Chapter Thirty
PENNY
"This getaway was just what the doctor ordered," Taylor said as we left the fancy-ass hotel where we'd spent the last twenty-four hours. I felt thoroughly pampered. She glanced at me. "Ready to go back?"
I nodded firmly. "Yes."
"Why don't you spend a few nights at my place again?" she asked as we got in the car.
"Why?"
"Because I feel like your condo is driving you gaga."
"Why would you say that?"
"It's getting you into a flight mindset with Spencer."
I frowned as I put on my seatbelt. "But you're the one who insisted that I should not decide with my heart and stuff."
"I was way out of line. Only you know what’s best for you. Besides, you usually fight me back on it with all you have. Now you've kind of lost that spark," she said.
I smiled. "Oh, Taylor, I really missed you."
She started the car, driving out of the hotel’s parking lot. The trip would only take one hour. I loved that this place was so close to Boston.
Taylor’s phone beeped with an incoming call. "Do you mind if I put it on speaker?"
"Not at all," I said.
She clicked on her phone, and a man's voice boomed in the car.
"Hey, Taylor."
"What's up, Jared?”
He was her business partner.
"We've got a request from the Nightingale Hotel."
"Wow!" Taylor exclaimed.
Even I had heard of it, mostly because it kept spamming me on TikTok. Because I always looked at Taylor's posts about hotels, the algorithm thought I was into hotels, and they kept showing them to me.
"I was hoping to get to do them at some point. When do they want me to go?"
"They said they can even do tonight. The faster, the better. Do you have something going on today?"
She frowned. "No, but I do have to go home and pick a few outfits. I don't want to wear the same ones I did in the videos I just made. Just one night?”
“They’d prefer if you stayed two to film.”
“Let me think about it. I've got to coordinate the pets."
I looked at her and mouthed that I could stay with them.
"Oh wait, Penny just told me she wants to do it. So that would work. We need an hour until I’m back home, and then I'll pack real quick and be on my way. I think I can be there in about three hours."
"Good, I'll tell them."
"Bye." After hanging up, she grinned at me. "I think this is a sign."
"For what?"
"That you were meant to spend some more time at my house. And with you know who!"
I laughed. "Taylor, I don't want to get used to the mansion."
We arrived at her home one hour later, on the dot.
It was a good thing I had my carry-on with me. I still had some clean clothes.
“Do you need help?" I called out loudly from the guest bedroom. She was in the master bedroom, packing a new bag.
"No, I'm good," she said. "I have all the outfits I need."
Twenty minutes later, she was ready to go. I walked with her downstairs and to the front door.
"Aaaand," she said, "if you want to drop by and check on a certain hot neighbor, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea."
I frowned. "I can’t believe you changed your mind so drastically. You were singing a different tune yesterday morning."
"But from everything you've told me about Spencer, he seems like a great guy. By the way, Becky is close.”
As if the dog heard Taylor mention her name, she sprinted into the room, straight to me.
"Hey, Becky, did you miss me?" She barked twice. "I'll take that as a yes." She barked three more times.
"That means she loves you," Taylor said. “I took care of the kitties already. Boxes are clean too.”
"I'd actually been looking forward to feeding them." They were extra friendly when they saw me coming with food.
"You’re a darling. Thank you so much for staying.” She bit her lip, sighing. "I'm so sorry for being so hard on you when you first told me that you wanted to say no to the job. I just…"
She sighed again, taking me in her arms. "I think I just remembered how excited you were when you and Jackass first got together, and I figured… you know, history was repeating itself."
"Taylor!”
"I know, I know." She let go of me, taking a step back. "It's not the same. Spencer is nothing like that jackass, and he makes you happy, which is honestly all I've hoped for you."
"Thanks. I want to talk to Spencer about everything… I’m just not sure what to say.”
"I wish I could help, but as you can see, I’m still single. Communicating with the opposite sex is not my strong suit. But what I can do is take care of you and spoil you once I'm back."
"That sounds great," I said, "and exactly what I need."
She kissed my cheeks, squeezing me in her arms again. "Bye. Have fun.”
After Taylor left, I took Becky for a walk. We came back thirty minutes later. We stepped inside the house, and I was just about to close the door when I heard Jeannie's voice.
"Penny! I didn't know you were here."
I looked to the left and realized she was bouncing Ben in her arms, pacing in front of the house.
"Hi, Jeannie," I said. Taking the key, I put it in my pocket, closing the door behind me and walking to Jeannie. I kissed the top of Ben’s head. "Hi, little guy. How are you? I swear you did grow an inch, maybe even two." I ached with the need to hold him.
"What are you doing here? Visiting your friend?”
"She's got a last-minute trip, and I'm here to look after her pets."
"Hmm," Jeannie said. I recognized that tone of voice. She was plotting, for lack of a better word.
Ben began fussing in her arms.
“This little guy was happy for hours, but now I'm having the hardest time soothing him.”
"Can I try?" I asked, eager to hold him.
"Of course."
Her eyes were soft. I carefully took him from her arms. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, the way he liked it.
If the movements were too jerky, he usually protested with groans, but right now he seemed to enjoy this.
He placed his head straight on my chest, and I felt his breath on my skin.
"You're so good with him," Jeannie said. "Do you want to go inside with us? I can make some tea."
"Sure. I'd like that," I said.
"You do look lovely. Can I take a picture of you?" Jeannie asked once we were in the house.
"Sure," I said as I carefully sat on the couch, kissing the top of Ben's head.
"Yeah, that's right," Jeannie mumbled.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing," she answered a bit too quickly, tapping on her phone as if writing a message. Then she put it down on the counter. "Where was I? Oh yeah, I wanted to make some tea. So, how long are you staying at Taylor's?"
"This evening and tomorrow evening.”
"Hmm," Jeannie said.
She busied herself with the teapot and then joined me on the couch, bringing two steaming cups with her.
"Far be it from me to be nosy," she began with a voice that indicated she absolutely intended to be nosy. But that was okay, I didn't mind. "I know you and Spencer are a bit at odds."
"Oh," I replied. "He told you?"
"No, but he met up with his brothers, and I know how to get the information I need out of them. Especially Gabe."
My heart turned into a tiny pebble.
"He met with all his brothers?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes. I could barely believe it. Especially that Colton would get together with his half brothers. He usually only does that at big family gatherings, at my insistence, but there you go. I'm glad to see my boys are ready to put their differences to the side when one of them needs them."
“Spencer needed all of his brothers?”
“He just texted me that he’s coming home a bit later from his tennis session. I don’t know the details. He wouldn't tell me everything that happened, so I couldn't give advice, but I think it did him good to speak to his brothers. Darling girl, do you want to talk about it?"
I smiled. It felt a bit wobbly. "Yes, please, if it doesn't bother you. I mean, Spencer is your grandson. I only spoke about it to Taylor, and I didn't want to worry my mom about it."
Besides, I knew what my mom would say—that I shouldn't chase a man, but that wasn't the case here. I respected that Mom had her own opinion about relationships. If I'd suffered as many heartbreaks as she had, I'd probably feel the same.
"How much do you know?"
"Oh, everything. Gabe called me earlier when they moved from Nick’s gym to the distillery. He always checks on me on Sunday. Anyway, one thing led to another… and Gabe is very easy to question.”
Her explanation prompted me to laugh, but I stopped abruptly because Ben had fallen asleep on my chest. I loved cuddling him. "Do you think I'm wrong for following my heart? I love Spencer and Ben."
She smiled widely. "Not one bit. As a rule of thumb in life, I think the only time one shouldn't follow their heart is if they’ll hurt someone else in the process.
" Her eyes clouded. "But other than that, I think that our heart and instincts are deeply connected.
Does it lead us into trouble sometimes? Sure.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be better to avoid headaches, but life is full of ups and downs.
Through it all, listening to that inner voice is what keeps us on the right path. "
I gathered the courage to ask her something I'd been fearing deep down. "You think things between Spencer and I are moving too fast?"
"I come from a different generation, but I was certain that I wanted Abe to be my husband almost immediately.
Things moved very fast for us. And I wouldn't change one thing.
I don't believe in all this nonsense of being together for years before deciding if the other person is the one.
I don't know why youngsters these days are so undecided.
But that's become the norm, so when someone makes up their mind fast, it seems strange to everyone else.
Here is my advice to you: don't ignore what your heart and inner voice say to you.
It will be the best guide you can ever get. "
"Thank you, Jeannie. I think I really needed to hear that."
"So… if I might be nosy."
"You may," I said.
"What does it tell you?