Page 78 of The Complete Truth Duet
I’d bought four small kiddie pools, three bags of play sand, and a bag of decorative shells, thus transforming the backyard into a Floridian paradise. Or as close as I could get for the low, low price of fifty-three dollars.
Penn’s head swung in my direction. “What in the…”
“I told you she loved me,” Drew whispered.
I snapped my fingers in his direction. “No touching.”
He leaned over the railing to get a better view. “I can look though, right?”
“Go for it.”
Rubbing his hands together, he shot down the stairs, leaving Penn and me alone on the third floor.
“Part two?” he asked, circling his arms around my waist.
I squeaked when, rather than bending down to kiss me, he lifted me off my feet, bringing me up to his mouth.
“Welcome to Florida, baby. Since you’re stuck in Illinois this year, I figured I’d bring the beach to you. Everybody pitched in this morning, helping me set up. Brittany even opened up her apartment as the bar. She’s making cocktails complete with little umbrellas and neon straws. Keep an eye on Savannah though. I already had to snatch two out of her grip.”
Penn chuckled, putting me back on my feet. “You didn’t have to do all this, Cora. Really, it’s just another day.”
“No, Penn. It’s your birthday. We celebrate birthdays. Nothing is a given. Nothing is promised. Nothing is guaranteed. So, when you have the chance to put on a bathing suit, lie in the sun, dig your toes into the sand, and drink fruity cocktails with umbrellas and neon straws while surrounded by people you care about, you do it.”
He stared down at me, his gaze clear, his mouth smiling. But that all-too-familiar shadow flittered across his face. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
His hand slid down to my ass. “You gonna be wearing a bikini?”
I swayed into him, looping my arms around his neck. “For a little while.” I pecked at his lips. “But my goal is to end the day very, very naked.”
“So there we were, four women, three of which were in heels, pushing this car to the edge of the parking lot. ‘Just pop the clutch,’ they said. ‘It’s easy,’ they said.” I lifted my drink in the air. “They lied! I was rolling down that hill like a soapbox derby star. I couldn’t get the damn thing to crank. Nor could I get it to stop. I had no less than twelve heart attacks before I thought to pull the parking brake.”
Everyone laughed as we sat in a semicircle around one of the baby pools. Penn and I were sharing a lounge chair. His feet were on the ground on either side, a beer in his hand, and I was sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest, and halfway through my third piña colada.
It had been a really freaking good day. It was Penn’s birthday, but the smiles on the women’s faces as we all swapped stories and picked on each other like the family we truly were had me vowing to do something like this at least once a month. They deserved some downtime, not time locked away in their apartments, isolated from people who loved them.
And days like that were reminders of how much I did love them. Each and every one of them. No matter how big of a pain in the ass they could be sometimes.
“You need another drink?” Penn whispered into the top of my hair as the girls carried on around us.
I craned my head back to see him and replied quietly, “You want birthday sex tonight?”
His eyes lit. “I wouldn’t turn it down.”
“Then no. Three is enough.”
He dipped, kissing my lips. But I wasn’t done with one. Snaking my hand up, I cupped the back of his head and pulled him down for a few more.
“Oh shit,” someone breathed like they’d never seen two people in love before.
In love?
Shit, were we in love?
Just being able to ask myself that question was more than I’d ever thought I’d have again.
I hummed, kissing him again.
“Cora,” someone hissed, but I waved them off, causing Penn to laugh against my mouth.
And then it was over.
The joy.
The happiness.
The comfort.
That hope that had been enveloping me, warming me, and feeding my soul since Penn had arrived? It exploded. And, as I’d expected, it slayed me in its wake.
“Well, this is cozy,” Dante snarled behind me.
I froze, my pulse coming to a screeching halt before skyrocketing.
Penn shot to his feet, and I scrambled up after him, desperate to get between them.
“Hey, Dante?” I croaked, trying and failing to keep the shake out of my voice.
With a hand on my stomach, Penn stepped around me. “The fuck are you doing here?”
Dante laughed, unsteady on his feet but no less malevolent. His pupils were the telltale size of pinpricks, and the exposed skin beneath his white button-down was sweaty and red. God only knew what he’d taken that day. He was crazy as it was, without drugs adding to his unpredictability.
