Page 38 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

Lucy giggles as if she’s never been more delighted by anything in her life.

She reaches into the plastic bag looped around her elbow, ready to wage all-out war against me. Just me. She clearly came here tonight with one mission.

I expect to feel anger at being smacked in the face with a water balloon—and byher, of all people—but there’s a weird bubbling sensation in my chest and a strange lightness coming over me.

I think I want to laugh.

I glance to the side, looking for a second escape route. Just as I step to my left, a blur of white satin and black cotton come rushing toward me. I’m barely able to dodge out of the bride and groom’s way before they come careening in my direction, then tumble into a tangled heap in the grass. Both Josie and Elijah are shrieking with laughter, and then the bride lets out a squeal as her almost-husband wrestles her gently to the ground and breaks a balloon over the top of her head.

Lucy is laughing at the scene, temporarily distracted. I could run.

Icould.

Except… in the chaos of Elijah attempting to even the score against Josie, she dropped one of her bags full of balloons. Right at my feet.

Before I know what I’m doing, I stoop down to pick it up. I’ve got about twenty colorful ammunitions, practically begging for me to get my revenge.

Lucy tugs her attention away from her cousin and the groom to focus back on me, her chosen victim. In an instant, she realizes what I hold in my hand. My eyes dart down to her own bag of balloons, which looks sorrowfully depleted.

Her smile falters.

I reach into the bag for a balloon.

She takes a tentative step backwards.

My lips curve into a grin of their own volition.

“Now, wait just a minute,” she says.

I launch a water balloon at her. She lunges out of the way, causing it to glance off her arm and splatter against the side of the house. I dig into the bag for another balloon. With a shriek, she starts running, taking off across the now-muddy backyard in her flip-flops.

A breath of laughter whooshes out of me.

Then, because I’m apparently not quite in control of my body right now, I take off after her. I lob a second balloon at her as the chase begins. Lucy lets out a surprised yelp as it explodes against her back. Around us, it seems that at least a couple of the guys have also managed to gain ammo for themselves and are gleefully fighting back.

I pay them no attention.

All I can think isLucy, Lucy, Lucy.

She ducks into the woods, glancing over her shoulder with a breathless smile on her face.

I don’t think. I follow her like it’s pure instinct. Like there is nothing else in the world I could possibly need to do in that moment besides go after her.

Chapter Thirteen: Lucy

He’s totally going to kill me.

But it was worth it.

I had no idea chucking a water balloon at Theo Danvers’ head would be so thrilling. It was also oddly cathartic.

Of course, now I’m paying the consequences. He’s got a bag full of balloons and I’m low on ammo—only about three or four left. This was the last thing I expected to happen. I thought I might enjoy the delight of hitting my target and then he’d march away in an angry huff. He is, after all, very good at escaping situations. Especially when they involve me.

Instead, Theo has given chase.

And, crap, he’sfast. My only saving grace is the fact that I’ve been scrambling around these woods for as long as I can remember, since they connect a large portion of the local kids’ houses via backyards. With only the light of the moon and the weak glow of the back porch light to guide my footsteps, I leap over protruding tree roots.

Theo has much longer legs than me, though. Also, I have a feeling that he’s a recreational runner, since he’s catching up to me with far more grace and ease than I expected.

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