Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 530 Gwen's POV How did I know so much about wine? I really thought about it. I searched through the hazy fog that was my memory, looking for some logical explanation. Some reason that made sense. But all I found was... emptiness. And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the answer came out. "I don't know." Nick frowned, confusion clear in his green eyes. "Maybe you told me?" I suggested, clinging to any explanation that sounded even remotely plausible. "Is is this my first time here?" He nodded slowly. "Yeah.

It's the first time you've been on the property." And then, like a dam breaking, the questions started pouring out of me without any control. It was like my thoughts skipped every filter and spilled out raw and desperate. "I came... I came to meet your family? Is that why I'm here? Is that why I didn't know anyone before? But... shouldn't we have done that when we were still dating?" I was breathing fast now, the words tumbling over each other. "Do you know my family?" Nick took a moment to answer. I saw something pass through his eyes. Something that looked like guilt. Or discomfort.

Before he finally said, "Our engagement happened... suddenly." Suddenly. The word echoed in my head, raising more questions than answers. "Why am I not wearing a ring?" I asked abruptly, looking down at my hand. That was when I heard it. A soft, feminine giggle. I turned sharply and saw Paula leaning against one of the barrels, watching us with undisguised interest. When she realized I'd noticed her, she didn't even bother pretending she hadn't been listening. "So this is the crazy one?" she said, and there was something in the way she said it that made my blood boil.

sharply. "Crazy?" I repeated, my voice coming out louder than I intended. "Did you just call me crazy?" Paula raised her hands in a mock gesture of peace as she walked toward us. "Relax. You've got to be a little crazy to agree to marry this guy," she said, giving Nick's shoulder a friendly pat. A little too friendly. "I'm Paula. Best friend. Practically a sister." She held out her hand. "We grew up together," Nick added quickly, like that explained everything. I shook Paula's

pat. The way she moved close to him without hesitation. The obvious intimacy between them. I couldn't stop the stab of jealousy that pierced my chest. "So..." Paula tilted her head, curiosity shining in her dark eyes. "How did you two meet?" The question caught me off guard. I looked from Paula to Nick and back again, completely lost. "Didn't Nick tell

there was something sharp in her smile now. "Oh, he's kind of... closed off when it comes to relationships, you know? Afraid I'll scare his girlfriends away after what happened with the-" "Paula," Nick cut in again, and this time his voice carried a clear warning. She snapped her mouth shut, but not before shooting me a look that clearly said: there's a story there. Still, she kept her eyes on me, waiting for an answer. I tried to reach

I looked at him, grateful for the save, and nodded. "Yes. Mutual friends." It made sense, didn't it? That's how people met these days. Nothing strange about it. Almost boring. Paula, clearly