Page 72 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

"Stop smiling at me."

"I'm not allowed to smile at you now? Penny, we're friends. What I think about in my free time is really none of your business." He winked at me.

So I punched him again.

I jumped when James put his arm around my waist.

"Can I steal my wife for this dance," James said. It was phrased as a question, but there wasn't a hint of a question in his tone. And he didn't wait for Matt to answer. He just pulled me into his arms.

"Why did you just punch him?" he asked. There was a hint of humor in his eyes.

"He was making me mad."

"Okay, I'll rephrase the question." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing important." I put my hands behind his neck. Maybe I'd tell him when he got back from his trip. But there was no reason to make him worry. I didn't care if Matt liked me. I only had eyes for James. "I'm pretty sure Matt is drunk."

James laughed. "He's young. He's in his prime to make mistakes."

"Like when you we

re his age?"

"If I'm being honest, I can't really see them as mistakes anymore. How can anything I've done be a mistake if it's lead me to this moment?"

I smiled. "You can't."

He leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine. "I have to get going."

No. "Don't leave tonight."

"I'll be back before you know it."

I frowned and pulled my face away from his. I didn't understand why I felt like crying. He had gone away on business countless times.

"Is something else bothering you? I'm only going to be gone for a few days. You'll barely notice I'm not home."

"Oh, I'll definitely notice." I bit the inside of my lip. "Did you have a chance to talk to Scar? The whole snake thing has been getting to me."

"I talked to her. I don't think she'll be mentioning it anymore. She even claimed she wanted to watch the movie again. She was insisting actually. Don't worry, though, I shut that down right away. But I thought it was a good sign. It probably means she's not as scared anymore."

"Well that's good. What exactly did you say to her to calm her down? Every time I told her the snake was just in the movie, it seemed to make her more upset."

"I told her that she was scaring you."

I laughed. "You did not."

"I absolutely did. I told her she needed to stop talking about snakes because it was scaring Mommy."

"I'm supposed to be able to protect her. I don't want her to think I'm easily terrified."

"She doesn't. Besides, I'm the protector of the house. And I'll be back before you know it. I really have to get going, though."

I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't quite place. I wanted to protest. I wanted to beg him to stay. Instead, I just nodded my head and tried to ignore the imminent tears pricking the corners of my eyes.

He placed a gentle kiss against my lips.

I grabbed the lapels of his tuxedo to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away far too soon.

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