Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I roll my eyes and stare at her. “We both know that you heard the whole conversation, big ears, so don’t act like you didn’t.”
She grins, and it makes her so breathtakingly beautiful. “Friends, hey? That’ll go down well with Malakai.”
I frown. “Malakai won’t care if I have friends.”
“He’ll care if those friends have penises.”
I gape at her, and she laughs, throwing her head back, blond curls bouncing around her shoulders. When she looks back at me, her eyes are dancing. “You haven’t figured out the bikers yet, have you?”
“I’m starting to think that’s a no,” I mutter.
“They’re possessive. It’s sexy. Scary. But nice. Malakai, by the looks, isn’t any different.”
Awesome.
A possessive, scary biker.
“Don’t worry.” She smiles at me. “It’s a really good feeling to know you’re so deeply loved.”
She’s right about that.
Another tap on my shoulder has me turning back around to see Isaac behind me again. “There’s a girl here, and she asked if she could talk with you. Her name is Penelope.”
Penny?
I nod, smiling at Scarlett. “I’ll be back soon.”
Then I look to Isaac. “Where is she?”
“By the side steps.”
I nod and walk out of the stage area and down to the side steps where Penny is standing, her eyes on the group of bikers in a circle on the grass below the stage, talking about something. Malakai’s eyes swing over the moment he sees me, and then they move to Penny. I nod at him, letting him know it’s fine. He gives me an intense, sexy look, and then turns back to the conversation.
“Penny,” I say, stopping in front of her. “What are you doing here?”
“Would you mind if we had a chat?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. Is everything okay? Is it Caiden?”
“He’s okay,” she tells me. “It’s about him, but nothing has happened, so you know.”
I nod, and we both sit on the steps. I face her, so I can see her clearly. She looks nervous. She’s quiet, but not so much shy. She is a girl of very few words, but you can tell from the moment you meet her, that she has a big heart. A soft heart. She’s sweet. I like her a lot, even after the few small interactions I’ve had.
“I just wanted to let you know that I no longer work for Caiden.”
“You don’t?” I ask her, eyes wide. “Did he do something? Are you okay?”
She smiles, and it lights up her whole face. She’s beautiful. In the girl next door kind of way. “I guess you could say that. I have overheard a few of your conversations now, and a few of his, and after I saw that article he let out to the public about you, I knew I just couldn’t allow it to continue. It was unfair and cruel. He lied, and one thing I can’t stand is a liar.”
I take it back, Penny has more backbone then I first thought.
“So, I sat down with him one day, and I had my phone on record. I confronted him about it, and asked why he’d ever lie like that about you. It took a while, but he finally snapped and told me he didn’t like that you could move on with your life and he couldn’t. He was nasty about it. When he was done, I stood up and played the recording back. Then I told him if he doesn’t put a story out saying he lied and why he lied, then I would send this to every single journalist I could find and ensure it was published.”
Oh, my god.
Penny. Beautiful Penny.
“You did that for me?” I whisper, my heart clenched with such awe, and such gratitude.
“You came over every day, even when he abused you, even when his family abused you. He had no right to drag your name down like that. Nobody should ever have to put up with something like that. You didn’t deserve it. I really liked you, and I knew I had to do something.”
My heart feels like it’s going to explode.
Just launch out of my chest and shatter at her beauty.
“Penny,” I whisper. “I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“He’s going to retract what he said. The article should be out in the next few days.”
Oh, God.
My eyes well up with tears.
“I owe you so much, thank you, Penny.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” She smiles. “But, I do hope maybe we can be friends?”
I lunge forward and hug her, laughing. “Of course we can!”
She hugs me back and I pull away, smiling. “Thank you, honestly, that article hurt me so badly.”
She beams. “You’re welcome.”
I see Malakai approaching us with Maverick and Boston. They stop when they reach us, and Malakai looks to Penny. “I just heard what you did for my girl,” he tells her and extends his hand. She stares at it for a moment, her eyes wide, and then she flushes a deep shade of pink and puts her hand in his. “Thank you,” he says.