Page 86 of Where We Promise

He seriously didn’t understand the levity of what he’d done, the position he’d forced Penelope into. My fingers tightened around the phone, and as I peered over my shoulder watching Pen sleep, I considered replying.

I could tell him yes, let’s meet. I could plan his whole murder, then I could delete and block his number. Pen wouldn’t be the wiser, and we could officially start our lives together without the shadow of him lingering as a possibility in the background.

My thumb hovered over the keypad, then an image of Pen’s big, beautiful eyes popped into my mind. Her smile, the easy way she laughed with me. We were slowly getting back to who we were once upon a time. Before I fucked everything up.

No, I couldn’t do this.

It had to be her choice.

Exiting out of the screen, I set her phone back on the nightstand, curled up next to my wife and closed my eyes.

Wes and Callie’s house was situated at the top of the valley. It was massive with three stories, large windows and still felt like it had just been built, with that fresh carpet smell and everything in their house looked pristine. It was the kind of house I only hoped to be able to provide Penelope and Connor someday.

The life insurance policy from my dad had mostly gone to my mom, but in his will, he’d designated certain stocks to me, ones he no doubt illegally obtained and invested in. Regardless, they were mine now, and that with selling my garage, along with the many other real estate ventures, I was worth well over ten million dollars. Not that I had ever once broadcasted that, or ever let on to what I’d been doing with my money.

Pen now had access to everything I owned, while also owning half of it all herself. She probably didn’t look at the accounts, but once she did, she’d see that her worries were over. She didn’t need to be concerned about providing for Connor; we had it more than covered. I didn’t even consider a prenup because even if she wasn’t my wife, I’d want her to have everything.

The dinner was steak, baked potatoes and some fancy salad. There was beer and wine, and tons of laughter. They’d invited Natty to come up as well, so we’d ended up bringing her in our truck. She was a nice addition, simply because Penelope seemed to get on with her a bit better than the other two. Callie and Laura seemed to speak their own language, and it seemed a bit difficult for Natty or Pen to try and get as close to either of them, not that they were rude in any way . They just seemed to move from topic to topic without anyone else being able to catch up, or they’d say one word without any context and then burst into laughter.

There seemed to be a really hilarious topic on Go-Gurts that I had no clue about, neither did anyone else it seemed.

Although Callie talked Penelope’s ear off, asking a million questions about her pregnancy. It wasn’t until Callie asked about sex in the last trimester that it started to get a little awkward. They weren’t quiet, and Callie seemed not to have a filter of any kind, but we were all adults, so everyone just drank their drinks as Pen flushed and explained.

“Uh…very pleasurable still…at least in certain positions.”

Callie scooted closer. “So you can still have sex that far in? Wes was panicking.” She flicked a gaze over to Wes, who was suddenly incredibly interested in his empty plate. Their Great Dane, Max, walked over and shoved his nose into Callie’s side before moving to Wes and doing the same thing.

“Yes.” Pen gripped my kneecap and turned toward me, as if she wanted my input. “I mean, for both of us, it was more than good.”

Callie took out her phone and began typing in the notes app. “And what position are you using the most at this stage, I’m assuming doggie?—"

“Okay, so does anyone want dessert?” Wes jumped up, which startled Max. He barked while chasing after Wes as he moved into the kitchen.

Killian laughed into his glass of beer, while Laura covered her face with her hands.

Natty was laughing so hard, her face was almost purple.

The night moved on, and when all the women had gone into the nursery to look at everything Callie had set up for her baby, it made me a little cautious because surely Pen would look at that and begin to panic about the size of the cabin, and not having a separate space for Connor. It was hard to compare what we had over there to this mansion, but at least we were safe, and in time, I would upgrade our accommodations.

I had gone upstairs, helping Pen with the stairs while being trailed by the massive horse Wes and Callie kept as a pet, but once I had returned to the main floor, I paused mid-step.

Silas was standing next to the front door, still in his riding leathers and colors. His eyes looked…fucking frantic.

“What happened?” I asked, seeing that Killian was watching him like a hawk and Wes wouldn’t let him pass.

Silas slid a shaky hand through his hair. “I need visual confirmation that she’s okay. Right the fuck now.”

Killian shook his head, clenching his jaw.

Wes did the same. “You’re not running upstairs where my pregnant wife is, you’ll stay here and when they’re finished, you’ll see her.”

“And you’re not getting near Laura,” Killian added.

Silas was shaking, his eyes kept moving up to the top of the stairs.

“I just saw her, Silas.” I attempted to help, but it didn’t seem to matter because he stepped forward and then yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Caelum!”

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