“No running, Aunt Dixie,” Bradley announced.
Chuckles rose from the guests, and Bradley grinned proudly as he pulled his sister down the aisle, waving and calling out to everyone he knew, “Hi, Aunt Finlay! Hi, Lulu! Hi, Penny…” earning more laughter. Behind them, Lila held Josie’s hand as they walked down the aisle. Lila looked like a princess in a white dress with a fluffy skirt and a pink bow in her wispy blond hair. Josie was gorgeous in her pale-pink dress, her loving eyes zeroing in on Jed and Hail, bringing Penny more tears.
When they reached the end of the aisle, Red scooped up Maggie Rose, and she and Biggs took the children to sit in the front row, while Dixie and Josie took their places across from the Whiskey men by the gazebo.
There was a brief moment of silence before “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri began playing, and Scott and Sarah walked out of the mansion. Penny’s heart lurched. Sarah was stunning in her wedding gown, but Penny’s eyes were riveted to the man standing proudly by her side, the man Penny felt like she’d loved for a thousand years and wanted to love for a trillion more. Tears poured down her cheeks as Scott’s gaze found hers. His brows knitted, love and sadness coalescing in his beautiful eyes, drawing a sob from Penny’s chest. She covered her mouth, and Scott watched her until they’d passed her row. She wanted him with all her heart. She wanted everything with him—their baby, saying I do in front of all their friends, a future of pancakes and boat rides. She wanted to give Scott all the love he’d missed out on and so much more that he’d feel it even if they were on opposite sides of the world.
Quincy touched her arm and whispered, “Now, that’s the look of love.”
She knew he was talking about the way Bones was looking at Sarah as she took her place across from him, but Penny was still drawn to Scott, now standing beside Josie but looking at her. Her heart ached for the love billowing between them.
Scott may not think he would be a good daddy, but she knew in her heart he’d be one of the best. Nevertheless, her love for him was speaking louder than anything else. As they took their seats, she was glad she hadn’t told him about the baby yet. Scott was an honorable man who would do the right thing by her and their child. But Penny didn’t want him to do the honorable thing. She didn’t want a husband and a father for her child who felt trapped. She’d made a mistake that morning, selfishly trying to get him to see himself as she saw him and to change his mind.
She placed her hand protectively over her belly, making the hardest decision of her life.
She could find her way as a single mother, even if losing Scott would mean never feeling whole again, but she could never forgive herself if Scott felt trapped into a role that terrified him.
As sobs fell from her lips and Finlay squeezed her hand, Penny knew what she had to do. She just hoped she would survive it.
Chapter Six
THE CEREMONY WAS beautiful and just long enough to leave everyone teary-eyed. Sarah cried as she and Bones said their vows, the love in their voices so thick it was palpable. Every time Penny’s and Scott’s eyes had connected, it deepened the ache in her chest, making her cry harder. She’d given up even trying to stop the rivers of tears that plagued her.
After the ceremony, Hawk Pennington, the photographer and a Dark Knight, had swept the wedding party and their spouses away for pictures in the gardens. Cocktail hour was in full swing in the stone colonnade. Music from the DJ filled the air as people mingled, enjoying appetizers and cocktails and dancing. Fancy tables with elaborate floral centerpieces surrounded the dance floor, and gorgeous iron and stone planters around the perimeter of the colonnade boasted pink and white roses. The stone columns were wrapped with strings of white lights, and more strands of lights were draped overhead. It was absolutely magical.
Penny stood with her friends, listening to them talk about the wedding, while she sneaked glances at Scott who was posing for pictures with his family. Everyone in the wedding party was paired off except him. She longed to be by his side. Even from that distance, she could tell by his body language that his smiles were forced. Guilt pressed in on her for clouding what should have been one of the happiest days of his life.
“Speaking of grand gestures,” Gemma said, pulling Penny from her thoughts. Gemma was gorgeous in a forest-green dress that hugged her petite frame; her brown hair was pinned up in a fancy twist. “Roni just told us that you got into the dessert festival next year. Why didn’t you say something last night? That’s so exciting!”
“I was bursting at the seams to tell everyone, but it was Bones and Sarah’s big night, and I didn’t want to steal their thunder.” That wasn’t completely true. Of course Penny was excited to share her news about the amazing things Scott had done for her, but the pregnancy had distracted her from everything else. The only thing she’d been bursting to say last night was I love you to Scott and We’re going to have a baby.
Thank goodness when her seams had finally burst, she’d held that news back.
“I gave Scott a copy of the article I wrote about Luscious Licks a few years ago for the community newspaper, and Tru and I gave you a rave review.” Gemma glanced briefly at Kennedy and Lincoln twirling around Truman on the dance floor. “We told Alyssa all about the special sundaes you make on the spot for the kids and how you always take time to talk with them. I hope it helped.”
“And Dixie and I went through her pictures and gathered shots of your ice cream stands at a few of the fundraisers,” Tracey said. She looked gorgeous in a short blue halter dress, a sexy choice for a girl who was far more demure than her snarky roommate and coworker at Whiskey Bro’s, Izzy, who was flaunting her hot body in a tight yellow dress that showed off her curves.
“Wait a second. You guys knew about what Scott did?” Penny couldn’t believe Scott had reached out to everyone. “I never saw any of the reviews or the pictures he sent or anything. The whole thing was a surprise. Thank you for helping him and saying nice things about me.”
“We all knew about it, Pen. Everyone contributed, and you deserved every compliment and more,” Quincy said, looking handsome in his dark suit, with his hair slicked back and an arm around Roni, beautiful in a floral dress, her brown hair flowing over her shoulders. “You should know Scott pursued that woman relentlessly for you. He’s crazy about you, Pen.”
Quincy held her gaze, and she knew he was letting his words sink in. He had pulled her aside right after the ceremony to try again to get her to open up to him. She didn’t want to end up in tears again, but she also hadn’t wanted to lie, so she’d told him that she and Scott had gotten into a tiff that morning. She knew he didn’t buy it, because she and Scott had never fought before. They talked things out. Well, everything except the most important subjects: love, marriage, and babies, which they kept pushing to the periphery of their relationship. Luckily, Quincy knew her well enough to realize she didn’t want to talk about it, and he’d said, My shoulder is your shoulder when and if you need it. When he’d hugged her, she’d had to stifle more tears.
She’d finally dammed the rivers and hoped she could keep her tears at bay for the rest of the reception.
“I know he is,” she said as Scott’s words came back to her. I love you with every fiber of my being, Penny. You’re the fucking eye to every storm, my safe harbor. The world could be exploding around me, but when I look at you, when I hear your voice or feel your touch, nothing else matters. Except other things did matter, like the life they’d created inside her.
“I’ve got to hand it to Scott. He’s one clever fox. I bet my review nailed it for you. I wrote about the sundaes you don’t advertise.” Izzy waggled her dark brows. “Like the Triple O and the Heavenly Hookup.”
“With reviews like that, it’s a wonder Alyssa Braden didn’t hightail it over to Peaceful Harbor to check out the single guys,” Tracey said.
Everyone laughed, including Penny, and boy, did she need that laugh.
Izzy nudged Tracey and said, “Speaking of single men, Mr. Hard Body is loo
king pretty delicious in that suit.”
Penny followed Izzy’s gaze to Desmond “Diesel” Black striding across the dance floor, stoic faced, eyes trained on Tracey. Diesel was a bartender at Whiskey Bro’s and a Nomad Dark Knight. His crisp white shirt strained across his bulbous biceps and chest, his slacks stretched to the limit over his massive thighs. Talk about a man of few words, Diesel grunted more than he spoke, and Penny swore he looked like he was going to throw Tracey over his shoulder and haul her off to his cave.
“Wow. He sure cleans up nicely.” Roni gazed lovingly at Quincy and said, “But not quite as nice as my guy.”
Tracey was staring at Diesel like it was the first time she’d ever seen him.
“Did you ever find out why he wanted to know if you had a date for the wedding?” Gemma asked.
Tracey scoffed, though her eyes never left Diesel as she said, “When I learn how to decipher a grunt, I’ll let you know what the reason was.”
“Uncle Diesel!” Kennedy skipped over to Diesel in her frilly blue dress and Mary Janes, stopping him by the edge of the dance floor. His chiseled features didn’t soften as Kennedy took his hand and pulled him toward the middle of the floor.
A few feet away, Lincoln was standing on Truman’s feet, holding his hands as they danced. Penny warmed at the sight of them, picturing Scott doing the same with their baby one day. The lump that had lodged in her throat earlier returned with a vengeance. Why did she even play with those thoughts?
As her friends talked, Penny gazed out at the gardens and saw Scott making a beeline for her. His jaw was tight, chin low, making her stomach twist into knots.
Roni moved closer to her and said, “Now, that’s a man on a mission if I’ve ever seen one.”
Penny got more nervous with Scott’s every step as he closed the distance between them. She told herself not to make a scene, to hold herself together, but she felt nauseous, and she didn’t know if it was the pregnancy or the fact that since she’d decided to do the only fair thing, she was afraid if she opened her mouth, it would tumble out.
Panic rose in Penny’s chest, and she turned away from Scott to try to regain control just as Lincoln ran off the dance floor, hollering, “DancewifmeBooful!” He grabbed Roni’s hand, tugging her toward the dance floor.
Penny focused on a spot on the floor in an effort to calm herself down.
“Little dude, you’re always stealing my girl,” Quincy joked. “Hey, Pen…?” He touched her arm. “You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
She knew what she had to do. Drawing upon all of her courage, Penny said, “No, but hopefully I will be.” As Scott stepped into the colonnade, she looked at Quincy and said, “Save me a spot on your shoulder, will you?”
THERE WAS A storm brewing inside Scott, and if he didn’t stop it, it was going to drown him. It had been torture watching Penny cry during the ceremony knowing it was his fault. He’d wanted to take her into his arms and apologize for the hell he’d caused. On top of that, standing for family photographs without her had left him feeling off-balance and empty. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“Hey, sweets,” he said gruffly. “Can you come with me, please?”
He reached for her hand, and as she took it, the smile that usually lit up the room barely reached her eyes, cutting him like a knife. She went with him, but he felt a difference in her touch and in the energy she gave off, as if she’d already erected a wall between them.
“Where are we going?” she asked in a pained voice as they made their way across the lawn.
“I want you in the pictures with us.”
“What?” Penny stopped cold, tears welling in her eyes. “No.” She took a step back, shaking her head. “I can’t be in the pictures with you and your family when I don’t know if we’re even going to be together tomorrow.” Her voice escalated as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I can’t…I can’t do this.”
“I can’t either, Pen. I—”
“Don’t!” she shouted, sobs distorting the word. “Don’t say it.” She turned and stalked away from him and the reception.
He went after her, gently taking her hand, and said, “Please, just hear me out.”
“I can’t do this here,” she hissed. “I don’t want everyone witnessing you breaking up with me. I know you don’t want kids, and you know I do, and I love you too much to force you into a life you don’t want.” Sobs tumbled out, and she covered her face with her hands, talking from behind them. “God! Just say it. Get it over with.”
“Sweetheart, I am so sorry for making you cry.” He gathered her quaking body in his arms, his heart swelling and breaking at once. “I don’t want to end things with you, Penny. I can’t imagine a day without you, much less a lifetime.”
She seemed to hold her breath, her face still buried in his chest. Then she tipped her face up, eyes swollen and confused, nose pink, and cheeks as wet as rain. “What?”
He cradled her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. His heart was beating so hard, he was sure she could feel it pounding between them. “I’m so scared of becoming my father, I almost let it ruin the best thing I’ve ever had. But I’m not going to let that bastard take one more thing from me. I love you so damn much, Penny. I never wanted—want—to hurt or disappoint you, and I realized today that you and my sisters are right. I love children. I love their smiles, their laughter, their cuddles. I love them too much to ever hurt them. But the fear is real, Penny, and I can’t just shake it off. When I was standing down there with all the guys and their wives and children, I realized that I didn’t have to shake it off. Being scared is the solution, not the problem.”
“I don’t understand.” She blinked repeatedly. “What are you saying? What solution?”
“I’m saying that instead of giving in to the fear and letting it ruin us, I’ll go to therapy, figure out where that fear is buried, and dig that son of a bitch out. I’ll take that fear apart piece by piece until I have all my shit figured out.”
Hope rose in her eyes, bringing more tears. “You will?”
“Yes. I love you, Penny. You’re my soul mate, my best friend, my eye of the fucking storm, and I want our clothes in one closet and a dresser just for you. I want little girls who wrap me around their tiny fingers, keep their hair up with colorful clips and straws, and dole out love like they have an endless supply. I want little boys who run through the woods, jump off docks, and protect their sisters from snakes and bullies—but never have to worry about protecting them from me.”
Her tears flooded against his thumbs, and a sob fell from her lips.
“I’m all in, sweetheart. In for a penny, in for a pound, and I will stop at nothing to become the man that you deserve.”
“Oh, Scotty!” She threw her arms around him, sobbing against his chest. “You’ve always been the man that I deserve.”
She clung to him like she wanted to burrow deep inside him. But she was already there, as much a part of him as the air he breathed, easing the storm.
“Do you think you can handle six or seven pounds?” she asked as she took his hand, but he didn’t understand the question. She placed his hand on her belly, a gorgeous smile lighting up the hope in her eyes.
Understanding came with a jolt of shock. “You’re…We’re…?” Joy and fear intertwined, stealing his ability to speak.
“Yes. I took three tests.”
Three tests. “We’re having a baby?”
She nodded. She was having a baby. His baby. Their baby.
Our baby.
You’re having our baby.
Holy shit we’re having a baby.
Images of little Pennys with radiant smiles and loving hearts flashed in his mind, and like kryptonite to Superman, happiness obliterated his fear, and “We’re having a baby!” came rushing out. Penny laughed as he lifted her off her feet and crushed his lips to hers.
“God, I love you,” he said between kisses. “A baby. We’re having a baby!”
He couldn’t
believe how elated he was or how free he felt. He kissed her again, longer this time, and as the rest of the world came back into focus, cheers and claps broke through his haze of stunned elation, and he realized they were surrounded by their families and friends, who were cheering and clapping. His sisters were crying, along with half the women there, and Hawk was taking pictures. He looked around them as he set Penny on her feet, keeping her tucked against him.
Kennedy barreled toward them, yelling, “I wanna name your baby!”
He and Penny laughed, and he gazed into her gorgeous glittering eyes and said, “How do you feel about a five-year-old naming our baby?”
“How bad can it be? She named Tallulah.”
“I like Moana!” Kennedy said.
Everyone laughed.
“Want to rethink your answer?” Scott asked.
Penny wrapped both arms around him and said, “As long as I get you and our baby, that’s all that matters.”
“Babies, sweetheart.” He kissed her again and said, “We have too much love in our hearts to hoard it.”
MUCH LATER, AFTER apologizing to Sarah and Bones for intruding on their big day, being passed from one congratulatory embrace to the next, and posing for loads of pictures, which Sarah and Bones insisted Hawk take to commemorate what had also become Penny and Scott’s special day, Penny was still on cloud nine. Toasts were made, Sarah and Bones danced their first dance to “It’s You” by Maggie Rose, the artist they named their daughter for, and after a delicious meal, Scott led Penny out to the dance floor.
When he took her in his arms and gazed lovingly into her eyes, she noticed the shadows were gone. He seemed lighter, happier. She felt it in his embrace, too. Gone was the underlying tether she’d once felt, as if taking charge of his fears had cut it loose.
“Do you remember our first real date?” he asked.
In for a Penny Page 6