Page 37 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"Penny! It's so great to see you!" She gave me a huge hug. "Oh my God, this place is amazing. Do you seriously live here?"
"We just moved in, yeah."
"Geez, I'm so sorry, I'm being incredibly rude. This is my boyfriend, J.J.," she said and gestured to the guy smiling beside her. He was so tan it looked like he spent all his time on the beach. "J.J., this is Penny."
"It's so nice to meet you," I said and shook his hand. "It's so funny, Mila, the last time I saw you, we were both boyfriend-less. It was actually your going away party. Before you left me and moved to Cali."
"I know. I'm sorry I've been missing in action the last few years. Geez, time flies, doesn't it?"
"It does. I'm just really, really glad you could make it."
"I wouldn't have missed your wedding for anything in the world. I'm so happy for you, Penny. I've really missed you."
I was getting teary eyed again. God, what was wrong with me tonight? "Are you moving back to the east coast anytime soon?"
"We're actually thinking about it," J.J. said. "We both grew up on the east coast. We're just waiting to hear back on some job offers."
"Who are your friends?" James asked as he slid his arm around my waist.
"Mila was my best friend growing up. She went to UCLA and dropped off the face of the earth for awhile."
Mila laughed.
"And this is her boyfriend, J.J."
"It's great to meet both of you," James said and shook their hands. "That means you were the neighbor growing up, right?"
"Yes, that's me. What terrible things has Penny been telling people about me?"
"Only good things. Mrs. Bennett on the other hand..."
"You've met Mrs. Bennett? She was the nosiest neighbor in the history of nosey neighbors. Please tell me she's not behind me right now?"
I laughed. "No. Mrs. Bennett is surely patrolling the neighborhood as we speak."
"I feel so out of the loop right now," J.J. said with a laugh.
"Trust me, you don't want to be in the loop on this," I said. "Mila, my parents were looking forward to seeing you."
"I can't wait to see them either. I need to stop disappearing for years. I'll go say hi to them. Congrats, Penny," she said as she passed me and squeezed my shoulder.
"Did you two get in all sorts of trouble growing up?" James asked.
"If by trouble you mean staying in and watching movies and eating popcorn in pajamas? Or catching fireflies? Or playing with Barbie dolls? Then yes, we were in trouble constantly."
He kissed my temple. "I'm envious of your childhood."
When he said things like that, my chest actually ached. "You know, whenever I picture your childhood, I see little you locked in your room being denied anything good."
"It wasn't quite that bad."
"What was a normal day like in the summer? Didn't you do anything fun? I bet you were probably holed up in your tree house terrorizing Jen."
"Hey, Daphne's here."
I knew he was purposely trying to distract me. But I was dying to meet Rob's girlfriend. Or friend that was a girl. I wasn't going to throw out terms and freak them out. I just couldn't believe that Rob was actually dating someone. "Which one is she?"
"The one with brown hair standing right by the door. She doesn't know anyone else here and Rob hasn't spotted her yet. Come on, let's go save her." He grabbed my hand.
