Page 10 of Penny & Royce
She studied him, still wary, still curious. “What part?”
“All of it.” Then he caught himself and gave a small grin. “Well, not the pet. I don’t know if I’m qualified to help with that one. I’ve been responsible for several horses, one mean rooster, and a barn cat who hated everyone, so maybe I’m overqualified. But I think I could help you with that list.”
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
Royce felt that laugh all the way to his ribs.
Penny made a small, disgruntled sound and looked away. “You can’t guarantee all of it.”
“No,” he said gently. “I can’t.”
Her gaze returned to him.
“But I could help with some of it. One day. No pressure. No cliff-diving. No shark cages unless you suddenly decide you’re braver than both of us.” He nodded toward the country club. “Dancing with a stranger seems like an easy place to start.”
She watched him carefully, and Royce could see the war taking place behind her eyes. She was going to retreat into her own head, and he was going to lose his chance.
He opened his mouth, ready to tell her she could forget he’d said anything, when she did the unimaginable.
Penny nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“O… kay?” He cocked his head.
“Yeah.” She glanced toward the country club doors, then back at him. “What do I have to lose?”
Royce’s smile broke across his face before he could stop it. “Hopefully nothing.”
She gave him a look. “That wasn’t reassuring.”
“Then I’ll try again.” He held her gaze. “You get to pick the pace. If you want one dance and nothing else, that’s what we’ll leave it at.”
Her expression shifted, almost like she hadn’t expected him to say that.
“Okay,” she said, softer this time.
“It’s a deal.” Royce backed away, giving her space even though everything in him wanted to stay right where he was.
“Wait,” she called after him. “Don’t you need my number or something?”
He stopped and turned, then grinned. “Yeah. That would probably be the normal thing to do.”
Penny laughed under her breath, and he pulled his phone from his pocket.
She gave him her number, and he typed it in with more care than he’d ever entered anything in his life.
When he finished, he looked up at her. “I’m Royce, by the way.”
“Royce,” she repeated.
He liked the way his name sounded in her voice. Far too much.
“Penny,” he said.
Her brow lifted. “I didn’t tell you that.”
Caught.
He could have lied. He didn’t.
