Chapter 27
Penny
I’ve gone crazy. That’s the only excuse I have for my behavior.
Declan and I had two different flights leaving Las Vegas, and when we parted at the airport, I started freaking out and haven’t stopped. We managed to have a conversation about what the plan was when we got back to Daybreak, and I told him that I didn’t want to tell anyone yet because I needed to tread lightly with Autumn, so we’re supposed to act like normal once we get back, like the friends we’ve been for the pastfew months.
I flag down Jordan as she turns into the arrivals lane and quickly gets in the Jeep that her boyfriend lets her drive. She looks like a badass driving it, and I’m a little jealous.
Once she pulls out onto the road, I rip the band-aid off. “I got married.”
The jeep jerks to a stop, and it’s a good thing that we’re still on the airport roads because we probably would have caused an accident. “What the fuck, Pen. You can’t just say something like that while I’m driving!” she shouts and looks at me with crazy eyes.
I would laugh if the situation were funny, but it’s not.
“I’m sorry, just drive,” I point to the road. People are honking around us, and I’m starting to get anxious.
She looks at me for a beat before stepping on the gas. “Start from the beginning. And please tell me you didn’t get married to some nerdy coffee guy. That would be disappointing.”
“I got married to Declan.”
She looks over at me, confusion etching her brows. “Okay. So, I thought I just heard you say that you got married to Declan? But that can’t be right because Declan was in Daybreak.”
I shake my head. “No. Declan went to a tattoo convention in Las Vegas that just so happened to be on the same weekend as the coffee trade show.”
“And you just… decided to get married?” Her voice is rising, and I don’t blame her. I would be shocked as fuck too.
“It just… happened,” I tell her and look out the passenger window.
“No. Don’t downplay it like that. I know you, Penny. You wouldn’t do something like that if you didn’t want to. Drunk or not.”
She’s right. I’m pretty level-headed. I have to be because I’m a mom. I wouldn’t ever do something so rash if I thought it were a terrible idea. “We were having fun and one thing led to another and we ended up at a chapel at midnight,” I explain.
“Okay. But that doesn’t explain why.”
“Because I love him,” I whisper so low I hope she doesn’t hear and lets it go.
Her eyes catch mine for a moment before looking back to the road, and I can see her features soften. She sighs. “I could have told you that, Pen. I could have told you that months and months ago. But after the whole thing on Christmas, I didn’t want to rub it in your face that I thought you were in love with a man who didn’t want kids.”
Am I really that transparent?
“Yes, you are,” Jordan says. I guess I just said that out loud. “My only questions are, does he love you back, and does he accept that kids are in his future?”
“That’s what he told me.” I nod.
Her eyes go wide, and she beams. “He said he loved you?”
I nod my head. “Yeah. He did.”
The squeal that leaves her mouth rivals one of Autumn’s, and I can’t help but chuckle. But reality comes crashing back in full force when I tell her, “We’re not telling anybody, though. We need some time to process what we just did and how to navigate it with Autumn. Plus, my parents are going to flip the fuck out.”
“Hey. You have time. You know me. I can keep a secret like nobody’s business.”
And she can. She kept her whole life a secret from me for a year and a half, so I implicitly trust Jordan with this.
“Am I crazy?” I ask with vulnerability in my voice.
She looks at me and doesn’t hesitate. “Oh girl, you’re nuts. One hundred percent.”
