Oh, my heart.“It is.”
“Hey, Penny?” I look up at him, and he cradles my head in his hand and moves his face towards mine. I don’t have the will to stop him, and a moment later, his lips brush mine in a gentle caress. I open my mouth for him and our tongues tangle, tasting each other for just a moment before he pulls back and whispers, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
My heart skips a beat. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Chapter 23
Declan
It’s been six weeks since I last touched Penny and I think I’m starting to go crazy. All I want to do is storm next door, spank her ass for making me go mad, and fuck her senseless so she knows how I feel.
We’ve fallen into a routine asfriendsand the word tastes bitter on my tongue. Because I’m pretty sure a friend doesn’t think about fucking another friend twenty-four-seven. And not just fucking either. I think about taking her and Autumn out and parading them around town. I think about how I never want Penny to feel the way she did when she told meabout the prick who knocked her up and called her a whore. And I think about how my heart hurts anytime my mind goes to the place where it sees her with some douchebag that’s not me.
I’ve been going to the coffee shop to see Penny daily, and when I can, I try to make it home early enough to see Autumn before she goes to sleep. More often than not, Autumn will wave at me through the window of the shop when she comes home from school, and my cold, dead heart warms each time. In fact, I’m pretty sure my heart is no longer ice. It’s completely head over heels for my two girls.
When Penny told Autumn that I loved her, I was momentarily shocked, but at the same time, it didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would. Since day one, Autumn has been slowly breaking down my walls, and I didn’t see it until she told me she loved me. I have been so sure my whole life that I didn’t want to have anything to do with kids, and now, the tiny human next door has made me realize that maybe I was wrong. That maybe, I was just tainted by my circumstances and needed someone to show me the light. I might be biased, but she’s the coolest kid I know, and all I want to do is protect her and her pure heart. If I feel this way about her, I can’t imagine how Penny feels about her then. She’s the one who carried her for nine months, who birthed her, who has been there since the moment she was formed in her womb, and now I understand why she was so mad at me when I said the shit I said.
I deserve a lot worse than a brief few weeks of silent treatment and a couple of tongue lashings.
Whenever all three of us can, I try to get us to go do something fun. We’ve done numerous visits to different parks, picnics at the beach, and been to both of the San Diego Zoos. Lucas and Jordan join us when they can, and it feels like I have a family here now. I even got to watch Lucas propose to Jordan on the beach the other day.
But pulling back from Penny has been the hardest part of the whole deal. It’s like the age-old saying, “You always want what you can’t have,” and that’s exactly how I feel about her. We’ve only had sex twice, but I want more from her.
So much more.
I completely forgot about the trip I booked to Las Vegas up until a few days ago, and I leave in two days. Maybe when I get back, Penny will want to put the benefits part of our relationship back on the table, plus something more. We stopped because everything got messy with Autumn, but now that things have cooled down, I’m hoping Penny will be on the same page as me. I just need to convince her I’m worth taking a chance on.
Me: Hey, I’m leaving town for a few days, and when I get back, I want to talk to you.
Penny: Yeah, sure. I’m taking a trip too and get back Sunday afternoon. Talk then?
Me: That works. But where are you going?
Penny: I kind of forgot because I booked it last year, but there’s a coffee trade show in Vegas that I’m going to. I leave for the airport at six in the morning on Friday.
This must be some cosmic bullshit that only happens in romance movies because there is no fucking way we’re going to be in Las Vegas at the same time.
Me: Why don’t I take you to the airport?
Penny: That’s okay. Jordan’s going to take me.
Me: I won’t take no for an answer.
Penny: Aww… are you going to miss me? Don’t shed too many tears while I’m gone. Just because I’m still young and can party all night long–unlike you–doesn’t mean you need to get jealous.
Me: Okay, brat. I see how it is. But I’m taking you to the airport on Friday. Don’t argue.
Penny: Fine, fine. I relent,old man.
I wonder how much she’s going to freak when she finds out I’m not just taking her to the airport but getting on a plane to Vegas as well? Maybe the benefits part of our friendship can start back up this weekend since we’ll be in Sin City. But also, I want to have some fun with her on the strip and take her out… on a real date.
~ ~ ~
I’ve managed to keep the fact that I’m going to Las Vegas a secret for the last two days. It’s currently 5:45 in the morning and I’ve already put my bag into the truck, so Penny doesn’t suspect anything.
I knock on her door, and she opens it all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. “Morning! I made you a coffee to go and a breakfast sandwich,” she hands me the treats and smiles wide.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to.”
