“And?” Rex pressed.
“And,” I drew out the word, feeling ridiculous even as I admitted it, “I found Penny Fair.”
There was a beat of silence while it sunk in.
“Wait. Penny Fair? Isn’t that Brianne’s stepsister?” Rex asked, brow furrowing.
“The very one.”
“You swiped right on your ex’s stepsister?” Keaton let out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s awkward.”
I grinned. “Awkward is my middle name, apparently, right after Everett.”
Richard’s tone was a warning cloaked in velvet. “Hasn’t that family already cost you enough?”
“I had coffee with her the other day.” I shook my head. “Penny’s nothing like Brianne. At all. She’s really grounded and honest and real, and you know I always thought her Aunt Brier was a sweetheart.”
I thought of Penny’s laugh over the rim of her latte, and her genuine smile. The way she’d admitted her underemployment as if it was a flaw instead of the type of honesty I hadn’t tasted in years. How my lips tingled brushing along her cheek.
Keaton leaned back in his chair, smirking. “Translation: you already like her.”
“No. I’m impressed with her. There’s a difference. She’s grown into a nice young woman.”
“Emphasis on young,” Rex guffawed. He should talk. Wasn’t there a bit of a gap between him and Chelsea?
“Less than ten years. Not a big deal.” Not to me anyway. “I feel bad for her. She studied architecture in college but never had a chance to seek a job in the field. I could help her get a foot in the door, at the very least.”
“Aw Jeez. You’ve got that white-knight syndrome again. Can’t resist rescuing a damsel in distress,” Rex scoffed. “You played right into Brianne’s manipulations, paying for her education and giving her whatever she wanted whenever she cried for help. Now Penny, too?”
The sting still stabbed me—the last big fight we had, Brianne shouting her affair in my face, professing love for her goddamn professor like it was supposed to make sense.
Richard crossed his arms. “For the record, I don’t like you opening a door to Brianne’s world again, even indirectly.” Of course he wouldn’t, considering he caught his ex-fiancée red-handed with her lover and a plan to take Richard for all his money.
Out of all of us, he and I both knew the sting of women wanting us only for our wealth. Fortunately, he got a second chance, married to Vivian now with a few kids, and very much in love, enjoying a quiet small town life upstate on a farm.
I got nothing.
“Look, Penny doesn’t talk to Brianne anymore. They were never friends. Hardly stayed in touch once her mother divorced Brianne’s dad.” My defenses kicked in, almost reassuring myself.
“Still,” Richard pressed. “People have patterns. Connections. Strings you don’t see until they’re tied around your throat.”
I drummed my fingers on the table. “You’re saying I shouldn’t go there.”
“I’m saying, be smart.”
Rex smirked. “I second that. Be careful. We remember the crater Brianne left behind in your life. I’d hate to see you get sucked back into that dark place again.”
“Story of my life.” I said, gesturing between them. “Cock-blocked once again.”
Richard’s tone cut clean. “What do you want, Arch? Our blessing?”
The question landed harder than it should have. Because I wanted it all, everything they had. Richard’s second chance, Rex’s family bliss, Keaton’s happiness. I wanted to hold what Brooks had in that hospital room—a baby bundle of joy, fragile and perfect—and believe it wouldn’t slip through my fingers.
I wanted Penny’s smile to keep haunting me.
The buzzer sounded for the beginning of the second period. Finished with my meal, I sauntered over to the glass where Keaton stood watching Tucker line up for the face-off, his stick poised, the whole arena holding its breath.
“Why do I feel like I’m always in the penalty box when it comes to love?” I scoffed.
