The Billionaire Prince’s Fake Girlfriend by Leslie North
BLURB
For bad boy billionaire Philippe Durand, love is like mixing oil and water. It just doesn’t work. But after Philippe and his brothers get into an embarrassing bar brawl, his grandfather demands all three complete a community service task or lose their inheritance. Philippe is up first, and it’s his job to make a success of an art exhibition by the gorgeous, if endearingly awkward, American artist Violet Shaw. And it’s not long before this paint-spattered, adorable woman colors his world in ways he never expected.
Violet isn’t sure about much, including her own talent as an artist, but she knows without a doubt that Philippe Durand is the most gorgeous, charming man she’s ever met. Which is why every time she’s with him, she can’t quite stop herself from saying things she shouldn’t. Such as during her first press conference for the art exhibit when she responds to a reporter’s rude putdowns by saying that she and Philippe are engaged. Oops. Thank goodness Philippe doesn’t miss a step and immediately confirms their relationship. But it’s more than just attraction for Violet; she’s fallen head over heels for a man whose biggest fear is falling in love...
Grab your copy of The Billionaire’s Fake Engagement
Available February 24th 2022
Available for pre-order now! www.LeslieNorthBooks.com
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EXCERPT
Chapter 1
Philippe Durand glanced in the rear-view mirror of his rented Mercedes F-105. Between the traffic, which was practically at a standstill, and the oppressive heat of a St. Louis summer afternoon, he was more than ready to pull his hair from its roots. Taking a deep breath as he struggled to hold onto his temper, he reminded himself that the quicker he completed this inane mission his grandfather had sent him on, the quicker he could get back to his real job and life in Paris.
His phone pinged notifying him of an alert and he looked down to see yet another meme with the now infamous headline:
Rich and Rowdy!
Playboy grandsons of billionaire tycoon Laurent Durand are captured in fisticuffs over local performer.
The photograph had been even worse, displaying Philippe with his eyes wild and his shirt torn. Gui had mayonnaise smeared all over him from the sandwich the performer’s beau had smashed in his face, and Bastien was caught with his fist about to crush the other guy’s skull. Definitely not the brothers’ finest moment but also not their worst. And yet, it was the final straw for their grandfather, Laurent Durand, who had been raking them over the coals on a daily basis ever since the tabloid news story had come out.
“A bit of community service will teach you all how to behave,” his grandfather declared. “You each will be responsible for a project that I will assign, and I expect no less than your best work. Your trust funds are still under my control, I’ll remind you.”
The challenge wasn’t about the money, not really. It was about proving themselves to their grandfather—the man who had raised them with an iron fist after the death of their parents, expecting nothing less than excellence and always getting what he wanted. It was perhaps what made Laurent such a successful businessman. Whether it made him a fully successful parent was a whole different matter.
The car in front of him inched forward and for a moment, Philippe thought that he was in the clear, but then brake lights flashed and he was back to a standstill.
His thoughts returned to his grandfather. As boys, Philippe and his brothers always took second place in the hierarchy of importance. Laurent’s work was number one. He had goals to reach and never fell short—not for Bastien’s football matches or Gui’s recitals. Laurent had missed Philippe’s graduation from lycée because he’d had a meeting with a prominent client that he’d refused to reschedule. The boys had learned that sealing the deal is all that matters, and as far as Philippe knew, his grandfather had never failed to do so.
It wasn’t easy to be under his grandfather’s thumb, but, in a way, the man’s temperament had taught Philippe to be who he was today—driven, detached, and successful at all costs. Being raised by a demi-god like Laurent meant pressure and high expectations to achieve, something the brothers strived for regularly. Except for Bastien who seemed to be on a quest to break away from the expectations dictated by their grandfather.
Damn Bastien. The whole disaster was his middle brother’s fault. He was the one who had started the bar fight by flirting with another man’s girlfriend. Sebastien was always the troublemaker, and this time he’d pulled Guillaume and Philippe into the hot seat next to him. Once the fight had started, there was no way that he and Gui would just sit back and let their brother get pummeled—no matter how much he deserved it. And yes, Philippe could admit that the fight had gotten out of hand, but how was he to know that someone had gotten pictures of the whole thing?
The news story was embarrassing. The subsequent lecture from their grandfather was humiliating. But the punishment—dragging his ass all the way to the godforsaken American Midwest to do a favor for the granddaughter of one of his grandfather’s friends—was beyond the pale.
The woman was an artist, whose work had been accepted as part of an important juried exhibition. But before she could head to Paris and dive into the media furor surrounding the event, it would seem that she needed an image makeover. And that was where his grandfather had decided Philippe came in. Sure, he was in the business of re-imagining people—it’s what his marketing firm did for corporations and small businesses alike, but an artist? He didn’t have much expertise in this area. But the stakes were too high to screw this up. To hell with his trust fund—how could he ever look Laurent in the eye again if he failed at this task?
“Putain,” Philippe swore under his breath at the gray-haired woman who cut him off before he could get through the green light. According to his Google Maps app, he was only about three miles from the artist’s home. How much longer could he sit in this traffic?
Philippe sighed as he pulled up in front of a little blue ranch home with a rocking chair on its front porch. Stepping out of the car, he quickly headed to the front door. The sooner he got out of here and on his way home, the better. He reached out and pushed the doorbell then waited.
Nothing.
He rang the bell again, hoping Ms. Shaw hadn’t forgotten their appointment.
A minute later, he was ready to turn and head back to his car when suddenly the door swung open.
And there standing in the doorway, covered in brightly colored paint from head to toe, was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry I made you wait!” she said. “I got so caught up in a piece I was working on that I completely forgot to look at the time. And just look at me,” she said and began to rub droplets of paint into smears on her white coveralls.
Philippe did just as she told him and looked at her. In fact, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Willowy and tall with the neck of a swan and hair like copper, she looked like something out of a fairy tale. A Scottish princess or a real live fairy from Ireland. She turned her sky-blue eyes to his, and his breath caught.
“Come on in, Mr. Durand,” she said then released a tinkling laugh. “I’m assuming that’s who you are, anyway. Am I right?”
“Yes,” he managed. “Philippe Durand, from Durand Re-Imagination, Paris. I’m here to work with you on your brand...for the art exhibition in Paris.”
That was who he was, and that was his purpose, he reminded himself. Work, and only work. No matter how attractive this woman was, she would not distract him from completing this project cleanly and concisely.
“I’m Violet Shaw,” she said in a voice like honey. “Welcome to St. Louis.”
Violet tossed her mane of wavy red hair to the side and smiled disarmingly at him.
This was going to be interesting.
Grab your copy of The Billionaire’s Fake Engagement
Available February 24th 2022
Available for pre-order now! www.LeslieNorthBooks.com
