Only New Year with a Billionaire

Out with the old. In with the billionaire.

Isabella’s mother plays matchmaker to pair her daughter up with the perfect Italian guy. But she already fell in love with “the one” years ago and then said goodbye when he broke her heart.

During a snowstorm on New Year’s Eve, an unexpected visitor appears at Isabella’s party, forcing her to confront the past.

Matteo says hello to the girl he could never forget and hopes they can start over in the new year.

The old collides with the new in this sweet, contemporary romance when “ciao” means goodbye and hello.

This novella is part of the Only Us Billionaire romance series. Each book stands alone but reading them in order provides a deeper, richer experience. It is a sweet, “clean and wholesome” romance without swearing or mature content and contains a happily ever after.

Chapter 1: Isabella

Isabella spun in the full-length mirror. The gems and sequins on her dress sparkled. Her blond hair cascaded down her back in loose curls. She gave her reflection an air kiss, excited for the New Year’s Eve party. Only, she wasn’t leaving her Upper East Side apartment. The festivities were coming to her. She'd been planning for months and everything was going to be perfect: the décor, the guest list, the food, and drink.

Her phone beeped with a text.

It was from her friend Maya. Sorry, can’t make it. Bounty is sick with a tummy bug.
Isabella sighed. So many of her friends were getting married, settling down, and having children—with names like Bounty, Clementine, and Daisy.

Her mother would never let her get away with that.

Porcellina, her long-haired cat, slinked across the vanity. “Well, at least if I become an old cat lady, you'll keep me company.”

The cat bumped her hand, requesting a scratch behind the ears. Porcellina purred.

“But I can’t pick you up because I'm wearing a gown.” With one last pet on the cat’s head, Isabella checked herself in the mirror again.

It wasn’t that she was vain, but wanted to look her very best in case she met anyone who'd become that special someone.

If not, her mother was going to try to marry her off to the first eligible bachelor. Isabella believed in true love, but love of any sort had been in short supply lately.

Her phone beeped again. She grabbed it and before looking at the incoming message she said, “Porcellina, be a good girl and stay in here tonight. I don’t want you to escape.” She closed the door behind her.

“Look at me; I'm talking to my cat. This can’t end well.”

Her heels clicked on the wood floor as she strode down the hall to the living room. The text was from her hair stylist. He canceled, but he was nosy, always prod ding her for gossip, so she didn’t count it as a huge loss.

As she adjusted a few of the silver, black, and gold decorations along the mantle and shelves her phone beeped yet again. Someone else flaked out. While she was replying, she got another text from someone concerned about the weather. She felt like typing, This is New York City. You can walk. But she came up with a more polite response.

When her phone beeped for the fifth time, it occurred to her that they might be ditching her party for another, better one.

The name Everly Corbett crashed into her mind. She swiped to her social and scrolled until she found her ex-friend’s page. There wasn’t anything new since the day before when Everly had posted a selfie. Figured.

Isabella surveyed the room: the banners, balloons, streamers, and lighting were festive but tasteful, classy. Nevertheless, she felt the pressure to have the biggest and best party because Everly’s were always so popular. They'd been friends in high school, but all that had changed over time. Everly won the Christmas of that year, and by won, she'd sent out the invites in July. There was no way Isabella could compete with that. And she had to admit the fete was phenomenal with ice sculptures, a hot chocolate fountain, and swag bags filled to the brim. It was a lot to keep up with, and she'd sunk all her savings into this event so she could remain relevant in their circle. Sometimes she wondered if it even mattered, but it was New Year’s Eve.

Perhaps her resolution would be to find some new friends—ones who didn’t care about parties and guest lists and gossip. Out with the old and all that. But she already felt lonely much of the time.

Isabella gazed out the fifth-floor window at the evening sky. The clouds floating above the buildings seemed to glow.

Yup, it was going to snow.
At least she could count on Clara.

She turned back to her phone to kill time before the caterers arrived and found her friend’s feed. Clara wasn’t like the others. They'd met at the shelter where Isabella had adopted Porcellina and hit it off. Clara was refreshingly funny, honest, and not caught up in the “Society circle"

Isabella had grown up in.
As she scrolled through her friend’s feed, Isabella’s mouth fell open. She was in London with L Ryder, the famous rock star. How did she miss that headline? She was about to call because this news was worthy of a voice to voice chat but she realized it was already New Year’s Day there, well, early morning. Too early. She tossed the phone next to her on the couch only to have it ring.

Her mother’s image filled the screen. At least it wasn’t another text from someone canceling.

Angela Augustino’s voice trilled through the speaker. “Isabella, I have the best surprise. We’re going to brunch tomorrow with the perfect Italian boy.” Her mother gushed about how he was wealthy, established, and handsome before Isabella could get a word in.