Page 36 of Born a Billionaire

Oliver proceeded to make bacon and eggs while Adelia sat at the kitchen table, looking on.

“Do you think I’m in danger, Olly?”

He looked over at her with concern in his eyes. “You’re going to be fine. I’ve got you.”

“But I heard you talking to Carmen earlier. What you said about other stalker cases.”

He left the pan and crossed the room to stand beside her chair. Crouching down so they were at eye level, he took her hands in his. “I’m here, and nothing’s going to happen to you on my watch. Okay?” His eyes were locked with hers, and she could’ve easily gotten lost in the deep chocolate brown of them.

“Okay.”

He gave her hands a squeeze and returned to breakfast preparation.

Still, she felt uneasy. His words said one thing, but was that worry she saw behind his eyes?

Television programs kept them company throughout the day. The rest of the time was spent on their computers or phones. Adelia answered urgent emails and dumped all the junk mail. She read a couple more scripts Iris had sent her. The first was a period drama, but it didn’t draw her in, so she set that aside. The next was a comedy in which she would play the best friend. That one got tossed out quickly. Heck no! She wasn’t the best friend. She was the leading lady.

Frustrated, she went back to her computer, browsing social media, but that turned out to be a big mistake. She’d been tagged in a series of photos of her mother with Bryce out and about in London. Definitely not what she wanted to see, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the smile on her mom’s face. She sat there, staring at it for far too long, praying her father was staying off of his computer. Adelia knew her mother’s smiles, and the one in the photographs was her genuinely happy smile.

She stared at Bryce next. He was shorter than Mom by a couple inches and looked thin and scrawny, which was the opposite of Adelia's tall, physically fit father. What was it about this guy that had drawn Mom away? He was handsome enough, with black hair and a beard streaked with a little grey, making him look distinguished. Maybe it was the British accent. All she knew was that Mom was making a huge mistake letting Dad go, and one day, she would regret it. Too bad she had to rip their family apart to figure that out.

Tears burned her eyes, and she glanced across the room to see if Oliver noticed, but he was too engrossed in whatever he was doing.

Aside from her family drama, she was beginning to worry about going to California alone next week for the press junket. Yes, she would be staying with Gus and Merritt, but they had their own things to do while there. She couldn’t expect them to babysit her the entire time. Maybe she was overreacting. Whoever knew she was here in Michigan probably didn’t know she would be heading back to California for the weekend. She would be fine. Wouldn’t she?

After mulling it over all afternoon, she finally got up the nerve to say what was on her mind while they were in the kitchen, fixing tacos for dinner.

“I have an idea,” she said.

Oliver looked over from where he was browning the ground beef.

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Come to Los Angeles with me.”

His brow furrowed. “Why would I do that?”

“Extra protection, peace of mind, and you said yourself you don’t have much of a social life.”

He frowned at her.

“Come on, Olly. Get out of your bubble for a while.”

“Would you need me to go to the press thing with you?”

“My driver will get me there and back safely, and I’ll be with my manager at the event, so you can go see the sights during the day.” She bumped his hip with hers. “Maybe you’ll even”—gasp—“talk to other people.”

He bumped her hip with his in reply.

“Is that a yes?” she asked hopefully. “It’s only a couple days—Thursday to Saturday.”

He continued stirring. “I’ll consider it.”

She smiled triumphantly, and he bumped her hip with his again. Was he flirting with her? The thought made her stomach flip-flop, but she had to remember that he was only being nice to her because he was hired to be. Once this was over, he would go back to his day job.

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