Page 23 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire (Heart & Soul #2)

Fifteen

Theo stepped out of the restroom, drawing in a lungful of crisp morning air. The early sun cast long, golden shafts through the cottonwoods, their leaves shimmering above him. His breath puffed faintly in the cool air, but it wasn’t just the smell of coffee that drew him back to the van.

Rose was sitting cross-legged on the picnic table bench, steam curling from the enamel mug in her hands. She looked up when she saw him and held out a second mug toward him.

“Coffee,” she said simply.

He took it, fingers brushing hers. “ Efcharistó ,” he murmured, savoring the warmth against his chilled hands before taking a cautious sip.

She tilted her head, studying him. “Everything okay?”

“Yes. Why?”

“You’re looking at me funny.”

His lips curved. “Just… surprised you didn’t leave me again.”

She shrugged, a little smirk tugging at her mouth. “Would it have made a difference?”

“No,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I’d find you again. No matter how long it takes. Unless you don’t…”

Her eyes sharpened. “Unless I don’t what?”

He hesitated. The truth lodged somewhere in his throat, heavier than he expected. She unfolded her legs and stood. Stepping closer, her gaze locked on his.

“Unless I don’t what?” she repeated, softer this time.

He held her gaze, every instinct screaming at him to keep the words to himself. But he couldn’t. He shook his head in response.

For the first time in his life, uncertainty clawed at him. He’d faced billion-dollar deals and life-or-death missions with more confidence. But nothing mattered as much as her—and if she told him it was over, he had no idea what he’d do.

Her hand lifted toward his face, her fingertips almost brushing his cheek… then she dropped it and turned away. His chest tightened, bracing for her to end things between them right there.

Instead, she tucked her hair behind her ear and said casually, “Breakfast is ready.”

Relief swept through him so fast his knees almost buckled. He nodded once, willing his voice to work. “Thank you.”

They sat next to each other, their mugs steaming between them. A bowl of oatmeal sat in front of him, dotted with raisins and sliced banana.

He eyed the bowl, his lips twitching with self-deprecating amusement. “You know, this is quite a decadent breakfast for a billionaire.”

She grinned. “Don’t I know it. I splurged on the cinnamon.”

He ate a spoonful, pretending to consider it seriously. “Better than the pre-made food at the service station yesterday. I won’t even mention their coffee. That… was a crime against humanity.”

Her laughter bubbled out, as warm as the coffee. “That’s what you get for insulting my driving. Be careful about doing it to my cooking. If you thought my leaving you at the service station was bad, it could get much worse.”

He chuckled and leaned back, picking up his coffee cup and savoring another sip. “This is actually good—better than anything I’ve had in days.”

“High praise,” she teased.

“The highest,” he confirmed gravely.

They fell into easy chatter, talking about the morning chill, the way the van had creaked under them last night, and—though neither outright said it—the fact that they’d shared the narrow bed.

She made a crack about how he took up at least seventy percent of the mattress; he countered with how her blanket-hogging could be classified as a hostile takeover.

When she finally asked how he and Nikos had found her so quickly, he told her about the trail of traffic camera photos, Nikos’ ridiculous agreement to go on a blind date, and Kerry’s pointed hospitality offer involving ‘a pot of boiling water’.

Rose giggled, her eyes bright with amusement.

“And then there were the air tags Nikos hid on both of us. Without them, I’d still be choking down that sludge from the service station,” he added with amusement.

Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “Clearly your friends are far too used to putting the digital version of a child’s leash on you,” she joked.

His rueful, aggrieved expression had her cracking up, and by the time he finished eating, her eyes were dancing and her shoulders had relaxed in a way that made him feel like—for the first time in days—they were both breathing easier.

The laughter between them faded into a comfortable quiet. The steam from their mugs curled upward and disappeared into the pale morning light as she refilled them. Theo set his coffee down, his gaze lingering on her face until her smile softened with curiosity.

“What?” she asked, tilting her head.

He exhaled slowly, bracing his forearm on the picnic table. “I owe you an apology, Rose. A real one. And I think… it’s past time you heard the truth.”

Her expression stilled, but she didn’t look away.

He took a breath. “Months ago, I had a meeting with Lorenzo Alliata. Business, mostly, but also… personal. He told me he was looking for someone—his granddaughter. Livia’s daughter.

He didn’t have a name, only fragments of where she might be.

I agreed to help, but I had no idea it was you.

Not until…” His lips curved faintly. “Not until I saw your birthmark.”

She tried for a wry smile, but her eyes searched his. “And my locket? Why did you take it?”

He hesitated only a moment. “I meant to give it back before you woke. I wanted to show Nikos because it proved what I already suspected. I recognized the photos of Livia and your father from the one Lorenzo showed me…. I knew your mother when she was younger. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.

It seems like I’m always screwing things up when it comes to you.

” He sighed and shook his head. “Lorenzo isn’t just my friend; he’s my godfather.

When I realized you were Livia’s daughter, it should have changed things.

I had crossed an invisible line. But it didn’t matter.

I still wanted you—like I’ve never wanted anyone in my life.

And I know Lorenzo and Sophia… they’re old-school Sicilians.

” He sighed, glancing toward the river before continuing.

“They are fiercely protective of their family. They wouldn’t approve of my seduction of their granddaughter. ”

Her brow furrowed deeper. “That’s not what my grandmother told me. She told me they wanted nothing to do with me after I was born.”

His gaze softened, his voice low. “That’s something only Lorenzo and Sophia can explain. I’m asking you to please give them a chance. They are good people. Your mother had a twin sister—Lucinda—and a younger brother, Raff. He’s my age.

“I should have told you the truth as soon as I recognized who you were. Not because of Lorenzo, not because of your family—but because you deserved honesty from the man who claimed to care about you,” he continued quietly.

“You captivated me the moment I laid eyes on you. Completely. There was just… something about you. And then you kissed me, and I swear to God, it knocked me sideways. I’ve closed billion-dollar deals with more composure. ”

Her face turned a rosy color that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. She studied him with a gaze that was a mixture of longing and uncertainty before asking, “And calling Mimi?”

His mouth curved, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I was being selfish. I wanted you all to myself. I didn’t want to travel overseas and leave you behind.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “And the marriage?”

Something in his jaw flexed. “The condom broke,” he said simply. “In my—overly zealous—rush to have you.”

He twisted and clasped her hands as emotion surged through him.

“There’s a chance you might be pregnant.

And if you are…” his eyes locked on hers, the words warm and certain, “I’d be thrilled, Rose.

More than thrilled. I never thought I’d want children—not until I met you.

The idea of a little girl with your laugh… ”

She swallowed. “And if I’m not?”

A slow, deliberate smile curved his lips as he leaned in, his voice dropping to a husky murmur. “Then it gives me more time to learn how to do things right.”

Her breath caught as he brushed his mouth over hers—light, reverent—pulling back just enough to see her flush.

Rose turned, her mind swirling with everything he had told her. She cradled her mug between her palms, letting the warmth seep into her fingers as she watched a pair of dragonflies skimming over the river’s surface.

It would be so easy to imagine mornings like this—coffee, damp earth, Theo beside her. Permanent. Too easy. If she stepped into that picture, she’d never want to leave. What scared her the most was that she wasn’t sure she could survive watching it shatter if things between them fell apart.

He was watching her now, those dark eyes studying her as if he could read every thought running through her head. It made her feel both seen and bare.

She set her mug down slowly and turned to eat her oatmeal. “You make it hard to keep my guard up,” she murmured.

His mouth curved, but there was a question in his gaze. “Let me in. Give us a chance to see where this will go, Rose. That’s all I ask.”

Her chest tightened at the simplicity of it—because he said it like it was possible. The only thing keeping them apart was a choice she hadn’t yet found the courage to make.

She dropped her gaze to her hands, turning the spoon in her oatmeal, telling herself she was just buying time. But the truth was… she was already leaning toward him.

He was the danger—and the shelter. And that contradiction terrified her most.

“There are things I want to see and do,” she said, watching a small bird hop across the ground on the other side of the table, its head tilting as if hoping she’d toss it a crumb.

“Like what?” he asked, leaning forward, genuinely curious.

She took a long breath. “I want to see if things can work out between us.”

“They will.” His answer was instant, certain.

She scoffed, shaking her head with a wry smile. “You say that as if it’s a done deal. But you and I both know things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing.”

He reached up and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, his touch so gentle it made her breath catch. “They haven’t been so bad either.”

She laughed softly, but her gaze searched his.

“Theo, I want to take my time with this. I want to… really know you. Not the man who can crook his little finger and have a bouncer ask a woman to the VIP lounge in the club he owns. Not the billionaire who can buy his way into—or out of—anything. I want to know the man who makes me laugh, the man who would travel halfway across the country to chase a woman… because he wasn’t ready to let me go. ”

His thumb lingered along her jaw. “Doesn’t that tell you who he is—and what he’s willing to do for her?”

She released a breath. “Three weeks. My road trip—exactly the way I planned it.” She watched his eyebrows lift, then added, “If you want to know me, then travel with me. Live like I live. See the things I want to see. Talk to me, spend time with me. Do all the crazy stuff that I’ve dreamed of, but have never done.

And by the end of it… we’ll both know if this can work. Plus…” She let the sentence hang.

“Plus?”

“By then we’ll know if I’m pregnant or not.”

That earned her a long, unreadable look before his gaze drifted toward the van parked under the cottonwoods. His voice was carefully even, but there was an almost comical inflection in it when he asked, “Does this journey of yours include… us traveling and sleeping in that van?”

Rose’s grin widened. She didn’t even try to hide her amusement. “It absolutely does.”

He glanced down at his rumpled suit and designer wool coat, then back at her with the air of a man mentally calculating the number of showers he could tolerate missing. “I might need a different wardrobe if that’s the case.”

She laughed outright. “We’ll stop at a thrift store. I’ll help you pick something—don’t worry, I have an eye for style.”

His smile tugged into something quieter, more serious. “And what happens when our journey is over?”

Her expression softened. She hesitated, the question hanging between them like mist over the river, before she reached up and caressed his cheek.

“I don’t know… not yet. But I do know I want to reach out to my grandparents first. Talk to them. Get to know them before I see them face-to-face.” Her throat tightened. “And I’m still… grieving Pop. I don’t want to rush that.”

He kissed her—slow, deep, sure—then rested his forehead against hers. “I understand.” His voice dropped to a whisper meant only for her. “This will be one adventure I’ll never forget. And I wouldn’t miss it for all the money in the world. I have only one request.”

“What?”

“Can I please drive?”

Her laugh bubbled out, joyous and free, as she leaned back. “Yes, you can drive, because our next stop is—” She launched into an excited explanation, her hands painting the route in the air.

And as she spoke, she felt her heart swell at the sight of him—rumpled, determined, and sitting in the chill morning air just to be near her. She realized then that Theo had never needed a sword to cut through the wall of thorns she’d built around her heart.

He’d only needed a tender caress—and the way his thumb brushed over her knuckles now proved it.

For the first time, the road ahead didn’t feel like escape. It felt like the beginning of something she might finally call home.