Page 70 of Penny & Royce

In this moment, it was just the two of them.

And that was part of the problem.

Because the rest of the world still existed. Their families still existed. The truth still waited for them no matter how tightly they held each other.

His breathing was ragged, desperate. So many unspoken things sat between them, and yet it was clear they were both scared to take the next step.

The longer they kept this secret, the more it would hurt everyone around them.

When Royce pulled away, he moved his hands to frame her face. He stared into her eyes steadily. “We’ll figure this out together, okay? I know it’s been hard. You need your family. I’ve been selfish.”

She nodded, but her throat was too tight for her to say anything.

He brushed at her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, and only then did she realize she’d been crying. The concern and pain in his eyes nearly undid her. He needed her strength as much as she needed his.

How could she show him that she trusted him to do right by her? That he’d shown her love and care, even if everything was starting to wear on both of them?

Words didn’t seem like nearly enough.

So she framed his face with her hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

What started out as a quiet reassurance soon deepened into a passionate promise. She wasn’t going to let her frustration getthe better of her. They had a mountain of issues to climb, but she was willing to scale them with him by her side.

Footsteps crunching across gravel shattered their moment, and Penny gasped. She spun toward the sound, but no one emerged from the side of the house.

When she faced Royce again, he already had his helmet on and had straddled the bike. She couldn’t see him through the tinted visor, but she knew he was looking at her before he gave a tip of his chin and started the engine.

In seconds, he was off the property.

She still stared where at the road where he’d disappeared when the source of the footsteps appeared at her back.

The wedding celebration had taken place on the Palmer property, and Penny doubted that Mateo would claim Royce was trespassing. He was one of the more level-headed men she’d had the pleasure of meeting. So she didn’t know why her nerves shot sky-high at the approach of someone from the wedding party.

Her stomach swirled once more, and for a moment, she thought she might actually lose the contents of her stomach.

Why couldn’t she get herself under control?

“Penny?”

The sound of her uncle’s voice made her flinch.

She bit back a groan.

Why did it have to be Uncle George?

Anyone but him would have been welcome. Heck, she would have happily turned to find Mathew even if he’d caught her in the throes of a passionate kiss with the enemy. At least all she’d get from him was an arched eyebrow and maybe a harshly worded lecture.

But her uncle?

If she was lucky, he’d tell her to go home and think about what family means to her. Unfortunately, she had a gut feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as that.

Turning, she forced a smile. “Hey, Uncle George. It’s a wonderful wedding, don’t you think?”

His scowl indicated he knew far more than she wanted him to. Especially when his focus swept over her before landing on the last location Royce had been seen. He looked disgusted with her.

Well, she was starting to feel the same way about him and his ridiculous feud.

The fact that two families couldn’t get along for generations irked her.