MATCHMAKER (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) by Bella Grant

Johannesburg. She’d settled in at the guest apartment, right where Sterling wanted her. He’d amended her contract to read that it was part of her stipend. It was handy having her so close. She’d taken a leave of absence from school for the spring semester and taken on a bunch of his admin assistant’s duties. She’d go back in the fall, presumably right around the time he and Jenna would be back from their months-long honeymoon. Assuming she agreed to marry him. Things were progressing on that front, and Sterling was packing his suitcase for the flight to Dominica.
    Both Jenna and Cherise were nervous about flying in a private plane for the first time. He had decided to take the Cessna instead of the bigger plane because he wanted them to have a memorable flight.
    Jenna was meeting them at the airstrip. She’d never spent the night and had told him early on she wasn’t interested in sex before marriage. He couldn’t fathom this. She’d already been married. She wasn’t a virgin. Why wait?
    While his head should have stayed focused on sex with Jenna, all his body remembered was Cherise’s coffee-colored skin.
    It didn’t matter. Everything was going according to plan. His own brain, his own thoughts, were irrelevant. He needed Ben to see his lovely girlfriend so he could start feeling good about making that last change to his will.
    Sterling whistled to Ambrosia, and she limped along after him. Her legs were getting worse. The old girl was tired most of the time. A few days on the tropical beaches would do wonders for her. He clipped her leash on—though she didn’t need it, especially not these days—and banged on Cherise’s door.
    “Plane’s leaving!” he shouted.
    “Not without me,” she hollered back. She had a point. He wouldn’t leave without her.
    She came out in a casual red sundress with big white flowers. Her toenails, showcased by black leather sandals, were painted the same shade of red as the dress. His throat went dry, and he leaned in to take the handle of her rolling bag.
    “I can manage,” she said.
    “I know you can.” He handed her Ambrosia’s leash. “Take her instead.”
    He hoped she knew how special that made her… He wouldn’t hand off his dog to just anyone. That was actually what he liked least about Jenna. She would politely pat the dog’s head, but she didn’t get excited about her or talk to her.
    Sterling reminded himself this was an economic union instead of a romantic one. Downstairs, a limo waited for them. Cherise was hardly fazed by them anymore. In the beginning, she’d freaked out and been like a little kid. Now, like a proper socialite, she treated it like any other car. She held the door for Ambrosia and gave Sterling a frown when the dog struggled into the low vehicle.
    “I’ve got an appointment on Wednesday when we get back. I’m going to see about tweaking the dosage of her Rimadyl.” The dog tucked herself into a tight ball on the leather seat of the limo.
    “Are we picking Jenna up?” Cherise smoothed her skirt and showed off her long, brown legs.
    “No, she’s weird about this stuff. She wanted to meet us at the airport. I think she’s taking a cab.”
    “I get it. I mean, kind of. It was weird at first for sure, but this is way nicer than taking a taxi.”
    “She’ll get used to it.”
    “You haven’t asked her yet, have you?”
    “We’ve only been seeing each other three months. It still seems premature. I’ll let Ben sow the seeds.”
    “This isn’t cheating him?”
    “I’m bringing him a woman I’m interested in spending the rest of my life with,” Sterling said. Cherise looked away, everything awkward all of a sudden. “Which I never could have done without you.”
    “Sterling, it was Tinder . I’m pretty sure you could have managed.”
    “Well, now, I can’t manage without you.”
    “It’s nice to be needed.”
    Her smile looked bright, but with her big, dark glasses, he couldn’t tell if it reached her eyes.