Page 26 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

It’s probably the meanest thing I’ve said to him, at least since we were kids, but Theo merely scoffs and glances around as if an escape tunnel will magically materialize in front of him.

I decide to text Mabel for help. She can be discreet, and she’s already running back and forth between the kitchen and thebackyard to help out her mother. Funnily enough, Gigi Lee isn’t even the official caterer of this barbecue. She just insisted on making the dessert menu and providing backup.

“Isn’t there a light down here?” Theo grumbles.

“There is, but the switch is up by the kitchen door. On the other side.”

He sighs heavily. “Alright. Well, can you at least point me in the direction of the charcoal?”

I point back toward the stairs leading outside. “You walked right past it.”

“Oh.” Without another word, he turns and walks away from me.

I stare at his retreating form for a few seconds before muttering a selection of curses under my breath and marching in the opposite direction toward the kitchen stairs, bag of ice in hand. Thanks to him, it’ll be half-melted by the time I get it to the party.

As I stomp up the stairs toward the locked door, my phone buzzes with a reply from Mabel.

No prob. Need a few min tho. Mom’s in full Chefzilla Mode. Something about peaches.

I curse again and text back,I’m about to go full Maidzilla Mode if I don’t get out of here in the next thirty seconds.

Mabel’s reply is quick, but unhelpful.Sorry, hun. Chefzilla is way scarier than Maidzilla.

Resisting the urge to chuck my phone into the shadows, I stomp the rest of the way up the stairs and then sink down onto the top step, leaning my back against the locked door. Chilly condensation drips onto my jumpsuit from the ice, so I shove it aside.

A moment later, Theo’s tall shadow appears at the bottom of the stairs.

“It’s going to be a minute,” I call down to him. “Might as well sit and wait.”

He grunts in acknowledgment and climbs toward me, the rickety wooden stairs creaking under him. I didn’t really mean for him to come and sit up herewithme, but it’s too late to tell him to sit down there in the dark by himself. Plus, I’ve already been mean enough. I should probably just keep my mouth shut at this point, lest Maidzilla Mode truly takes over and dampens the vibe of the party.

Theo chooses to pause four steps below me. He hesitates for a moment, as if debating whether or not he truly wants to sit, but then seems to realize how awkward it would be if he kept standing. He sets down the heavy bag of charcoal, then lowers himself to the dusty staircase.

I can hear voices on the other side of the door, but they’re distant enough that I know they’re not coming from the kitchen.

I’m content to wait for Mabel in silence, and I’m certain that Theo would prefer it as well, but then he clears his throat as if he wants to say something and is stalling to choose his words correctly. My stomach drops.Here we go.

“What you said earlier,” he begins, “about dark, enclosed spaces—”

“Forget it,” I interrupt.

“No, I… I mean, it was a long time ago, and—”

“Exactly, so you can forget that I brought it up in the first place.”

He gives me a stern look. At least, I think he does. We’ve both turned our flashlights off at this point.

“Can’t you let me finish a single sentence, Lucy?”

My stomach flips at the sound of my name on his lips. I don’t know why. It’s probably just totally unrelated anxiety over the fact that I’m involuntarily cut off from the massive partyhappening outside. I should be out there. It’s literally myjobto be out there right now.

“Go on, then,” I grumble at him.

He takes an audible breath. “What happened that night at camp… it wasn’t like I didn’t—I mean, we didn’t…” He exhales sharply, as if it’s a true struggle for him to get the words out. “It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about it, and I guess I didn’t realize that you were so offended that—”

“I’m notso offended,” I start, but then I realize that I’ve cut him off yet again, so I clamp my lips together.

“My point is,” he continues, his tone difficult to decipher. I wish I could see his expression, but it would be weird if I suddenly shined a light on his face. “It didn’t occur to me that what I did might have hurt your feelings.”

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