Page 110 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 8
He kept laughing. “So is this like a jealousy thing? You’re upset that James got her instead of you?”
“You just don’t get it because you’re a boy. Penny is my role model. There aren’t many redheads to look up to. And she’s a queen. And oh God, she’s going to be there too! I’m not ready to meet her in person. It was so much easier to talk to her when she was catfishing me.”
“Ash?”
“No! You can’t make me!”
Tanner laughed and climbed out of the car.
Wow, did that work?Was he actually leaving me here?Good.I’d wait in the car while he hung out with his friends.
But a second later he opened my door and put his hand out for me. “I really want to introduce you to my friends.”
I pressed my lips together. Well...when he put it like that... I sighed and grabbed his hand. Normally his touch calmed me, but I was pretty sure I was having a heart attack as we climbed the steps of the brownstone.
Tanner stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to me. “By the way. Try not to mention anything about how Mason and Bee’s gender reveal was wrong. Apparently there was a mix-up when the technician gave them the gender reveal card. New fandangled tech,” he mumbled. “I knew it was a girl all along, but no one believed me.”
“Got it.”
Tanner let himself into James’ house without even knocking.
What. The. Fuck.
I was right. James was a total freak. It was like walking into a museum. There were tons of huge nude portraits on the walls. And there were baths everywhere, even though I was pretty sure we were standing in the living room. Or was this the kitchen? Instead of a sink there was just a huge golden bathtub. And there was a spice rack full of rubber duckies.
“This way,” said Tanner, like he hadn’t just stepped into the weirdest historical bathroom ever. He opened a door on the left wall. “Welcome to Matt’s house.”
Say what?“I thought we were going to James and Penny’s house?” I never would have agreed to go to Matt’s home. He was going to think I was stalking him or something.
“It was a last-minute change. Come on, Nigel hates when I leave his door open for too long.”
Wait.“This is Nigel’s house?”
“Yes.”
Well, that kind of explained the historical nudes and bathtubs. But… “Why is it attached to Matt’s house like this?”
“For easy access.” Tanner practically pulled me through the door so he could close it.
“Wait!” Matt yelled. He jumped over the back of the couch in his living room and ran over to us. “Don’t let it close!”
Was Matt about to leave?Hallelujah.I tried to stop the door from closing, but it was too late. It closed with a thud.
Matt tried to open it, but it had already locked. He sighed and turned to me. “Did you just see in there? What was it like? That stupid door has been attached to my house for months and I have no idea what’s on the other side.”
“It’s full of...”
“Nigel prefers his privacy,” said Tanner.
Matt shook his head and then smiled at me. “He always says that. But forget about the weird door. Welcome to my home,Ashley.”
I cringed. “Please just call me Ash.” I still couldn’t believe that Tanner had referred to me as Ashley for months just to mess with him.
“You got it.” Tanner turned around. “Guys, I wanted this to be a surprise. This is Ash.” He gestured toward me.
“Wait, Ash, Ash?” A guy with dark hair asked. Just kidding. I knew it was Rob. I knew who all of them were because their beautiful faces were always splashed across the tabloids. I even recognized the kids running around playing. Matt plopped down on the couch between Rob and James. They were all already watching the Giants game. And Rob and James were each holding toddlers. Those must have been their sons, RJ and Liam.
I realized I was awkwardly staring at them. “Yup, that’s me name,” I said in a weird Scottish accent.Stop it.
