Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,72
returned from the commercial.
I did the best I could not to shift in my seat or tug at the collar of my shirt; well-known tells of discomfort. “That's right.”
“So, how is she?”
“She’s great. She’s not a kid anymore.”
Joey laughed. “I guess a lot of people still think of her as a kid. But here she is, folks.” A picture flashed on the screen behind us. My heart clenched in my chest. It was a studio photo, so it was all polished, but I could see the complex woman in it.
Joey whistled and waggled his brows. “She did grow up.”
I swallowed the urge to punch him. I thought about telling him that if he did that when she was here, she’d bust his balls.
Instead, I said, “She’s a great actress. I think everybody’s going to enjoy the movie.” I hadn’t considered that I would have to talk about Maddie on television in front of millions of people and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Like the world would be able to see how much I was breaking because of her.
“Now, in Earthshot, you didn’t really have a female co-star but in many of your other movies, you did. When you end up spending a lot of time with somebody working on the set and having to pretend they’re your wife or your girlfriend or your lover, does it ever bleed over into real life?”
I sat for a moment, trying to decide how I wanted to answer this question. Did I go with the cocky and arrogant playboy Theo Wolfe that everybody expected? All of a sudden, it felt very disingenuous. How many times did I want to just be me? Maybe not in front of millions of people, but I was tired of having to act when I was supposed to be me.
“I guess it does sometimes, but it’s not very often that you actually fall in love.”
Joey looked at me, his brows furrowing quizzically. “Are you saying that Theo Wolfe has fallen in love?”
Again, I had a moment to wonder if I should admit it or be coy. I knew Madeline didn’t want me to out us. On the other hand, if she wasn’t going to talk to me, how else could I let her know that I wanted to see her again? That I wanted a chance to explain that I wasn’t the man she thought I was.
“Yes, I have.”
There was a collective “aww” from the audience. Joey leaned over on his desk, setting his chin in his palms and looking at me intently. “Oh, do tell.”
“Well, of course, I never kiss and tell.” Inwardly, I winced because it was such a cliché. But as much as I wanted Madeline to know that I loved her, I wasn’t going to out her.
“Is it serious?” he asked.
“It could be.” In my mind, I just confessed that I had fallen in love, so didn’t that automatically imply serious?
“Is the feeling mutual?” Then he waved his hand. “Oh, it must be. You’re Theo Wolfe. What woman wouldn’t want to be with you?”
I could think of one.
“Tell us about her. Is she in the business? Is she someone we would know? Most importantly, what type of woman captures Theo Wolfe’s heart?”
I was surprised, but glad that he hadn’t clued into Madeline being the woman. After all, he’d been talking about how I’d just co-starred with her in a movie when this line of conversation came up.
I opted to ignore the first two questions and instead decided to answer the latter. “She’s smart, outspoken, brilliant. She has a wonderful sense of humor. She’s just a really great person.”
“And I bet she’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Joey asked.
“She’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”
After the show ended, I sat in the car that drove me back to my condo. I wondered if Madeline would see the show and if she did, what would she think. Would she know that I was talking about her?
When I got back to the condo, Oliver was sitting out on the terrace with a drink. “How did the taping go?” he asked.
I took a seat on the lounge chair next to him. “I admitted I was in love.”
His brows arched. “Then why are you here? If you’ve just admitted that you’re in love on national television. Shouldn’t you be going to find Madeline? It seems like maybe she should be hearing that from you directly.”
It took me a moment, but then, like a bolt of lightning zapping in my chest,