Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,80

drop. It had been vacant for years before, anyway. I figured it’d be better to wait until people forgot what happened before renting it out again.”

“Smart,” I tell him. A gust of wind blows my jacket open. I shiver and snatch it closed in a hurry. “So I take it Min has been waiting here for you?”

“Yup.” Rich looks down and kicks at a rock. “Penny, I meant what I said before. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I had any other choice. I promised to keep you safe. Well, I know you’re safer away from me. You know, I thought coming back for you was the right decision. Now I’m not so sure. If I had just left you behind, Tam and Victor would have eventually realized you were not Min. Hell, you’d probably be on your way back to college by now.” He sighs. “This way, you’re stuck with me, and in even more danger because of it…”

“Rich.” I step up to him and take his hand. “I’ve come this far with you without complaining, haven’t I? I don’t regret anything.”

Rich runs a hand through his dark ruddy hair. He looks much more like an uncertain young boy than the confident, steady man I know. “It’s hard for me to say this, Penny. But I just have this feeling that once I take you inside—” he gestures behind him, “—once I introduce you to Min, there won’t be any going back for you. You’ll be stuck with me. And even though you already know how I feel about you, it’s just… well, it’s still not too late for you to turn away. Go home. Forget about me. If things go well with Min, I will come and find you. And if they don’t, you won’t be stuck in a situation that is outside of your control.”

Rich sounds so genuine and conflicted that it breaks my heart. It tells me he truly cares about me.

“I’m not leaving, Rich,” I promise. I can’t abandon him to himself, not after everything we’ve gone through. “And I’m not going to weigh you down, either. I’m going to help you however I can. I mean that.” I give him a stern look and harden my voice. “And don’t you dare tell me to forget about you again.”

Rich chuckles. The doubt lifts from his face. “Stubborn as always, huh?” He reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “All right. I won’t say that again. You ready to meet my sister, then?”

“I was born ready.”

***

I feel a little nervous as the elevator climbs to the top floor. I hadn’t considered this before, but what if Min doesn’t like me? What if she ends up being angry with me for derailing all her plans? No matter what Rich said, I had caused trouble for him. For him and Min both. Would she resent me for that?

I wonder if she knows that Rich had fought Victor for me. Or that he has a row of stitches on his leg because of me.

I shrug uncomfortably. Min could easily hate me for putting her brother in danger. I hope she doesn’t, but I can’t hold it against her if she does. After all, I was the one who ruined the plans she’d made with Rich.

I really want her to like me. Normally, I wouldn’t care. But, this is different. Min is Rich’s sister. She is the only family member whom he loves.

Because of that, her opinion means the world to me.

The doors slide open. We step into the hall.

“Rich!” a girl’s voice cries out. I turn in time to see a dark blur streak in front of me. It collides with Rich. The next thing I know, he’s swinging his sister round and round, laughing as he does so.

I take a small step back to let them have their moment. Rich sets Min down and embraces her again. All I can see from here is the back of her head.

“Min,” Rich says to her when they part, his eyes shining, “I want you to meet Penny.”

His sister turns and looks at me. I see her face for the first time. She’s pretty. Really, really pretty, with the type of large doe eyes that boys go crazy over.

“Hi,” I say, smiling as I offer my hand. I don’t want to make a bad first impression.

Min surprised me by foregoing the handshake. She launches forward to wrap her arms tight around my neck.

“Thank you for looking