The Billionaire Husband No Woman Wanted

ined-glass windows, shattered rainbows spraying across marble floors. Elliot Sloane stepped from his black Bentley, the wind howling, his expertly tail

istair Sloane's will. Elliot's stepmother, Evelyn, sat perched on the edge of a velvet chaise, her red lips curled into a thin, self-satisfied smile. beside her, his half-brother Lucas w

every little detail-the tightening of Evelyn's fingers on her purse, the flicker of Lucas's jaw when their eyes crossed

marble floor. In his hand, he held a leather-bound paper whose edges were worn from ye

mind and body, do hereby declare thi

was always his granddad's favorite, the one set to come into Sloan

shares in Sloane Industries, and the CEO position. But." Wh

he did not reveal his discomfort. Evel

ontinued, his voice even. "If he does not, his stock will be transferr

ever, did not alter his expression. His fists beneath the table tightened into hard balls, his knuckles pale. Marria

ides that the marriage be real. Any attempt to circumvent this provi

p. His grandfather was always a strategist, a man who play

ell, Elliot," she purred, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "I suppose you'll have to find you

ssion cold. "Don't get ahead of your

of a second before she recovered

already calculating. He would find a w

Private

ration and intrigue. Lying between the winding Hudson River and the distant, misty Catskill Mountains, it's a city where money is power and the skyline is a monument to the aspirations-and brutality-of its architects. The irony of the city's name was actually taken from the gree

s, his reflection staring back at him like a ghost. The storm had moved on, leaving the skyline to glimmer with ma

o the empty air. Marriage. The word burned in his mind like a red-hot iron. He had lived an eternity avoiding it, er

r, hands over his head. Forgotten m

y Yea

. Ten-year-old Elliot sat on top of the stairs; his knees pull

bellowed; his voice hoarse from fury. "It

than willing to use my family for contacts to build your lit

hrough. He didn't hear everything they were saying, but he heard

ump. He crept down the stairs, his heart pounding. His father w

d, trembling with his words. "You

. He sprinted towards the door, but the drive

The gash on his forehead from the day he'd chased after her car, only to trip and fall, had lon

t him like that again. Love was a weakness, a liability. And yet here he

nemy

a crackling fire. The room was the opposite of the Sloane Estate's stodgy luxury, all jagged e

pered. "If Elliot doesn't marr

xpression thoughtful. "An

Then we have it arranged to be to someon

ebrow. "You've got

ut I will. And when the moment

ionaire'

like a chessboard. Across from him, Grayson Carter, his best friend and co

credulous. "You? I'd sooner believe y

ghost of a smile. "It's not

nt, his amusement fading. "You

ice cold. "I'll find a wife. But it will be on

t treat marriage like a corporate merg

ze hardened

es, someone who would not ask for anything more than he was willing to provide. But as he stared out over the city, a strange sen

ke distant stars. Somewhere out there was the lady who would bl