Chapter 10
ROYCE
Royce yanked at his hair again as he paced his hotel room.
He’d gone after Penny immediately, but somehow she’d managed to evade him. He’d followed her all the way to the casino but lost her in the crowd. Then he realized she hadn’t taken a room key with her, and he’d forced himself to return to their room in case she found her way back.
That had been an hour and a half ago.
He’d tried calling her, but she’d sent him to voicemail. Texts were a no-go because they never came out right. Not when he was this worked up. Not when every sentence sounded either too desperate or not nearly sorry enough.
Royce had never felt this on edge.
Not when he’d first seen Penny. Not when he’d asked her out on that first date. Not even when he’d suggested they get married. Heck, the only time he’d come this close to losing his cool was when he’d witnessed Penny have that panic attack on the way here.
He’d felt so helpless in that moment, and he’d vowed to himself that he would do better by her from that point forward.
And then he’d gone and proven he could still mess up in spectacular fashion.
He knew just how strange this whole situation was. He also knew he wasn’t ready to let her go without at least explaining himself. Not convincing her. Not cornering her. Just giving her a good explanation.
If she still wanted to leave after that, he’d drive her home.
The thought nearly knocked the breath from his chest.
Maybe he should have told her his last name before they made the trip.
No. Not maybe.
He should have.
But if he’d done that, she might not have come.
Royce dragged both hands down his face and groaned. At this rate, he was going to wear a hole in the carpet with all his pacing.
It wasn’t like he could call her siblings and ask them to check on her to make sure she was okay.
Penny didn’t really have friends. She loved her job, and the closest person she had besides her brothers was her secretary.
But something told him she wouldn’t have told Shelly the whole truth about her plans either.
Penny was independent. Or that was probably how she would classify herself. She wanted to be strong and capable. She didn’t want to count on anyone.
Royce understood that more than she probably realized.
He growled out his frustration as he glanced at the clock once again, then to her belongings that remained untouched on the bed.
The plan had been to get married this evening and spend the next day as newlyweds.
Initially, he’d wanted to plan something longer, but he knew Penny well enough to understand her need for routine.
She wouldn’t want to leave home for long, and until she got used to the idea of them being together, she might not even want to tell anyone what they were up to.
That was fine.
He didn’t mind being a secret for a little while.
Not if it gave them time to figure out how to face both families without everyone trying to pull them apart before they’d found their footing.
After another twenty minutes of pacing, he tried calling again, but just like before, she didn’t pick up.
He considered calling his sister. Morgan was the one sibling who seemed to agree with him whenever the argument regarding the Taylor family came up.
She didn’t want to keep the feud going, and he had some suspicions that she might be hiding something.
He wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was actually friendly with the family.
He’d heard some chatter a few years back that Rose Taylor had gone to the same university as his little sister.
Granted, it was a big school. And at the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. What were the chances his little sister and the eldest Taylor daughter had managed to put the family feud behind them and become friends?
Not high.
Then again, what were the chances he’d fall this hard for a woman before he’d known her a full week?
Who was he to make judgments on what was or wasn’t possible?
There was a buzz at the door followed by a click, and then the handle moved.
Royce shot to his feet, but he didn’t cross the suite. It would be far too easy for Penny to bolt from the room if she felt cornered. He needed to stay where he was and let her decide whether she wanted to come in.
The door opened, and Penny stepped inside.
Her eyes collided with his, but surprisingly, they weren’t red-rimmed or puffy. She didn’t even look angry like she had when she’d left the room.
She did, however, choose to remain standing by the door with her arms crossed as she studied him from where she stood.
“Hey, beautiful,” he murmured. “I’m glad you came back.”
“Well, my stuff is here, so…” She motioned to her belongings only feet from where he stood.
“Right.” He gripped the back of his neck. “Do I… should we…” Royce sighed. “Do you want me to take you home?”
It hurt to ask that question.
He didn’t want to take her back. He wanted to move forward with this harebrained idea of his. He wanted the chance to prove that what they had was real, even if everything about it looked reckless from the outside.
One of these days, he might need to start seeing a therapist himself just to make sure he wasn’t actually certifiable.
Penny frowned, and for a moment, he thought she’d agree it was for the best. But then she shook her head. “Can we talk?”
“Of course.”
He took a step toward her, then reconsidered and motioned to the bed as he sat on the edge. “Do you want to sit down?”
She eyed him, then the bed. Her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded. To his surprise, she only left a few inches between them.
“I’ll go first,” she said.
Royce nodded. There were far too many things running rampant in his head. He wasn’t sure any of them would come out in a coherent statement if she demanded that he explain himself.
Penny reached for his hand then, and he startled, staring at their connection with awe. She squeezed his hand, prompting him to look up at her.
“I think I understand why you kept your name a secret,” she said. “I don’t agree with it. Not even a little. But I can understand why you were afraid to say it.”
He blinked at her, shocked further into silence.
“That being said, I have questions. And conditions. If we’re going to move forward with this little…” One side of her mouth quirked upward. “Adventure of ours.”
He couldn’t believe it.
Was he dreaming, or was Penny actually admitting she still wanted to marry him?
“Of course,” he managed to blurt. “Whatever you want.”
That twitch of her lips turned into a full smile. “Okay. First, no more keeping secrets.”
He was nodding before she finished her sentence. “Never again.” Royce brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I promise, I won’t keep anything important from you. If you have questions, you ask. I’ll answer.”
Her gaze sharpened slightly. “Not just if I know the right questions to ask.”
He stilled.
She was right.
He exhaled and nodded again, slower this time. “Not just if you ask. If something affects you, or us, you deserve to know.”
She studied him for another beat, then nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer.
“Second… this whole family fight thing you have with my cousins…” That adorable furrow found her brows as she trailed off.
“What about it?” Royce watched her carefully.
The furrow intensified, and she drew in her lower lip to chew on it. “I need to know what we’re walking into. Not some vague ‘they won’t like it’ answer. I need the real version.”
“I can do that.” He rubbed his thumb lightly over her hand. “And we’ll figure it out, together. And for what it’s worth, it’s not like you’re a Taylor.”
Her eyes cut up to meet his. “Not technically, no. But ever since my father passed, it feels like my uncle has been taking us under his wing. I’ve been avoiding going out to the farm because I’ve been trying to deal with everything in my own way, but he’s reached out a couple times to make sure everything is okay. ”
“And he should. He’s family.” Royce paused, choosing his words with more care than he would have yesterday.
“What I meant is that my family might try to tell themselves it’s different because you’re a Klein.
But that doesn’t mean they’ll be happy. My brothers know you’re connected to the Taylors, and they warned me away from that whole side of the family. ”
Penny’s brows lifted.
“I ignored them,” he added.
“I’m shocked.”
A smile tugged at his mouth despite everything. “No, you’re not.”
“No,” she admitted. “I’m not.”
His amusement faded. “Will they be happy? No. But they don’t get to decide who I care about.”
“So, you have a plan then?”
He tilted his head. “A plan?”
“Yeah. What are you going to tell them? Or have you already told them?”
“Ah.” He winced. “No. I haven’t told them anything.”
Penny waited.
Royce rubbed the back of his neck again. “I’m more of a ‘break the rules and ask forgiveness later’ kind of guy.”
She laughed quietly, and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.”
The temptation to get closer to her, to touch her face, got too strong. He pulled one hand free from her grasp and curled her hair behind her ear, then traced his thumb across her cheekbone.
“You really are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” he whispered.
Her expression softened for half a second before practicality returned. “Your feelings aren’t going to be enough when it comes to convincing our families to let us live our own lives. Not even you are that na?ve.”
“True.” His voice remained low. “But my feelings for you are strong enough to make me willing to face whatever comes. We’ll figure this out.
If we were simply dating, they might try to sabotage our relationship or threaten to cut me off if I didn’t break up with you.
But after we’re married? I don’t know. It changes things. ”
“You don’t think they’d demand an annulment?”
He canted his head for a moment.
A divorce? Not likely. But an annulment?
Penny made an excellent point. Lincoln probably wasn’t above making threats. He probably wouldn’t mind making Royce’s life miserable if he found out how far things had gone.
He hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. “Yeah, they might bring that up.”
Penny’s mouth tightened.
“Which doesn’t mean they get a vote,” he added quickly. “But it does mean we need to be smart about how we tell them.”
“Maybe we should keep this a secret for at least a little while until we can test the waters.”
Royce studied her. He didn’t love the idea. Not because he wanted to parade her around like some prize he’d won, but because secrets had already caused enough damage between them.
“I don’t want to hide you,” he said.
Her gaze softened slightly. “I know.”
“And I don’t want another secret to hurt you.”
“It wouldn’t be the same kind of secret if we decide together. This is our lives. We’ll tell them, but we can wait till we’re ready.”
That was true.
It still sat uneasy in his chest.
“I don’t want to hide behind that for too long,” he said. “Not after I already kept my name from you.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, “you’re probably right.
I don’t think my brothers care that much about your little feud with my cousins, but they would definitely think something’s wrong with me for making such a rash decision.
What if we ‘dated’ for a while before admitting we’re married?
After you figure out how to break it to your siblings. ”
Royce leaned back slightly, trying to think it through instead of reacting from the gut. “I don’t love the idea of lying.”
Her brows rose.
“I know,” he said. “Coming from me, that’s rich.”
“At least you said it before I did.”
He gave her a sheepish look. “I deserved that.”
“You did.”
“But maybe there’s a difference between hiding the truth and keeping something private until we’re ready to share it.”
Penny nodded slowly. “That’s what I mean.”
“Then we set a time limit,” he said. “We don’t leave it open-ended.”
Her eyes searched his. “What kind of time limit?”
“Until after Jason’s wedding?” he suggested. “That gives us a little time to figure out my family and keeps from turning your brother’s wedding into a family war.”
“That’s probably wise,” she murmured.
“I’ll just tell my brothers I’m looking for a place to stay on my own. My house is crowded enough as it is. They don’t have to know where I’m staying right away.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And honestly, with Lincoln and me, an argument might happen whether I plan one or not.”
Penny was chewing on her lip again as she heard him out, but eventually, she nodded. “You take care of your family, and I’ll take care of mine. We’ll figure out the rest together.”
“Good,” he said, his voice softening, “because after losing you for a couple hours today, I don’t think I can handle losing you again.” He leaned forward and kissed her brow. When he pulled back, she was staring at him with a sparkle in her eyes—one that made him believe in miracles. “Ready?”