Chapter 7
PENNY
Penny sat at her desk, her eyes landing on one of the dozen books Royce had purchased for her.
She could have gotten more during those three minutes, but she hadn’t wanted to overdo it. Besides, the stack she had now was already ridiculous. Ridiculous and thoughtful and sitting on the corner of her desk like proof that yesterday had actually happened.
Royce had spent the day showing her that he paid attention in ways she hadn’t expected.
The gallery had shown her a softer side of him. He could look at a piece of art and see something deeper than paint and canvas. He could talk about grief and hardship without sounding like he was trying to impress her.
The bookstore had shown her that he could be fun and thoughtful while also making her feel cared for in a way she wasn’t used to.
She’d told him she could buy her own books, and he hadn’t argued that point. He’d simply asked if maybe letting someone do something nice for her counted as out of character.
He hadn’t been wrong.
A light, floating feeling moved through her stomach when she recalled the way he’d looked at her afterward. Like he knew she was capable of taking care of herself and still wanted to be allowed to care for her a little too.
Then there was the dancing.
Goosebumps rose on her arms even though her office was the perfect temperature. He’d been spontaneous and sensual. The way he’d held her had changed her brain chemistry.
There was no denying it.
Royce had stirred something awake inside her, and all she could think about was when they would see each other again.
She hadn’t wanted their date to end, and apparently, he’d felt the same. Penny still couldn’t believe they’d stayed out until the sun came up. Thank goodness she hadn’t had to work the following day.
The only disappointing thing about Sunday had been the fact that Royce hadn’t reached out. Not a call or a text. He was probably busy. Or maybe he’d needed sleep more than she did.
Or maybe she was overthinking.
That seemed likely.
But now it was Monday, and all she wanted was for the workday to end so she could call Royce and invite him over for dinner.
She chewed on her lower lip. Jason’s wedding was quickly approaching, and she still hadn’t selected a plus-one. Based on how quickly things were moving between herself and Royce, she wondered if he’d be open to coming as her date.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up without looking at the caller ID. “This is Dr. Klein.”
“Penny, we need your help. It’s really important.”
Penny rolled her eyes and sighed. “What happened?”
Jason was like this sometimes. Her brother used to get himself into trouble, but that was before he’d fallen in love with Isabelle. She traced a finger along the spine of her book and waited.
“You need to ask Emerson out on a date.”
She nearly choked. “What? No.”
In the background, she could have sworn she heard Mathew mutter something along the lines of, “Told you.”
Jason sighed. “Mathew messed up and hurt River, and now he needs a chance to explain things to her.”
Penny closed her eyes briefly. Jason was pulling out the big guns. He knew she couldn’t resist helping when it came to something like this. It was in her DNA, but it was also part of the reason she was such a good therapist.
“What did he do?”
There was silence on the other end. Then more mumbling.
“Jason, if you don’t tell me, I’m not going to help.”
He groaned. “Mathew didn’t tell River he’d been married.”
“You’re kidding. That’s like First Date 101.”
Shoot.
This was probably partly her fault. She’d mentioned the divorce to River, assuming she knew everything.
“And guess who showed up in town?” Jason asked.
Penny gasped. “No.”
Well, that made things ten times worse.
“Yep. Victoria herself. In the flesh. And River bumped into them.”
Penny pinched the bridge of her nose. She might have been partly to blame for this fiasco, but meeting Victoria had probably pushed things over the edge. “How is me going out with Emerson going to help things?”
All she could think about was Royce and how getting coffee with anyone else felt uncomfortably close to something she didn’t want it to be.
“Because he’s playing guard dog, and River needs to hear the story from Mathew. Are you game or not?”
She sighed. “Fine. But it’s not a date. I’ll get him to meet me in town for coffee or something.”
“Perfect. Let us know when you get it set up.”
“Jason—”
But he had already hung up.
Penny stared at her phone.
The next time she saw her brothers, she was going to remind them that she was a grown woman with an actual job and not a convenient distraction service.
Still, she opened her messages and pulled up Emerson’s name.
This was not a date.
It was coffee.
Coffee with a friend.
For family reasons that were probably going to irritate her more and more the longer she thought about them.
The following day, Penny waited in the coffee shop, her leg bouncing beneath the table and her hands wrapped around her cup.
She didn’t like this.
Royce hadn’t said they were exclusive. They’d had one date. One wonderful, ridiculous, sunrise-ending date, but still. One date.
And yet she felt like there was something serious brewing between them. A connection she couldn’t quite explain without sounding like the sort of person she would gently encourage to slow down and take a breath.
Would Royce be upset if he knew she was meeting Emerson?
No. It wasn’t a date. She was meeting a friend for coffee.
To catch up.
And, technically, to keep Emerson occupied while her brother tried to fix the mess he had made with River.
Penny was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Emerson entering the coffee shop. The chair across from her pulled out from the table, and he settled into the seat, his own drink in hand.
Emerson flashed her his megawatt grin. He’d always been a charmer—the kind of happy guy who could make a girl blush and a group of guys laugh. He was magnetic, and once upon a time, Penny had been attracted to him.
But that had been years ago.
And he’d been interested in someone else. That relationship had failed, but then she could have sworn he had a thing for Rose.
“Hey,” Emerson murmured. “You look good, Penny.”
“Thanks.” She smiled, her hands tightening around her cup. “So do you.”
This was so awkward.
She didn’t know what to say. Emerson probably wouldn’t like knowing she’d only invited him out so her brother could get to River. It was hard to meet Emerson’s eyes, and she winced as she realized the full extent of what she’d allowed herself to be swept into.
She cleared her throat and peeked at him, then looked away as she turned her cup around in her hands. “So…”
He chuckled and leaned forward. “You’re nervous.”
Her gaze flicked up to his, and an argument was on the tip of her tongue, but he kept going.
“It’s fine. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting you to ask me out.”
Penny stiffened. “Oh, this isn’t…”
Her eyes darted to the window behind Emerson, and she could have sworn she saw Royce walking past. She tilted to the side to get a better look, but she didn’t see him.
Frowning, Penny dragged her eyes back to Emerson. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He said it with so much ease she almost forgot she was here under ulterior motives.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Emerson’s eyes widened, and then he laughed. “Boy, that’s a heavy question.”
Heat unfurled beneath her skin. “Oh. I’m not talking about you and me. We’re not—” She winced. “That came out wrong.”
He reached across the table and placed a hand over hers to still the tapping she hadn’t realized she was doing. “Hey, I’m not making any assumptions, Penny. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hopeful this could turn into something.”
The warmth beneath her skin intensified, but not in a good way.
Penny shook her head, and a strained laugh bubbled up from her chest as she pulled her hand away from him. That telltale nausea tickled low in her stomach.
Not now.
Shoot. Not now.
All she was supposed to do was get Emerson here so he wouldn’t be in the way when Mathew confronted River. She had not meant to hurt him or give him the wrong idea.
Emerson’s brows drew together. “Are you okay?”
“What?” Her head snapped up.
“You look a little green.”
Penny didn’t want to be here with Emerson. Not like this. She wanted Royce seated across from her, giving her that smile that could soothe and unsettle her all at once.
“It’s okay if you need to head home,” Emerson said. “I could walk you—”
“No. No. It’s fine,” Penny insisted.
“You sure? Because you look like you’re a few seconds away from losing your lunch.” Emerson shifted in his seat. “We can take a rain check. I’d be happy to take you to dinner sometime.”
Her nerves got even worse the more he spoke.
“And hey, your brother’s wedding is coming up, right? We could—”
Penny offered him a weak smile as she raised a hand to stop him. “I haven’t been honest with you, Emerson.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, what?”
She blew out a breath. “I mean, I haven’t lied to you. I just…” She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them and drew on all the courage she could muster. “I should have been clearer when I asked you to coffee.”
It didn’t matter how long she studied him in that moment. Emerson wasn’t giving anything away. He watched her, waiting for her to continue. And all the while, her blush got worse. She wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t look human anymore.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I shouldn’t have asked you without making it clear. I thought it would be nice to catch up. I know we’re not really close, but…”
What kind of excuse could she make that would be believable?
The truth was always best, right?
She cleared her throat again and dropped her eyes to her cup. “There’s someone else.”
Emerson remained quiet.
It almost seemed as though he wasn’t breathing. He didn’t shift in his seat or react the way she’d expected. But then, Emerson had always been a good guy. And he didn’t deserve to be dragged into this mess.
The next time she saw her brothers, she’d be giving them a piece of her mind.
The man in front of her only showed a flicker of disappointment when he gave a dip of his chin. “Right. Okay. Thanks for making that clear.”
“Emerson…” she said softly, apologetically.
He shook his head. “Really. It’s fine. And for the record, you didn’t lead me on. I don’t want you to feel bad. The conversation we had was a simple invitation to grab coffee. I was the one making assumptions.”
Penny hated the disappointment in his tone. It made her feel ten times worse than she already did. “I’m sor—”
“Don’t apologize, Penny.” He got to his feet and offered her a genuine smile. “See you around.”
Penny watched him go, and the second he was out of sight, she shoved back from her seat and headed for the door.
Guilt for so many different reasons overwhelmed her to the point that she didn’t notice the tall form standing in her path.
Large hands caught her upper arms to keep her from a full-blown collision. She glanced up, an apology on her lips when she met the gorgeous eyes she’d been daydreaming about since yesterday.
“Royce,” she said breathlessly.
“Hey, beautiful.” Royce’s gaze moved over her face, taking her in. “You okay?”
She nodded, though she wasn’t sure that was entirely true. “I’m fine.”
His attention flicked over her shoulder in the direction Emerson had taken, then returned to her. There was a small crease between his brows, but his hands loosened on her arms before dropping away.
“Were you having coffee with someone?”
There was no accusation in his voice. Not exactly. But he had gone still in a way that made her chest tighten.
What was he feeling?
Hurt? Confused? Jealous?
“Yeah, um…” She swallowed. “I had coffee with a friend.”
His focus dipped back to her face as he took in her expression. There was no use hiding what she was feeling. Royce had already started figuring out how to read her.
And she wasn’t going to lie to him even if she could.