Well, I guess that could have gone worse.3* * *WOLFIEI’ve almost canceled this trip half a dozen times, and maybe I should have. But in the end, I couldn’t just leave Penelope hanging. Plus, Connor would never let me live with the fact that I ditched his sister.
My mantra has been just smile and get it over with. And so far . . . I’m dealing.
I’ve just endured a tense two-hour road trip with Penelope beside me. She smells really fucking good. And she’s chattered almost nonstop, giving me the play-by-play of the politics in her office. I’m not sure if it’s nervous energy, or if she just really wants me to be prepared for this weekend. Either way, it’s kind of adorable listening to her ramble on.
Adorable? Get it together, bro.
When Penelope sprang the news on me that she’d told her colleagues she was bringing her boyfriend, I almost swallowed my tongue. But I had little choice but to go along with it. Right?
I let out a deep sigh and grip the steering wheel tighter.
Forty-eight hours and I’ll be home. Safe and away from all this nonsense.
Even as it pops into my head, I realize what a strange thought it is. Safe from what?
Feels, I decide.
Penelope makes me feel too many things. Most of them all at once.
Confused. Overwhelmed. Horny.
For most guys, that last one isn’t usually a problem. Unfortunately for me, I’m not most guys.
Physical intimacy makes me . . . unsettled. Nervous. Fearful about what might happen next. Worried about what’s expected of me. Guys are expected to perform. That’s just the way it is.
It’s probably some type of undiagnosed anxiety disorder, but I don’t want to go sit on a couch and tell some overpriced shrink about my past. I know exactly why I am the way I am.
I let out another sigh and shift in my seat.
“Are you okay?” Penelope asks softly from beside me, lowering her dark sunglasses to meet my eyes.
She’s way too perceptive, or maybe I’m way too obvious.
“Fine,” I lie, focusing on the road ahead.When we arrive at the hotel, I grab our bags from the trunk while Penelope talks to the valet. She laughs at something he says, and I want to throat-punch him. I’m not off to a great start.
Chill, Wolfie.
The twenty-something valet turns his attention to me. “Name, sir?” He’s got mischievous blue eyes, and I doubt he has any problems when it comes to the opposite sex.
“Wolfgang Cox.”
He jots something down on the valet ticket and tears off half for me. “Gotcha down. You guys enjoy your stay.”
With a stiff nod, I shoulder my bag and roll Penelope’s along as I follow her inside, through the sliding glass doors of the opulent resort. I’ve never even heard of this place, but it’s somewhere between a luxury hotel and a wilderness retreat. Towering pine trees crowd the glittering glass and rustic wood building. A pond is in the back that you can see in the distance since everything is open concept. It’s nice. Classy and rustic at the same time.
Penelope works at a top management consulting firm in Chicago. Of course they’d want something befitting their status and prestige for their corporate event.
“Oh, wow. Look at this,” Penelope says from beside me. With wide eyes, she tilts her head back, taking in the grand lobby with vaulted ceilings and a massive stone fireplace that dominates the center of the room.
“Beautiful,” I murmur, taking in her, rather than our surroundings. “You ready for this weekend?”
She meets my eyes. “Yes. And with you here,” she says with a smile, “it’s going to be a huge help. I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to come along. I know you probably had better things to do this weekend.”
I shrug. “No need to thank me. Connor is my roommate and one of my best friends. Of course I’d help his sister.”
Her smile falters for a second, but then she flashes me another grin.
Let’s be honest, I’m little more than an emotional support animal. And I hope to be at least half as helpful as a well-trained Labrador retriever.
Penelope stops at the check-in desk and gives her name to the clerk. We’re given two room keys and then head together to the elevator.
“Shit,” she says under her breath, her confident steps faltering.
“What is it?”
She nods toward the elevator bank. “That’s Spencer.”
I lift one eyebrow at her. “Wanna introduce me?”
With an inhale, she nods. “Might as well get this over with.”
Penelope straightens her spine and dons a look like she’s preparing to go into battle. I stride alongside her like some well-trained assistant as she marches toward the elevator.
“Penny,” Spencer says, grinning at her when we approach.
Penny?
I give her a curious look, and she frowns. I’m not sure what I was expecting with Spencer, but it wasn’t this.
