Page 65 of Penny & Royce

“But I can help.”

“I know.” His voice softened. “And I’ll need you. I don’t want to shut you out, Penny. But I also don’t want to hand you half a plan and make you worry over it all day.”

Her tenuous grasp on control was slipping. She craved it, needed it in order to stifle the twisting anxiety that continued to exhaust her. But one look into his eyes, and she could see what he was trying to offer.

She needed to learn to hand over the reins for a little while. Give herself a room to breathe.

Royce had done so much for her, helped her find pieces of herself she’d thought were gone for good. She could let him carry some of the weight.

For now.

16

ROYCE

“Why are you all dressed up?”

“Why are you all dressed up?” Quinn crooned. Her gaze swept appreciatively over him as she wiped down the counter where she served drinks and hors d’oeuvres at the country club. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a suit.” She mocked a pout. “Lost my one chance at seeing you get married in one when you eloped. Now, no one gets the chance to witness you two get married.”

Royce rolled his eyes. “We’re still going to have a real wedding. Penny doesn’t want her family to hate her, and she really wanted her mother there. We’re just… waiting for the right time.”

“Hmm.” Quinn tossed her rag over her shoulder and rested her forearms atop the counter. “So why are you all dressed up? Something going on?”

At her question, he took a sip of his sparkling water and looked away.

Penny had warned him to steer clear of Jason and Isabelle’s wedding. She’d made him promise he wouldn’t show, not just to keep their relationship under wraps but to keep him safe.

It was sweet of her.

And it should have been enough.

“Uh-oh. I know that look.” Quinn straightened in his periphery. “What are you up to?”

He eyed her but only briefly. “I have a wedding to get to.”

Quinn had always been too smart for her own good. She knew nearly everyone in town because of her job, but also because she was friendly and liked to chat. She had a penchant for gossip, but only insofar as she soaked it all in without spreading any of it around again.

“Royce, no.”

At that, he stared at her. Hard. When she didn’t say anything further, he grumbled to himself, then placed his glass on the bar top. “What?”

“You can’t go to that wedding, and you know it.”

“Says who?”

Her laugh came out in a scoff. “I’m sure your wife had plenty to say. Does Penny know you’re planning to crash the wedding?”

“Maybe I have an invitation.”

Quinn watched him quietly, clearly not believing him for a second. Then she arched a brow. “Do you?”

Royce couldn’t help but squirm beneath her scrutiny. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned his back to her so he could look out at the groups of people who had come to the club for socializing. “Who’s to say I’m not a friend of the family?”

“Whose family? Because you’re definitely not allowed anywhere near the Taylors, not that it seemed to stop you any.” She muttered the last bit under her breath, and he bit back a smile.

“The family of the bride. Isabelle. I’ve had a couple of interactions with Mateo Palmer. He’s a good guy. I bet he wouldn’t turn me away.”

Quinn snorted. “You’re crazier than you look.”