Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Ella picked up the pace again, and she raised her chin in the way that let us know she was steeling herself for conflict.
I had no intention of causing any harm whatsoever. For close to a decade, I’d considered her my friend as well. But that didn’t mean I was going to let her skirt the rules. This was a members-only community, at least the house. She could reopen her online account and stay active only there, or become a proper member again.
I didn’t see the latter happening, thankfully. That was the last thing Penelope needed.
When Ella made it clear that she was about to avoid us and head straight for the back of the house, River cleared his throat.
“Where do you think you’re goin’, hon?” he asked.
She deflated a bit but tried not to let it show. “I’m just going to leave Penny a letter. I tried to get in earlier, but my key doesn’t work.”
“Because we changed the locks,” River replied. “If you wanna leave Pen somethin’, you can give it here. You’re no longer a member with us, Ella.”
She blinked, and disbelief flashed in her eyes. “Are you serious?”
“Does it look like I’m jokin’?” he asked flatly.
Ella turned her incredulous stare my way instead. “Sir? We’ve known each other for ten years. You can’t make an exception for a damn letter?”
I leaned against the nearest post and folded my arms over my chest. “You’d think those ten years would be worth a goodbye, wouldn’t you?”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Everything became a shitshow, and I just had to get out.”
I offered a one-shouldered shrug. “The shitshow passed eventually, and you reached out to no one.”
“Because I knew you’d take Penny’s side!” she argued.
I frowned. “This isn’t high school, Ella. Community matters are handled without bias, and personal problems are handled between those involved. If you come to me and tell me you cheated on your girlfriend, I don’t care if you’re my best friend or a complete stranger. I’ll still tell you it was a fucked-up thing to do.”
She flinched and looked away.
“Outta curiosity,” River said, scratching his nose. “What is your side? ’Cause I can’t figure it out.”
I wasn’t sure it mattered. Infidelity was a heart-wrenching issue and, unfortunately, not always black and white. In KC’s case, for instance. Toward the end of his marriage, he was beaten down and at his wit’s end. The slightest problem could cause Christine to relapse, and he kept postponing the divorce talk. Meanwhile, he spent the night with me a few times.
I’d be the last person to make excuses for it, and I sympathized with Penelope wholeheartedly; I understood why she’d told Ella to fuck off. Just like I would’ve understood if Christine had done the same thing with KC—on that particular matter. But a terrible thing didn’t necessarily make a terrible person.
At the same time… Hell, if Cam, against all odds, had betrayed me that way? I would’ve shattered.
“It’s complicated,” Ella mumbled.
“Uh-huh.” River wasn’t impressed, and he went back to grab his coffee. “Well, I asked. I’m out—and so are you, Ella.” He gave my arm a pat before he headed inside the house.
I felt my forehead crease, and I glanced back at Ella.
She released a breath, appearing a bit beaten down. And I knew it partly stemmed from River’s behavior. He and Reese showed people where they stood with their actions. If you were in, they had your backs. If you were out…? The world felt like a colder place for a while.
Ella had made her choices. She’d had months to unfuck some of the chaos she’d started. Even if she couldn’t make things right with Penelope, Ella had been part of a tight-knit community.
“Are you trying to return to Mclean?” I had to ask.
She shuffled closer and shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. It depends on what Penny wants—if she responds to my letter.” In other words, she missed Penelope. “Look. I was dumb, okay? I had a stupid crush on someone I grew up with, and I acted on it. I was freaking out about turning thirty-eight—”
I made a noise that sounded like a strained chuckle, even though nothing about this was funny. Unless she’d been kidding?
“Tell me you’re kidding, Ella. When you’re nearing forty, you’re still a decade away from buying a Porsche, and you—”
“You bought a Jaguar when you turned forty,” she pointed out stubbornly.
Jesus fucking Christ!
I nodded. “My SUV and I have an open relationship. You and Penelope did not.”
Embarrassment colored her cheeks, and she couldn’t maintain eye contact for a moment, which I understood. Her comparison had been idiotic.
“Okay, um—” She swallowed hard and took another couple steps forward. “Could you please give her this? I’m not holding my breath for her to forgive me right away, but ten years together…I hope she’ll want to work things out with me.”