“I just can’t right now, Penelope. I need some space,” Holly says, walking back into the house.
Her father stands up next and squeezes his daughter’s shoulder.
“We’ll figure it out, kiddo. We love you no matter what,” he tells her, kissing her hair and following his wife.
Penny turns to me. She looks beautiful in her dark blue sundress and her hair is down in messy waves, but right now her big blue-eyes are welling up with tears.
“Hey,” I tell her, cupping her face, and she blinks up at me. “They’ll come around. They love you. It was a shock. It will be okay,” I tell her, kissing her forehead. She leans into me and when I look up, I see my mom’s shocked face.
She gives me a small smile and nod. “Not that you need it, but you have our blessing. Congratulations,” she says softly. She grabs my dad’s hand and starts heading toward the house.
My dad just slaps my back as he follows his wife.
“Thank fucking God. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold it in,” Aiden says, wrapping his arm around Jessa, whose cheeks are bright pink.
“I’m really sorry, Penny. He just dragged it out of me,” Jessa apologizes.
Penny wipes under her eyes and nods at her friend. “It’s okay, I get it more than ever now, trust me.”
“Maybe now is the time to tell them I never actually graduated college,” Ben says suddenly.
“Wait, you never graduated?” I say, tilting my head at him.
“Neither of us did,” Gavin says with a shrug.
“Maybe take that one to your grave. I think our news was enough for today,” Penny says, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Awe, it will all work out, Penny. Your mom has always been the high-strung one. She’ll come around. Worst-case scenario, just get pregnant. How is she going to refuse a grandchild?” Gavin asks.
I’m retracting his additional Christmas gift.
“I think I want to go home,” Penny says softly, not sitting next to my brothers or Jessa.
Jessa stands, wrapping her arms around Penny.
“You have our support no matter what,” she says, squeezing her tightly.
Aiden stands up and gives her a hug, too. “Congratulations.”
“You mean it?” she asks.
“I was shocked and had other feelings when Jessa first told me, but you two make sense. You’re happy and that’s all I’d want for the both of you,” Aiden says, giving me a hug.
We hug my twin brothers and go through the side gate to avoid walking through the house and dealing with our parents.
Penny stares out the window the whole ride home. She’s driven my car a few times, but right now she’s too lost in her thoughts as I take us home.
“Well, I can officially move all my stuff downstairs now,” she says as I hit the elevator for our floor.
“Or better yet, we can move all of our shit into a house.”
“I thought you liked the building?” she says, leaning against the wall.
“I never wanted a house because I didn’t like the idea of living alone. When I’d visit Aiden before he was with Jessa, it felt depressing. Also, you have a lot of shit.”
She gasps. “I do not.”
“Remember that closet you stuffed me in? It was basically spilling out into your bedroom.”
