The questioning tone in Bonnie’s voice brought Penelope back to the present moment. And to what was about to happen.
“Is it Bonnie? Is it worth fighting for?”
Penelope was positive Bonnie knew they weren’t talking about her anymore. She saw the slightest of nods and resisted the urge to pounce on it. Things might be okay after all. She just needed a little more time to pull the rest of that thought from her.
Instead, they heard the door burst open.
“Bonnie! Bonnie!”
Bonnie’s eyes turned immediately towards the sound, her body half rising.
In contrast, Penelope froze, narrowing her focus to each of Bonnie’s reactions. She caught the look of confusion, thenlonging, the flash of realization, and then the anger that was turned on her.
“What did you do?” Bonnie hissed at her.
Felix and Finn were on top of them before she had a chance to answer.
If it hadn’t been so heartbreaking, the way Felix and Bonnie faced each other would have been comical. Their eyes locked in longing, fear restraining their bodies. The tension between them was strong enough for anyone to see.
“You had no right,” Bonnie seethed, although she remained perfectly still otherwise.
Finn pushed past Felix to reach Penelope, placing a protective arm around her.
Penelope took the anger, feeling the hurt of it, but not reacting to it. In her calmest voice, she returned the question. “What did you do, Bonnie?”
Her eyes, now frantic, darted back and forth between Penny and Felix. “I did what I had to do. He was calling off the wedding. He was going to leave me. I wasn’t going to be left again.”
“I didn’t call off the wedding!” Felix’s frustration was palpable. Words kept inside for too long, without the right person to hear them, exploded out of him. “I asked to scale it back. I asked for more time to make a few changes. I asked you to slow down.”
“Which was just stalling before canceling,” Bonnie insisted dismissively.
“Dear God,” Felix groaned. “How could you even think that? How? Your dad was paying for everything. It was becoming a circus. That’s not what I wanted for us. It’s not what we originally planned. But every time I talked to you, something new was being added. Believe me, if I’d known that saying something would have caused this, I would have kept my mouth shut. I thought I was dealing with a sane and rational person.”
Fire lit Bonnie’s eyes as her mouth turned down angrily. Felix continued quickly before she could say anything.
“I forgot I was dealing with a bride-to-be, who was more stressed than I realized. Who had so much pressure on her coming from every angle. Who didn’t just have to make one or two decisions like I did. But I never wanted it to be that way. I wanted it to be us together.”
“Picking out dresses and flower arrangements?” she shot back at him.
“Not necessarily. But if you wanted me to, I would have.”
He laid it out so simply, so rationally, so lovingly.
The fight went out of Bonnie. Penny had already seen her walls starting to crumble. She had banked everything on Felix being able to finish the job. Thankfully, he had.
Bonnie collapsed onto the couch as the awareness of all that she’d done flooded through her. “And you still love me?”
Felix darted forward, seeing his opportunity. He knelt in front of her, his hands searching for hers, working them from the tight ball she’d created in her lap. “You foolish woman. How can you even ask that? I’m here. I never gave up on trying to contact you. I found out two days ago where you were, and I’m here. What do you think?”
The last of her fight disintegrated as she fell forward, melting into his arms. Their bodies came together, their limbs tangling as they held each other tightly.
“And that’s our cue,” Finn said, turning a reluctant Penelope and dragging her towards the door.
“But I wanted to…” she protested.
“Later,” he said firmly.
Chapter 17
