Page 105 of Next Time We'll Fall

Sage Meadows and her sister moved to Billionaire Valley, the richest zip code in America, to marry handsome billionaires. Growing up poor in an unstable household will make a girl thinkthat money can create a real home and the security she’s always craved.

But reality soon hits when they find themselves still broke, still single, and with no options. She ends up working at a struggling waterfront cafe by day and spending her evenings trying to infiltrate Billionaire Valley’s elite social circles.

The last man that she should be falling for is her grumpy boss, Dalton Leone, who’s raising the young boy he adopted. Before long, she finds herself helping care for the boy while Dalton disappears every night…claiming he’s working another job to keep the cafe afloat. He has no clue why she’s really in town and neither does her sister.

Then Sage discovers that Dalton has a huge secret. He’s the billionaire she’s been searching for all along. But his wealth isn’t the only thing he’s hiding. Just like her, he’s pretending to be someone he’s not. Now she’s left wondering whether to continue chasing her fairy-tale ending or risk everything on the billionaire who’s been bluffing beside her all along.

Teaser From ChapterOne of The Bluffing Game

Sage

Sometimes in life you just have to pack up your bags and move to the richest city in the country. I mean if your goal is to marry a well-off, handsome, and intelligent man. And I was actually quite simple in my wants; I only needed two of those qualities.

If a random stranger heard that my sister and I had just moved to Santa Capinari, also known as Billionaire’s Valley to meet rich men, they would call us gold diggers, but the fact ofthe matter is that we’re not. At least not in the narrowest terms of the word. We were definitely diggers in some capacity, but we didn’t necessarily seek gold, we would have been okay with platinum or silver as well. Though I’d be lying if I said we’d be okay with copper pennies. Who spends their time digging for pennies? So yeah, maybe, at first appearance, it would seem that my sister and I are gold diggers, but the reality of the fact is far more complicated than that.

We didn’t want husbands just to be married. Nor did we want them just to have money. We could make our own money. We wanted husbands and money and security because of the illusion that we’d grown up with our entire lives. We’d spent our entire lives believing those things brought happiness and at the end of the day, what we craved most from life was to be happy.

“Do you think we should go for multi-billionaires or is one billion net worth enough?” My sister and best friend Rosie asks as we drive our rented Honda along the pacific coast highway, headed towards our newly rented studio apartment.

“I think anything over 6 zeroes is enough.” I keep my eyes ahead of me and focused on the road because it’s super curvy and the strong wind makes me nervous that I cold drive over the edge and have us facedown in the pacific ocean. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”

“It’s amazing.” Rosie’s voice sounds ethereal as she stares at the vibrant blue water to the left of us.The fact that the cliffs are tall, dramatic and statuesque just increases the beauty of our scenery. “I feel like I’m in a painting or a movie.”

“Tell me about it. Maybe this will be our final home.” I say hopefully and she murmurs her agreement. We don’t say anything else because there’s an unspoken deal between us. We both know that if we start to get too excited about some place being permanent, we will tempt fate against us. And the last thing I need is for the universe to once again displace me.

“I sure hope so,” Rosie taps her fingertips against her thigh and leans back in the chair. “I hope that Billionaire’s Valley is like fairytale land to us, where magic is made and dreams come true.”

“Do dreams really come true in fairytales though?” I ask and quickly turn down our music as the GPS commands me to slow down and be prepared to exit. My heart races as I see the signs signaling that we’re near our new home.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” There’s a wistful strain to Rosie’s voice and I want to reach out and squeeze her knee and tell her that it’s all going to work out. But we’ve both been fed enough false positives by our parents to last us a lifetime. “What I do know is that I want my Prince Charming to be absolutely gorgeous. I want him to be Bradley Cooper’s lookalike, with golden blonde hair and big blue eyes.” She giggles loudly. “Shoots, it can be the real Bradley Cooper, if he’s interested.”

“I don’t think he lives in Santa Capinari, hon, but I’m sure if he did, he’d be after you.” I make a exit off of the highway and try not to be too mesmerized by the golden orange sky as the sun sets. I power the window down and breathe in the cool evening air and I can’t help but observe all the fancy cars surrounded us: BMW’s, Mercedes, Tesla’s, even a few Rolls Royces. “We’re not in the land of the poor anymore, Rosie.”

“Do you think we made the right decision?” She asks me and I can hear the doubt in her voice. It had been a huge risk, moving here, using our entire savings to put down a deposit for a studio rental and this rental car.

“I think we made the right decision.” The GPS tells me we are five minutes away from our final destination and I can’t wait. As I drive I notice a cute bar called Kettle King and I swerve into the parking lot. There are a few sports cars in the parking lot and the facade of the bar screams selective, rich, and fun.

“What are you doing, Sage?” Rosie peers over at me in surprise, her warm brown eyes surveying me cautiously. “We’re not moving into a place above a bar, are we?” She sounds nervous. “I like hanging out, but when I’m done for the night I want peace and quiet.”

“No goof. Of course we’re not moving above a bar, but I thought we’d grab a quick drink to celebrate our new move. The first official night of the rest of our lives.”

“The good life.” She sings loudly and then she pulls her phone out. “We should call Juniper and let her know we’re here, so she doesn’t worry.” She mentions our favorite cousin, the one we’d just got done visiting and I nod. Juniper is the only member of our family that actually means something to us, but even she doesn’t know the truth of our lives. Though, I know both Rosie and I want to share with her our news. I think we’re just afraid that if we voice it out-loud, it will confirm that it’s true and we don’t want it to be true. So we just continue along the blissful road of willful ignorance.

“Call her and let her know.” I put the car in park and pull out the folded napkin from my pocket and read the hastily scribbled words one more time. Kettle King. I hadn’t thought I’d find it so quickly. I didn’t know if that was serendipitous or not. I supposed I’d find out soon. I quickly place it back in my pocket before Rosie can see it. She doesn’t know the real reason why we’re here and I wasn’t mad about it. The fact of the matter was that I was her big sister. Her protector. And as such that meant there were certain secrets I had to keep.

“It’s ringing,” Rosie stretches out her arms and offers me a warm lazy smile. “I bet she’s with Rafe somewhere doing who knows what.”

“I bet you’re right.” I grin and rub her shoulder. “Send her a text and we can call her back later. Right now, let’s grab somedrinks and food and then check out our place. I’m sure excited to see it.”

“Me too.” She ends the call and puts the phone back into her Louis Vuitton bag. The one that Davis had gifted me and I’d given to her. She loved that bag, almost as much as I hated him. “You know this is going to be our first real home.” Her eyes meet mine and we just stare at each other for a few moments. “Thanks Sage. This means something.”

“Don’t think me yet, I haven’t milked any billionaires out of their money yet.” I lighten the mood with a joke and we both burst out laughing as we exit the vehicle. A Mercedes sedan pulls in next two us, parks and I watch as two tell men, wearing suits and dark expressions exit the vehicle. They don’t even look at us as they make their way to the entrance and yet I’m mesmerized by the way they carry themselves...with the cool, calm, collected air that wealth affords men. Rosie and I walk slowly behind them and I think the entire moment will pass with them not even realizing we’re there, but then the taller of the men suddenly turns, looks me right in the eyes, stares at me for a maximum of three seconds and then heads into the bar. No smile. No word. No nothing. And yet, my heart couldn’t stop pounding. The look had been nothing to him, but to me, it had felt like he was looking into my soul.