Page 258 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5
She pulled her eyebrows together in an adorable frown. “I can tell when something is bothering you too.”
“A standoff, huh?” I looked down at Liam. He looked just like James. A head of dark hair and a rather serious face. But he had blue eyes like his mother. I used to want kids. And this was the closest I would ever get.This should have been my life.
“I always wanted kids,” I said, breaking the awkward silence. “Four of them. I don’t really know why.” But I did. Because mybrother and I were practically raised with the Hunter brothers. The four of us against the world. The Untouchables. Before everything broke.
“You’re going to be a great dad,” Penny said. She didn’t look comforted by my words at all. Instead, she looked even more upset.
But I didn’t get a chance to ask her why. Because James walked in the front door. Penny plastered a fake smile on her face. I could tell. I’d been wearing one for half my life.
“Hi, James!” she said and stood up.
“Hey, baby.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips, pulling her against him.
Message received loud and clear.I turned away.
“Hey, Matt,” James said. “I thought our dinner was Saturday night…”
“It is.” I stood up. “I just stopped by to say hi.”
James gave me a weird look and pulled Penny closer.
I clenched my jaw. As much as I was tempted to, I wasn’t going to ruin his life. Not like he’d ruined mine.
“Since you’re already here, you’re more than welcome to stay for dinner,” James said. “I’m sure Ellen made enough.”
“I already ate,” I gestured toward the plate of leftovers. “And I actually have plans tonight.” I didn’t. But I didn’t want to sit here as the odd third wheel. Or like I was one of their kids.
Penny looked up at James. “Did you know that Matt volunteers as the head coach for the football team at your old school?”
“Yeah.”
“What? How did everyone know this but me?” She turned back to me. “When’s your next game? Maybe we can come? I’ve never even seen your high school. It’ll be so much fun.”
“Tomorrow night,” I said.
James ran his fingers through his hair. A nervous tic. “I have a lot of papers to grade tomorrow.”
“That’s okay,” Penny said. “I’ve been meaning to get together with the girls anyway. I’ll ask them to go with me. I bet Bee and Daphne would love to see Empire High.”
She was right - I was sure Mason and Rob’s wives would love to see where we used to go to high school. And honestly, that sounded better than having the guys there. None of my friends had stepped foot back in that school after graduation besides me. I think they were terrified of the ghosts of their past. And they’d all moved on. I was the only one who kept going back. I was the one who was stuck there.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Penny said. She was smiling for real again. And I was happy it was because of me.
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow, Penny.” I winked at her.
James frowned at me.
But Penny’s smile grew. And that was all I cared about.
She waved goodbye and I left before James could pull me to the side and tell me to fuck off. It wasn’t like Penny and I were going on a date. I’d be on the field the whole time and she’d be with our friends. There’d be zero funny business going on.
No, I didn’t kiss Penny. But I still felt a million times better than I had after practice. Penny was the breath of fresh air I needed.
When I was in the hall my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw the name flash across my screen.Mr. Pruitt.My blood ran cold. Why the hell wouldn’t he leave me alone? I clicked out of the text without reading it. I knew exactly what it would say. He sent me the same text every few months for years. Telling me we needed to talk. That it was important.
But nothing that came out of that man’s mouth was important to me.
My heart started beating the same way it had when I thought I’d seen Brooklyn walking around the streets of the city. None of my ghosts were leaving me alone tonight.
