“She was just as surprised and pissed as you.”
I doubt that. “If not you or Karen, then who?”
“Someone who hates you enough to want to tear you down.”
For a beat I’m frozen. Who would want to do that to me? Apart from Lucas, I’ve never had a problem with anyone. It had to have been Darren. He’s trying to play with my head. Making me suspicious of everyone in my life.
I point a finger in his direction. “I want you gone in two days.”
He salutes me with a grin.
God, I never want to see that man again.
Chapter Eighteen
LUCAS
Soon after Penny left to see Darren, Hayden and Finn showed up at my door, convincing me that what I need to take my mind off what was happening in Penny’s apartment was hitting golf balls. And if I refused, they’d take pleasure in dragging me from the apartment by my feet. I take their threats seriously. It’s not the first time they’ve done something similar. Now here I am at the driving range, pulling my phone from my pocket for what feels like the tenth time, waiting for Penny to respond to my text. Smashing balls has not distracted me. I desperately want to know what’s happening.
As Finn takes a swing and watches his ball sail into the netted driving range, I look around me. The place is filled with mostly middle-aged to elderly men.
“What happened to us going to bars and drinking alcohol…lots and lots of alcohol?” I ask.
Hayden plucks a ball from a bucket, tosses it in the air, and catches it. “We’re married and fathers now. Those days are over.”
I screw up my face with disgust. “Doesn’t mean you have to turn into boring, old men.”
“This boring, old man is happy.” Hayden puts the ball on the tee, gives a practice swing, then hits it.
“Nice shot,” Finn says.
It’s my turn for a hit. I pick a ball and place it on the tee on the synthetic grass. Before I position myself to take the shot, I pull my phone from my pocket and check it just in case I didn’t hear the notification sound. Still nothing. Is she okay? Does she need my help? Is he trying to convince her to go back to him? I’m so distracted with thoughts swirling in my head when I swing at the ball, I miss. Shit! That’s embarrassing.
Hayden and Finn burst out laughing. “Concentrate on the ball, not your phone, then maybe you’ll hit it,” Finn suggests with a grin.
“In case you don’t know, it’s the little round thing near your feet,” Hayden jokes.
I flip them the bird. “Assholes.”
My response causes more laughter.
“Penny will contact you when she’s ready,” Finn says.
“What makes you think I’m waiting to hear from Penny?”
Hayden clasps a hand on my shoulder. “You cried like a baby because you didn’t want to leave your apartment in case Penny came home. And you haven’t stopped checking your phone since we arrived at the range. Who else would you be waiting on?”
Giving up on hitting the ball, I slide my club into the golf bag. “Maybe I’m meeting up with someone tonight.” That sounds lame and unappealing even to my own ears.
Hayden and Finn glance at each other then burst out laughing once again. Slapping his thigh, Finn chuckles, “You’re joking,right? You’re a man in love, and it’s with Penny. There’s no way in hell you’re going elsewhere.”
The breath gets knocked from my lungs. “What did you say?”
“You’re not going elsewhere—”
“No…not that.”
Finn smiles. “You’re a man in love.”
