Page 27 of Sex, Lies, & Techy Guys (Love on the Sunshine Coast)

“I don’t care if you ever cook again. I need to know that you’re taken care of—hopefully by Lance and me.”

“That’s a jump,” she says. “Being married isn’t the answer.”

I’m egged on by the softening edge in her demeanor. “It’s okay. We’ve already researched that The Maldives and Colombia allow three person marriages.”

She huffs. “The legal end isn’t my concern. I was married. The magic wore off.”

Why is that shocking? I tug her legs closer to my waist. “You’ve been married?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you ask for the divorce?” Kyle asks and I understand why.

Penny finds the question odd and furrows her brow. “No, he did.”

I come unhinged that a man who swore commitment to Penny hurt her. “How stupid can he be? Is this fucker still in your life? Does he ever cause you trouble?”

“No, actually, he’s not in my life at all. He divorced me. We stayed in communication briefly then he ghosted me.”

My breath is audible, and I can’t calm it down. Kyle’s chest heaves pretty hard. I’m seeing red at the thought of someone hurting Penny, then I get myself in check. It’s best that her ex is gone. He didn’t deserve her.

She shrugs and her tone is distinctly sad. “I figured that was his way of making me understand the divorce was final. That he didn’t want to be with me anymore.”

Finding a few more ounces of composure, I caress her bare leg. “His loss. I’m just glad it happened before we came along and you hadn’t moved on.”

“I’ve never told anyone this…” She worries her lower lip.

I freeze. Kyle had been sliding his hand up and down her arm and stops.

“That’s the problem, I didn’t move on.”

“Do you want him back?” My blood boils that she would give such a loser control over her.

“It’s complicated. I got a letter a little while after he ghosted me, and I thought he might come back.”

“Did he say that in the letter?” Kyle asks.

“Not really, and this is the weird part…I don’t even know it was from him. The envelope had a local postmark and the only thing the letter said was ‘I’m sorry’.

“That was enough to make you wait for an asshole who ghosted you?” I’m losing it again.

She pulls her arms against her chest. “Don’t be mad at me. It left me confused.”

“I’m sorry, that came out wrong. You’re worth more than someone who treats you that way.”

“It’s easy to say, but I’d been certain we were perfect for each other. The divorce, the letter…they never made sense. They made me doubt myself. I thought I moved on. I poured myself into my job, but it was a dead end. I was going to have to move back in with my parents and I couldn’t do that, so I remembered they had this vacation home.”

She motions around us. “I asked them if I could turn it into a business and I guess the rest is history. But it wasn’t until meeting you guys that I actually considered being able to love another man again.”

I can’t deal with her sitting on Kyle’s lap, with only her legs on me. I reach behind her head, pulling her forehead against mine. “You’ll never have to love any other man than us because we’re going to be with you until the end.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to commit to that. It’s nothing against you guys. But I like this the way it is. And I’m not afraid to say I love you, but no travel writing trips to The Maldives just yet.”

We all break into laughter, and I’m thankful that she’s able to forgive us.

“Was that our first argument?” I ask.

“Oh my god. I think it was unless you count the time that I forgot that Kyle didn’t like spinach and I put it in his omelet.”

---