Chapter 19
Miles
Christmas Day should feel loud with this many people in the house.
Instead, all I can think about is the fact that Penny’s in Vail. Not here.
The house already feels wrong without her leaving expensive purses on the bench I recently built for the mudroom or falling asleep in the office chair I pretended I already owned before she moved in.
Things with Penny at home have been… easy. She spends the night with me whenever she wants. No expectations. No pressure. No questions asked.
Some nights she works late investing Gio’s fortune—and probably making herself even richer in the process.
More often than not, I find her passed out in the computer chair I bought for her room.
At first, she hated that I spent money on her since this arrangement is supposed to be temporary, but the second she sat in that chair and realized how comfortable it was, she decided to “look the other way.”
I still grin every time I think about it.
“Guncle Miles?”
I blink and look up to find Sage running toward me.
“Hey there, ladybug,” I say, catching her in my arms and blowing raspberries on her cheek.
“Miles,” Indigo says the moment he clings to my leg.
“Oh, no,” I gasp. “I’m under attack.” I look around wildly.” Someone help me, pleaseee.”
The twins burst into giggles.
“You silly,” Sage says while squishing my face.
“I can’t talk,” I mumble.
“Kids, let your tío breathe,” Gio says, coming to my rescue.
“Merry Christmas,” I tell him before pulling him into a one-armed hug.
“Merry Christmas, man.” He sighs tiredly. “Thanks for being so good with them.”
Something feels off.
Gio’s usually patient as hell with the twins, but now that Sage isn’t blocking my view, I notice the dark circles under his eyes.
“Everything okay?” I ask quietly.
He nods. “Kids, why don’t you go see if Auntie Rain is here yet? I’m pretty sure her belly grew overnight.”
The twins let out matching gasps and take off toward the kitchen.
The second they disappear, I look back at him. “You sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, man. I’ve just been extra tired.” He rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Feels like I need to be in ten places at once lately.”
For one horrible second, my brain went somewhere dark.
“But you’re not sick, right?” I ask.
“No. Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure this out.” Gio pats my shoulder before heading toward Ruin, who’s currently showing Mama sonogram pictures for what’s probably the hundredth time today.
At the thought of losing someone I love, my mind goes straight to Penny.
Before I talk myself out of it, I fire off a text.
Miles: Hey, boss. How’s it looking in Vail?
I snap a picture of the Christmas tree while I wait for her response.
The fireplace crackles beside it, filling the room with warm light. Mama hung stockings for all five of us kids along the mantel, and this year she wanted to add two more for the babies besides Sage and Indigo’s.
Rain and Ruin told her they didn’t know the names yet.
Mama was deeply offended by that information.
My phone pings.
And fuck if my heart doesn’t start acting stupid.
Penny: Wow! Pretty! We’re good, just chilling and catching up with my cousins.
I stare at the screen longer than I should, waiting for a picture that never comes.
“Aww, Miles. Did someone ghost you?” River asks from behind me.
“Fuck you, bro. Why would someone ghost me? I was just checking the weather.” I cringe the second the words leave my mouth. Jesus Christ, that was bad.
River snorts. “Yeah, right. And I’m eighteen again.”
I narrow my eyes. “Wait a minute. Was that a joke?”
River lunges before I can escape, immediately throwing me into a chokehold.
“Mama,” I choke out like I’m in my final moments. “Riv’s trying to un-alive me.”
“Miles John. River Phoenix. Enough,” Mama says in her no-nonsense voice.
River releases me so fast I almost stumble forward.
I cough and make a show of it, clutching my throat. “Thanks, Mama. I always knew I was your favorite.”
“Miles,” Mama warns while trying not to smile. “Stop being dramatic. You scared the kids.”
Shit.
I glance toward the twins. Indigo looks genuinely concerned, while Sage looks one second away from laughing at my suffering.
“Sorry,” I say. “I got excited because River made a joke. Thought I was hallucinating.”
Gasps and dramatic reactions explode throughout the house.
River glares at me. “I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
“Wait,” Rain says slowly. “Is this because of a certain vet?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
River closes his eyes like he’s reconsidering every life decision that he made for this family.
“Oops,” Ruin mutters.
One by one, everyone starts quietly slipping out of the family room before River snaps.
My phone pings again.
And just like that, my entire mood shifts.
Penny: Oh my God, Miles. These boots are gorg! Thank you! Merry Christmas. XO - P.
“Fuck, yes,” I shout while pumping my fist in the air.
After too many pairs of her expensive shoes got destroyed by ice melt, I spent an embarrassing amount of time online researching luxury brands until I finally found the perfect pair of boots for her. Christian Louboutin Dune Trott Alta leather combat boots.
Fancy. Fashionable. A little intimidating.
Basically, Penny in shoe form.
“What’s got you so excited?” Rain asks from directly behind me.
I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Oh, please,” she says. “Stop the drama. Is it Penny?”
Rain’s one hundred percent right.
There’s still no way in hell I’m admitting it.
“What? No. I haven’t talked to her since she left.” The lie falls out way too fast. “Why would it be her?
Rain stares at me for a long second before grinning. Fucking hell. She’s like a hound when she wants to know something.
“Ha, okay. Keep telling yourself that,” she whispers. “But when I tell you the entire family already knows you two are fucking, believe me, bro. You have absolutely no poker face when it comes to her.”
She pats me on my shoulder and walks away while my jaw practically hits the floor.
“How the fuck did you know?” I shout after her.
“I didn’t,” she calls back with an evil cackle. “You just confirmed it.”
Fuck.
The last thing I need is my entire family meddling in whatever’s happening between Penny and me.
Just like you all did with Ruin and Gio, and later with Rain and Xander.
Thanks for that reminder, dumbass brain.
Maybe.
But there’s a big difference here.
Penny and I don’t want anything serious.
That’s what we keep telling each other.
Even inside my own head, I know it’s a big fat lie—at least for me.
Because somewhere between late nights, shared dinners, and her falling asleep in my house, I crossed a line I never meant to cross.
I’m falling for Penny Levine.
And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it.