Page 57 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

That was… awkward.

I don’t think anyone has ever made such a bold claim over me before. It definitely wasn’t romantic.

The way Eric said it—Lucy ismine—made my skin crawl. I’ve never heard his voice sound like that before. Granted, I don’t know him all that well in the first place, but I never would have imagined he’d be capable of sounding so crude and arrogant.

Even though I’m impressed with how viciously I bit back at him, I still feel a little icky. Icky and disappointed and altogether deeply, deeply annoyed.

As the maid of honor, I really shouldn’t be slipping away from the party like this, but I need to get some air. I don’t want to think about the fact that Elijah’s been reunited with a relative who is actually a total weirdo. I also donotwant to think about the people who probably overheard that altercation and are now passing the news around the ballroom. Probably not with malicious intent, but still. It’s not exactly a desired form of attention.

I just need a minute alone. A single minute to reorganize my thoughts. After that, I’ll be right as rain and back to normal. Ready to party.

“Lucy, wait!”

I flinch at the sound of Theo’s voice echoing behind me, but I don’t turn around. I’m not mad at him; he looked just as stunned by what Eric said as I felt when I heard it, which definitely means he wasn’t partaking in the weird possessiveness.

If anything, I’m embarrassed he had to deal with that. Theo and I might have some kind of inexplicable attraction to each other, but I’m sure he doesn’t have actual feelings for me. Therefore, the fact that a guy he doesn’t even know would approach him and start fighting over me is mortifying… I just really can’t deal with it right now.

“Lucy, slow down!”

“I’m fine!” I call over my shoulder as I turn the corner of the main, high-ceilinged hall that forms the antechamber of the ballroom. I find myself in a slightly narrower hallway on the opposite side of the manor from the conservatory and the dining room. This place is so huge that I know I could easily get lost in it, even after all the time I’ve spent here planning the logistics of this wedding.

“Lucy, I’d really like to talk to you if you’d just—”

“You really don’t have to say anything,” I insist, still talking over my shoulder. I’m so embarrassed that I’m not sure I can look him in the eye.

Mine, Eric called me. As if there was ever any possibility that Theo would think I’mhis.

I turn another corner. I think I’m getting close to the administrative section of the first floor, which is probably not somewhere I should be wandering around, but every other area of this manor is crawling with the numerous wedding guests.

“No, Lucy, just let me—” Theo’s sentence ends in a frustrated sigh as I yank open a random door on my right and disappear.

I slam the door shut behind me, only to discover far too late that I’m not in some random, fancy parlor or antique music room.

I’m in a supply closet.

My hand fumbles for a light switch, only to come up empty.

“Crap.”

Just then, the door wrenches open and I stumble away, making room for Theo as he storms inside. He stops short, letting the door swing shut behind him in surprise as he realizes this isn’t just another room or hallway. The hinges groan, the latch clicks shut, and then we’re plunged into darkness together.

Not for the first time.

“I thought it was… well, I didn’t realize this was a closet,” I mutter.

“Where’s the light?”

“I don’t think there is one.”

Theo sighs.

My eyes adjust to the shadows just enough to see the vague outline of his handsome face and the subtle gleam of his golden-blond hair. I try to step around him in the tight space, eager to put him out of his misery as soon as possible rather than be trapped in yet another dark, enclosed space with him, but he steps in front of me and blocks the way.

“Wait,” he insists. He sounds vaguely out of breath. I’d been practically jogging away from the reception, but his legs are still much longer than mine. Is he breathless because he’s panicking?

“Theo, you really don’t need to trap yourself with me in another tiny prison.”

“Lucy, just listen for two minutes, for the love of Pete.”

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