Page 71 of Just Business

“I’m sorry I snapped,” she says. “My words came out all wrong.”

“It’s okay, baby. It’ll get straightened out. Ty’s talking to Kate,” I tell her, easing down beside her on the bumper. “They’ll figure out what happened.”

Penny exhales, sagging against my shoulder. I wrap an arm around her, but I’m at a loss for words. This has been her biggest fear about starting a relationship with me. But how the hell did a photo get leaked? Penny has been so adamant that Singing River is safe, so how did someone get that picture without us knowing?

After a few minutes, she steps back, wiping away the tears that snuck out with the heel of her hand before meeting my gaze.

“Josie and Lisa want me to come to Josie’s tonight and I think I need that.” Her voice is apologetic. “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings—I know we’re almost out of time, but I really need my friends right now.”

All of my plans for a romantic night at home together just went up in flames, but I know she needs her friends, so I swallow down my disappointment. “Of course, that doesn’t hurt my feelings. I’m glad you have them.”

“I’ll walk there to clear my head. Will you keep me posted on what you hear, please?” she asks as we both rise to our feet.

“’Course I will. Be careful, Penn.” I lean in and kiss her goodbye, and she heads down the driveway toward Josie’s.

The second she’s out of sight, I exhale hard and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to force some of the frustration out of my body. It doesn’t work.

With a muttered curse, I stalk back toward the house, and as I pass my truck I kick the back tire hard but it doesn’t make me feel better. Nothing will until I figure out how the hell this happened.

Lisa opens the door when she sees me coming, and as soon as I climb the steps her arms are around me. “I’m so sorry, Penny girl. So sorry,” she murmurs, rubbing up and down my back. The tenderness of it—the motherly care I’ve gone so long without—hits me harder than expected. My throat tightens as stinging tears well up. After a moment, I pull away from her and we head into Josie’s living room.

When we enter, Josie doesn’t waste a second. She immediately starts ranting from where she’s sitting cross legged on the floor by her coffee table. Her phone is in her hand and her eyes are blazing.

“Okay, listen. I’ve been reading through these comments. I may or may not have slid into some DMs and cussed people out. I’ll apologize for nothing.” She huffs. “Damn trolls! It’s like they don’t give a shit that these are real life humans they’re talking about. But listen, once you get past the first ones, not all the comments are bad. Have you looked at them?”

Her fingers fly across her screen as she scrolls and points to her phone so I lower to the floor beside her to see what she’s pointing to.

Yes, there's plenty of hurtful comments with people taking jabs at everything from my weight to my reputation. But I see what Josie means. For every negative comment, there’s someone quick to respond with something positive. Scrolling further, the comments shift entirely, becoming more and more positive. Plenty of people are amazed that there’s a woman who owns a studio, and tons are just happy that Austin is alive and well. I’m surprised to see tons of people expressing happiness for him that he seems to be in a relationship. One makes me snort out laughter.

“You saw the one I saw, didn’t you?” Josie asks.

SHARTR205:Yaaas queen. Get you some of that country boy D.

Lisa sits on the couch behind us, and I hand the phone to her, pointing at it, and she covers her mouth, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Coming here was the right decision. I knew my girls could help me put this whole mess in perspective. Are people being shitty? Absolutely. Is there a chance this will negatively affect our little town? Quite possibly. But what’s done is done, so now I have to figure out how to move forward. And sitting here with them is the reminder I’ve needed that I don’t have to do things alone.

“Listen, I know this sucks,” Josie says. “I’m not trying to be flippant here. But you have to remember these are strangers. They don’t know you and their opinions don’t matter. Unless people start showing up and invading your real life, it's just a picture.”

“But that’s just it, Jo.” My voice trembles. “I’m afraid I’m gonna wake up tomorrow morning and a whole swarm of people will be here to invade my real life.”

Josie doesn’t miss a beat. “Well, they’ll have to get through me first.”

Lisa reaches down and squeezes my arm. “They’ll have to get through the whole town. Youknowthat.”

A quiet settles between us full of uncertainty and lingering fear. I stare at the floor, my thoughts tangled up in what-ifs, until Josie’s voice cuts through.

“Do you love him?”

The question hits me so hard that I flinch.

Do I love him?I think over all the emotions I’ve felt about Austin, and above all, yes love is the main one I feel. I love that while his circle might be small, he loves his people fiercely. I love that despite the hand life has thrown at him, he’s kind to his core. There’s a deep tenderness in him that the world has failed to see. I love that he makes me feel seen and allows me to see him, too, without walls or pretense. I’d never have admitted it back then, when this all began. But looking back now, it feels like some part of me always knew. Like something deep inside whispered,this is who I’ve been waiting for.

Yes. Yes, I love him.

“Okay, I see it all over your face. Obviously you do.” Josie leans in, her voice softening. “Listen to me. Life with him isn’t gonna be all sunshine and rainbows. He’s famous. People will always have something to say about the two of you. But I have a feeling it’ll be worth it.”

Her reassurances make me feel a tiny bit better, but the knot in my stomach doesn’t want to unwind.

“I really don’t know who would have done this,” I say, wracking my brain, searching for anything that might explain this.

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