Playboy Billionaire (The Carolina Series Book 3)

by Jill Downey

  “Oh my! This is quite the reveal! I’m sure it’s old news to you that your co-star is pregnant. Is that why she’s been avoiding the press?”

  “No comment.” He turned and walked toward the entrance, with the fans clamoring. “Come on Ty.”

  “Griffin, Griffin, over here.”

  “We love you Griffin!”

  “Griffin will you sign my magazine?”

  He smiled and saluted the crowd but kept walking. No more autographs, no more interviews. He wanted to get inside and away from public scrutiny as quickly as he could. He was in shock. Was it possible that it was his baby? He needed a stiff drink.

  The three of them, along with Stewart, would be introducing the film. Maybe he’d get a chance to pull Penelope aside before then. There was an after party being held later; he could always corner her there if she’d talk to him.

  45

  Penelope thought she’d mentally prepared herself for seeing Griffin again, but she was mistaken. Damn him. She had seen his shocked expression the exact instant he’d realized she was pregnant. Her face had heated with embarrassment and guilt, but even more than that, she had felt a familiar heat and desire.

  As she watched Griffin and Tyler disappear into the theatre she had wanted to run after him and beg his forgiveness. She felt horrible. It wasn’t too late to make it right. Seeing him again had cleared the fog. It was his baby too. She had no right to keep it from him. He was a decent man. It would be different if he were an abusive awful person, but he wasn’t. She loved him. That too, was suddenly crystal clear.

  Noah kept his arm possessively around her waist. He had promised to shield her from as much chaos as he could. He was her linebacker for the evening.

  “Penelope, when are you due?”

  “Penelope is it a boy or a girl?”

  “Penelope who is the father?”

  The same woman who’d been interviewing Griffin from Entertainment Tonight, blocked Penelope’s path and planted herself right in front of her. She thrust the microphone under Penelope’s nose while her camera operator vied for a good angle.

  “I see we have some baby news?”

  “Yes.”

  “When are you due?”

  “I have another three months to go,” Penelope said, forcing a smile.

  The host looked at Noah and said, “You must be thrilled.”

  Noah smiled, “I’m very happy for Penny. She’s going to be an incredible mom.”

  “And you? Are you excited to be a father?’

  Noah ignored the fishing expedition and looked down at Penelope and said, “Shall we go? We’re going to be late if we don’t get in there.”

  The TV host laughed, “Oh I’m quite sure they won’t start without their two superstars.”

  Noah smiled and pushed his way around her, pulling Penelope along. It was madness. The fans were in a frenzy as the biggest names in Hollywood kept coming. They hurried away, avoiding any more interviews.

  When they entered, she looked around and spotted Griffin standing in front of a white silk backdrop getting photographed. He was one gorgeous man. He would have his pick of films after this. Tyler as well. She had no doubt that would appeal to Ty, but what about Griffin?

  Stewart found her and corralled her over to a photo op booth to get some photographs taken. Stewart wanted her to get some with Noah and with Griffin, then all three together.

  Griffin was now leaning against the wall next to the theatre entrance, talking to Tyler and another famous director. He straightened when he saw her looking at him. He’d been waiting for her. Her throat tightened.

  His expression tugged at her heart. He looked wounded. She’d done that to him. She felt like crying. Any lingering doubts she’d had about telling him seemed to melt away. By the time he reached her his face was set in an unreadable expression. If she had not seen the pain moments before, she would have sworn he was immune.

  Her voice wavered as she greeted him, “Hello, Griffin.”

  “Penelope, long time no see. Did you miss me?”

  Dolly ran up and hugged him. “I missed you.”

  “Glad someone did,” Griffin said, his smile not reaching his eyes. He turned back to Penelope and their eyes locked.

  “Got a minute?”

  “Stew wants us to have some photos taken together before we go into the theatre.”

  “We can take a minute after that.”

  “Okay.”

  There were at least twenty photographers snapping away as they posed and changed positions for a variety of shots. There were lots of stars and directors here as well as producers and crew.

  “Let’s cut out for a minute. Ty, I’ll be right back. Wait for me here.”

  Tyler glanced at him briefly already in a discussion with an up-and-coming young actor.

  Penelope’s legs were so shaky she wasn’t sure they’d hold her up.

  Griffin crooked his elbow, and she slipped her hand through his arm. Even though there were hundreds of people milling around it could have just been the two of them. He pulled her into an alcove and turned his back to the room, effectively blocking her from anyone’s view.

  He put his hands against the wall on either side of her, then leaned in close, “Got something you’d like to share with me?”

  Clearing her throat, she said, “Griffin…I…I tried calling you when I first found out I was pregnant…”

  “So, it is mine?”

  She looked up into his vivid blue eyes and nodded.

  He blew out a long breath. “Wow.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her lips turning up at the corners. She had tried to imagine this moment a thousand times, what she would say, what he’d say, now here it was, and she was speechless.

  “Do we know what we’re having yet?”

  Her heart leapt in her chest as she absorbed that statement. “A girl.”

  He closed his eyes tightly. “A girl…I like that.”

  Penelope reached up and stroked his hair away from his brow and he frowned. “Pen, when were you going to tell me? Or maybe you weren’t.”

  “Griffin, I was scared to tell you. During our last fight, you told me you didn’t want anyone to need you…I didn’t want you pinned down…can you understand?”

  “I’m not sure. I know I should have called you back, but I guess I was trying too hard to forget. You could have tried a little harder to reach me.” There was so much emotion behind those simple words.

  Memories came flooding back. Their lovemaking, their adventures, the intimacy, the friendship. Why had she been such a coward. What had she thought she was protecting?

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “I know,” he said gruffly. “I’m sorry too.”

  Dolly approached and said, “Hurry you guys. They’re ready for you to introduce the film.”

  Griffin nodded, without breaking eye contact with Penelope, he said, “We’ll be right there, Dolly. Thanks.”

  “I’ll let them know you’re on your way.”

  “Penny, will you ride with me to the after party? We can drive around for a while and talk. Ty can grab a ride with Stew.”

  “Yes, I’ll come with you.”

  “What will Noah have to say about it?”

  “Noah? Oh. Griffin we’re not together, not like you’re thinking. He’s seeing someone else. We rode together and Noah volunteered to be my bodyguard for the night. This is my first public appearance since I started showing. I was able to hide it up until about a month ago.”

  “Are you sure about Noah? Look I remember the day he got shot like it was yesterday. I’ve played it over and over in my head. That is one of the main reasons I didn’t call you back. It was so obvious that you loved the guy. You didn’t even spare me a glance.”

  “You weren’t the one shot and bleeding out. God Griff. Do you have any idea how much I blamed myself? It was my fault. All of it. If you or Noah had died because of me, well I’d never have recovered.”

  “Stew is motion
ing to us; we’d better go in. You look amazing by the way,” he said. She held on to his arm as they went to meet Stewart.

  46

  After navigating through traffic, Griffin asked his driver to keep going. He liked seeing the city lights at night. “Take us around the city before you drop us off at the party,” he instructed.

  “Will do sir.”

  He took off his tie and suit jacket and threw them across the seat facing them. He unbuttoned his top buttons. “That’s much better.”

  “What do you think of our film?” she asked, curious for his response.

  “I’m blown away. I can’t believe I was a part of it all. Amazing special effects. The music is as good as your Fifty Shades soundtrack.” He smiled as he remembered that day.

  “It is going to be a big hit. Griffin, your life is about to change dramatically.”

  “I kind of had a taste of that when I walked the red carpet.”

  “What are you going to do? Is it a one and done or are you hooked?”

  “One and done,” he said, without hesitation.

  They both sunk back into the luxe seats, exhausted from the intensity of the premier. “You have a place here?” he asked.

  “Malibu.”

  “Is that where you stay most of the time?”

  “It depends. As much as I’m able to, I like to be at my Montana ranch. But I love Malibu for different reasons. Are you into horses?”

  “I rode some as a kid. Why?”

  “Just wondering. I have horses at my ranch. I want to teach our little girl how to ride.”

  Griffin smiled.

  “What’s this party going to be like?” he asked.

  “I may be the wrong one to ask. In my opinion, if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all.”

  “Spoken like a truly jaded movie star,” he said.

  “I heard you were on Jimmy’s show last night.”

  “Yeah, didn’t you watch?”

  “No, I wanted to, but I couldn’t. It would have been too much.”

  Head resting against the seat, he turned to look at her, “You mean that?”

  “Yeah, after seeing you with the famous French model, I’ve been avoiding social media, entertainment shows, talk shows…”

  He grasped her hand and brought it to his lips, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I was a fool. But I still don’t get why you didn’t try harder.”

  “There seems to be more than one foolish person sitting here. I was planning on telling you soon, I swear. I promised Dolly I’d tell you in the second trimester. I lost my first baby at six months. I’ll feel like I can breathe again after I get past that marker.”

  “When is that?”

  “In a week, I’ll have carried her longer than my first pregnancy.”

  “What does the doctor say?”

  “Not to worry. Baby’s healthy, I’m healthy, so far so good.”

  “What comes next…with you and me?”

  “You tell me. You can be in the baby’s life as much or as little as you want. I want her to know her daddy, so for us, the more the better.” Penelope suddenly giggled. “She’s got the hiccups, here feel.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly.

  He felt a rhythmic twitching and smiled, suddenly choking up. He felt a different sensation, almost like a bump.

  His voice was thick with emotion when he said, “What was that?”

  “That was her kicking. She does a lot of that. You know, she can hear us right now? At this stage she’s beginning to focus on sounds on the outside.”

  He placed his lips against her belly and said, “Hello baby. I’m finally here.” He felt Penelope’s hands entangle in his hair and heard her sniffle. He looked up and saw her eyes flooded with tears. His throat tightened, “Pen.”

  “I’m okay. I don’t know what all of this means but I’m so happy right now I could burst.” She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

  He sat up and slung his arm across her shoulders and leaned down and brushed his lips lightly across hers. She sighed and parted her lips, tempting him to deepen the kiss as she wrapped her hands behind his head and held him to her. He responded by drawing her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking. Her breath hitched.

  “It feels so good to be with you again, I’ve missed you,” he said.

  “Oh Griff. We’ll figure it all out. I’m relieved to have it out in the open now.”

  “I suppose we should head over to the party. They’ll be wondering what happened to us.”

  “Yes.”

  Griffin knocked on the partition and the window slid open. “Let’s head on over to the soirée.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Thanks.”

  They were both quiet the rest of the way. Griffin was lost in his thoughts about possibilities and his future. He thought about the baby kicking his hand and felt a connection already. He wanted to teach her to play piano and teach her French. Read her bedtime stories and kiss her skinned knees. He hoped that whatever arrangements they came up with that he would have plenty of time with her. He wanted to be a positive influence in his daughter’s life.

  47

  “Penelope! Man, this party is blowing me away! I saw Dakota Johnson and Robert Pattinson!”

  “It’s certainly the place to be,” Penelope said, smiling affectionately at Tyler’s enthusiasm. The energy of the room was electric. The party venue was elaborate, even by Hollywood standards. The premier had accomplished what it needed to, creating a buzz and excitement around the film.

  “I hope it’s okay for me to ask, but does Griffin have a horse in this race?” He said nodding at her belly.

  She laughed out loud. “That’s one way to put it. But the answer is yes.”

  “I guess I’m going to have another little cousin.”

  “Yes, a little girl.”

  “No shit?” he grinned.

  “No shit.”

  “Does this mean Uncle Griffin’s going to hang up his superhero cape?”

  “I hope not!” she said.

  “He’s a wild-ass. He can’t continue to risk his life when he’s a dad. You two are OTP.”

  “OTP?”

  “Google it,” he said, grinning.

  “You can’t do that to me, what does it mean?”

  “One true pairing.”

  “Tyler, I need a dictionary to keep up with you. Where do you come up with them?”

  “That’s what Faye says. Anyway, congratulations Penelope.”

  “By the way, I’ve had several directors asking me about you. Spielberg thought you had a certain star quality. He said you lit up the screen…even with only those few lines.”

  Ty’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding me, right? Spielberg?”

  “I swear. You have a real shot at it.”

  “That’s amazing,” he said.

  Penelope saw Constance, her manager, striding purposely toward her.

  “Where have you been?”

  “I took a slight detour on my way over here.”

  “Roz Dunlap is looking for you.”

  “Roz? She is?”

  “Yes. She has a script you’ll definitely be interested in. Who do we have here?” she asked looking Tyler up and down like he was an acquisition.

  Griffin walked up just then holding a glass of amber liquid. “Hey, sorry got caught up in a discussion with Stew.”

  “I think the father of the baby should have to abstain for nine months too,” Tyler said. “It’s hardly fair.”

  Griffin snorted, “Who’s side are you on?”

  “The one with the most connections in the biz,” he said. Griffin and Penelope burst out laughing.

  “That would be Constance here. Tyler, Griffin, meet Constance Monroe, my manager. Constance, this is Griffin and his nephew, Ty.”

  “You both were simply fabulous in the film!” Constance said.

  A waiter in formal attire approached, carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Tyler took a napkin from the
tray and loaded it with a variety of appetizers.

  “Thanks. Don’t go too far,” he said to the waiter, grinning as he bit into a shrimp puff.

  Penelope rolled her eyes at Constance. “Can’t take him anywhere.”

  “He can do anything he wants. I’d love to represent you Tyler. Pass your information on to Penny and I’ll be in touch.” She patted Tyler on the back.

  “That’s awesome. Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Puleeze! Don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel ancient.”

  “Sorry, Ms. Monroe.”

  “Just make it Constance. I’m going to make the rounds, darling,” Constance said. “Griffin if you need me to represent you, just call.”

  “Thanks, but this is it for me.”

  “I’ll be around if you change your mind.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Tyler said, his eyes sparkling as he scanned the room. “I’m going to go mingle.”

  “Have fun,” Penelope said, watching him saunter confidently away. “He has no fear.”

  Griffin chuckled, “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “He’s a lot like you.”

  “Weird isn’t it? Genetics are a funny thing. Nature verses nurture. He grew up with nothing. No father, no family that he knew of but his mom. We didn’t even know he existed until last year. Now I can’t remember what it was like without him. I love the kid.”

  “He obviously worships you. Don’t get rid of your cape.”

  “What?”

  “He mentioned you’d have to hang up your superhero cape now that you’re an expectant father.”

  “Aww, really?”

  “Yes, he’s definitely got you on a pedestal. I don’t want you to change for this baby. I want her to get bit by the adventurer bug, just like her dad.”

  He slung his arm across her shoulders as he sipped his drink. “You really know how to get to a guy.”

  “Griffin, Penelope, I’ve got someone who wants to meet you,” Stewart said, approaching with Roz Dunlap. With several successful blockbusters under her belt, she was one of the women who had climbed the near-impossible hurdle of directing in a male-dominated industry. She was paving the way. It was slowly changing but there was a long way to go.