Page 72 of Positively, Penelope

Silence followed her words—an empty silence. He drew in a deep breath and turned, but Penelope had gone. His chest deflated with a burst of air and he collapsed back into his chair. What had he done? She, of all people, wasn’t his enemy. Even if she’d chosen Alec, her intentions were good, and—God help him—she was right.

“Well, that was nicely handled.” He looked up to find Gwynn, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe.

He buried his face in his hands. “Why did she have to show up at such a wrong time?”

“Maybe it was the exact right time and you manhandled it.” She waved a hand toward him. “Clearly.”

He glared over at her and then groaned as he replayed his words to Penelope.

“Exactly,” Gwynn said, as if reading his thoughts. “You can’t move forward if you’re always looking back, Matt.” She sighed. “And I think the woman who was standing right in front of you a few minutes ago is worth seeing... and believing.”

“She’s chosen Alec.”

“So you do think she’s as ridiculous and unintelligent as you just implied?” Gwynn shook her head.

He winced.

“You needed to feel that.” She sighed and stepped forward. “Don’t underestimate her. She’s proven she’s worth much more, and on most days, you’re much smarter.”

He shot Gwynn a glare and then stared down at Deirdre’s letter still lying before him.

She was his past, and he had learned from his past. He wanted joy and love and hope. He wanted to take back his future. For himselfand Iris. Three years ago, he fought. Chasing Deirdre to the airport, begging her to stay. Even getting into some fisticuffs with her lover. But Deirdre had chosen someone else instead.

Matt’s mind raced through scenes with Penelope. She had shone light into his heart even when he hadn’t been looking. She drew things out of him that he thought were dormant or destroyed. Shesawhim.

And—he pushed up from the desk—she hadn’t deserved his wrath. Not when all she wanted to do was bring tenderness and hope. Perhaps he couldn’t spend a future with her, but he could make the present count.

“Oh good, your smart side is coming out.” Gwynn stepped out of the way as he passed and he shot her another glare, which merely bounced off her smile. “Good luck, Sir Matthias.”

He rolled his gaze heavenward, regretting, yet again, that he’d ever mentioned that conversation to his sister. With a snag of his jacket from the hook by the door, he dashed out into the night. The cool October air hit him as he took the stone path toward the forest trail. Moonlight bathed the world in a pale light, haloing the pines against the starry sky.

Rounding a group of trees, he spotted Penelope’s pale-blue blouse as she marched through the night. She nearly ran, she walked so fast.

“Penelope,” he called.

A hitch in her step proved she’d heard him, but instead of turning, she increased her pace. He followed suit, closing in.

“Penelope, please.”

Before he even reached her, she turned on him.

“You’re wrong. So wrong.” She pointed a shaking finger at him, which shook even harder when she prolonged the word “so.” “Don’t think that just because I’m young and happy most of the time, I don’t understand hurt and grief.”

“I know I was wrong. And I don’t think—”

“I’vechosenjoy, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have to fight for it.And sometimes that fight starts as soon as I wake up in the morning.” Her voice broke on the last word, drawing him nearer, flipping his heart over.

“Penelope.” He barely whispered her name, near enough to touch her if he wanted. And he wanted. He wanted to wrap her in a hug. To cup her face in his hands. To bring back her smile. He fisted his palms at his sides.

She looked up at him, her eyes glossy, pooling. “Your hurt may be different than mine, but you still have a choice. Just like me.”

Those tears unraveled whatever fragile hold he still had on his past pain, and with one long sigh, he let go.

“You’re right. I do.” He placed a gentle palm against her shoulder, as she’d done with him in the house, but she didn’t pull away. “I’d gotten so lost in what I didn’t have, I’d forgotten to find joy in what I did.”

“Not every woman is like your ex-wife, Matthias.” A single tear slipped down her cheek.

“No,” he whispered. Before he caught himself, he reached up to catch the tear, the touch and her words proving his heart more than ready for this risk. She made it so easy to fall. So terrifyingly easy. “You’ve helped remind me of that fact.”

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