Page 41 of Penny & Royce

Royce kept his hand steady on her back, his expression etched with concern. “Maybe we should go back,” he said quietly. “I’m not the kind of guy who can sit back and watch you suffer, Penny.”

Then his words sank in, and the thought of turning back hit harder than she expected. She reached for his hands and held on. “No. I don’t want to go back.”

Her confession surprised even herself.

“I want this. I do.” Thankfully, her voice didn’t waver. “I just got inside my head a little. It happens sometimes.”

She wasn’t about to tell him she suspected it had something to do with being attacked in college or that these flare-ups were one of the reasons she chose to become a therapist. He didn’t need to know that part of her yet.

Not here.

Not on the side of the road.

Royce studied her for what felt like an eternity. He didn’t look convinced.

Penny took in a deep breath, closing her eyes to settle herself. Then she opened them with fresh determination. “Everything you’ve said about me is true. I am in a rut. I don’t remember the last time I was truly happy. I used to take risks and make mistakes with the best of them. But somewhere along the way, I put myself into a box and threw away the key.”

The undercurrent of nausea was still present, but it was manageable. She reached for Royce’s hands and gripped them tightly in her own.

“And you’re right about the connection you feel. I feel it too. You make me want to throw caution to the wind, even if I might have a few bouts of panic along the way.”

Thank goodness she could put the skills she taught her clients to good use.

The longer she watched him, the more she could see in the depths of his stare. He wanted this too. Definitely more than he was letting on. Because she could see some panic of his own that he worked incredibly hard to hide.

Never before had she seen someone want her with such certainty.

It made her whole body weak and it did something to her heart—healed it in a way she hadn’t realized it needed.

Irrational?

Probably.

There was no making sense of the way he made her feel. It was entirely possible that these extreme emotions would fade, and then what would they be left with? She didn’t like the idea of divorce, but she was logical enough to agree that in certain situations, it was warranted.

And yet the longer they sat there on the edge of the road, crazy as it sounds, she couldn’t imagine a future without this man in her life.

A laugh slipped from her lips, and she shook her head. Royce smiled in response and he lifted his palm to her cheek. Their connection was electric and went against everything she thought she knew.

“Are you sure?” he murmured.

She turned her lips into his palm and kissed it. “I’m sure.”

Thankfully, the rest of the ride was less eventful. They chatted about things they should have probably discussed before she agreed to marry him. Things like how many children they wanted and where they wanted to live.

Each new topic fueled her with more excitement.

Royce had several siblings, but he would be happy as long as he had one boy and one girl. Penny told him she would definitely want more than that, to which he was in agreeance with.

Royce wanted to remain in Copper Creek but only if Penny didn’t have dreams of moving back to the city. She assured him that Copper Creek was a wonderful place to raise a family and she loved the idea of her children learning how to ride a horse and work with their hands.

By the time they were walking through the halls of the hotel where they’d spend their first night as husband and wife, they’d gotten into more important subjects.

“How do you think your family will react?” she asked quietly as she moved past him and placed her bag on the large king bed.

Flutters erupted in her stomach, making her feel like she could float away. But the nausea she expected hadn’t returned since that panic attack in the car.

She turned and found Royce frozen in the doorway.