Page 40 of Penny & Royce

She felt seen. Understood. Wanted in a way that didn’t make sense for the amount of time they’d known each other.

Loved?

No. Not yet. Maybe not the word itself.

But something in the same family as love had started unfolding in her chest, and that was why she was seated in his truck on the way to Vegas without telling a soul the whole truth.

She should be terrified, right?

If any of her clients told her a story like this one, she would be concerned. She would ask careful questions. She would encourage them to slow down long enough to make sure the choice was truly theirs.

So why exactly did Penny feel so free?

She let out a small laugh, and Royce warmed her with another one of those adorable expressions of his. This man was something else.

And he was interested in her.

Unfortunately, her freeing thoughts and excitement for starting this adventure fell away after the first two hours on the road.

“Talk to me, beautiful. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing,” she squeaked. Penny kept her focus trained ahead.

“The upholstery would beg to differ.”

She glanced down at the way she was digging her fingernails into the seat at her sides. No matter how many times she told herself to release the material, she couldn’t do it.

Oh no.

This was a mistake. A huge mistake.

She really shouldn’t be here.

“Turn around,” she rasped before she could think better of it.

Royce’s attention snapped to her. “Okay.”

The truck began slowing almost immediately.

The instant he agreed, panic twisted with guilt inside her. “No. Wait. I don’t—” Penny closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t know. Never mind.”

The nausea started to build, her anxiety overthrowing any semblance of excitement she’d had. This was a mistake of epic proportions. She wasn’t this person. She couldn’t do this.

Her grip on the seat turned painful, but not as painful as the burning in her lungs or the tightness in her stomach. She was getting dizzy. Or was it later than she thought and those stars were actually falling from the sky?

Suddenly, the door to her right swung open.

What?

When had they stopped?

Royce was there, unbuckling her seatbelt and pressing a hand on the spot between her shoulder blades. The pressure soothed her in ways she didn’t think it could. His low, murmured voice brought her back from the brink of a panic attack.

“Breathe, beautiful. That’s it. You’re doing great.”

She gulped in air her lungs desperately needed, and soon she could think clearly.

Heat rushed into her cheeks, and embarrassment hit almost as hard as the panic had. Penny didn’t want to look up at the man who probably thought she was the crazy one.