope you can understand.”

  “Oh, now I’m a mister, eh?” He let out a wheezy laugh. “You know, I asked for you specifically out of all you guys over there at Ransom. I thought you were more like me. A man of opportunity. I didn’t realize you were another snob who decided he’s too good for his own kind now that he’s in a nice suit.”

  Ben’s face appeared on the other side of my office window. He knocked just before showing himself in, quietly taking a seat in front of me.

  I held up one finger to ask him to wait. “I assure you, Vin, suit or not, I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I do, however, take issue with businesses that bring crime to the area…along with a certain appearance that isn’t up to our standards. Perhaps you can find another realtor to work with. Or if you ever want to get into the restaurant business without the topless women, give me a call.”

  “Why you little…”

  “Have a great day,” I offered half-heartedly before quickly calling Sheila back. “Yeah, take a message for all future calls from Mr. Milano. Thanks.”

  “Busy day?” Ben asked, eyeing the phone as I slammed it back into the receiver.

  “You could say that. Wrapping up now, though.”

  Ben Wilder and I had been best buds since we were kids, right along with our other business partners, Nick and Damon. We had all come a long way from
the ghetto neighborhood we grew up in. Though now that Nick and Damon were both family men, Ben and I had been closer than ever.

  “How’s the property on Stanford Avenue going?” he asked, obviously having picked up on the tail end of my phone call. “Aside from rejecting topless women.”

  I smirked back at him. “Still holding out for the right tenant. I feel bad that the old ones couldn’t stay in business. Now I don’t want to let it go to just anyone.”

  Much like Vincent Milano, anyone with a strong Italian heritage like myself expected me to look out for them. I would if they were stand up guys. Unfortunately, the previous occupants, despite their Italian-American menu, made some of the worst food I had ever tasted in my life. Otherwise, I would have been happy to help them keep their business afloat.

  “That’s my man,” Ben replied. “Heart of gold. Are you ready to go? We’ve got to swing by to pick up Damon and Lizzy.”

  I raked my hands over my face, pretending to stare at a very busy calendar. “Uh, listen. About tonight…”

  Ben immediately started shaking his head. “Uh-uh. No. No way, man. You can not bail on this. Damon and Nick hardly ever go out anymore unless we’re just stopping by to see Damon working at his club. They’ve got sitters tonight, and we all agreed it’d be like old times.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell Ben that I was more sympathetic to Damon and Nick than to him. If I was lucky enough to have a wife and kids waiting for me at home, I wouldn’t be going out anymore, either.