“You’re not broken, Fia, I’m just your big sister. I’ll always have your back. Remember what the doctor said, frequent small meals.”
“I know, I know,” Fia reassures her.
Penny then squats down, eye level with Tank, and scratches his ears. Tank gives her a big kiss, and Penny makes a face but plops a light kiss back on his head.
“I might even miss you, mister Tank. Keep guarding the house, buddy,” she whispers, her fingers lingering on the side of his head.
Well fuck, rip my heart out.
“I’ll walk you out.” I push open the door and follow her onto the chilly porch. I hold Penny tight from behind like a leech as she shuffles toward the car, laughing.
That’s what I wanted, to wipe that frown from her face.
When we reach the driveway, I spin her around, pinning her against the side of the car. Penny flashes the same flirty gaze she always does when I focus all my attention on her. It’s like she’s under my microscope, and I wonder if she knows how spectacular I find her.
Three soft kisses. Then I bite her lip, and Penny hangs on my neck.
“I’ll miss you,” she says seriously.
It’s only two hours from here to her condo in Raleigh, but between our work schedules, there’s only a handful of days that we can actually make the trip to see each other.
“You’re always going to be my girl, you know that, right? No matter how much time passes between us,” I say, nuzzling my nose into hers.
Penny’s amber eyes fill with water, and she nods, clenching her trembling lip. I lift up her chin.
“Hey, no more tears. I’ll be seeing you soon. FaceTime me when you’re settled in.”
“Of course.” She kisses me three more times. “I love you,” she whispers, then places a hand on my chest. “Then. Now. And always.”
Fuck.
Whatever part of my heart I thought I still possessed no longer belongs to me.
Penny reached in and pulled it out. And I let her.
I’d let her have every last part of me.
When she’s in the driver’s seat, typing in directions home—to herhome—I reach over my back and pull my black hoodie off, handing it through the window.
She stares at it in silence for a moment, then takes it in her arms and smiles.
“Drive safe, princess.”
46
Penny
NOW
4 Weeks Later
A sigh of relief rushes through my body when the paved road turns to dirt and I know I’m only minutes away from my best friend. A year ago, Audrey traded in her life in the city for a hundred-year-old farmhouse—and a man who she never saw coming. Every time I see her, she’s unmistakably happy, falling more and more into the version of herself she was always meant to be.
I’ve never been envious of her, only happy she found the love she deserved. But as I turn into her driveway today, driving past the large oak trees, I wonder if maybe I missed my chance.
Maybe only certain people get to have it all.
The blue front door opens, and out flies Mabel first, their bloodhound and the official greeter of the property, then Audrey. Always elegant in her cashmere sweaters. And always with an apron on, even on her days off from the bakery.
