“He saw you fucking?”
“Ew, no. Just kissing. And then Lincoln kicked Gavin out of our room and the twins called Lincoln downstairs. I fell asleep before Lincoln came back for the night and they left early for fishing.”
“What did Gavin say?” she asks, riveted by my drama.
“He was shockingly okay with it.”
“Does that mean you’re going to tell everyone else? On this trip?” she asks, her eyes widening.
“Hell no. I need to make sure that this isn’t just us wanting what we can’t have, you know? I don’t want to blow the family up for no reason. So, we’ll continue being a secret, but no more holding back.”
“Your family seems understanding,” she says with a small smile.
“Forward thinking and realizing your kids who grew up together are fucking are two different things.”
She snorts a laugh and grabs a new pair of sandals to try on.
“You know, he came to Aiden’s a few nights ago, was real mopey.”
“He’s so dramatic,” I say with an eye roll.
“So are you,” Jessa says, and I gasp in shock.
“I’m not dramatic.”
She gives me a look like I’m being unreasonable and I wave her off. “If you could keep this between us still, I’d appreciate it. I need to hunt down Gavin later.”
“Of course,” she says with a tight nod.
I stare at her a little longer and she lets out a breath.
“Okay, fine. I haven’t told Aiden anything. I’ll keep your secret.”
“That’s right, chicks before dicks.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like you, Penny.”
I grin. “And you never will. You can have other friends, but you can’t like them more than you like me, okay?”
She shakes her head at me as we put the shoes back and head over to the jewelry and crystal store my mother and aunt are shopping at.
“Oh my God, Penny, come look at this,” my mom says, and I head over to my mother while Maggie and Jessa talk at the register.
“What is it?” I ask, and she points to the case.
“You’ve got to get it,” she says, pointing down at the necklace.
I can’t help the laugh that belts out of me, not that my mother would get it. It’s a silver chain, with a rounded backing with a fucking penny in front of it with the wordluckystamped over AbrahamLincoln’sface.
The saleswoman comes over and takes the necklace out of the display case.
“I’m getting it for you. I don’t care what you say,” my mom says, instructing the woman to add it to her order.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Maybe I should get one too,” she says, and I shake my head. “You’re right, I already have my lucky Penny,” she says, squeezing my shoulders.
“You know, I think you’re turning into a bigger sap the older I get.”
