Chapter 48
48
COLLINS
“Collins, I wasn’t expecting you,” Claire greets at the doorway of her new home. She takes a step back to grant me access. “Nic is at Graham’s place.”
“I know. That’s why I decided to stop over.”
“Okay…”
I follow her into her living room and take a seat on the chair, as she sits down on the couch. She is less than two months away from giving birth and looks like the aches and pains have set in full force.
Guilt stabs at me for even considering involving her in my personal dilemmas, but I’m past the stage of being desperate.
“I need your help.”
Claire makes the gimme-gimme hands. “Please. Keep going…”
“I need you to lure Penny to me so?—”
“It looks less like a kidnapping.”
“Exactly,” I say with a laugh.
“Count me in.”
“You haven’t even thought about it or heard the details.”
Claire shrugs. “I don’t need to. I’m all about the ride or die…”
“No one is going to die,” I clarify.
“It’s an expression.”
It’s one I’ll never really understand apparently. “Okay…I appreciate your help.”
“You and Penny belong together.”
“Not according to Nic and Graham.”
She shakes her hands in front of me as if to magically erase the words I just spoke out loud. “They’ll come around. Don’t let their overprotectiveness sway your efforts. Penny was the happiest when she was with you. I have no doubts that you are her person.”
“Are you sure you’re up for the challenge?”
Claire taps her finger along her jaw. “If this means going against my fiancé and pissing him off, count me in. I have been in such the mood for makeup sex.”
I narrow my eyes at her. She is something else. And no matter how many times I think I’m prepared for what will come out of her mouth, she changes direction and surprises me.
“I do appreciate you.”
“This is going to be epic.”
“So here’s what I had in mind…”
* * *
It’s been exactly a week since I rescued Penny from Soulful Mind.
And it’s been exactly a week since I declared to her that I’d be pursuing her.
I’ve said sorry. I’ve sent flowers every day. And I’ve given her the space she seems to need.
But I’m done with doing things her way. She’s had ample time to come to terms with things going back to it being “us,” so she can’t be all too surprised that I’m currently waiting for her to arrive at a restaurant.
I know she’ll be here. And when she realizes that I know she’ll be here, she’s going to lose her shit.
I can’t wait.
There’s an excitement moving through me at seeing her face and her reaction.
I know she won’t disappoint.
Penny’s been staying at Nic’s old apartment since we broke up, and I’d do anything for her to be back under my roof so I can keep a better eye on her. But knowing her, she’s going to fight tooth and nail.
That’s my girl.
She is stubborn.
She is independent.
And she is brave.
I’m just tired of seeing her go about all of this alone. Relying on stalker updates from Chris and my own security footage access, I can’t tell if Penny is sleeping enough and eating enough. I want to take care of her but can’t do it as well from afar.
It’s time I take my girl back and claim what’s mine.
“Can I get you anything, sir?” the waitress asks politely.
“Sparkling water, please.”
“Any flavor?”
I tap a finger along my jawline. “Strawberry.”
“Very well. I’ll be right back.”
Scanning over the menu, I distract myself with the various options, hoping that Penny doesn’t become so angry with me that she refuses to eat. I need her strong and feisty today for what I have planned, not weak and undernourished.
I sense Penny’s presence before I can locate her in the room. Scanning around the restaurant, I finally spot her talking with the hostess at the entrance.
She looks spectacular. But then again, she always does.
I watch intently as she weaves herself through the room, settling at a two-person table that is within sight range.
My beverage arrives over ice. Taking a sip, I lean back against the chair, admiring my perfect view of Penelope Hoffman.
Whipping her body around, she catches me staring, and my boldness makes me refuse to look away.
Looking at Penny is like staring into the sun. It gives you life, but if you’re not careful, it can burn you.
Uh-oh…
Here she comes…
I quickly cross my ankles at my feet, bracing myself for whatever she chooses to dish out in anger.
“You are making this weird,” Penny snaps.
“Are you really stomping your foot?”
She props her hands on her hips and exaggerates her foot movement. “Yes.”
“You keep ignoring me.”
“And I’ll continue ignoring you.”
I can’t help but smile. She clearly isn’t ignoring me now. When she catches on, she bares her teeth, and it’s a beautiful sight. “Leave.”
“No. I was here first.”
It’s true. Now, granted, I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure she would be here as well. But that’s irrelevant.
“What are you doing here?”
I look around the Mediterranean restaurant. “I’m not doing anything other than enjoying this fine establishment.” It really is beautifully designed. I’m thankful Penny’s stubbornness has led me here. At least I’ll eat well while I stalk her.
“You followed me.”
“Maybe you followed me,” I tease. “Remember”—I tap my jawline and then prop my chin on my hand—“I was here first .”
Penny glances around the place, while rocking on her heels. Is she looking for someone? Actually, I know that answer already. She most definitely is. And that’s the reason I am really here.
“Please leave.”
“No. It’s a free country.”
“Nothing is ever random with you.”
“Oh, my feelings for you are very intentional.”
“You had your chance.” She makes a too-bad-so-sad face.
“Have you been enjoying your flowers I’ve been sending?”
“No, but my trash has been.”
I resist smirking. Penny’s a horrible liar. “You’d best stow away all your sass if you don’t want to add kidnapping to my list of faults.” I wiggle my brows. “I’ve been on a roll lately of doing things that piss you off. What’s one more?”
She shakes her head at me. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you.”
“Shut up.”
“I do.”
“Shut up.”
“I love you, Penny.”
She blocks her ears. “Shut. Up. Shut up. Shut up!”
“And I’ll spend the next forever-many years proving just how much.”
“It’s over.”
“It’s not, Princess,” I say with confidence.
She moves her hands back to her hips. “Yes, Collins, it is. And stop calling me that!”
“I got your parents’ approval.”
“I ne—” Her words cut off, and her mouth closes shut. Then after a long pause, she lets out an exasperated exhale. “You are un-be-liev-able.”
I shrug, leaning back in my chair. “I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m not going to be with a man who walked away when he had a chance.”
“I never walked away from you, Penny.”
“Oh, that’s right… My bad. You actually ran away.”
“I didn’t do that either. I walked silently beside you the entire time.”
“I wish you would choose silence now.”
Ignoring her, I continue. “And if it takes longer for you to accept the reality of this whole situation, so be it.” I lean back in my chair and bend my arms behind my head. “I have all the time in the world.”
“My brothers will never approve.”
“I’m not living for your brothers’ approval when it’s yours I need most.”
“I’m on a date,” she blurts out.
I look behind her. “That’s cute. Is he invisible?”
She scoffs. “No.”
Well, at least they didn’t share a ride together.
I use my leg to kick out a chair at my table. “By all means, please sit down.”
She doesn’t.
The waitress drops off a bread basket and a dish of olive oil with herbs, and I can’t help but chuckle over Penny’s growling stomach.
“Please, join me while the bread is fresh.”
“No.”
I rip off a chunk that is still hot and dip it into the olive oil bath. Popping it into my mouth, I savor the flavor combination and moan.
“This is so good.” I gesture toward the basket. “Are you sure?”
“Stop it.”
Despite refusing, Penny doesn’t move. She just stands here watching me devour a chunk of bread like I want to devour a chunk of her.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?” I make a knowing face. “You are stalking me.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry, I am flattered.”
“Ew, no.”
“Well, who comes to a restaurant if not to eat? And you claim you aren’t hungry, so that must mean…”
Then I see Ivan Moreno in my periphery. My eyes catch his, and I track him.
The kid is dressed like he’s about to attend his own wedding—or funeral. At least his over-the-top suit is versatile.
“What are you doing, Penelope?” I say slowly.
Penny must see that my attention has shifted to something behind her, but she doesn’t look. “Learning to live without you.”
“By being reckless?”
“It’s not reckless when we aren’t together anymore.”
Before Moreno has gotten over to us, I lock eyes back with my princess. “Just because you don’t want to acknowledge that we most definitely are together, doesn’t make it any less true.”
“Do not make a scene.” Smacking her hand on the table, she tries to punctuate her demand.
I put my finger up to my lips. “Shhh…” This is way too much fun. “It looks like you are the scene-causer right now.”
“You are so annoying.”
Yup, she’s getting angrier. And I’m going to savor every bit of emotion she’s giving to me.
She’s delicious.
“Enjoy your pretend date, but just know that if the kid touches you”—I rotate my dinner knife between my fingers—“I’ll have ample supply of kitchen tools to torture him with and exact my revenge.”
“You are crazy.”
“Crazy in love, yes.”
“Stop saying that,” she hisses.
“Love, love, love …” Then I do something really cheesy by cupping my hands to make a heart at my chest.
“You’re a clown.”
“And you are beautiful.” I blow her a kiss. “And all mine.”
“You made me close a chapter in my life that I wasn’t willing or wanting to close! You did that. You are no longer entitled to be sulky and jealous when I move on to another book.”
“You are my plot twist, Princess.”
“Quit being”—she struggles for her next word—“awkward.”
“I settled for being the villain in the past. But the future has me striving to be the hero.”
“Penny, it’s good to see you,” Moreno says, looking my girl over.
She most definitely looks good, but I don’t need his nasty eyes roaming over her and tainting her with his grossness.
The kid better be careful if he doesn’t want to be watching her through two forks sticking out of his pupils.
This outing is about the charity fundraiser, and I guess tonight he’s decided to cash in on his prize.
“Good to see you too,” Penny says, leaning forward and giving him a hug.
My eyes narrow as she embraces him a tad bit too long for my liking.
I’m keeping score, Princess…
* * *
It’s not often that I impress myself with my own patience, but enduring this supposed date that Penny and Ivan are on is testing every limit of mine.
If it wasn’t for the fact that going to prison would severely put a wrench in my plan to win Penny back, then I’d have carried Moreno’s body out to the dumpsters in back and poured hot grease all over him.
He has to be loving the fact that I’m here dining alone, and he has my girl.
But I’m being the good Boy Scout that I’ve been labeled to be.
The fact is, Penny isn’t going home with him when she belongs to me.
Leaning back in my chair, I angle it so I can look directly at her while she tries her damnedest to avoid eye contact with me.
And the more she tries to ignore me, the more I enjoy the experience.
“Can I get you anything?” the waitress asks, doing her rounds at her assigned tables.
I’m sure asking her to add poison to Ivan’s drink is frowned upon, so I settle for something more subtle. “Can you bring me a piece of paper and a pen?”
She doesn’t even act like my request is unusual. “Of course.”
When she returns with my supplies, I go to work making my goal list.
Goals for the Next 24 Hours:
1. Shut down the stupid date with “the kid”
2. Kiss the fuck out of my princess
3. Help said princess to be reasonable
If All Else Fails: Kidnap my girl
Then I fold the paper into an airplane, recalling how at Penny’s birthday one of the family games was landing the plane. I can only hope to have a lifetime of making memories with Penny during family game time.
She just needs to see reason.
When Ivan gets up to use the restroom, I carefully fly my paper airplane and manage to land it right on Penny’s plate.
Damn, I’m good.
Well, that got her attention.
“Calm down,” I mouth, just making her fidget even more in her seat.
I can tell she doesn’t want to open it, but I know she’s too curious not to allow herself.
“Open it,” I whisper-yell, using my hands to mime out what she should do.
“Quit being stupid.”
“Quit being cute,” I counter.
Then I watch with bated breath as she unfolds the panels and discovers my short-term goal list. Masking her feelings behind a cold expression, Penny crumbles the paper into a ball and then hovers the side of it over the scented candle that is serving as a centerpiece. And it catches the flame. Quickly, she tosses the semi-charred ball into her glass of ice water.
Then she looks over at me and smiles her wicked grin, and I can’t help but burst into laughter.
Except now I can’t stop.
Ivan returns and busies himself by showing Penny photos of his dog, probably hoping a pet sparks some romance between them, because he’s clearly not doing it on his own.
The kid’s probably thinking— women love puppies and babies, right ?
Meanwhile, my princess would much rather look at popcorn flavor options and homemade prank videos. I know her love languages.
Probably bored out of her mind, Penny excuses herself from the table to use the restroom or hide from the man with the personality of a ten-year-old. I wait outside the ladies’ room door for her. But growing impatient, I decide just to nonchalantly walk inside.
What could go wrong?
I find Penny in front of the row of sinks, staring blankly at her reflection. And in this lighting, where I expect peace on her face from knowing she’s alone, I find only sadness.
“My apartment feels hollow without you.”
Her body whips around to find me. “Collins…”
“I’m done with you pretending.”
“Pretending what?”
“That we don’t exist. I’m done with it. If it means getting my face bashed in by your brothers again until they feel less angry about the whole situation, then so be it.”
“You can’t waltz in here and start throwing statements at me and hope one is enough for me to change my mind.”
“Seamlessly, you filled the cracks in my life that I told myself I didn’t need filled. I miss you there. I miss your hair ties on all my doorknobs. I miss you completely ignoring my cabinets’ organizational methods and improvising. I miss the fun you’ve brought to my life.”
“We both know I stress you out. You pretty much described me as uncooperative on the daily when we were sharing space.”
“Well, I miss that too.”
A knot rises in my throat, restricting the air flow, as I watch tears threaten to pour out of her eyes. Why is she depriving herself of happiness now that I’ve paved a path for us to be together?
“It’s over. I can’t put myself through this again. The last breakup put me back in the”—she chokes on her words—“you know.”
“You aren’t crazy, Penny. You are heartbroken.”
She rotates her body to look at me. “That’s presumptuous.”
“It’s accurate. Well, guess what? I am heartbroken too. And I am sorry.”
“Sometimes sorry isn’t enough.”
“You are the chaos my orderly life needs, Penny. You’ve wrecked me, but in the best ways possible.” My eyes hold her gaze. “You are the air I breathe. Without you, I’ll suffocate in my own rigidness. Come back.”
“When you left, it was like you didn’t even see me. I wasn’t even a blip on your radar. Then you just went silent. And that silence was deafening. You made yourself loud and clear. You don’t want me. And you never will long-term. So whatever you’re doing now is just fucking with my head. I just wish you’d give me the clean break that I obviously want.”
“I see you, Penny. I see everything about you. I see the way your eyes soften when you think about those you love. I see the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh. It is cute as hell. I see how you smile when something really makes you happy or how you wiggle your fingers when you are stressed. I see you—every part of you. And the only thing my life is missing is your acknowledgement that you are mine.”
“I don’t know if I can get back to what we once had…”
“Then start focusing on progress and not perfection,” I challenge.
She shakes her head. “I can’t make big life decisions right now.”
I nod and take a step closer. “Then let me take the choice away.”
“Collins…”
“In about ten seconds, I’m going to place my hands on your ass and lift you so your legs can wrap around me. Then I’m going to grind you until you get so needy that your only choice is to beg me. If that isn’t something you want, then here is your one chance to walk away from me. But if you choose to stay, know that it will be forever.”
“You can’t?—”
“Ten.”
“Barge in?—”
“Nine.”
“Here and?—”
“Eight.”
“Take what?—”
“Seven.”
“You want?—”
“Six.”
“Without asking?—”
“Five.”
Penny pushes on my chest. “Collins!”
“Four.”
“I mean…”
“Three.”
“It.”
“Two.”
She takes a step back but I match her move.
“One.”
“Uh-oh…”