Page 56 of Naughty Nicky

I frown. I hate seeing him like this. He’s the cold man he was when I first came here. His walls back in place.

“Look, I know things didn’t go as planned the other day, but I want you to know that it doesn’t matter to me.”

He rubs his fingers between his brows. “Pen…I just—”

“No, I don’t want to hear you saying no. I want you to come over for Christmas.”

He appears shocked by my request, not expecting me to ask that at all. “Wes doesn’t want me there.”

“Who cares what Wes wants? I want you there.”

“You know it’s not that simple.”

“My parents want you there.” Okay, that may not actually be true. They didn’t say they wanted him there, but if he came over, they wouldn’t be mad.

“Pen…” He runs his hand through his hair. “The plan was that we would wait to see each other until after Christmas. But now I don’t think we should see each other at all.”

My stomach drops to the floor. “No.” I didn’t come here to listen to him break my heart. “You don’t get to do this. Especially not on Christmas.”

“You think I want to do this? You think I want to break your heart? I don’t, but I also know what the right thing to do is, and I can’t string you along.”

“Why would you be stringing me along?”

He sighs. “You know this could never last.”

“What?” I ask in shock. “Never last? What are you even talking about, Nick?”

“My dad doesn’t want me around. I’ll be leaving soon. And you’ll be here. It won’t work out.”

Anger overtakes me, and I shove him in the chest. “No, you don’t get to tell me things won’t work out. And how do you know that if you decide to leave, I won’t come with you? What do I have here? Nothing.”

“We both know you’re here to get back on your feet. Following me isn’t going to fix you.”

It’s like being stabbed in the chest. “I don’t need to be fixed, Nick.”

He sighs again. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

He growls in frustration both his hands going into his hair. “I just…we can’t do this, Penny. We can’t make this work. There is always going to be someone against us.”

“Right now, I feel like you are the only one against us,” I cry. “Nick, you can’t do this.”

“You know it’s right.”

“It’s not!” I scream.

The sound of slamming feet running up the garage steps has both of us turning toward the door. To my surprise, Nick takes a protective stance in front of me to protect me from whatever intruder is barging in.

But we’re both surprised when we see Wesley appear in the doorway.

“I will punch you again if I find out you are breaking my sister’s heart on Christmas.”

“Wesley…” I whimper.

Wes gets up in Nick’s face, and I fear he’s going to hit him again. “She has been miserable for days. Even I can’t get her out of her mood. I fucked up, and I should have come here sooner. But you know I’m a stubborn ass.”

“Why? So we can just beat each other up more?” Nick asks Wes.

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