Page 36 of Lucky Penny
I lean against the doorframe, blocking her in. She crosses her arms, pink lips twisting, and for a split second, I wonder if they taste the same as they did back then.
“Listen, your perseverance is admirable, but I’m not feeling it.” She attempts to shut the door on me, but I don’t move. It bounces right back at her.
“I don’t remember you having such a smart mouth,” I reply, and her jaw clenches.
“You want to play thebig brotherso bad? Fine. I’ll treat you like one.” Penny slams her palms against my chest, but unluckily for her, I’m pretty quick on my feet. All those years of boxing paid off.
In one clean motion, I squat, grab behind her knees, and haul her over my shoulder. I duck out of the doorway so she doesn’t hit her head.
I might be rowdy, but I’m a gentleman.
“JESSE! Put me down!” she yells, pounding on my back.
“Nope.” I grip her thighs tighter. “You owe me fifteen minutes. That’s all. Just long enough so I don’t have to lie to your sister’s face.”
Penny kicks and wiggles, but it just takes one arm wrapped around her ass to keep her pinned to my shoulder. I’ll give it to her—she packs a punch for being such a tiny thing.
“Keep squirming like that,” I mutter, “and I’ll start to think you’re enjoying this.” I trudge down the steps and deposit her into the oversized chair next to the fireplace.
Her bun’s half-falling out, cheeks flushed, eyes blazing. If she were a cartoon, steam would be coming out of her ears.
“You can’t just manhandle people to get what you want!” she snaps, jumping out of the chair and jabbing a sharp finger into my chest.
“Fifteen minutes won’t kill you.”
Penny crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from me.
“You’ve been pissed since the second I walked through that door.” I nod toward the back door, the memory still vivid in my mind. “How long do you want to keep pretending like nothing ever happened between us?”
Penny doesn’t look at me. “We were eighteen,” she mutters. “It was a long time ago.”
“Then why do you look at me like I set the whole damn place on fire?” My voice sharpens, but I can’t help it. “You talk like it’s ancient history, like it wasnothing, but you treat me like I’m the fucking devil.”
Her body goes rigid, and she squares off with me. “You want to talk?” she asks, and I nod. “Fine, Jesse, let’schat, shall we?” A wickedgrin spreads across her face, and Penny starts pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.
Tank watches her, tail wagging, like this is a fun game.
It’s not.
“First of all,” she starts, hands flying, “I busted my ass this year so I could take time off. Spa days, holiday parties, binge-watching trash TV, some actual peace for once. Christmas with my sister.”
Her voice fills the room, heat pouring off her.
“Then she tells me she’s pregnant, the baby daddy’s MIA, and to top it off, you walk in, like some movie hero who never left.”
I keep quiet, letting her get it out. She deserves that much.
Penny stops pacing, eyes locked on mine.
“You don’t just get to show up and decide you’re back in our lives,” she spits out. “You left us, Jesse. You leftme. Like it was nothing, like we didn’t have a future planned.”
“So, that’s where we’re going?” I take a slow step forward. “You think Ichoseprison? I thought I was doing the right thing.”
She laughs, sharp and shrill, and I throw my head back. “Everyone has a choice, Jesse. You just made a bad one.”
My jaw tightens. “You want to talk about that night—or the three years that followed. How you never contacted me, never once set foot in that prison?”
She freezes, and the room goes still with her.
