Forever My Babygirl: A Billionaire Romance (Vegas Daddies) Read online

  Forever My Babygirl: A Billionaire Romance

  (Vegas Daddies)

  Jane Henry

  Shanna Handel

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Previews

  About the authors

  Synopsis

  Synopsis

  A playboy billionaire, a desperate escort, and a one night stand...

  There are crickets in my bank account,

  An echo in my fridge,

  And if I don't pay my rent,

  I'm out on the street.

  I need a quick fix.

  He makes me call him daddy,

  Makes me obey...

  Makes me crave so much more.

  But my debts are paid,

  And our time is dwindling...

  But I want to stay... forever

  Forever My Babygirl

  Prologue

  Rawley

  Three months earlier

  “Rawley! Good to see you, man.”

  My cousin Louie fist-bumps me while Darius flips burgers. Louie’s holding the hand of a chubby toddler in a pink dress, her hair tied in ribbons, and a little boy with a sticky face rides his shoulders. He grins and waves to me. I grin back.

  “Louie. What’s up, bro?”

  Louie looks around. “I don’t see that ex of yours, man. You break up?”

  I roll my eyes and nod. That’s putting it mildly.

  “And you don’t have a new girl ready to go?” He smirks. I know he’s just giving me shit, but it stings.

  It’s unlike me to show up to an event alone. Hell, I don’t think I’ve done it in a decade.

  I run a hand through my hair and ignore the smirk on Darius’s face. Flip. Sizzle. Whoosh. Flames lick around the grill grate, momentarily giving me something to look at.

  I shrug. “I need a break. The last one… let’s just say she wasn’t my type.”

  “Not your type?” Darius asks, his voice all big-brother condescension. “What’s your type, Rawley?”

  I go to flip him off, then remember there are kids here, when Louie’s wife Tia comes up to him. Her hair’s in a messy mom bun, and she’s wearing a faded tee with cut-off shorts and flip flops. She looks the complete opposite of the women I’ve dated in recent months. And yet… I can’t help but look at the way her eyes light up when she sees Louie. How she stands on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. The way their daughter has her button nose and Louie’s bright blue eyes, and a part of me grows wistful.

  “Hey, Rawley.” Tia grins at me.

  “Hey.”

  Thankfully, Darius is back to piling hot dogs on the grill, and has forgotten he was giving me shit.

  “Jesus, I forget how hot it was supposed to get today,” I say, as I pop the top of a cold one. Katie, Darius’s wife, waves to me from a nearby table. After we all came for Gran’s eightieth birthday, Louie made us promise we’d come for his son’s first birthday.

  And after breaking up with my ex—my high-maintenance, self-centered, crazy ass ex—I welcomed some hometown normalcy again.

  I sit next to Katie. She smiles at me warmly.

  “How are the book sales?” I ask. It’s kind of a touchy subject, since my ex literally tried to sabotage Katie and Darius by fucking around with Katie’s manuscript. But I like Katie, and I feel kinda responsible for what happened.

  “Amazing,” Katie says, beaming. “And don’t worry about what happened, Rawley, really. What’s in the past is in the past, and seriously, I think it only brought me new publicity. Like, my sales have gone through the roof.” She grins. “Next week, Darius is taking me to Italy for some research.”

  “You’re writing a book set in Italy?”

  She nods and sighs, her eyes roaming over to Darius. “Star-crossed lovers who find their way across the miles.”

  I definitely don’t read romance and I don’t much care about the sappy happily-ever-afters. But there’s something about the way she looks at Darius… something that makes my heart twist.

  And here, surrounded by friends and family and people I’ve known my entire life… I want that. I want this, all of it. The comfort of home, undying devotion of a woman who likes me for who I am, not the numbers in my bank account.

  Katie’s phone buzzes, and she picks it up. Grinning, she sends off a text.

  “Darius, we’re going home tomorrow, right?”

  He nods. “Sure thing, beautiful.”

  She turns to me, still smiling. “That was Miranda just now. Not sure if you know her?”

  I’ve met Miranda a time or two around my brother’s hotel, Vegas, Baby. Nice girl. Gives off that boss babe vibe. I give a shrug. "I've seen her around.”

  Katie flushes pink, but still holds my gaze. “Miranda’s the one who owns the escort service? You know, how I met Darius.”

  Funny. I always wondered what the platinum blonde woman in the business suits was doing hanging around the hotel. I can’t help but smile myself. “Ah ha.” Much to Katie’s embarrassment, the local news exposed Katie and Darius’s hook-up, but that’s all water under the bridge. Any douche can see no matter how those two met, they’re absolutely meant for each other. And I’m not one to talk. I’ve used everything from Tinder to Match.com.

  But I’m swearing off women.

  “Oh? She looking to hire more people?”

  Katie laughs. “Ah, no. She’s looking to restrict clients further. Ever since the news article, let’s just say Sugar Daddies has been in high demand. She’s running rigorous background checks and vetting everyone much harder than before. It’s become quite the exclusive gig.” She winks.

  I grin at her. “Sugar Daddies? Seems fitting. Rich guys to meet your every need?”

  She looks down at her phone and bites her lip. “Something like that.” I don’t miss the little giggle.

  Well now she’s got me intrigued.

  But I’m swearing off women.

  We eat our dinner, drink our beer, eat cake, and toss bean bags and play corn hole. When night falls, Tia plays music through speakers in the yard, overhead lighting twinkles, and everyone’s dancing. Everyone but me, but that’s okay, because I’m swearing off women.

  I watch Tia and Louie dancing. They’re a little older than when they first met, but still very much in love. Darius and Katie dance, and a few other couples do as well.

  Maybe I’m lonely. Maybe I want another chance to do things right after my fuck-up with my ex. Or maybe there’s just magic in the air that night, because I feel half fucking enchanted.

  Maybe I just need one night. I don’t have to swear off women forever.

  “What’s on your mind, Rawley?”

  Gran sits next to me, nursing a large goblet of wine.

  “Oh, nothing,” I lie. Her eyes twinkle as she looks at the happy couples all around us.

  “You miss Tiffany?” she asks, a stern edge in her tone.

  Tiffany? Jesus.

  “Yeah, no. Nope. No way.”

  “Good.”

  I give her a sidelong look. “Why do you say that?”

 
She shrugs. “Well...it’s just that I think it’s time for you to take a break from women.”

  “Absolutely. Agreed.”

  She chuckles. “Right.”

  “Hey, now. I mean it.”

  She nods. “Suuure you do. I know you, Rawley. You’ll pick up a girl on the flight back to Vegas.”

  I shrug. “Flight attendants can be hot. There’s a certain mystique—”

  She smacks my shoulder, and I laugh out loud. “I’m kidding, Gran. Really. No, I’ve given up women. I need a break.”

  She nods. “A break.”

  “No more women.”

  Her brows shoot up. “No more women.”

  But I like women, the little voice in my mind reminds me. I don’t like cold beds and being alone. Will it hurt to have just one little hookup?

  I finish my drink.

  Katie left her phone on the table, and it’s buzzing next to me.

  Miranda

  I look away. I don’t want to see the message. But it buzzes again, and I’m drawn to the screen like a moth to flame.

  What do you think of the new tagline?? “Sugar Daddies: Where All Your Dreams Are Sweet Dreams.”

  I shove away from the table. I need another drink.

  Chapter 1

  Emmeline

  A two-digit number flashes at me from the screen of the ATM. Fuck me—is that really my bank account balance? I’m never going to make it through the week—much less the last few months of my last year of med school—on twenty-three dollars.

  I pace up and down the street, mentally berating myself for doing this again.

  That’s it. This is where the rubber meets the road. I won’t make rent. I knew it would be tough going through med school financially, even with my tuition paid. I knew I’d have to stretch. But who knew a new transmission for my car would cost that much?

  Ugggghhhh.

  I’ll have to suck up my pride and move out, waiting for the day until I can afford a place of my own again. I make up my mind, take a deep breath, and give myself a little pep talk. “You can do this. It’ll be great.”

  And maybe...I can talk to her about how I can earn some more money, stat. I stop pacing, and can feel my eyes widening when a thought comes to me.

  No, no, I can’t, no way.

  Well...maybe.

  No!

  Yes. If I’m honest… I’ve been fantasizing about doing this.

  Before I can have another argument with myself, I grab my phone from my purse and dial my BFF Lexi. It’s time to cash in on her offer to let me stay with her at her sister’s swanky guest house. I hate that I’m not gonna be able to make next month’s rent. I push a dark brown lock of hair out of my eyes, and slide the phone to my ear, waiting for her to answer.

  “Hello?” There’s eighties music blaring in the background and the sound of her heavy breathing. She must be working out. Again.

  “Hey, showgirl! How’s the dance practice going?”

  “I can kick my leg all the way up to my face, just like I used to!” I hear her give a groan and a victory yell. “See!”

  I give a laugh. “Honey, I can’t see you. This isn’t a video call.”

  “Oh, right. Gah—I’ve got to eat something. I’m losing my mind. Hang on.”

  I wait, hearing her cut the music. She opens and shuts a door—the fridge?—and the sound of chewing comes over the line. “Sorry. Grabbing some leftover Pad Thai. What’s up?”

  Knots form in my stomach. I hate asking for help. Like, loathe it in the pit of my core. My gaze goes to the now blank screen of the ATM and I remember I have no other choice. “Lex?”

  “Yes?” She slurps a noodle. “Spit it out, babe.”

  “You know how you offered to, uh…” I can’t even say it, I’m so humiliated to have to ask. “When you told me I could stay with you—”

  “Oh my God!” she cuts me off, yelling into the phone. “Are you moving in?”

  I bring my hand to my forehead, as if to shade my eyes from my own embarrassment. “Well yes, I’d like to discuss the possibility…”

  “Yay! We’re going to be roomies. I know you can’t see me, but I am literally jumping up and down right now, spilling Pad Thai all over the place. We are going to have sooo much fun!”

  I can’t help but laugh. Her enthusiasm is contagious. “Calm down, calm down. It’s just temporary.” My stomach turns, thinking of what I need to ask her next. Even with free rent, twenty three dollars isn’t going to cut it. I need funds. “And…there’s one more thing.”

  I’m going to ask her. Once I do, there’s no turning back.

  I can’t do it.

  “Babe, you still there?”

  I can’t!

  “Emmeline?”

  Okay, I have to do this. Temporary things are just...for now.

  Right?

  I spit it all out in one breath. “You know your sister’s business? The one you said she wouldn’t let you work for?”

  “Sugar Daddies Escort Service? Yeah, I’m still bummed she wouldn’t hire me, but Shane kind of put a stop to it anyway, when he proposed. Why?”

  “I can see why a man wouldn’t want his fiancée working as an escort.”

  “I wasn’t his fiancée at the time!” She slurps a noodle. “But back to you. Why are you asking?”

  “Um…is she…hiring?”

  There’s a long pause, and she’s finally back, giving a gasp. “Are you thinking of being an escort? You? Miss goody goody straight A’s Emmeline?”

  “Stop.” I’m grasping at straws. How do I explain this? “I have a wild side.” I try to think of some of the more devilish things I do. “Sometimes I leave the tv on when I leave my apartment. Or forget to put the cap on the milk. Oh! And I never, ever use a bookmark. I even write in my textbooks.”

  “Wow. That’s enough to get you convicted.” She gives a snort. “But seriously, I think the guys would love you—those green eyes, that long dark hair, your killer legs—you’d be booked solid.”

  I think of my hectic study schedule. Sometimes my only rest is grabbing a few hours of sleep on my couch, my laptop open beside me. I only have time to spare for one night. “Well, that’s not an option. This would be a one-time only thing. I’ve got med school to pay for, and if you really don’t mind me staying with you for free…” I wince, feeling physical pain at the idea of not paying rent.

  “Of course you don’t have to pay. My brother-in-law doesn’t even charge me rent.”

  “I’ll cook! I’ll clean! I’ll even take out the smelly garbage!”

  She snorts. “Babe, even I don’t take out the garbage.”

  I stifle a sigh. Shane’s really good to her.

  “Well then, I only need enough to meet my expenses for the semester, my tuition is covered.” I can live off pasta and bagged salad if I need to. I just need to get through the next few months then I’ll be able to start my three years of paid residency to become a doctor. “So a one-time thing should cover my expenses.”

  “I’ll ask Miranda if you can interview. I’m sure she’ll say yes. Now, get your ass over here. It’s your day off, and we’ve got to get you moved in.”

  “Not today.” I give a laugh. “I still have ten days on my lease, but I’ll start packing.”

  We say our goodbyes and I slip my phone in my pocket, a weight lifting from my shoulders.

  I have a place to stay when the month ends, and—hopefully—some money coming in.

  My lifetime dream of being a doctor is still within my reach.

  I don’t think about the other choice I just made. If I do, I’ll change my mind.

  I think of the women I’ve met who work for Sugar Daddies. Lexi’s older sister Miranda’s amazing, and super happily married. Her friend Katie, a former employee, met her current super sexy and filthy rich husband on an escort gig.

  It isn’t a dating service, Emm, I chide myself. And yet… No. I can’t think on it, not now.

  I spend my last twenty dollars on moving boxes and
packing paper, getting some freebies at the back of the supermarket. It’s awkward, stuffing them into the trunk of my little red hatchback, but somehow, I manage. Fresh air feels good, so I roll the window down, letting the wind blow back my hair as I sing along with the radio at the top of my lungs.

  I’m going to make it after all.

  Boxes balanced on my hip, packing paper under my arm, I wrangle my key into the doorknob and make my way inside my apartment.

  I’m greeted with the loud meow of a grumpy cat—a noise akin to a bird being strangled.

  Dropping my boxes to the ground, I rush over to Mr. Whiskers. “Hey there, baby. Don’t think I forgot about you.” I scoop him up into my arms, burying my face in his thick ginger fur.

  Wait—I did forget about him…shoot. Lexi is highly allergic to cats. There’s no way I can bring Mr. Whiskers into her house, even for a night. And there’s no way I can give him up.

  I hate to ask Lexi for another favor, but the sad truth is, I’ve been too busy to make friends. When I moved to Nevada for UNLV, I missed her like crazy. I couldn’t believe my luck when she texted me a few months ago to tell me she was moving to Vegas.

  She’s giving me a place to stay, a job interview, and now I need her to help me find a temporary spot for Mr. Whiskers. Just until I get that diploma and can rent an amazing apartment, maybe even buy a house for me and my boo. I give him an extra cuddle, grab my phone, and sink down into my old beat-up leather recliner with the cat on my lap.

  He nudges at my hand as I attempt to type my text. “Hey, quit it!” I give him a forehead scratch.

  Hey Lex, sorry to be a pain but do you have anyone that can take in Mr. Whiskers temporarily?