Page 125 of Loved

"I was worried about you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have called."

"And you shouldn't have let Rob answer your phone."

That had actually been pretty hilarious. Rob was great at pretending to be drunk. "Things got a little out of hand last night,” I lied. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that I worried you, Penny."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"7:30."

"Can I come with you?"

"If you want."

She yawned and got up off the couch. "Just give me a minute." She hurried into the bedroom.

I took another deep breath. She was going to say yes. We were going to get our fresh start. I walked into the kitchen to wait for her. I slid my hand into my pocket and wrapped it around the ring box. She was going to say yes.

Penny smiled shyly as she met me in the kitchen. And I wondered if she was still embarrassed that she’d thought I was about to propose. She wouldn’t have to be embarrassed for long.

I wrapped my arms around her. "I missed you last night." I did. Normally hanging out with my friends would be a highlight. But all I ever seemed capable of now was thinking about her.

"I missed you too. What did you guys end up doing?"

"We went all over the place. Thanks for convincing me to go out. It's a lot of fun hanging out with Rob. And Brendan's actually alright."

"Why do you never seem like you're hungover?"

"I have a high tolerance to alcohol." That was the truth. But I also hadn’t had anything to drink last night.

She bit her lip.

I forced myself not to groan. I really loved when she did that.

“When did you get home last night?” she asked. “I never heard you come in."

She really had been worried. I grabbed her hand and led her over to the elevator. "I only just got in. Which is why I so badly need some coffee."

"Or some sleep?"

"We got a hotel in New York. I'm not that tired. I just need some caffeine." I smiled at her. We hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. I’d just been practicing my proposal. But I truly wasn’t tired. And I definitely didn’t need caffeine. I’d already had a cup on the way home.

"Wait, you went to New York? Why?"

"I had some secret stuff to do."

She laughed. "Yeah, I got that." She looked up at me. "I like you when you're like this."

"Like what?"

"Playful. I think that maybe Rob is a good influence on you."

I don’t think anyone had ever used those words to describe Rob before. "I've always thought he was a bad influence on me."

"Well, in a lot of ways he is. He drinks too much and he says awful stuff. Really, you do drink too much when you're with him."

"It won't happen again." I rubbed my thumb against her palm. She had nothing to worry about. All I needed was her.

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