Page 41 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

Theo blinks in surprise. “Oh.”

“That’s what he said to me. Verbatim.”

“Yikes.”

“I know. He’s probably right, though.” And I’m definitely sharingwaytoo much information right now. Also, we’re still practically glued together. Warmth rises to my cheeks, and I’m grateful that it’s too dark for him to see them flush. “Anyway, we weren’t talking about me.”

“Right.” Theo clears his throat. It’s an effort not to drop my gaze down to his throat, and the long line of his neck. The smooth skin. His understated, masculine scent.

What is wrong with you?I snap at myself.

I’ve always known that Theo was handsome. It was a fact. Undeniable. Like how the sky is blue and the grass is green.

Now, however, in this moment, he is suddenly so much more than merely handsome.

“So, yeah,” Theo continues, clearly feeling awkward as he chooses to look over my shoulder at the tree trunk instead of down at my face. “That was a very stressful situation for me. Especially with the way everyone was laughing and pointing at us, making such a big deal out of it.”

“Well, we did famously fight with each other practically all summer.”

Theo shrugs. “I know. I guess I can’t blame them. We were all just kids. Anyway, when we were stuck in that closet, the reason I didn’t just go through with it and get it over with isn’t because I was repulsed by you or anything like that. It’s just… I was having an anxiety attack the entire time.”

I stare at him, trying to piece together the details of that night. He was rather tense. And, like, dead silent. As if he’d completely shut down. I thought it was nothing more than anger and disgust at being trapped with me.

Now, I see how selfish that was of me.

“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “If I had known, I would’ve…”

Theo shakes his head. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. I just felt like you should know that. Now. Even though it was years ago. Because I don’t like the idea that you’ve spent all this time believing that I was horrified by the prospect of kissing you. I wasn’t, for the record.”

For some reason, I laugh. “But you hated me.”

“Hate is a strong word,” he replies. “You annoyed me. But you also made me feel quite jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“You were so good at being around people. You were friends with everyone. It’s like it was all so effortless for you, being tossed into a vat of emotionally traumatized kids for the summer. Also, no offense, but youwerekind of obnoxious.”

I snort. “Yeah, I know.”

“Anyway… I would have kissed you.”

My heart stutters. “What?”

Theo frowns slightly, as if he’s deeply concentrating on choosing the right words. Or maybe he simply hates that he’s admitting this out loud.

“Not because it was part of the game,” he clarifies. “But because I really did think you were pretty. Kissing you wouldn’t have been something I had to force myself to do. I think I… liked you. Deep down.”

At last, he meets my gaze. My mind plummets back in time to when we were sixteen and seventeen, glaring at each other across rooms. I remember that a significant amount of my mental energy was spent paying attention to him, and I toldmyself at the time it was because I wanted to avoid him at all costs, but I also recall how handsome I thought he was. I thought he was the cutest boy at camp, if not for his bad attitude. Not that I ever admitted that to anyone.

And when that bottle he spun landed on me, I can’t deny that I remember exactly how it felt to have an excited thrill race down my spine. At the time, I had never been kissed. It’s not like I had been saving it up for the right person, either. It just… hadn’t happened yet. Simple as that.

I remember thinking that I should have been grossed out at the prospect of Theo Danvers, of all people, being my first kiss. I was so confused. So annoyed. Plus, everyone was herding us toward the closet, acting like this was the grandest event of the decade.

Then, Theo refused to even touch me. He crammed himself into the furthest corner of the tiny closet so that he could prevent the slightest brush of our awkward, bony teenage bodies together.

I’d been so offended. So horrified.

So heartbroken.

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