My Secret Billionaire

The screen of Finley Bailey's phone was a tiny, vicious rectangle of light in the dim corner of The Gilded Spoon. The words from her stepfather, Dozier, felt like a tightening in her throat.

Tonight. You give Shane an answer tonight.

The condensation on her glass of ice water slicked her fingers. She set it down, leaving a perfect, wet ring on the dark wood of the table. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. This was it. The end of the line.

"He'll be here any moment, Finley."

Margo Finch, the manager from the matchmaking agency, slid into the chair opposite her. Her voice was a low, conspiratorial whisper. She smelled of expensive perfume and quiet desperation-not her own, but the collected desperation of her clients.

"Remember what we discussed," Margo continued, her eyes darting toward the door. "He's just like you. He's looking for a partner. A respectable, no-fuss arrangement."

Finley nodded, unable to form words. A respectable, no-fuss arrangement. A legal document that would act as a shield. A man who would give her his last name in exchange for... what? Margo had been vague. He wanted a wife for social reasons, someone to fill a space. He didn't want love. He didn't want complications.

He didn't want a wife. He wanted a ghost. Finley could be a ghost.

Then the bell above the café door chimed, and he walked in.

He was nothing like the grainy photo in the file Margo had shown her. The photo had shown a man. This was a man carved from something finer. He was tall, with dark hair cut in a way that looked effortlessly perfect. He wore a simple navy blazer and gray trousers that fit him in a way that suggested they were made for him, not bought off a rack.

This was not a man whose salary was under a hundred thousand dollars a year. The thought was immediate, and it sent a new spike of panic through her. A man like this wouldn't need a deal. He could have anyone.

He scanned the room, his eyes calm and intelligent. They met Finley's for a fraction of a second before Margo gave a discreet wave. He moved toward their table, his walk smooth and confident.

Margo stood. "Gary, this is Finley Bailey. Finley, this is Gary."

He offered a polite, closed-lip smile and held out a hand. "Garrison Strickland. But please, call me Gary."

His hand was warm and firm around her cold one. Finley's breath hitched. Garrison Strickland. Not Gary. The name sounded like old money and private clubs.

"Finley," she managed to say, her voice a reedy whisper.

He sat down as Margo scurried away, leaving them in a bubble of charged silence. He didn't look at the menu. His gaze rested on Finley, direct and unnervingly perceptive.

"Margo said we're both looking to solve a problem quickly," he said. His voice was a low baritone, calm and steady.

The directness startled her. It was better this way. No pretense.

She took a breath, the air feeling thick in her lungs. "Yes. I need a husband. A legal, binding marriage. I need a safe place to live, to get away from... my family." The last words were bitter on her tongue. "I don't need love. I don't need your money."

He listened, his expression unreadable. He simply nodded, as if she were discussing a business proposal. Which, she supposed, she was.

He picked up his water glass. "I appreciate the honesty," he said. "I'm in a similar position. I need a wife. Someone stable and independent. Someone who has her own life."

He paused, then laid his cards on the table.

"I'm a data analyst. I make about ninety-five thousand a year. I rent an apartment in Brooklyn. I drive a used Honda Civic."

Finley's shoulders, which had been tensed up to her ears, lowered an inch. A data analyst. A rented apartment. A used car. It was... normal. Safe. The handsome face and the expensive-looking clothes were a fluke, then. Good taste, maybe.

The relief was so potent it made her feel light-headed. This was manageable. This was a world she understood. No complex prenups, no powerful family to contend with. Just a man. A normal man. She pushed down the initial alarm his appearance had caused. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he just had expensive taste and a lucky find at a thrift store. Besides, what choice did she have? A potential lie was better than the certain hell waiting for her at home.

He set his glass down. His eyes, a deep, serious gray, met hers. The calm in them was replaced by something else. A flicker of vulnerability that seemed so genuine it made her stomach clench.

"There's one other thing, Finley. The most important condition." He held her gaze, his voice dropping slightly. "A few years ago, I was in a car accident. It... left me with a permanent injury."

He didn't need to say more. The air crackled with the unspoken words.

"I'm unable to... perform my duties as a husband. In a physical sense." He said it plainly, without a trace of shame or embarrassment. It was a fact. A term of the contract. "The marriage would not be consummated. Ever."

Finley stared at him. The frantic bird in her chest stopped flapping. It went still.

She had prepared for so many possibilities. A man who was secretly cruel. A man who would have unspoken expectations. A man who would want to own her in ways that had nothing to do with money.