Seducing a Good Girl (Book 3 of the Billionaire Bad Boys)

1

Devon Montana, one year later…

Nicki put down her book; she was so bored. She’d read every book in the house sometimes she couldn’t read them again. Ever since her injury she had been housebound. While her sisters worked the farm and lived their lives with their new husbands, Nicki sat around the house brooding about how she was never going to have anything better than this. She would never go anywhere, and no one would ever want a cripple. Her gentle once sweet demeanour had slowly become bitter.

Her family did their best to cater to her but watching them live their happy lives only made her feel worse. “Knock-knock.” She heard Millie call from the stairs. Her baby sister pushed open her bedroom door and came inside with a big smile on her pretty face. Millie had always been the prettiest of the three of them. Men loved her, but Nicki was plain not like Millie and Lacy. “Lacy says you haven’t left this room in days.”

“In case you haven’t noticed it’s not easy for me to get around. So, I don’t get out much.” She muttered.

“Well, I brought you something,” Millie said sitting down on the bed next to Nicki. She presented her with a laptop.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Nicki asked.

“I just figured you have a lot of time on your hands. Maybe you could chat with someone outside this house.”

Nicki groaned and pushed the laptop away. “Oh Millie, I’m not into that internet stuff.”

“Oh, come on it could kill some time. Look.” Millie said getting comfortable on the bed next to Nicki. She opened the laptop and turned it on. She then typed in a password and logged onto the internet. “We all think it’s a great idea. Lacy and I have even signed you up for a few internet social sites.” She said bringing one up. “We set you up with an e-mail address and a profile.” She said bringing up a webpage with Nicki’s picture. “See we filled in all your likes and dislikes and even found a few possible conversation partners. All of which are miles away, so there is no presser to meet any of them. Think about it Nicki; you can be anyone online.”

“This is a dating site.” Nicki pointed out.

“Come on Nicki what can it hurt, you might meet someone you can relate too. You don’t have to meet anyone talk. There is a world outside this farm.” Millie placed the laptop in Nicki’s lap. “Just try it out.” She said. “Look you already have four messages.”

Nicki forced a grin. “Ok, I’ll play with it for a little while. I have nothing better to do.”

“There you go. I’m going to help Lacy with the horses, and I’ll see you at dinner. I want to hear all about the guys you chat with.” Millie said getting up and leaving the room.

Nicki sighed and began to read the messages and scan the other profiles. She couldn’t imagine meeting anyone worthwhile. What sort of people searched for dates online? So far everyone seemed very generic. A bunch of nobodies just like her. Well, who was she to judge she was doing the same thing. At least Millie was right about one thing, this could kill some time, and Nicki had nothing but time.

***

New York City NY…

Dominic waved his hand to the left as the gallery staff hung his work on a glass wall. The lighting was just right it was breathtaking. Tonight the New York gallery was showcasing his pieces. The gallery dedicated to his work. Dominic had come in person to help set up. He wanted to make sure the pieces were showcases properly. Things were looking good as they hung the last painting.

Glancing at his watch, he tried to judge just how much time he had to get back to his studio and change. He supposed he had enough time for a quick shower. So, he hopped into his Jag and zipped across town to his fifth avenue home. A penthouse studio apartment.

He quickly took a shower and changed out of his jeans into a black designer suit with a wine-red shirt and matching tie. He ran a brush through his midnight hair and with a dollop of gel he styled it in the latest trend-setting style. Finally, dressed and ready for the night Dominic grabbed his keys and jumped back in the Jag. He drove back to the gallery just in time for the opening.

People were already shuffling into the gallery. The event catered with champagne and orderves. He grabbed a glass and was immediately engrossed in conversations with art connoisseurs. People were commenting on his work and asking various questions. Many of the pieces were up for sale, and by ten he’d already sold five making a cool seven hundred thousand dollars.

He loved his job. He got to do what he liked, and people praised his genius and spent butt loads on his work. Dominic was forcing a practiced smile as he listened to some politician go on and on about expressionism and its effect on the art world. He always loved it when non-artist prattled on about art like they were the artist themselves. Always going on about what the artist was trying to convey. The deeper meaning to the piece. Dominic had to laugh sometimes. It just never seemed to occur to people that sometimes the artist just did it because they thought it would look cool.

A lot of artists stuck to one genre, but Dominic liked to broaden his horizons. He did, portraits, landscapes, and abstract art. He used watercolours, acrylics, and charcoal. He painted, sketched, and sculpted. With enough dedication and time, there was nothing Dominic couldn’t do. After all, he was a Sanchez, and everything they did was golden.

“There he is.” Dominic turned to see his brother Lance and his beautiful wife Cassia walking hand in hand. Lance had met Cassia six years ago when he took her on as a modelling client. Lance had single-handedly made Cassia a supermodel in under a year, and the two of them worked shoots with some of the biggest designers in the fashion world. They had married shortly after and was happily married for years and to this day still had no children. Both claiming to be far too busy for family life but frankly, Dominic thought it had far more to do with losing Cassia’s perfect figure than it was anything else.

Lance pat Dominic on the back and Cassia offered him a big hug. “The gala is extraordinary.” Cassia praised. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“She’s right I think this must be your best work,” Lance said with a smile.

“It’s great to see you two I thought you were in Italy,” Dominic said.

“We just flew in, and Mother said you were having a show tonight, so we decided to make an appearance,” Lance explained. Lance and Lucas were the spitting images of their father. Tall and dark with the same strong masculine features that made their father a national heartthrob. Dominic, on the other hand, looked more like his mother. He, like all his brothers, hand jet black hair and his mother’s silvery blue eyes, but unlike his brothers, his features were softer, more youthful, and almost angelic. “I think Lucas and Max are here somewhere too.”

“They’re over by the sculptures,” Cassia informed them. “And Max looks like she’s pregnant again.” Lucas had married a high school sweetheart five years ago, and they already had three children. “I tell you Lucas just can’t keep his hands off her.” Cassia laughed.

Dominic looked past Lance and spotted Lucas and his wife, Maxine. She did look pregnant again. They were talking with his mother and father, and from the excited look on his mother’s face, he was willing to bet another grandchild was not far off. “I should probably mingle.” He said hoping to avoid his mother. He didn’t feel like listening to her lecture him about how he spent all his time in the studio. She was always saying he should get out more, meet some new faces. The thing was he met people all the time just never anyone he could jell with.

He was about to make his great escape when his mother spotted him. He couldn’t run now. His mother was a beautiful woman of fifty that so many young dancers tried to emulate, but to him she was intimidating. Eve Sanchez had ruled the house with an iron fist. “Hello, Dominic.” She said lacing her arm with his and smiling at someone passing by. “I haven’t seen you in a few weeks.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“You’ve been locked away in that studio all alone again.”

“I like being alone it lets me work.” He said taking another glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

“You’re never going to meet a nice girl that way.”

“I meet lots of girls.” He reminded her.

“But no one of substance.” She stressed as they stopped to admire one of his paintings. “I would like to see you settled down with a nice girl.” Dominic rolled his eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m concerned. You don’t get out enough. So, I’ve taken measures.”

He didn’t like the way that sounded. “Mother what did you do?”

She took out her smartphone and brought up an internet dating site. “I signed you up on this site, where you can meet nice singles.”

“Mom, are you serious? I’m a Sanchez I can’t resort to internet dating.” He whispered.

“Don’t be arrogant.” She scolded and handed him her phone so that he could see the site for himself. “See there are lots of women on this site. You already got six messages.”

“Yeah well, of course, they’re after my money.” Gold diggers were a very serious problem for men like Dominic. It was almost impossible to find a good woman that didn’t have dollar signs in her eyes.

“That’s the beauty of the internet.” His mother smiled. “You can be anyone. I fibbed on the profile a little. I changed your last name and said you were one of those starving artists. But look there’s still interest.” She smiled. Dominic sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look answer a few messages and see how it goes. If you don’t meet someone you connect within the next week, I will never bother you again.”

All he had to do was play along for a week, and his mother would get off his case. He supposed he could browse a little if it would shut her up. “Ok,” He grudgingly agreed. “I will brows.”

“That’s all I ask. Now let’s talk about that nude in the other room.” She said changing gears form meddling to criticizing. There was no winning when it came to her. So, he just bit his tongue and smiled.

***

The gala had gone on late into the night. Dominic had headed home but was still wound up, so he stripped down to his sweats and sat down in front of his computer to satisfy his mother. He logged on and read his messages, but nothing stood out to him, so he began to browse the profiles. There were so many, and they were all uninspiring. No one jumped out just as he suspected. So just for a lark, he broadened his search to other states.

It was almost four in the morning when he received another message. Since he wasn’t tired yet, he opened the message and read it. The message brought a smile to his face. It started with how she didn’t do this sort of thing but she was humouring a sibling who had set her up on this site and that she didn’t expect anyone to write her back. Demonic chuckled. He understood where she was coming from. He too was humouring someone. Oddly he felt compelled to reply. So, he wrote her back saying how he too was here for someone else. How he didn’t expect to meet anyone worthwhile but that he could relate to her and wouldn’t mind a pen pal relationship with someone that sounded level-headed and grounded. He then offered an online date. Tomorrow at midnight he could be online, and they could chat live if she wanted to join him. Then he logged off and went to bed.

***

After breakfast, Nicki sat out on the porch and booted up her laptop to check the site Millie had set her up on. She didn’t expect much. She had a few messages nothing exciting. She opened one and then another until she came to one that made her smile. This particular guy was also on this site to humour someone. He thought she was level-headed and grounded and wanted to chat live. Nicki was astonished did she do it? Did she write back? Did she stay up late and meet this guy online?

Nicki checked out his profile again. There was no picture attached to the profile, but it did say he was an artist. That he worked a lot, and didn’t meet a lot of worthwhile women. The fact that he wrote her back was exciting. He sounded interesting. The profile said he was from New York. It was so far away she supposed the distance relieved presser. If it didn’t work out, she could always block him.

Did she answer him or not?

Lacy came up to the house. She was dirty from the morning chores. Nicki used to help, but now she could barely walk so Lacy did most of the work now but Millie came over often to lend a hand. Lacy was heading into the house but not before she stopped to talk to Nicki. “Hey hon, how you doing?” She said stepping up onto the porch.

“Well, my leg is a little stiff but otherwise ok.” She smiled.

“What are you doing?” Lacy asked coming over to look at the laptop.

“This guy wants to chat live,” Nicki confessed. “I don’t know if I should.”

Lacy read the profile. “There you go he’s in New York, if it gets wired you can block him. So why not? It’s just a conversation.” She supposed her sister was right, but then she had a different problem. They were in different time zones. So, if it was midnight in New York what time was that in Montana?

“How far are we behind New York?”

“Two hours I think. Are you going to chat with him?” She was thinking about it. After all, what could it hurt?