Page 83 of Penny & Royce

“I’m not leaving until this is resolved.” George’s stance mirrored Royce’s father’s. He pointed at Penny. “Didn’t I warn you? This isn’t going to happen. Nothing good will come of it. You’ve had your fun, now it’s time to accept that it’s over. Cut things off now before someone really gets hurt.”

The tears that Penny had been holding back for the last several minutes finally tumbled free.

Royce shot George a hard look before heading toward her, but he didn’t get very far. She paled considerably, covered her mouth with a shaking hand, and darted down the hall.

He stopped when the bathroom door slammed shut.

Then he whirled around and faced them all again.

“See what you’ve done?” His voice came out low and shaking with anger. “She can’t handle being ambushed like this. We were perfectly content this morning before you all showed up, and now she’s in there sick because all of you decided your feud mattered more than her peace.”

That last part he directed to her family.

“She’s an adult. She can make her own choices.”

“If she’s smart, she’ll make the right one,” George grumbled.

Rose threw her hands into the air. “Okay, I’m calling it. I didn’t even want to be here. You said you wanted me to talk to her, and you didn’t even give me a chance to do that.”

George balked at his daughter, then gestured wildly at Royce’s family. “That’s because they refused to be reasonable. You saw them monopolizing the whole conversation.” Then he motioned toward the hallway. “Go see if she’s okay. Then you can talk her off this ledge she’s on.”

Royce stepped toward the hallway, but apparently, he didn’t have to say anything.

Rose shook her head and gave her father a little shove toward the door. “I’m not going to corner her like some trapped animal. If she wants to talk, she’ll talk. This was a mistake, bombarding her like this. I can’t believe I let you talk me into it.”

Lincoln chuckled derisively. “Figures.”

She whirled to face him, hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re worse than all of them combined.”

His eyes narrowed into slits, and he opened his mouth to retort, but Bentley blocked him. “Come on, man. Just drop it.”

Rose smirked, which had Lincoln’s hackles rising again, but then she slipped out the door before he could make good on whatever it was he wanted to do.

Mathew lingered a second longer. He looked toward the hallway, then back at Royce. “Tell her I’m sorry.”

Royce held his gaze.

Mathew looked like he wanted to say more, but he only shook his head and followed them out.

When Lincoln attempted to speak again, Royce held up a hand. “Save it. I don’t want to see or speak to you until you’re willing to talk about this like you’re an adult.” Then he pointed toward the door. “See yourselves out.”

21

PENNY

The taste of bile was strong in Penny’s throat.

She’d lost track of how long she’d been in this bathroom. After losing the contents of her stomach, she rested her arm across the toilet seat and prepared for the dry heaving.

Maybe it was time to see her doctor about anti-anxiety medication. Up until this point in her life, she’d been able to manage the nausea that came with all kinds of stress and anxiety.

Or maybe she just needed to walk away from the source of all her issues.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and a tear slipped free.

Each time someone raised their voice, she winced. Normally, she was fully capable of defusing a heated situation. It was her job, for heaven’s sake. She had the tools and the knowledge to bring almost anyone off the edge.

For some reason, her mind wasn’t working the way it should.