Page 93 of Playboy Billionaire

Penelope snuggled in with Archie. And now there were three. She already knew this baby. Reaching up, she switched off the lamp and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

44

Griffin tucked the white formal dress shirt into his trousers. He’d decided to wear his slim-fitting, black, hand-tailored suit and a textured black and gray tie. They were kicking off the first premier ofDie for Youin LA followed by the UK premier in London, then on to Tokyo. The film would be released the first Friday in May. He’d been interviewed by Jimmy on the late talk show last night. He shook his head,crazy.

Today, he’d see Penelope for the first time in almost six months. He wondered how she’d act and what it was going to be like to see her again. Other than the tabloids linking her with Noah, Penelope had kept a low profile since filming wrapped, letting Noah and him carry the load of promoting the film. He didn’t blame her after what she’d been through. Her name was enough to sell the film anyway.

His old life no longer fit, but he had yet to figure out what that meant. She was probably still furious, or even worse hurt, that he’d never returned her call all those months ago. He just hadn’t been able to make himself do it. Now here they were.

Since Ty was in the film, he’d brought him along. He was practically jumping out of his skin with excitement.

“Hurry up dude,” Ty said pacing.

Ty was the perfect date. He didn’t need the speculation about his love life right now. Truth be told, other than casual dating, he had no love life. He finished adjusting his cuff links then he and Ty headed out the door. His driver was waiting. It was going to be a star-studded evening with the entertainment talking heads out in full force.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They climbed into the back of the limo and the driver whisked them away. He nervously adjusted his tie and stared out the window as they made their way to the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Everyone was familiar with the footprints and handprints and signatures of movie stars imprinted in front of the building. It was a huge tourist draw. But a lot of people didn’t know that many of the movie premiers were held here.

The limo pulled up to the pandemonium of crowds, traffic and arrivals. Security was tight and the fans were cordoned off from the red carpet. He had cut his arrival as close as possible. Griffin and Ty stepped out to the sound of screaming fans pointing and calling out to Griffin. Was he actually stepping on tothered carpet? It was like a dream.

“Man, I need to up my swag. This is amazing. I just saw Brad Pitt!”

Griffin couldn’t believe that people actually recognized him. Fuck, the film hadn’t even released yet but there was already Oscar buzz. The recognition didn’t come as a complete shock; he’d done numerous interviews solo as well as alongside Noah. The film had also been featured inPeople Magazineand he’d even landed on the cover ofVogueandGQ.

He stopped to sign a few autographs until one of the entertainment show hosts poked a mic in his face and began interviewing him, even as more of the A-listers of Hollywood were arriving.

“What does it feel like to go from relative obscurity to becoming the latest Hollywood commodity?”

“Frankly, its surreal. I’m trying to roll with it.”

“It can’t be easy. I hear you’ve been living in France. Was that to get away from all of the attention?”

He flashed his irresistible grin for the camera. “You’ve got my number.”

“Obviously this is your first film premier, are you prepared?”

“It was described to me that it’s like an initiation. Everyone has put a ton of hard work behind and in front of the camera. It’s a celebration and acknowledgement of that. We’ve achieved something. I think the public is going to love this film. Stewart Abrams is a genius. And Penelope and Noah turned in Oscar-worthy performances.”

“Who is this handsome young man standing next to you?”

“This is my nephew Tyler. He’s got a small part in the film.”

“I’d say your gene pool is pretty blessed.”

“Thank you.”

“Where’s your beautiful co-star?”

He feigned looking at his watch. “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute.”

“Well speaking of…here comes the queen herself, Penelope Winters.”

Griffin felt his stomach lurch, and he turned to see Penelope being assisted out of the limo, by no other than Noah Davis. It hurt. He’d be lying if he said otherwise.

His eyes widened. Was that a baby bump? She looked pregnant! It was all belly, so he knew she hadn’t just put on weight. He knew nothing about having babies, so he was no judge of how far along she was. She wasn’t about to pop but she wasn’t in the early stages either.Shit!

Even from a short distance, Penelope still took his breath away. Her metallic green sequined gown was sleeveless and high waisted to accommodate the swell of her belly. It had a low vee neck, revealing the swell of her breasts, now even more lush from her pregnancy. Her hair was swept up in a Chignon with tendrils already escaping, framing her delicate beauty. The gown was split all the way up the side, providing tantalizing glimpses of her shapely thigh.

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