Iris and Aunt Lucille wear tight-lipped expressions as they observe Patricia. Then they walk off to join the other girls.
“Um…Can you give me a second?” Embarrassed, I gingerly rise from the table and push my way through the greased-up strippers.
But just as I’m about to wave an arm to get Mom’s attention, she stabs the elevator button. The doors fling open. She steps inside and she’s gone.
No explanation. No excuse. No goodbye.
She doesn’t even look back. She’s just gone.
My heart squeezes, metaphorically smashed between the elevator’s closing doors.
Why am I surprised? Why am I hurt? This is what she always does.
I glance back toward the party. My guests are chatting and laughing, totally oblivious to my mother’s insensitive actions.
And right about now, I’m tired. I’m tired of idly standing by while she’s ignored me and neglected me and made me feel insignificant my entire life.
I’m tired.
I stomp off toward the elevator and punch the call button. I have some shit to get off my chest. And Mother Dearest is going to listen whether she wants to or not.
55
Walker
With a plush white towel wrapped around all the good stuff, I step out of the steamy bathroom. I’m sure Penny is having the time of her life at the baby shower right now.
I’m feeling pretty smug that her friends and I were able to pull this off. God knows I went through a ton of gymnastics to get everything organized behind Penny’s back.
The hardest part was getting Patricia Merlini here this afternoon. The woman didn’t even want to step away from her work for a few hours to attend her own daughter’s baby shower.
Anyway, all that matters is she’s here now. I saw her with my own two eyes. And the radiant smile on Penn’s face when she noticed her mother in the crowd made all my hard work worth it.
I’m already missing my girl. She might be hanging with her rowdy crew tonight but the rest of the weekend, she’s mine. I plan to spend tomorrow morning between these million-count thread sheets, ordering room service and teasing her body until she cries out my name. Then, we’ll explore the city and do touristy shit before driving back home at night. That’s the plan.
Just as I’m pulling on some fresh jeans, my phone rings in the middle of the bed. A videocall from Jude. I drop onto the edge of the mattress and answer the call.
My youngest brother’s haggard face comes into view. His hair is a mess, his eyes are red-rimmed, he needs a shave and even through the phone, I can tell that he smells pretty foul.
“Hey, man,” I say.
Cannon pops into the frame, bouncing Baby Di around. He doesn’t look much better than Jude as he tries to stick a bottle into the squirming baby’s mouth.
Dad passes by in the background, looking pretty rough, too, with Callie climbing all over his back.
I can’t help but laugh. “It looks like a damn zoo over there.” I squint at the phone.
Jude rubs a hand down his miserable, scruffy face. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, Walker. This is what my life turns into when Iris isn’t around. I miss my woman.”
“Yeah, when are the girls coming back? I’m going kind of crazy without Alexia.” Cannon looks borderline desperate.
Co-dependent, much?
“Would you needy jerks calm down?” I chortle. “The girls need some bonding time. Everyone will be home in a matter of hours.”
“So, how did Penny react when she realized it was her baby shower?” Cannon smirks at the screen.
“She was over the damn moon.” My blood fizzles like soda pop when I say it because that’s all I’ve ever wanted—seeing Penny happy.
Jude smiles a little. “I like seeing you like this, man. Domestic bliss looks good on you.”
“I don’t know why it took you so long to make it happen,” Dad huffs. “You could have had all this way sooner.”
I shrug. “Well, we’re together now.” And I have no intention of ever letting her go.
A frantic knock at the door interrupts our conversation. With the phone in hand, I get up and stride over to peer out the peephole. I tear the door open when I see my sisters-in-law on the other side with wide eyes.
Ma pushes past them and storms into my hotel room. “Is Penny here?” She glances around like a mad woman.
“What?! No.” I follow after my mother. My nerves already zapping to life. “What the hell is going on?”
Iris stares at me from beneath a crinkled brow. “We can’t find her anywhere. She’s gone. Penny’s missing.”
“Somebody needs to tell me what happened,” I demand.
The girls ramble over each other. Something about opening presents and half-naked strippers and Patricia spending the whole evening on her phone. My brain can’t make sense of anything they’re saying. All I know is Penny is missing. And she’s carrying my babies.
My phone falls from my hand and I’m already out the door. I don’t bother with the elevator. I push open the emergency exit. The stairs are cold beneath my bare feet as I take them three at a time.
Am I even wearing a shirt? Frankly, I don’t know.
Chicago was a bad idea.
56
Penny
In a secluded corner of the hotel’s lobby, I find my mother seated in a stylish armchair with her phone to her ear and her computer open in her lap.
On shaky knees, I take myself in that direction.
My shadow stretches over her and she looks up at me with impatience on her arched brow. “Eduardo, I’ll call you right back,” she says into the phone before ending the call. She squares her shoulders toward me. “What is it now?” she mutters, annoyance dripping from her voice.
“You walked out of my baby shower, Mom. You didn’t even say goodbye.” I clench my fists defensively.
“I needed a reliable internet connection, Penelope. The reception on that rooftop was dreadful.”
Heat races up my neck to my cheeks. “No, you did not need an
