4. Lake
4
LAKE
I leave Pen passed out on the couch in front of the fire with a note telling her I’ll be right back. My body vibrates as I climb into the driver’s seat and start the engine. The truck roars to life, and I waste no time turning around and heading for the main road. I need to get this back to Beau and swap it out for mine, but that’ll have to wait.
Between Pen’s kiss and those sad fucking eyes, I can barely breathe. I wanted to strip her out of all that white fabric and bring back the smile to her beautiful face.
Really damn inappropriate.
If anything is gonna happen with Pen, it’ll have to wait, because I won’t rush something between us just so she can get over Carter.
Fuck that.
Visions of her walking down the aisle toward me in a lacy formfitting dress play on repeat in my mind and I don’t hate it. Because there’s no in-between—Pen Stewart doesn’t get to be a fling.
Because she’s evermore.
That has my heart pounding in my chest as the resort comes into view. So much has changed today, and Pen isn’t the only one who needs time to adjust.
But that’s also something I can dwell on later.
Right now, I need to focus on retrieving Pen’s stuff and getting back to her before she wakes up. Luckily, my sister had gotten into the bridal suite and collected everything she could, thank God, but there was still no way of knowing if I’d make it out of here unseen.
WREN: Go to the side entrance on the north side of the resort.
Easing into the lot, I slow to a stop and tap out a message.
LAKE: How do you know about that?
WREN: Less questions more thank yous
LAKE: Thank you
I snort and toss my phone into the cupholder as I follow her directions, throwing the truck into park, not bothering to find a spot.
Knocking softly on the door, I jump back when it flies open and Wren stands there with a knowing smirk.
“Awful lot of excitement today, big brother,” she sasses as she rolls the suitcase toward me. It’s designer and undoubtedly belongs to a set.
It’s probably worth more than Beau’s truck.
“That bad?”
“Worse,” she confirms and I nod. “We’re handling it though.”
“Thanks,” I say, pulling her in for a quick hug.
“How’s Pen?”
“She”—I pause and my sister raises one eyebrow as she crosses her arms—“kissed me and then passed out.”
“I’m pretty sure your kiss is supposed to wake her up, not make her go to sleep.” She crinkles her nose. “That’s not how you satisfy a woman, Lake.”
I drag my hand down my face and then glare at her. “We’ll talk about this later, but,”—I shake the suitcase—“she was going to marry someone else today, Wren. I can’t?—”
“I know.” She presses a kiss to my cheek. “You’ll get your girl when it’s time.”
Her phone vibrates in her hand as her mouth forms a perfect O.
“What?” I ask, panic rising in my chest. “What is it?”
“I have to go. Her phone is in there,”—she points at the suitcase—“but I couldn’t find a charger so you’ll have to figure that out. Let me know if she needs anything else. Jesse took Oma home with dinner from the kitchen so she’s good for the night. We’ll take turns checking on her until Pen is up to it.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be back to collect, big brother.” I start to argue but she points her finger at me. “I’m sorry, are you dealing with momzilla-in-law right now? Seriously, I almost feel bad for Carter.” She rolls her eyes when I make a face. “I feel bad for him having a mother like that, not because Pen ran faster than Julia Roberts back down the aisle.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Of course you don’t, but it doesn’t matter. I’m team Pen.”
“I’m leaving,” I say with a huff as I try to hide my smile.
“I love you.”
“Uh-huh,” I try with a wave over my shoulder.
“Say it!” she hisses. “Say it before I freeze my tits off out here.”
Wincing, I turn back to her. “That sounds painful.”
“Lake!”
“I love you too.”
She winks and hustles inside, the door closing with a soft click as I lug the suitcase into the backseat, the quiet settling around me. Glancing up at the Wintervale Resort, I sigh knowing this wasn’t Pen, and while I’m relieved she didn’t get married today, a part of me is sad that she wasn’t able to have the day she wanted.
I would marry her at the lodge on my parents’ land.
The thought has me smiling, and it’s one I hold on to all the way home.