“Why have I never seen them before then?”
“I pay them to not be seen. But they’ll be swinging by the apartment too. I’ll want you to know who they are if you see something or if you feel like you’re in danger.”
“What do they do exactly?”
“They do hourly perimeter checks outside our apartment and office. And they attend any functions we go to. They were even at the party my parents threw us.”
“Wait, really? Where were they when Isabella slapped me?”
“Isabella hadn’t been on the list of potential threats. We probably should have told Officer Daugherty that she hit you. He might have taken us more seriously then.”
“List of potential threats?” I asked, ignoring his comment about being slapped. Officer Daugherty definitely wasn’t going to help us now either way. “Who is on the list?”
“Just a handful of people.”
“Like… who?”
“They’re just possible threats, Penny. It’s nothing serious.”
“Who’s on the list?”
He shifted in his seat. “Only a few people. Joseph Moreno, the CEO of an online security company I had to fire for security breaches. He wasn’t happy with the loss of the Blive Tech account, and made some disturbing promises that I hope he doesn’t deliver on. Richard Sutton, who filed a lawsuit against me after he claimed I stole his idea. I didn’t, by the way. Brian Vega, who founded a startup that I buried when I launched Hunter Tech. His technology advancements were outdated as soon as we launched. I’ve gotten death threats from him. Albert Dalton, who owns an oil company. One I definitely wasn’t invested in. He sends me threatening letters sometimes about how I’m ruining the economy by looking for new energy sources. Marc Hatfield, a Harvard acquaintance who’s always asking me for money. I actually have no idea who he is. I’m pretty sure he’s crazy. And Kristen Dwyer. It’s really not a big deal. It’s just in case. I like to be proactive.”
“Kristen Dwyer? Who is that?”
“Just a student I had that I thought was stalking me. I should probably remove her from the list. It was a long time ago.”
“From New York or Newark?”
“Newark. I had her the same time I was teaching you actually.”
“And you thought she was stalking you?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she was. But she has a boyfriend now and I really don’t think she’s a threat anymore.”
“Did your private investigator find that out for you?”
“No, actually, I ran into her during my bachelor party.”
“Did she follow you there?”
He laughed. “No, she was there for her friend’s bachelorette party. By the way, did Rob tell you about Daphne yet?”
“Daphne? No. I was too self-absorbed last night. You know, crying everywhere and missing you.”
He grabbed my hand. “Well, you’re going to like her. I think she’s coming to the rehearsal dinner tonight.”
“Wait, Rob is dating someone?”
“You sound surprised.”
“Of course I’m surprised. He never stays in one place for more than five minutes. He must really like her.”
“I think he does. And she’s good for him. She seems really grounded. He needs that.”
I smiled. “I think you’re right about that. Maybe he’s finally ready for some roots. Is she from New York?”
“Yeah, she lives like fifteen minutes away from us.
“That’s even better. It would be awesome if Rob moved to New York. Besides, the girls he was chasing on campus were much too young for him.”
James laughed. “Maybe it’s a Hunter thing.”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Maybe.” I scooted over in my seat and leaned my head against James’ shoulder.
He immediately put his arm around me.
“I love you so much, James.”
He kissed my temple. “Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for giving me another chance. I love you too.”
His arm had tightened around me when he spoke. Isabella had gotten into his head too. I could tell that he was still struggling with the fact that he thought his love was twisted with addiction because of her. But that was okay. We’d work through that together. I had my whole life to convince him that what we had was purely love. I had my whole life to convince him just how amazing he was.
Friday
“Penny!” Bee yelled as she jumped off a chair and tossed Mason the streamers. She ran over and threw her arms around me. “Why didn’t you call me? I was so worried about you. I left you like a hundred texts.”
It was so good to see her. I had convinced myself I had lost her friendship. I immediately hugged her back. “I just… I thought if James broke up with me…”
“What? That I wouldn’t be your friend anymore? Are you crazy?” She held me at arm’s length. “Penny, you’re one of my best friends. No matter what.”
“Thanks, Bee.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t think you could talk to me.” She hugged me again. “I’m always here for you. Always.”
I couldn’t help it. I had felt so alone last night and this morning. To know that the friends I thought I lost were still my friends made the tears flow again. My chosen family was still choosing me back. I was so full I couldn’t help but burst.
“Welcome back, Penny.” I felt Mason’s hand on my back.
Bee released me from her hug so I could look up at Mason. “Thanks, Mason. I’m sorry I hung up on you this morning. I didn’t want to walk away. I didn’t…”
He laughed. “I know that. I was trying to guilt trip you.”
I wiped underneath my eyes. “Well it worked. You know me so well.”
“Don’t cry, Penny.” He leaned down and hugged me hard. “Just for the record though, I’ll always have your back.”
“I know. And thanks for being with James last night when I couldn’t be.”
“I would never let anything happen to him either. Family, Penny.” He patted my back and released me from his hug. He gave me a warm smile that just made me cry even more.
How did I get this lucky?
“Don’t make her cry again,” James said. “I’m pretty sure she’s already dehydrated.”
“Yeah, because of you, asshole,” Mason said and tossed the roll of streamers at him. He winked at me.
“Why was no one on my side last night?” James said.