Page 122 of If Our Hearts Collide

I’m in way over my head with desire for this girl, and the only way to fix it is to remove myself entirely from the situation.

Penny shakes her head. “No. I just want to stand here until I drown in enough self-pity to feel numb. Then I may think about going with you. But I’ll decide—not you.”

I take a step closer, just now realizing we have migrated into the alleyway along the side of the coffee shop. With hesitation, I extend a hand for her to take. “Come.”

She lets out a demonic laugh and uses her thumb to point back behind her toward the coffee shop. “Nearly fifty men inside that place and not a single one got matched with me.”

I clear my throat. None of those men deserve to even breathe the same air as her, let alone have a chance to score a real date.

Her hands fly into the air with exaggerated animation. “Like, am I really that repulsive?”

“Penelope…”

Her eyes study mine. “Answer the question.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I warn, almost sounding angry.

“But I am here. I’m here,” she snaps. “And I am fucking tired of putting myself out into the world, just to feel the bitter sting of rejection. Just tell me what is wrong with me?”

“Not a damn thing.”

The night is a dumpster fire. Why not just embrace the chaos and solidify my spot in hell—all in one day’s time?

“But there is. There must be!”

I close the distance between us, allowing my need to prove her wrong to be my sole motivation. I feel edgier with every second that passes, and when I can’t exercise any more restraint, I slide a hand to the base of Penny’s throat, resting it gently against the pulse point.

Warmth coats my skin as I stand in her presence. It’s like two souls meeting for the first time—and really seeing each other.

She is my stability, and her happiness is my strength.

My thumb massages over her sensitive skin, causing shivers to run up her body, all the way to her limbs where I see the telltale sign of my effect on her. “You are like the rarest, most exotic flower in a garden of weeds, Penny.”

“Oh, wonderful,” she groans, tilting her head up at the muted lights casting a glow into the alley.

The exposed column of her neck beckons me—taunts me. I want to bite it and then lick it better.

“What?”

“No wonder why no one wants to ravish me. I’m a freaking flower.”

She pulls away from my loose hold on her, causing my hand to drop, and flops her head in defeat. Her come-fuck-me heels tease me.

I want her like no one I’ve ever wanted before…

I’m not sure if Graham and Nic have hired someone from the inside to tamper with her dates tonight. But if they did, I owe whomever a huge thank you.

Tilting her chin up with two fingers, I force her to look at me. “What’s wrong with that? You are unique and one of a kind.”

She shakes her head adamantly, placing both palms onto my chest. “I just wish men would quit seeing me as something that needs to be preserved and start seeing me as something meant to be enjoyed and experienced. No one wants to fuck a flower.”

“You are a lot more innocent than you think. You need to be careful, or you’ll wind up in a lot more trouble than you bargained for.”

She makes a face. She does this a lot at me. “And how do you know?” She pushes up the hem of her shirt to reveal her navel, running her hand over her abdomen. “Are you keeping tabs on my sex life?”

My heart skips, and I can feel my nostrils flare. She’s getting to me, and I’m allowing it. “Keep toying with me and see what happens.”

A huff of breath deflates from her, while her eyes roll upward. “It can’t be worse than what is happening now.”

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