Page 120 of Penny & Royce

To his credit, Jason scowled right back and rose slowly. “This has nothing to do with her. You’d be wise to remember that.”

The tension between all of them continued to mount as insults and demands were flung among them. Royce let them expel that energy, watching with only mild interest. Jason, Rose, and Morgan seemed to be the calmest. Bentley and most of the Taylor sisters were more confused than anything. And their fathers, along with Lincoln, were the loudest and angriest.

That was to be expected.

“Royce?” Penny whispered. “Shouldn’t you?—”

He squeezed her hand and raised his voice above the chaos. “Clearly, most of you want to know why I would dare put us all in the same space. Believe me, I wondered the same thing. Until it occurred to me that we all have something in common.”

Disgruntled disagreements shot through the air.

More insults too.

It was almost too much for Royce to hold in his amusement. Eventually, he released Penny’s hand and stepped into the middle of the circle of chairs—a circle his father and oldest brother still hadn’t joined.

“Family.”

That one word quieted everyone.

He turned in a circle, meeting everyone’s eyes one at a time. “We all can agree on one thing. Family is everything.”

Still, no one spoke. He couldn’t decide if he liked that. He’d grown used to the anger and hatred that got tossed around so often.

Now, he wasn’t sure what to do with the silence.

“As some of you may know, a little under two months ago, I got married.”

The Taylors who hadn’t been at Penny’s apartment that morning seemed mildly curious about where this was going. Everyone else maintained an aloof expression.

“I fell in love with Penny, and we eloped.” He turned, and his eyes clashed with hers. He didn’t look away as he continued. “It was fun, reckless, and exactly what we both chose. I know some of you won’t understand that. You might think we moved too fast. You might say we were wrong to make such a rash decision.”

Penny’s fingers tightened around his.

“But I love her,” Royce said, his voice steady. “And I’m not going to apologize for that.”

Lincoln scoffed. “You’re such an idiot. I’m out of here.”

“You’re going to be an uncle,” Royce called out to his back.

Lincoln froze.

The people in the circle gasped or went stock-still. No one moved a muscle or voiced their surprise. Royce had expected them to erupt with some kind of reaction, but… nothing.

He waited for Lincoln to turn. To yell. To say anything.

When none of that happened, he turned back to the group, his eyes flicking to his father for only a moment, just to ensure he was listening.

“This baby wasn’t planned. Neither of us expected to start a family so soon. But that doesn’t mean we won’t love this baby with everything we have.”

He reached out his hand to Penny, encouraging her to join him. They’d discussed when the best time would be to tell her mother and ultimately decided to wait until she had one of her good days after they’d let everyone currently present know.

Her cool fingers slipped into his warm ones, and he held her tightly.

Nothing but adoration shone from her eyes.

He winked at her before kissing her knuckles, then he returned to the announcement.

“Now, for the reason I wanted you all here today. This baby deserves everything life has to offer. I refuse to raise my child in the middle of this tiresome feud. This baby shouldn’t have to choose a side. It shouldn’t have to witness hatred for any of its family. And that includes everyone here.” He let the words settle before continuing. “If you can’t accept those terms, then you won’t be part of this child’s life.”