Page 91 of Devoured

I slowly pulled my car to a stop. A valet rushed over.

"What's this?" Penny asked.

"One of the best hotels in the city."

Penny stared up in awe at the gold veranda and the modern glass building it was attached to. "Why are we going to a hotel?"

"I have a surprise for you." When I’d given her a closet full of clothes, her eyes had grown round just like they were now. I loved how cute she looked when I surprised her. I winked at her and climbed out of the car.

I handed the valet my keys and opened Penny’s door. I grabbed her hand and escorted her to the entrance.

A doorman nodded at us as he opened the door. “Good afternoon and welcome.”

"Thank you," I said.

Penny looked like she was worried that she shouldn’t be walking on the marble floors. But then she was distracted by the mirrors and gold accents on the walls. And the huge chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. She’d once compared herself to a Disney princess when she was with me. I wanted to give her a day where she felt like that again. After putting her through so much hell.

I pushed the thought aside as we walked over to a plush lounge chair. She sat down as I walked up to the counter. I gave the woman my name and she pulled up my reservation.Thank you, Ian.I handed her my card and leaned against the counter.

A bellman came out from the back room. “Welcome back, Mr. Hunter. It’s good to have you staying with us again.”

The few times I’d been back to the city since I moved away, this was where I’d stayed. Well, except for those unaccounted-for hours when I’d apparently been in Isabella’s bed.Breathe.

“It’s good to be back,” I said. And it was. It had been a long time since I’d felt comfortable in the city again. I would have been worried that this guy recognized me. But they were discreet here. Besides, Ian would let me know if anyone had tipped off the paparazzi. The last thing I needed was for Penny and me to show up in a tabloid.

The woman smiled and handed me back my card and gave me a keycard for my room.

"Right this way, sir," the bellman said and stepped toward the elevator.

I turned back around to get Penny. Ian was sitting on one of the other lounge chairs busy looking at something on his phone. Penny didn’t seem to be aware of him at all. She saw me waiting and quickly hurried over. And she immediately slid her hand into mine. Right where it belonged.

I smiled down at her and we followed the bellman.

"James, is that you?" a familiar voice said.

Mason had just stepped off the elevator. I’d just been thinking how I wanted to reconnect with my friends. But…I kind of wanted to do that one on one with each of them. We couldn’t exactly talk freely in front of Penny about everything that had happened.

But it was really fucking good to see him. It had been far too long. "Mason. Good to see you." I would have hugged him, but I swear it was like I could feel the distance between us. Even though we were standing in the same place, it felt like we were still in different states. So I just put out my hand.

He shook it. Apparently he felt it too.

I’d fix this. I was going to fix everything.

"I see that you finally took my advice." Mason glanced at Penny. His eyes trailed down her body.

I really didn’t like the way he was looking at her. And what advice was he talking about? I tried to think about our last conversation. I couldn’t remember. I’d probably been wasted. But I did remember what Rob had told me when I called him the other night. That Mason was starting a sex club.

Mason’s eyes were still glued to Penny.

I lowered my eyebrows.Stop looking at my girl like that.The sex club thing combined with the way he was staring made his comment clear enough. He probably thought Penny was a hooker or something. “No,” I said. “I thought you would have heard. I'm getting divorced."

“Oh, I'm sorry, man," Mason said. And then he shook his head and started laughing. "Geez, that's a lie. I'm not sorry at all. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did."

"You two never did get along." The understatement of the year. We all hated Isabella. But again…I wasn’t going to get into all this with him right now.

"No, not at all. So, who is this then?" Mason stared back at Penny.

"This is my girlfriend, Penny." It felt so normal saying that out loud. And good. Really fucking good.

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