Page 103 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

She wrapped her arms around my back. "I never meant to hurt you. I just want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted, Tyler."

"I know." I had known that all along. For the past three years I had made myself unhappy by pining over her. That wasn't her fault. It was mine. Penny wasn't a cure to all my problems. I had learned more about myself in the past few weeks than I had in those three years that I was being an idiot. I'm pretty sure I needed the pain of her rejection to cover up the pain of missing my dad. The pain of feeling guilty. And I would always be grateful for her distraction. I needed her because of that. But I didn't need to mask my feelings anymore. I found someone who understood me.

"Are you happy? Does Hailey make you happy?" She kept her arms wrapped around me.

"Yes."

"Then what are you doing here? Go get her." She leaned back slightly so she could smile up at me.

"Great, you set her off again," Melissa said.

I released Penny from my hug and turned to see Melissa and James standing by the door. Neither one of them looked excited to see me.

Penny laughed as she wiped away the rest of her tears.

"And before you say anything, don't flatter yourself, Tyler. She wasn't crying over you," Melissa said.

"I didn't..."

"We brought the pizza you requested, hot mamma," Melissa continued, cutting me off.

"And the watermelon," James said and placed it on the counter. He put his hand down on the counter beside the watermelon. It almost looked like he needed to do it to steady himself. He looked paler than I remembered. And skinnier. Penny had looked so healthy that I had completely forgotten about what they had just been through. He was recovering from three gunshot wounds. Since I had been trying so hard to ignore the news, that was the extent of what I knew. But it was pretty clear that he shouldn't have been carrying a huge watermelon through the city. The smile he gave Penny hid his grimace.

"And the pickles," Melissa said and placed a bag on the counter beside the rest of the food.

I wanted to ask James how he was feeling. But I knew James was trying to hide his pain. I wasn't going to hurt his pride by asking. If there was one thing I knew about him, it was that he didn't like to look weak. Instead I said, "Weird lunch combination," as I looked back at Penny.

She shrugged. "That's because..." she glanced at James and smiled. "...I'm pregnant."

"What?"

Now she was beaming. "I'm pregnant!"

"Congratulations, Penny." I hugged her again. Maybe at one point in time, I thought that might be us one day. It seemed like a long time ago. "Congratulations, James." I stuck my hand out to him.

He hesitated, but only for a second, before grabbing my hand in a death grip. "I heard you tried to get Penny to run away with you the morning of our wedding," he whispered.

I tightened my grip back on his hand. "I heard you broke up with her the night before."

He leaned forward slightly. "Just so that we're clear, Tyler..."

For a second I thought he was going to kill me. I hadn't expected there to be any strength in his grip when he was so clearly struggling. But if anything, he squeezed my hand even harder after my comment.

"...that was the biggest mistake of my life. I won't be making it again." He immediately released my hand.

"You better not."

He smiled and nodded at me. "Should I cut up the watermelon?" he asked, turning his attention back to Penny.

She looked back and forth between me and James. "Yeah. Can you stay for lunch, Tyler?"

I needed to get to Hailey. "I don't think I can."

"Certainly don't leave on my account," Melissa said. "I have a new boyfriend and everything already."

"I'm happy for you," I said.

She smiled. For the first time since she had seen me, she actually looked happy. "Thanks, Tyler. I hope you find what you're looking for too."

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