Chapter Twenty Nine
SPENCER
"Dude, you're playing extremely shitty today," Maddox exclaimed.
I groaned. I wasn't in the mood for our Sunday tennis match. I should have canceled this morning.
"What's wrong?" Maddox asked as we approached the center of the court. Nick and Leo had shit-eating grins. Cade couldn’t make it today.
"We’re winning," Nick said lazily. He narrowed his eyes.
Leo’s grin faded. “Did something happen?” he asked. "’Fess up. What's wrong?"
"How didn't we pick up on the fact that he looks like he lost his cat or something?" Nick asked.
"You were too busy gloating," Maddox said in a serious tone.
"I'm not mad at any of you," I said. "Penny and I aren't seeing eye to eye on a few things."
"Did you have a fight?" Maddox asked.
"No. At least, I don’t think we did."
"Dude, how can you be so clueless? You don't even know if you fought with your woman or not?" Leo asked.
Nick shook his head. “Let's play another set and see if you can get rid of some of that excess energy."
"You just want to win," Maddox exclaimed. He and Nick exchanged a glance.
Leo cocked a brow, looking at me and shrugging. Good to know I wasn't the only one oblivious to whatever Maddox and Nick were trying to communicate to each other.
Maddox got out his phone from the bag he’d deposited at the edge of the tennis court, typing quickly before coming back. "Spencer, focus. We need three good shots and we’re through."
To Nick and Leo's dismay, Maddox and I ended up winning.
There really was a thing to be said about razor focus.
It had always been one of my best qualities.
I could push everything to the back of my mind and concentrate on one thing.
The problem was that once I stopped focusing, all the issues came slamming back into me.
Did Penny and I have a fight? Leo was right. How the fuck could I be so clueless?
"Let's grab drinks," Maddox said. "To celebrate our victory."
Nick and Leo grumbled under their breaths.
Usually, I'd play along with Maddox and rub it in their faces.
But today I wasn't in the mood. We headed straight to the bar.
When I first started coming here, this area was more like a healthy juice bar, but lately it had expanded to be more of a bona fide bar. It even sold alcoholic drinks.
A lot of people came just to be seen around here and to make the right contacts, so it was smart to cater to that clientele.
To my astonishment, Jake, Natalie, Cade, Meredith, and Gabe were here too.
I was even more shocked to see Colton sitting two seats away from Gabe.
To my knowledge, he’d never stepped foot inside here.
"What's going on?" I asked as I climbed into the chair next to Colton.
Jake replied, "Maddox messaged that you're in a shit mood because you have woman problems."
"And Natalie and I tagged along, thinking you might do with a female perspective too," Meredith said.
"Yeah, he probably does need your input," Gabe agreed.
“How did you even get here so fast?” I challenged.
“We were all out together for a drink,” Jake replied.
I looked straight at Colton. "How did they blackmail you to come here?"
Colton groaned. "What, I can't show up because my younger brother needs me? I know I've neglected the family for the past few years, so now I'm making up for that."
I appreciated that he’d even put aside his not-so-friendly feelings toward our half brothers to rally on my behalf.
"I didn't realize I needed so much advice," I said, "but apparently, you all think different."
"Look at his face," Cade said. "He's starting to panic."
"We should have warned him we were coming," Gabe added unhelpfully.
"So, what happened, exactly?" Natalie asked.
"Actually, wait, do you even want to share it with everyone? Because otherwise, we're good just getting hammered with you," Gabe said.
Nick cleared his throat. "No, that's not going to happen here. We can have a few drinks, but no one gets drunk."
"It was a figure of speech, Nick. Relax," Gabe said. "We wouldn't make you look bad."
It hadn't crossed my mind to tell them everything, but now that they were here, that didn't sound like a bad idea.
"So, you all know that Penny and I have gotten closer lately. Very close."
"Damnit, man, that's going to enable Grandmother like nothing before," Gabe said, then shook himself. "Sorry, this is about you. You go on."
"Thank you for giving me permission," I said sarcastically. "Anyway, she got a job offer in London, and she wants to turn it down because she doesn't want to be away from me and Ben." I swallowed hard.
"But that's a good thing, right?" Natalie asked. "I mean, she cares about the two of you a lot."
"Yeah, but we didn't meet that long ago, and when we did, she’d just gotten divorced and was desperate for a fresh start. This would be the fresh start. I even told her that I’d be okay with doing long distance for a while. I don’t want her to rush into this and then change her mind.”
"Dude, that's a grim view of life," Colton said.
“That’s a surprising comeback… from you.”
Meredith bit her lip. "I mean, there's always a risk, of course."
Cade turned to her. "You're not helping."
"I'm giving my honest opinion."
"And I appreciate it," I said. "I can take it."
Gabe narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I've got nothing, man. Sorry. I've legitimately never been serious enough about a woman to consider shit like this."
“There is more,” I said.
Half the group groaned. The other half seemed to be holding their breaths.
“Naomi came by this morning. She hinted at getting back together. Mostly because it’s the only way for her to be financially secure.”
Colton snorted. “She’s unbelievable.”
“I told her to never bring that up again. But Penny thinks—”
“Holy shit, you did not tell Penny,” Gabe exclaimed.
I nodded. The entire group groaned.
Gabe whistled. “Dude, I have zero clues about relationships, but even I know that was a dumb move.”
“Honesty is good,” Maddox said with a stony expression.
Leo shook his head. “Selective honesty.”
Nick looked incredulous. “The way this conversation is going, we’ll need alcohol.”
“Anyway, I told Penny because I don’t believe in secrets. Then she figured that maybe I was only telling her to think about the job because I was considering getting back with Naomi.”
“Fucking hell.” That came from Colton.
"Wait, how do you feel about Penny?" Natalie asked.
Everyone fell silent and glanced around. It was just us here at the bar, and the bartender, obviously. Everyone else was busy carrying on their own conversations at the various tables spread out through the room.
"I love her," I said confidently.
I could see the shock on Colton’s and Gabe's faces. My half brothers seemed stunned too. Not Cade and Jake though.
Cade looked downright smug. Jake had an I-told-you-so look. I focused on Natalie and Meredith. I had a feeling they were the only ones who’d understand what I was about to say.
"I told her that, and yeah, it's fast. It wasn't something I intended—it just happened, but I know it's true, and I don't want to lose her." My pulse hammered in my ears.
"Oh my God, that's so heartfelt," Natalie said. "I think you might be the most romantic guy in this room."
Jake cleared his throat.
"Except you, of course," she said quickly, smiling at him. Jake growled. She touched his cheek, grinning, before focusing on me again. "Look, I don't think we can know how she's feeling. But if she says something, then you should take it at face value."
Meredith ran her hand through her hair. "From what Jeannie said, Penny doesn't strike me as a woman who would say one thing and then change her mind.”
"Her best friend says she has a tendency to decide with her heart," I added.
Meredith said, "That can sometimes bite you in the ass, but I somehow don't think it's the case here." She glanced at my brothers. "Do you guys have anything to add?"
Colton shook his head. "I don't understand half the conversation going on."
"Me either," Gabe said. "I can, however, offer to move the party to my bar so we can all get hammered."
I scoffed. “I can't get drunk, I'm a dad. I need to get back to Ben. Grandmother is watching him."
"I’m sure she wouldn’t mind staying longer," Maddox suggested.
"Look… This might not be my realm of expertise, but from what we've seen, Penny's someone who follows her instincts. And if she has made up her mind, then I think you can trust that she won't change it," Gabe said.
"Wise words," Leo said, clapping his shoulder.
"Yeah, we didn't know you had it in you," Nick exclaimed.
Gabe and our half brothers interacted with each other as if they'd been a group forever. I glanced around the room, and I realized that more people had stopped by, and they were looking at us.
"We're making a spectacle of ourselves," I said.
Nick glanced around with a serious expression. "Yeah, I didn't think about that when I gave Maddox the green light to ask everyone here," he said.
"We could go to one of the sauna rooms. It's big enough for all of us," Gabe said.
"No way are you going to see my woman naked," Jake said.
"We would wear towels," Nick enunciated as if Jake was a small child who didn't understand what a towel was.
"Categorically, no," Cade replied.
Maddox started laughing. “You guys are unbelievable.”
"Why do you find this funny?" I asked. "If Penny was here, I wouldn't want us all to go in the sauna either."
Jake and Cade grinned.
"Welcome to the club, brother," Jake said.
"My suggestion still stands. We can all move the party to the distillery," Gabe repeated.
"We'll take you up on it," Colton exclaimed. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You might not be able to get drunk, but the rest of us can. This conversation kind of needs that, for creative purposes."
I’d gotten used to Colton not being around these past few years. And even when he was, he often didn’t participate in conversations because he had a lot on his mind.
But my oldest brother had always been a sounding board. It was good to have him back.
Nick clapped his hands once. "I approve. I'll let the staff know I’m gone."
I checked the time. "I can stay with you one hour max, and then I need to go back to Ben."
I wasn't going to touch alcohol, but I wouldn’t mind hearing what they had to say.