AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t tell me you’re the cliché girl who’s directionally challenged?”
I roll my eyes at him, even though he’s walking in front of me. “I’m not. This place just seems . . . endless.”
“It’s not that big, I promise,” he says, turning to me with an earnest expression.
I can’t contain the goofy laugh that bubbles out of me. “Thanks for letting me know.”
He shakes his head slightly, but his face breaks into a genuine smile. What I see next catches me off guard. Colton Green hid them well, but his large grin betrays the two large dimples dotting his cheeks. And, if that weren’t enough, I’m pretty sure his smile is his superpower. One second, he’s all cold and brooding, and the next, it’s like the entire world has just shifted under his radiant smile.
You know how the dementors in Harry Potter freeze up everything around them and make plants fade? Colton’s smile has the opposite effect. It warms everything it touches, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a bed of flowers sprouted up right here in the corridor. His grin sends my heart on a bungee jump, a feeling I both welcome and hate.
Catching my breath, I spin around and reach for the door handle. “We’ll talk soon.”
The shadow of his smile still crinkles the corners of his eyes. “See you.”
And just like that, he closes the door behind me. I want to sit for a second to digest all this, maybe read the contract again. But I have to go. He’s probably watching me from his security room, wondering what the hell I’m still doing on his front stoop.
Truffles trots up to greet me the moment I get home. After rubbing against my legs, she rolls on the floor so I can pet her. I pick her up and kiss her all over. I love how cats are always soft as a pillow and smell so nice. Well, she does now that I gave her a bath with the cat shampoo I got at the pet store. Garbage wasn’t my favorite scent.
Once she’s sucked up enough attention, she curls up in the little bed I got her. It’s shaped like a banana, and I might have splurged a little because it was so cute. She looks so comfy snuggled up in the yellow cushion.
After eating a quick lunch, I rummage through my closet to find what I was looking for—my old duffel bag. It’s dark blue with stains of God-knows-what and a fair number of holes. One of the straps is missing, and the zipper doesn’t close anymore. I haven’t seen it since I first set foot in this studio five years ago, having shoved it under a pile of clothes. My breath catches in my throat as I open the top, and I shiver at the memory of when I last used it.
It’s over, Jane. You got out, I remind myself.
Shaking the dark memories away, I pick up my clothes and start packing. But soon enough, the bag is bursting at the seams. I didn’t have much when I came here, but it looks like I bought more stuff than I realized. I’m going to need another bag.
Grabbing my keys, I walk down to the dollar store a few blocks away to purchase some moving boxes. On the way back, I pass in front of the cybercafé, and curiosity gets the best of me. After ordering a cappuccino, I sit down at a computer and open the search engine. I type “Colton Green Love Connected” and wait for the results to load. If I’m going to be this guy’s housemate, I need some background information. Sure, we have a contract, but it doesn’t reveal much about the man I’m going to marry. And he doesn’t seem to be the sharing type. Luckily, even a recluse can’t escape the investigative power of the Internet.
8
Truffles
Jane
I didn’t know what I expected when I looked up Colton, but it certainly wasn’t that. The first sentence I read—from a business magazine—almost makes me tumble out of my seat. “Billionaire Colton Green Attends Movie Premiere with Actress Layla Maybach.”
It’s not the fact that he went to a movie premiere that shocks me, or even that he attended with a world-famous Hollywood actress. It’s the “billionaire” part that leaves me floored. I knew he was super rich. But billionaire? There aren’t a ton of those in the world, right? Or at least, I don’t think so. I open a second tab and begin typing. “How many billionaires are there in the world?”
The search engine tells me the answer is roughly 2,500. Not a huge number compared to the billions of people on this planet, but still more than I expected. I examine the results by country. There are around seven hundred billionaires in the US, and Colton Green—AKA my future husband for the next two years—is one of them.
No wonder he can pay me a million dollars for this gig!
Returning to my first search tab, I scroll down on the search engine results page. The only results that aren’t about his work are those of him attending various events. In every article, he has a gorgeous woman on his arm. He never smiles at the camera, which is too bad. I wish I could have a picture of his glorious smile.
Okay. Now I’m starting to freak out about this date we’re going on this weekend. I don’t have the details yet, but I was expecting dinner at a nice restaurant—with truffles on the menu if I’m lucky. But the guy doesn’t seem to go out a lot except to attend charity galas or business events. I’ll make sure to ask Max where we’re going and how I should dress. Not that I care what people think, but it’s always awkward when you’re not dressed for the occasion. This is LA, and dress codes are taken very seriously.
I click on a biography page, but it’s pretty sparse. The page just says that he’s British, studied computer science, moved to the US after his mother died, and used his inheritance to build his company from the ground up. Apparently, he created a cutting-edge algorithm capable of matching people for the long run, based on a deep-dive investigation of their personalities. The algorithm brought the company booming success and attracted a few high-profile investors. The Love Connected app quickly became the leading matchmaking app in the US and Europe. All of that in less than a decade.
This sheds light on a few things, but it doesn’t tell me much about the man himself. I guess we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way, which is fine by me. Because I’m going on a “date” with him soon, and I’ll be able to ask him all my questions.
Colton and I have been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes. Except for some small talk with the waiter, he hasn’t said a word. He’s wearing a suit again, light gray this time. The shade matches his eyes perfectly. I went for a little black dress and the only pair of stilettos I own.
“Have you been here before?” I venture, unable to stand the awkwardness.
“A few times, yes,” he says without looking up from his menu.
I shift in my chair. “Okay. What’s good?”
