Page 81 of Penny & Royce

And now she was going to have to deal with their worst nightmare.

His father, Lincoln, and Bentley were on one side of the room glaring at her and the members of her bloodline.

“Mathew?” The accusation in Penny’s voice was capable of making a lesser man flinch.

To his credit, Mathew looked mortified. He cut a look at his uncle, then the ground, before lifting his gaze to Royce. That waswhen his eyes hardened, and he seemed capable of judgment he had no right bestowing.

Before her brother had a chance to defend himself, several voices started talking.

Or rather shouting.

No one seemed interested in letting anyone else ask questions or give an explanation.

They needed to leave. All of them. It was none of their business why he was here. He chose to live his own life on his terms. The shouting got so loud his ears were going to start ringing. Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he raised his voice.

“Enough.”

He hadn’t expected his outburst to work, so when it suddenly got quiet, he wasn’t prepared for it. His family shot withering looks in his direction. Penny’s uncle seemed just as angry, if not more so. Rose appeared to be bored, as if she wanted to be anywhere but in this apartment, and Mathew’s emotions flickered between fury at Royce and guilt when he glanced in his sister’s direction.

Royce glanced at Penny over his shoulder, and his heart dropped.

She was pressed up against a wall, her arms folded tight. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

“Penny,” he murmured.

She didn’t glance at him right away.

“Penny,” he tried again, reaching his hand toward her.

“Royce,” his father warned. “Whatever you think is going on between the two of you, it’s going to stop.”

Penny still hadn’t moved, and Royce curled his fingers into a fist before dropping it to his side and facing his father.

“With all due respect, Dad, you don’t have any say in what I do or don’t do. In fact, that applies to all of you.” He glancedbetween both families. “I’m going to ask you respectfully only once to leave.”

“Not happening,” Lincoln barked. “Clearly, you hit your head. We heard about the accident. Have you lost your mind? Your memories? She’s one of them.”

He spat the last word with such venom Royce saw red.

He took a hard step toward his brother. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

Before he could reach Lincoln, Bentley darted between them with placating hands.

“Hey, he didn’t mean anything by it.”

Royce glared at his brother. “Did you tell them? Or did they figure it out somehow? Did Morgan say something?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rose stiffen, but not enough to rouse suspicion from her father.

“What? No. I wouldn’t have done that.” Bentley’s face flushed, and he looked away. “But that doesn’t mean this isn’t wrong on so many levels. You know they’re the one family we don’t mix with.”

Royce let out a humorless laugh. “Do you even hear yourself? Between me dating a woman I care about and two families coincidentally showing up at the same place at the same time?” He gestured between both groups, who seemed to be in a sort of standoff. “This—this right here—is what people would call weird.”

“Weird is shacking up with a girl just to get even with me,” Lincoln snapped, stepping out from behind their younger brother.

Royce took another step forward, but Penny’s voice stopped him short.

“Royce, no.”