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“Hmm?”
“Wear that tonight.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Why?”
“So there is something good to get me through the dinner with my mother.”
Penelope’s face softens. “Fine.”
With another quick kiss to her lips, I pull back. “I have to go check another store. How about you change and wait for me at the coffee cart outside of Victoria’s? I promise I’ll be back fast.”
If she finds it weird, she doesn’t comment.
“You want anything?”
“Plain black. Five minutes.”
Not letting myself linger, I turn around and go out front. The attendant gives me a knowing look but stays quiet as she processes my payment, and I grab the bag from her so Penelope doesn’t have to deal with it before going to the shop I saw earlier.
I stop the first attendant I see and quickly tell them what I want, giving them Brianna’s info for delivery as I pay.
I’m just coming out of the store, my gaze instantly searching for Penelope in the crowd gathered in the mall. It doesn’t take me long to spot her, even with that stupid hat covering her head. She’s just grabbing our drinks, holder in one hand, her cane in another, when some dude shoulder-checks her.
The guy doesn’t even bother to stop to make sure she’s okay before he continues. I want to go after him and teach him some fucking manners, but the need to go to Penelope and make sure she’s okay overpowers it.
I jog toward her, crossing the distance between us in a few seconds.
“You okay?” I ask, my hand sliding over her back as I take her in.
“Yeah. A little bit of the coffee spilled, but I’m fine. The guy came out of nowhere.”
“And acted like a complete ass,” I mutter, glancing around the space, but the guy is already gone.
“It doesn’t matter. Did you get what you needed?”
Shaking my head, I turn my attention to Penelope. “Yup. Ready to go back?”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
PENELOPE
Sebastian’s hand squeezes mine before he lets go. “Wait here for a moment.”
The engine is still running as he opens the door. The noises of the crowd grow louder once he leaves the car. No, not crowd, reporters.
Although he didn’t openly say it, I could hear him mutter both this morning and when we left his house, so I knew they must be following us. My stomach clenches with unease as I hear Sebastian’s muffled voice, and shortly after, my door opens.
“Henry, out.”
The dog jumps out quickly. He clearly doesn’t have the same reservations that I do. In the distance, I can hear the shouts and the now familiarclick-click-clickof shutters going off.
“Just ignore them,” Sebastian mutters, clearly unhappy about the situation. He takes my free hand in his, helping me out.
I let go of the harness, smoothing my hand down the back of my dress. “Is this really okay?” I ask once again, feeling my nerves building inside me.
I’m not sure what terrified me more. The reporters or seeing Sebastian’s mother.
Only once she left did I realize I’d been speaking to the woman wearing only her son’s shirt and nothing else. I guess it could have been worse, but still, talk about mortifying.
