“Oops,” Ruin mutters.
One by one, everyone starts quietly slipping out of the family room before River snaps.
My phone pings again.
And just like that, my entire mood shifts.
Penny: Oh my God, Miles. These boots are gorg! Thank you! Merry Christmas. XO - P.
“Fuck, yes,” I shout while pumping my fist in the air.
After too many pairs of her expensive shoes got destroyed by ice melt, I spent an embarrassing amount of time online researching luxury brands until I finally found the perfect pair of boots for her. Christian Louboutin Dune Trott Alta leather combat boots.
Fancy. Fashionable. A little intimidating.
Basically, Penny in shoe form.
“What’s got you so excited?” Rain asks from directly behind me.
I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Oh, please,” she says. “Stop the drama. Is it Penny?”
Rain’s one hundred percent right.
There’s still no way in hell I’m admitting it.
“What? No. I haven’t talked to her since she left.” The lie falls out way too fast. “Why would it be her?
Rain stares at me for a long second before grinning. Fucking hell. She’s like a hound when she wants to know something.
“Ha, okay. Keep telling yourself that,” she whispers. “But when I tell you the entire family already knows you two arefucking, believe me, bro. You have absolutely no poker face when it comes to her.”
She pats me on my shoulder and walks away while my jaw practically hits the floor.
“How the fuck did you know?” I shout after her.
“I didn’t,” she calls back with an evil cackle. “You just confirmed it.”
Fuck.
The last thing I need is my entire family meddling in whatever’s happening between Penny and me.
Just like you all did with Ruin and Gio, and later with Rain and Xander.
Thanks for that reminder, dumbass brain.
Maybe.
But there’s a big difference here.
Penny and I don’t want anything serious.
That’s what we keep telling each other.
Even inside my own head, I know it’s a big fat lie—at least for me.
Because somewhere between late nights, shared dinners, and her falling asleep in my house, I crossed a line I never meant to cross.
