Power Drilled (Roommates, #8)(15)

“Take care of yourself, Penny.”

“You too,” she said, taking a step closer. “You’re a good man, Jackson.” Something about the way she said my name made me suspect that she wasn’t too sure about my brothers, but that was their problem. “Please let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you.”

She didn’t have to say that... but still, few men minded hearing a gorgeous young woman say she owed them a favor. I didn’t intend to take her up on it, but then I thought about it. “Actually… there is something, and it won’t take you much time.”

Her eyebrow arched. “What’s that?”

“Can you come inside for a minute?”

“Sure.”

I gestured her in front of me and followed her into the shell of a house. It was just delaying the inevitable, but I just wasn’t ready for her to walk out the door for good.





6





PENNY





“Hey, Penny, good to see you again.”

“You, too,” I said automatically, glancing at a young man who passed by my table. He was one of the groomsmen, but I didn’t know his name.

It was Saturday, one week before the wedding, and Aunt Denise, the bride and groom, the majority of the wedding party, and a few other guests were at the hotel restaurant. Aunt Denise said it was to discuss our battle plan for the week ahead of us.

Claire, who looked far less stressed out than most brides would be at this stage, got to her feet as waiters cleared away the remains of our lunch. My food was largely untouched.

“Thank you all for coming,” she said, and even though there were at least thirty of us here, her eyes locked with mine. I looked away before I could tell if she also rested her gaze on her sister, Tanya. And the man sitting next to Tanya, whom I was trying to pretend didn’t exist.

I faced the front of the private room, nodding as Claire talked about the events that would be held at this combination hotel and resort. But not everyone was watching her as intently as I was. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see people glancing between me and a couple on the other side of the room. A couple that definitely wasn’t Claire and Matthew.

No, they kept looking back and forth from me to Tanya and Jeff. Throughout lunch, I’d caught many pitying glances directed my way. Even from my own parents. It made me wish that Jackson was here with me. Or even Reid or Hunter. I very much doubted anyone would look at me with pity if I had one of the triplets by my side. They were handsome enough to catch any eye.

For a moment, I regretted my decision, but there was no way I could sleep in an empty house with three gorgeous men. I’d never been the type to be casual about dating and sex. Maybe other women would be game to throw on a nightie and have a slumber party with men they barely knew, but that just wasn’t me. Jackson seemed like a good man, but I didn’t know his brothers at all. And the one man I thought I’d known—the one man I’d loved—had turned out to be completely different than what I thought he was.

So I knew better than to trust my instincts.

“I have a surprise for you,” Claire was saying, and I redirected my attention to the front of the room. “We’ve booked a room for every member of the wedding party for the entire week.” There was more than one gasp around the room. The wedding was already costing Claire’s parents a ton. I didn’t understand how she could afford rooms for all of us. But she soon made that clear. “When you get a chance, please thank Great Aunt Evelyn.”

She gestured toward an unfamiliar woman in the back of the room. The woman looked to be about eighty and had unnatural red hair and so much jewelry that she’d probably overload a metal detector. Spontaneous applause broke out, and she held up a hand, like a queen acknowledging her subjects.

“Make sure you get a room key from me before you leave,” Claire said. It struck me as ironic that I’d now had two offers of places to stay this week yet no working car to get to either of them. My mechanic—whose children I was likely putting through college—said that my station wagon might be ready by the middle of the week.

“And I’ve got one more surprise,” Claire said with a twinkle in her eye.

“You’re pregnant?” one of the groomsmen shouted, and several women, my mother included, glared at him.

Claire ignored him. “Aunt Evelyn has also booked a massage therapist for the entire week. She’ll be stationed up in a suite on the eleventh floor. I’ll send you a link to her schedule so that we can make sure we don’t all mob her at once.” There was another round of applause for Aunt Evelyn, and then Claire wrapped things up. “I appreciate all the love and support that all of you have shown for Matthew and me. And I hope everyone has fun this week. If I turn into a complete Bridezilla, let me know, and I’ll book a massage and chill out.”

That made people laugh, but I zoned out when Aunt Denise made a few more announcements. I loved Claire like a sister, but right now I wanted to be pretty much anywhere except here. Even though I wasn’t looking at Tanya and Jeff, that didn’t stop me from hearing them. Sometimes her girlish little giggle would reach this side of the room. Or the low cadence of Jeff’s voice.

As Aunt Denise sat down, waiters entered carrying trays of dessert. The hotel Claire had chosen was definitely upscale, and it seemed like everyone but me had really enjoyed the meal.