“You sound like you know from experience.” Matt knew she’d had a boyfriend when they’d met, but he hadn’t known she was thinking about marrying the guy. He clamped his lips together, trying to stem the questions that wanted to spill from his lips. Questions that he was sure he didn’t actually want the answers to.

“I do. I know exactly how it feels to get a proposal from a man you think you should love.”

Matt felt the tidal wave of irrational jealousy recede a little bit. She hadn’t loved the suit. “That’s not the case here. Mara loves Trent.”

“Does she?” Penny asked softly, turning her head to look at his sister.

Matt turned to look, too. Trent and Mara stood surrounded by friends and family. His sister was smiling, but her arms were behind her back and her smile was a little too wide.

*   *   *   *   *

PENNY DIDN’T HAVE much of a voice, but she sang happy birthday enthusiastically as Matt and Mara leaned close to their cake. As soon as they blew out the candles, he was taking her home. The look in his eyes had her worried. Knowing Matt, he might blow out the candles before they even finished singing.

“Happy Birthday, Matt and Mara. Happy Birthday to you!” Penny sang and clapped along with everyone else as the song finally drew to a close.

A few minutes later, the candles were extinguished and Matt had smiled his way through the crowd back to where she stood.

“What’d you wish for, Mara?” someone called out from the crowd.

Mara smiled tightly, then glanced behind her at Trent. “I don’t need wishes. I already have everything I need.”

“How come no one asked what you wished for?” Penny turned to Matt and raised her eyebrows.

Matt grabbed her arm and steered her through the crowd toward the front door. “Every guy in here already knows what I’m wishing for. It’s not the kind of thing you announce in front of friends and your surrogate parents.”

“Matt!” It should be impossible for her to be shocked by anything he said at this point, but he could still take her off guard with his naked, undiluted passion for her. She’d never dreamed that a man would look at her that way. Plain, ordinary Penny. Matt made her feel like she was wearing skimpy lingerie and come-get-me heels even when she was just wearing jeans and a worn-in tee shirt.

“We can leave now. No one will notice.”

“Yes, they will.”

“Okay, they will notice and they’ll definitely tease me about it later, but I don’t care.” He steered her through the crowd until they were finally out on the front porch. Penny giggled as Matt dragged her down the driveway to where his truck was parked on the street.

“By the way, I’m really glad you’re here.” Matt pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear.

Penny wasn’t sure what to say to that. Things were still so up in the air. However, whenever she wasn’t sure what she was doing, she remembered Matt standing up for her to Charles. She remembered the way he’d looked in her eyes and put her pleasure first. She wasn’t entirely sure she could give him what he wanted, but she was definitely sure it was worth trying.

*   *   *   *   *

“SO, I ASKED Eli to look into Penny or to drop in on Matt’s next appointment and meet her,” Mara announced. She spoke in a hushed whisper so they wouldn’t be overheard.

Kaylee stood with Mara, Ridley, and Raina after most of the guests had left for the night. The guys were across the room playing cards, but Kay had no doubt they were paying attention to their women. Jackson looked at Ridley like he wanted to gobble her up, and Nick always followed his wife around the room with his eyes and not just because she was a supermodel.

The pure love and joy reflected in his gaze when he looked at her was reason enough.

“You want him to spy on your brother’s new sort-of-girlfriend? Why? I only talked to her for a little while, but she seemed really nice,” Kay whispered.

“I know. It’s just that, did you see the way Matt looked at her? He’s never looked at anyone like that. What if she’s not the nice, sweet girl I remember? Penny might have changed in the last decade. What if she’s crazy and evil now? Matt’s been through a lot in the past year. I just don’t want him getting blindsided. Either way, Eli won’t do it. He turned me down flat. I need you guys to help me change his mind.”

“Good luck with that,” Kay drawled. “Eli doesn’t change his mind. He thinks his way is best all the time. Plus, he’s too busy stalking my every move just in case there’s a crazed fan in the bushes outside my condo.”

Eli had been a nightmare the past few weeks. He acted like she was some dim-witted twit who couldn’t be left alone to do much besides shower and sleep.

Mara tilted her head and regarded Kaylee through narrowed eyes. “Eli’s been following you for a while now. Maybe you should ask him.”

“What? No. I’m not getting in the middle of this. Besides, he follows me because he has to, not because he wants to. He’s barely said two words to me all day.”

Except for when I yelled at him, she thought.

Ridley picked at the food left over from the party. “It wouldn’t be that hard for Jackson to book you a gig in D.C. Then you’d have a perfectly good reason for going that way. Eli would have to follow and keep you safe.”

Everyone turned to look at Ridley. Raina snorted out a laugh. “And you all thought she was so innocent.”