Chapter 30
Miles
After practically shoving Penny into my truck—along with that gigantic dress I’m two seconds from burning in a fucking bonfire—I jog around to the driver’s side and climb in.
I pull out of the club lot with no real destination in mind.
All I know is that I have to put as much distance as possible between us and that place.
As the adrenaline slowly starts wearing off, I force myself to take a few breaths. My hand loosens on the steering wheel. My heartbeat finally begins to settle.
Then I hear Penny sniffle beside me.
Without even thinking, I reach for the box of tissues sitting in the console and hand her one.
“Thank you,” she whispers right before a sob slips out.
I nod tightly, keeping my eyes on the road.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Miles,” she says, and then the crying really starts.
The ugly kind. The kind that steals your breath and leaves your whole body shaking.
Every single one feels like a fist closing around my heart.
But I have no clue what to say, so I stay quiet.
Eventually, signs for the highway start appearing overhead.
“Where do you want to go?” I ask finally.
“A place where no one knows us so we can talk.” She tries wiping her face with the tissue I gave her earlier, but it’s completely wet.
I hand her the entire box.
Then I take the next exit to I-85. I know of a place where nobody will bother us.
A few minutes pass in silence.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” she asks, frustration creeping into her voice.
I drag a hand over my scruff.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say, Penny.” I swallow hard. “I don’t think you need to apologize. We’re nothing, remember? That’s what you said.”
“Oh, please.” She turns toward me. “Cut the bullshit, Miles. If we’re nothing, then why did you show up?”
I can feel her stare burning a hole in my face.
Damn.
“You got me there, boss.”
My thoughts keep crashing into each other.
Every time I think I’ve found the right words, they die before they make it to my mouth.
A moment later, she blows out a raspberry and drops her head back against the seat.
Despite everything, despite how hurt and confused I still am, I almost smile.
She still manages to be incredibly sexy and cute as hell while wearing a wedding dress and falling apart in my passenger seat.
At some point during the drive, she finally dozes off.
I keep driving until the gas light flicks on.
Thankfully, there’s a huge gas station just a couple of miles ahead.
I pull into one of the pumps and shut the truck off.
“Where are we?” Penny asks, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
“Getting gas.”
I hop out of the truck and start filling the tank.
A second later, the whole thing starts rocking.
I look over just in time to see Penny absolutely losing a battle against her dress, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
I walk around the truck and open her door. “Need a hand?”
“You think?” she huffs.
“Come on, boss.” I hold out my hand. “Let’s get you into some normal clothes.”
I shove down the avalanche of tulle while helping her down from the truck, then lead her toward the gas station.
As soon as we walk through the automatic doors, her demeanor changes.
Her pace slows.
Then she abruptly turns back, panic written all over her face.
“Mile…” Her eyes widen. “I don’t have my wallet.” She pats uselessly at the dress. “Or my phone. We left so fast I didn’t grab anything.”
Her shoulders sag.
“It’s a good thing you have me then.” I wink at her.
She doesn’t say anything, but some of the panic seems to disappear.
The station isn’t packed, but there are enough people around that conversations start going quiet as we walk the aisles.
Hard to miss a woman wandering through a gas station in a wedding dress.
“I wouldn’t say T-shirts and sweatpants are my thing,” Penny says as she grabs a lilac T-shirt with a bunny and the gas station logo printed on the back, “but right now, this looks like couture.”
I snort.
She grabs gray sweatpants that look suspiciously similar to mine, then glances around.
“Need help?” I nod toward the back of the store. “Bathrooms are that way.”
“Yeah.” She gives me a small smile that resets my heart. “I definitely need help.”
“Alright.” A grin pulls at my mouth. “Let’s go. We’ve had enough attention for today.”
She laughs under her breath as we head toward the bathrooms.
“I can’t take this off by myself,” she mutters all matter-of-fact. “And I’d rather not get arrested today, so we should probably use the family restroom.”
“Lead the way.”
I grab the endless train of her dress and have to put in more effort than I thought.
“This damn thing is heavy,” I say as I shut the bathroom door behind us.
“Heavy, hideous, and all shades of wrong,” she grumbles while trying—and failing—to reach the zipper on her back.
“Stop moving.”
I step behind her and easily grab for the zipper. “Here.”
The moment my fingers brush the bare skin of her back, I want to forget where we are and sink my teeth into her shoulder. Nibble on her hard enough to make her gasp before making it better with my tongue.
But I can’t. At least not yet.
We still have way too much to talk about.
Once the zipper is fully down, I step back. “I’ll wait outside.”
“Wait.” Her voice stops me before I can reach the door. “Just one more thing.”
I turn around.
She’s looking at me with those huge doe eyes that wreck every ounce of self-control I have.
“What is it, sugar?” The nickname slips out before I can stop it.
My eyes widen slightly, but I don’t take it back.
“Can you please put this monstrosity in the back of the truck?” Penny asks as she carefully steps out of the wedding dress.
I know I shouldn’t look. I can’t get any fun ideas here, but I’m a weak man.
My gaze roams over her gorgeous body, lingering on her soft tan skin and long legs.
Then I notice her underwear.
I can’t help the grin that tugs at my mouth.
“What?” she asks, clearly catching my reaction.
“Nothing.” I shrug as I bend down to grab the pile of white fabric off the floor. “That’s just not the kind of underwear I’d expect a bride to wear on her wedding day.”
It’s a simple off-white cotton set.
Nothing wrong with it. It’s functional, but it isn’t particularly sexy.
She looks down at herself like she forgot what she put on that morning.
“Yeah,” she says with a snort. “This definitely isn’t what I would’ve worn if I actually wanted to get married.”
I nod slowly while every cell in my body screams fuck yes, baby.
“That’ll be eighty-seven dollars and thirteen cents,” the cashier announces as I swipe my card.
The older woman behind the register eyes the two of us with open amusement while Penny balances a soda in one hand and her heels in the other.
When I look at her feet, I can’t help but grin.
Flip-flops. Cheap gas station flip-flops.
I don’t think Penélope Levine has ever worn a one-dollar pair of shoes in her life, but she still looks gorgeous as hell.
“I’ve seen some strange outfits come through here,” she says, “but I gotta say, you two take the cake.”
“Wedding gone wrong,” Penny replies easily. “One hundred percent wouldn’t recommend it.”
The cashier bursts out laughing.
Meanwhile, I'm standing there holding sandwiches, chips, and enough snacks to survive a road trip while trying not to grin like an idiot.
There are a few benches outside the station, and despite the chill in the air, it’s a gorgeous sunny day, so we decide to eat there.
“So…” I start after taking a huge bite of my Reuben.
Penny takes a long sip of her soda before releasing a slow breath.
“I’ll go into as much detail as you want,” she says quietly, her eyes trained on me.
“But all that matters is that Easton’s an asshole who used my love for my family against me.
He told me Dad lost the company during a poker game and threatened to expose everything.
He said Dad had a serious heart condition and that stress was making it worse. ” She swallows hard. “So I yes.”
Tears slip down her cheeks as she closes her eyes.
Rage builds inside me so fast my fists clench automatically beneath the table.
"You were trying to protect your family,” I say carefully as I set my sandwich down and reach for her hand. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”
She exhales as her fingers intertwine with mine.
“I know that logically,” she whispers. “But I still feel terrible.”
I let her sit with it for a moment while my thumb traces lazy patterns across the back of her hand.
“I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman who built an entire career making smart decisions,” she says bitterly.
“I spend my days evaluating risk, looking for red flags, figuring out when someone’s trying to sell me a bad deal.
” She lets out a humorless laugh. “But the second my supposed best friend threatened my family, I folded.”
Her jaw tightens as she wipes at her tears.
“Who does that? she whispers. “And why the hell did I fall for it?
“That’s it, sugar.” I squeeze her hand gently. “Let all that anger out.”
She keeps crying, her fingers gripping mine tightly.
Honestly, I’m surprised by how calm I feel.
When Ruin told me Penny was getting married, I wanted to tear the damn world apart. I wanted to scream at her for spending all that time with me while planning a future with someone else.
But when I walked into that country club and saw that slimy douchebag losing his shit because Penny called off the wedding, I knew something was wrong.
All I cared about after that was getting her out of there.
After a long breath, Penny releases my hand long enough to take a few sips of her soda.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I really needed that cry.”
“You never have to apologize for crying in front of me.”
She gives me a small smile.
After taking a small bite of her sandwich, she looks down at it in surprise. “Who would have thought gas station food could be so tasty.”
I grin. “Hate to break it to you, boss.” I lean across the table like I’m about to reveal classified information. “Fancy restaurants aren’t the only places with good food.”
“Smartass.” She rolls her eyes.
I laugh softly.
Then her expression turns serious.
“As I said…” She exhales slowly. “I really don’t want to keep talking about this nightmare, but I do need to apologize.”
The way she looks at me through her lashes makes every nerve ending in my body wake up.
“We agreed this was casual,” she says. “No attachments. No expectations. But I still need you to know nothing happened between Easton and me.” Her fingers find mine again. “When you and I were together, I only wanted you.”
I straighten up and hold her hand tighter.
“Who am I kidding?” She gives me a sad little smile. “I still only want you, Miles.”
That’s it.
I’m done pretending this thing between us is casual.
“I only have eyes for you, Penny Levine.” The truth comes out rough. “My life’s been fucking hell since you left.” I shake my head slightly. “I don’t even know when this changed. All I know is you somehow buried yourself so deep in my heart, I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”
I stand and walk around the table toward her, and she watches me the entire time.
I help her to her feet, then cup her face gently between my hands.
“I don’t want to keep talking about Easton today,” I tell her softly. “Or the reasons why you didn’t tell me what was going on.”
Her lips part slightly.
“But from now on, we talk to each other. We figure shit out together.”
Anticipation lights up her whole face.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
She nods without hesitation.
“And the second I do, sugar…” I lean closer, stopping just inches from her mouth. “You’re mine. No more casual. No more secrets. Deal?”
Her breath catches. “Kiss me already.”
I grin like a lunatic before finally claiming Ms. Penny Levine.
I kiss her like she’s mine now.
Because she is.
And our love story starts for real outside a gas station off I-85.