Page 75 of The First Best Man

When I finally go silent, Penny’s eyes are wide. “Oh, my God. You’re in love with him.”

“What? No, I’m not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

I say the words, but they feel like lies as they spill from my tongue. Penny doesn’t say a word as she watches me as I process my feelings. Oh, God. She’s right, isn’t she?

“What am I going to do?”

“Easy,” she says confidently. “You ask him to stay.”

Panic sears through me. “I can’t do that. His life is in San Francisco. He has an important position in his family’s company. People depend on him. I can’t ask him to leave all that to move to this tiny town. Just to be with me.”

Penny cocks her head. “Would you move there to be with him?”

There’s no accusation in her voice, only simple curiosity. I think about the question, and my panic intensifies.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. My whole life is here. I have the Grill. My house. You. And Bush Monkey Isle is my home. I love it here.”

Penny gives me a smile, but it’s filled with sadness. “I won’t tell you what to do. You have to decide on your own. But you know, if you do decide to leave, you won’t ever lose me. You’re stuck with me forever, sister.”

She leans toward me, and I lunge forward to throw my arms around her. We hug it out with misty eyes, then chuckle together as we dry each other’s tears. Penny clears her throat, and calls out to Peggy that we’re ready.

The shop owner reappears with the replacement dress, and Penny leaps to her feet and claps her hands together joyfully. They closet themselves inside the dressing room, and a few minutes later, Penny emerges looking like a vision in white.

“It’s perfect,” I breathe as she twirls in front of me.

And it is. Completely and utterly perfect.

Just like the man who made this happen.

We both turn toward the front door when the bells hanging over it jingle. Peter––Police Chief Brickman––walks in, his uniform perfectly pressed, and Peggy thanks him for coming before turning to Penny and me.

“I filed a report for the breaking and entering and vandalism yesterday after you guys left the shop.” Turning back to Peter––I’ve known the man since grade school, so it feels weird using his title––she asks, “Do you have any updates for us?”

“Because you don’t have any security cameras in the shop, I had my officers canvas the surrounding businesses. They found some footage from an exterior camera across the street.”

He taps at the screen of his phone a few times, then turns the device around. The three of us crowd in towatch the video, and Penny’s fingers curl around mine as a small figure enters the frame. I can’t tell who it is beneath the baggy black hoodie and pants, but the figure looks decidedly feminine.

She steps onto the bench beside the door, then stretches a hand upward. Plucking something from the top of the door jamb, she hops down before unlocking the door and slipping inside. I look over at Peggy.

“Do you keep a spare key over the door?” She nods, and I ask, “Who else knows about it?”

“Just my assistant, but we rarely use it. I’m always here, and the spare is just in case she needs to get in when I can’t make it.”

“Do you know where your assistant was yesterday when the incident occurred?” Peter asks.

“Yes, actually,” she says with a nod. “She was having lunch with me.”

“Whose idea was it to go out for lunch?” Penny asks, her tone laced with suspicion.

“It was hers,” Peggy confirms. “I tried to tell her I was too busy, but she convinced me I could use a little break with how hard I’ve been working on your dress.”

Penny meets my eyes, and we both nod before I say, “She was establishing an alibi.”

Peter––Chief Brickman––sighs. “Will you two please let me do my job? Just because you watch true crime documentaries doesn’t mean you’re a trained detective.”

Penny ducks her head. “Sorry, Chief.”

I nod in apology, but my mind is spinning. Looking over at Peggy, I ask, “Isn’t your assistant roommates with Kaylee Harper?”

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