Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy Read Online Free PDF Page A

the okay to exit.”
    “Everything was okay,” Louis replied with a shrug. “What’s the big deal?”
    “Have you read the letters Jamie’s stalker has sent her? Maybe you should read the most recent one where he threatens to-”
    “Theo, please. I don’t want to talk about it.”
    I tried to play it cool, but in truth the letters had frightened me. The more I thought about them, the more freaked out I became. That’s why I was doing my best to distract myself with shopping and spa visits. It was a shallow waste of time, but it put me at ease.
    “Please,” I said. “I don’t want to hear about it.”
    Theo frowned. I understood his frustration but it was all too disturbing for me to comprehend.
    “He threatened to kill her. So, what? I get death threats all the time. It’s just people messing about. It’s not serious. You’ve got to have thick skin in this business,” Louis said, unimpressed.
    Theo stared at him in disbelief. He gritted his teeth so hard that I could see the muscle in his jaw twitch.
    “So, what?” he said, raising his voice in disbelief.
    “Keep your voice down, mate,” Louis pleaded.
    “He didn’t just threaten to kill her. He threatened to keep her. He provided pictures of the dungeon he’s building just for her.”
    Butterflies stirred in my stomach. Without thinking, I started to pick at the skin around my nails. It was a nasty habit I picked up as a kid. When I get nervous I pick at my nails and skin.
    “Theo, please,” I shouted.
    You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Everyone was staring at us. I smiled to the people watching us, as if that was a magical cure for the awkwardness in the air.
    “Look,” Louis said, “I do all my own stunts. If someone attacks Jamie, I can handle it myself. No one needs you around.”
    Theo shook his head. “You people are unbelievable. This is a serious threat. It’s not make believe. The real world is not a movie. If you don’t follow my security procedures, you’ll end up dead or worse.”
    Louis rolled his eyes and dug back into his lobster.
    “I’ll be waiting outside when you’re ready to leave,” Theo said. He stood, pushing the chair back from the table with a loud screech.
    “Wait. I’m done with dinner. I’ll go with you.”
    “You’re just going to leave me?” Louis asked. “What about the paps outside? They’ll wonder why you abandoned me alone. They’ll gossip. It will cause problems. You know what happens when there’re problems.”
    His voice dropped to a low rumble; he glared at me intensely. The sight of his ‘serious’ face made me bust out laughing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Louis just looked so stupid. He was acting of course. Louis was one of the least intimidating people I’ve ever met, and he’d not a good enough actor to fake it.
    Theo looked at the both of us like we were insane. Then he took me by the arm and led me out of the restaurant. We left through a back exit and got straight into my waiting limo.
    “What was that about?” he asked as soon as we were safely inside. “Was he threatening to hurt you?”
    “Who? Louis?” I scoffed. “No.”
    “Then what did he mean? It sounded like a threat to me. And if that prima donna fucker thinks he’s going to get away with threatening you, then-”
    My face burned hot. It had been a long time since a man had stood up for me. “It’s nothing.”
    “It’s not nothing. What was he talking about?”
    I chewed on thumbnail. Outside my window, the city street passed slowly by. Fans had lined the sidewalk hoping to get a glimpse of Louis and I together. America’s Sweethearts. They loved us as a couple. We’d starred in three hit films together and the studio was talking about putting us in another two together.
    We weren’t just a couple, we were a brand. We put asses in the seats and made hundreds of millions of dollars for studios. Our romance had made both Louis and I wealthy beyond my imagination. I’d never want for