A Simple Wish About love - Karice Bolton Page 0,50
with Erika. He wasn’t sure how he was going to start the conversation so she would realize this wasn’t a sacrifice to be with her. It was his salvation to finally start living the new version of his life.
Before going downstairs, he tried calling Erika, but her phone went straight to voicemail. He texted her and gave it a couple of minutes before tossing his phone on the bed and heading downstairs to a whirlwind of people, some of whom he hadn’t seen for years.
Slade followed the delicious scent of his father’s barbecue techniques, which always involved brown sugar, garlic, and lots of flames.
His dad waved him over, and Slade smiled as he spotted all of his dad’s buddies he’d had for decades.
They all waved at him as he made his way to the grilling station, and once he got there, a wave of congratulations flooded over him.
Slade glanced at his dad, who smiled and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m proud of my son, of what my two sons built.”
Hearing his father talk about Lucas and himself with such pride made Slade stand a little taller. For the first time in a long time—if ever—Slade felt like an equal to his father and brother.
Finally, he didn’t feel like the screwup. Slade smiled as his dad handed him a cold beer and told him to take a seat as his friends proceeded to fill Slade in on their lives that he knew nothing about.
After about fifteen minutes, his dad elbowed Slade and asked him to go grab the platter.
Slade happily hopped out of the chair and made his way to the kitchen. He could only hear about golf trips gone wrong so many times before thinking he was living in Palm Desert.
As he reached into the top cabinet where his mom had kept the platters for the last three decades, he heard a voice wrap around him like a sickly vine sucking all the life out of him.
“If it isn’t Slade Tenison.” Her voice dripped with disgust and delight.
He closed his eyes and held the platter for a few seconds before slowly turning around in the kitchen to see Penny Warren staring directly at him.
The moment their eyes connected, she folded her arms over her chest and grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
“So, the rumors are true. You’re back in town.”
“Only temporarily.” He clenched his jaw shut.
“I’m sorry to hear about your brother.” Her cold eyes stayed on him, and it took everything he had not to yell at her to get out of the house. Hearing her mention Lucas made him angrier than everything put together.
“Thank you.” He took a step forward and attempted to bypass her, but she took two giant steps forward and to the side to block him.
“Since you wouldn’t respond to my messages much, I thought this was the only way to truly apologize.” She leaned forward a little to expose her cleavage in the polka-dot dress, and Slade looked away.
He was beyond not interested.
“I know there’s got to be a way I can make it up to you.” Her voice sounded breathless as if she were trying to be seductive.
All it did was strain Slade’s hearing.
“Remember the first time we made love?” she asked, taking a step forward.
There were so many mean and nasty things he could say to Penny right about now, but he was trying to be a gentleman. He was trying not to cause a scene.
She touched her chest and let out a deep breath. “I think about it a lot.”
Slade stared at her. Most men would probably be doing backflips to be noticed by her, but Slade knew better.
He knew the person under the façade.
“Penny, I’m seeing someone.” He attempted to step by her again. “This won’t work out well.”
“I’ll never tell.” She looked outside. “Is she here? We could go upstairs really quickly.”
“Penny, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I’m sorry about how I left things years ago, but I was a kid. Let’s make amends and move on.”
“I’ve moved on,” Penny began. “Which is why I know how much fun we could have.”
“Seriously, Penny. Don’t.” Slade drew in a sharp breath and attempted to walk around her.
But before he knew what was happening, she’d wrapped one leg around his waist like a Tango and looped her arm around his waist to pull him in.
Repulsed didn’t even begin to cover the feeling that washed over him, and then it happened.
“Surprise,” Erika’s voice rang through the house, and