Penny
After we’ve showered — which took quite some time because we were having way too much fun washing one another head to toe — I check my phone for the first time all day.
“Oh crap,” I groan, looking at my missed messages. “I have to go,” I tell him. “I’m gonna be late as it is.”
“What’s happening?” Pax asks, coming up behind me and kissing my neck.
“Obligatory brunch with my father.”
Paxton’s eyes lift. “Can I come?”
I frown. “Um, why would you want to do that? I’ve told you how controlling he is, how overbearing. He’d just be cruel. You don’t need that.”
Paxton shrugs. “I think I can handle your father.”
I scoff, reaching for a dress in my closet. “If you think that, then I think you joining us is a really bad idea.”
“Are you embarrassed of me?” he asks me.
I bite my lip. “No. But… he’ll just grill you. Why would put yourself through that?”
“Because I don’t want to lose you,” he says simply.
I turn to him. “It was supposed to be one night of fun.”
He gives me a half smile, cupping my cheek. “But it turned into so much more than that, didn’t it?”
Shockingly, I find myself smiling, wondering if maybe the insane is possible, if being with Paxton isn’t the craziest thing in the world. He is really nice, and he has been through a lot. Maybe my father will see him as more than a drifter through life.
Besides, he recited poetry to me last night. I can’t just let him walk away from me.
“Okay,” I say, shaking my head. “Come to brunch. You think you can handle my father, more power to you.”
Paxton grins, wrapping his arms around my thighs and lifting me into the air. “Good,” he says, dropping me onto the bed and crawling on top of me. “Because I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”
Chapter 7
Paxton
I only have what I wore last night, but at least I’ve showered and considering I’m with Penny, no one will be looking at me anyways. She looks incredible this morning in a white sundress and sandals. She puts red lipstick on, which only accentuates her green eyes and dark hair. She puts her phone in a little wicker basket purse that is lined with red and white checked fabric. She looks ready for a picnic and I imagine her on my boat, the blue sea surrounding us, a big sunhat on her head. I can’t help but smile at the thought. The dream. I want to make it a reality.
When we exit her elevator and walk toward the hotel restaurant, she turns to me. “Just be yourself,” she says. “You’ll do great.”
“Should I say the same for you?” I ask, my hand on the small of her back.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you could try telling your father what you want for a change. You might find out you are happier for it.”
She exhales. “I’m not sure I’m that brave,” she admits.
I take her hand, lacing her fingers with mine, and I kiss our knuckles. “Maybe I can be your talisman. Your good luck charm.”
She laughs, her shoulders relaxing. “Well, last night I sure got lucky.”
I chuckle, pinching her hips, and she giggles as we enter the swanky restaurant.
The waitress knows who Penny is and leads us to a table immediately. Her father is sitting at a square table in a far corner, with a half-empty bloody Mary. He’s been waiting. When he sees Penny, he stands, wrapping his daughter in a hug. When they step back, she points to me. “And this is Paxton. My…”
“Boyfriend,” I say, filling in for her. “Good to meet you, sir.”
I offer him my hand but he refuses to take it. Sitting down, he looks at his daughter with narrowed eyes as waitresses bring us breakfast. Damn, we didn’t even order. But within seconds there are plates of bacon and eggs, potatoes, toast, a bottle of champagne, coffee, orange juice, the whole nine yards. I guess when you are a billionaire, you just snap your fingers and are given the world. I’d forgotten.
Drake Aurora clears his throat, looking at his little girl. “So what is this? Is he some bartender you found in the alley?”
Penny’s eyes widen. “Daddy. No. This is Paxton. He isn’t bartender. He’s a—” She frowns, looking at me. Guess we didn’t exactly cover that last night.
“I’m a sailor,” I say, taking a drink of the dark roast coffee. I refuse to let this man get under my skin.
“Like in the Navy?” Drake asks.
I shake my head. “No, like I have a sailboat. I live on it. Down in the marina.”
Drake rolls his eyes. “And that supports you?”
“I have savings,” I say, not interested in giving this man more information than needed.
“What is this?” he asks Penny. “Is this a joke to get back at me for setting you up with Mark Daily last week?”
I clench my jaw at the thought of her out with another man, but I know Penny only went out with guys to make her father happy. And she’s done with that. She’s mine now and it’s time Drake Aurora understood the facts.
Penny
I have a bad feeling about this. I may say I want to stand up to my dad, but I’m scared. It’s not that I need his money — I have sold a book of poetry and the advance can cover my expenses for the next year.
The thing I am scared of is pushing my dad away and then having no one. And I want a family, I want to hold onto the happy memories of him, my mom and me, growing up. There are a handful of them. I’m not ready to say goodbye to that.
But when Paxton clears his throat, I know he isn’t ready to say goodbye to me either.
It was supposed to be a fling… but it feels like just the beginning.
“Sir,” Paxton says. “My intentions with your daughter are serious. I want to be with her. I love her.”
My eyes widen at his confession. He looks at me and smiles. “I do, Penny. I love you.”
My father scoffs, setting his cloth napkin on the table. “And how long have you known my daughter? Because I’ve certainly never heard of you.”
“We met yesterday,” he says simply. “Sometimes when you know, you know.”
“And you must think you won the goddamn lottery,” Dad laughs. “You know Penelope’s an Aurora, correct?”
Paxton nods. “Yes, she told me that much.”
Dad smirks, looking at me. “Darling, I know you are a smart girl, but really, a man like this, he’s just using you.”
I bite my bottom lip, feeling frustrated.
“I’m not using anyone. If anything, it was Penny using me last night,” he says.
“Paxton!” I’m taken aback by his honesty. He isn’t hiding anything.
“What? Tell me, Penny, do you love me? Because if you don’t, maybe I got this all wrong. But I don’t think I did.”
“Paxton, I can’t… we just…”
I answered wrong because Paxton is standing, pushing away from the table. “Listen, Penny, I leave tomorrow and won’t be coming back this way for a long time. Call me if you want to see me before I go. Because girl, I want to see you. But not like this. Not when you aren’t ready.”