Page 241 of Secret Heir For The Billionaire Twin

Then I look through the peephole.

My stomach drops.

Julian is standing on the other side of the door.

He is holding my leather work bag.

For several seconds, I do not move.

My heartbeat starts pounding so hard that I can feel it behind my ribs.

Theo is somewhere beyond the kitchen with his project pieces spread across the table, completely unaware that the one person I have spent years keeping separate from this house is standing less than three feet away from the front door.

The bell does not ring again, but Julian is still there.

I glance toward the back of the townhouse.

No movement.

I open the door before another knock can bring Theo running.

Julian looks at me.

I stop.

His eyes move over my face, and suddenly I am painfully aware of the loose knot in my hair, the jeans, the gray sweater, the fact that this is not Sophie Callahan from Vanguard Business Journal standing in front of him.

This is me…at home.

My gaze drops immediately to the bag in his hand. Then back to him.

“Julian?”

“Hi.”

I look past him toward the street before meeting his eyes again.

“What are you doing here?”

He lifts the bag slightly.

“You left this.”

For a moment, I only stare at it.

“I thought they were going to send it.”

“I was already in California.”

My brows rise.

“Northern California.”

“I had business down here.”

Something about the answer makes my pulse climb higher.

“You could have couriered it.”