Page 124 of The Complete Truth Duet
Dark wood floors sprawled the massive expanse of the open living room, dining room, kitchen combination—the furniture being the only thing to delineate the areas. There were overstuffed chocolate sofas. A huge flat screen hanging on the wall. Stone countertops and oil-rubbed bronze fixtures.
But none of that was what made my heart lurch into my throat.
“Hey, you’re back,” she chirped, her red hair teetering on the top of her head in a top knot as she spun around. With a pint of ice cream in one hand and a spoon halfway to her mouth in the other, her whole beautiful, healthy body jerked the moment our eyes met.
And that was the exact moment I lost it.
Again.
“Oh my God!” I cried, racing forward, not stopping until I had Savannah wrapped in an impossibly tight hug. Confusion, elation, frustration, anger merged inside me to create an unnamed super-emotion that made my heart sing, my chest seize, and my legs weak. “Oh my God,” I repeated, my hands shaking as I patted down her back like I was searching for an injury. “You’re really here.” I released her long enough to give her a visual once-over and then yanked her back in. “God, it’s good to see your face. How are you doing? Are you feeling okay?”
She laughed, giving me a lingering squeeze. “Yeah. Cor. I’m good.”
She was good.
She was good.
She was…
Oh, shit.
After the day I’d had, I was barely on my feet.
However, less than a second later, as the overwhelming weight of reality settled on my shoulders, there was no barely about it.
My knees gave out completely.
Penn
“Crap,” Savannah said as she and Cora, still locked in an embrace, headed toward the floor.
I was already on it. Hooking an arm out, I caught the pair and helped them back upright. Cora was too unsteady to stand on her own, so I anchored an arm around her hips and curled her into my chest.
Like a true asshole, I’d been so entranced in the elevator that I’d forgotten to warn her about Savannah. But seeing Cora standing there with me—no matter how pissed she’d been or how many mountains we’d yet to climb—had been intoxicating.
I’d only thought I’d missed her before that moment.
I’d physically ached to touch her.
To kiss her again.
To hold her.
But not like she was now: a shattered remnant of the woman I loved, dangling in my grasp.
“What is happening?” she cried.
“Shhh, I’ll explain everything.” Scooping Cora off her feet, I looked to Catalina. “Lock the door. Let me know when Drew gets here.”
She stared at me, concern dancing in her brown eyes, but she didn’t argue as I carried Cora down the hall to my bedroom.
In the distance, I heard River squeal, “Oh. My. God. Savannah! What are you doing here?”
I mentally groaned when Savannah’s response was as to be expected: “Penn’s my new daddy.”
After kicking the door shut, I carried Cora to the bed, gently set her down, and toed off my shoes before starting in after her. In my head, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. The two of us had built an entire relationship on nothing but lounging in bed together.
We hadn’t gone on dates to nice restaurants.
We hadn’t binged on TV.
We’d just lain together, talking, kissing, and spending time with each other.
That was who we were as a couple.
But we weren’t a couple anymore—no matter how much it slaughtered me.
Suddenly sitting up, she scrambled to the opposite edge. “No. I need some space.”
It burned like acid, but what did I expect? That she’d be so thrilled to see me again that she’d forget the fire, the money—hell, everything about the last few weeks—and welcome me home with her mouth and then maybe her body?
Fuck. After that kiss in the truck, that was exactly what I’d been hoping for.
Dumbass.
Nodding, I shifted directions and moved to the leather armchair in the corner, perching on the edge like the seat was filled with piranhas. “Are you okay?”
She lifted a finger in the air. “Let’s pause on the fact that you’re supposed to be dead for a minute and jump right to: Why do you have Savannah?”
“I made a promise.”
She laughed in a short burst. “I guess I’m glad that one wasn’t a lie.”
Shit. She’d been waffling back and forth between being sweet, diving into my arms, and being pissed. But I was really hoping her yo-yo of emotions would swing in my favor.
Again: Dumbass.
“Did Thomas—”
“You,” she interrupted, grabbing her necklace and dragging it back and forth across the chain. “I don’t want to talk about Thomas until I know what the hell is happening with you, Penn.” Tears dripped off her chin and she used her shoulder to dry them.
The muscles in my jaw tensed. She had every right to be pissed. Hell, she had the right to never speak to me again. But I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
