Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,74

when there was a knock on the front door. Both my grandmother and I startled and looked at each other.

“We don’t usually get guests so late. I’m going to get your Pop-Pop so he can get his shotgun out.”

While she did that, I stealthily made my way to the living room and peeked through the curtain. My God! It was Theo. My heart, which had already picked up the pace a little bit at the idea of a stranger at the door in the middle of the night, now ramped up to a million miles a minute.

A part of me wanted to be cool and distant and nonchalant, but in reality, seeing him standing on the doorstep, I wanted to throw the door open and launch myself at him. I did hurry to the door and yank it open, but I was able to refrain from throwing myself at him. He might’ve said all those things on national TV, but I knew that interviews were often as fake as the movies.

His eyes drifted down over me and I realized I was in my robe and pajamas.

“I’m sorry for showing up like this so late.”

I pulled my robe tighter around me in an attempt to protect my heart.

“Now, what’s going on out here?” my grandfather said. I heard the cocking of his gun.

Theo’s eyes widened and his hands went up as he stepped back. “I’m sorry. I just came to see Madeline.”

My grandfather’s eyes squinted as he leaned forward slightly to look at Theo through the doorway. He uncocked the gun and lowered the barrel. “Well now, why didn’t you say so? Come on in, boy. Can I get you something to drink?”

Theo kept his hands up as his gaze went from my grandfather back to me. “Can I talk to you?” he asked.

Whether I was okay with him talking to me or not, I didn’t feel like I had any choice but to let him in, since my grandparents felt I was being unfair to him. Maybe they were right. I should have at least given him the chance to explain to me even though I wasn’t sure I could believe him. But maybe they were right about that too. If I couldn’t believe him, could I really be in love with him? I wondered why love was so complicated, and then I realized that that was probably why so many marriages failed. I remembered my grandparents explaining that it was only through hard work that their love had lasted for so long. I couldn’t know what would happen between Theo and me, but they were right in that I needed to make the effort. I opened the door wider and stepped aside so he could come in.

“My grandfather won’t shoot you. You can put your arms down now.” His cheeks reddened slightly as he gave me a sheepish smile. “If you don’t mind waiting a minute, I’ll go change and then we can go out back to talk,” I said.

He nodded his agreement.

“In the meantime, let me get you a drink, Theo. You look like you could use one,” my grandpa said, as he went over to his liquor cabinet. “Tell me, that look of terror on your face, is that from having to talk to my granddaughter or for having to stare down the barrel of my gun?”

I didn’t hear the answer as I went back into my room. I took off my pajamas and put on jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and slipped on some sneakers.

Once dressed, I went back to the kitchen and found Theo downing a drink with my grandfather.

“We’re going out back,” I said to my grandparents.

“Okay. Don’t feed him to the bears, Maddie,” my grandfather laughed as Theo blanched.

Theo followed me out to the porch. As I opened the porch door to exit the house, Theo asked. “You’re not really going to feed me to bears, are you?”

“Probably not,” I said. “I’d rather do this away from the house. Prying ears and all.”

He nodded and followed me outside into the dark night. I turned on the flashlight from my phone as we walked along the path toward the pond.

He was quiet but since he’d come here, I’d let him start the conversation.

“I spent the entire drive up planning what I was going to say, but it seems to have vanished.”

“Forgetting your lines is a dangerous thing for an actor,” I said.

When he didn’t respond, I stopped and looked back toward him. He’d stopped walking