Page 43 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Sunday

I thought I’d be tired as we pulled up in front of the jewelers, but I was full of energy. Nervous energy. But still.

The ring was even better with the diamond I’d picked out. I closed the box and thanked the owner for the quick turnaround.

I’d gotten everything ready. I’d gone over my proposal a hundred times. And a few times out loud to Rob and Ian. They both seemed to approve.

But yeah. I was really fucking nervous.

I was used to getting what I wanted. But this decision was entirely in Penny’s hands. A simple yes or no was going to change my life forever. And I just really hoped it was a yes.

“Seriously, do I look like a Bob to you?” Rob asked as we stepped onto the elevator.

“He’s just bad with names,” I said. I think. We’d already been over this during the car ride home.

“I get if he messes up football players names,” Rob said. “Especially since everyone on the Eagles is so forgettable. But he’d literally just learned my name. I think he was fucking with me.”

“Ian and Eli aren’t even close,” Ian said.

“But at least Eli is a cool name. I mean…Bob? Bob?!”

I laughed.

“It’s not funny. Do I look like I’m 70 years old with a beer belly?”

“I mean…you might look like that one day,” I said.

“Never. I do too many sit-ups for that crap. Penny’s father just hates me. I don’t know what to do about this. Do I send him a fruit basket or something as a peace offering?”

“I don’t think he hates you. He’s just bad at names.”

The elevator doors dinged.

“See you in a bit,” Ian said. “Good luck with the proposal.”

“Thanks, man.” I stepped off the elevator and Rob followed me.

“Later, Bob,” Ian added before the doors slid closed.

“Bob.” Rob looked truly exasperated. “Bob!”

“Stop it, you’re going to wake Penny.” I gestured to where she was asleep on the couch.

She must have fallen asleep waiting for me to come home.

I smiled. There was something really nice about someone trying to wait up all night for me to come home.

Growing up, no one had ever cared where I was. It made me feel…loved.

Rob shook his head. “I don’t know how she’s going to feel about her dad hating me,” he whispered. “She might say no to your proposal now.”

How was that even going to come up? “He doesn’t hate you. But let’s put a pin in it for later, okay?”

He sighed. “Fine. I’m doing the fruit basket thing though. I’ll have Ellen arrange it.” He grabbed my shoulders and leaned in a little too close for my liking. “Game face,” he said. “Go get down on one knee and fuck our girl.”

“My girl.”

“Whatever. I’m taking a play from Mr. Taylor’s playbook. Apparently you can say whatever you want now with zero consequences.”

“Right.”

He slapped both sides of my face. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.” He slapped my face again and yawned. “I need some sleep. I usually only pull all-nighters during threesomes. Two women are a lot to handle.” He yawned again. “Sucks that you’ll never get to do that again.”

Yeah, I was good. “Good night, Rob.”

He saluted me and wandered off toward the guest bedroom. But he stopped by the couch, leaned over, and pretended to motorboat Penny.

“Stop it,” I hissed.

He did it again.

I was going to kill him. I took a step forward.

Rob immediately stood up and lifted his hands to his sides, like he was completely innocent.

“Go to bed,” I mouthed silently at him.

He did this weird shimmy and waved his hand through the air like he was spanking someone. And then he pointed to Penny.

So I pointed to the hallway that led to his room.

And then he pointed to himself and Penny and then to his room.

No you can’t take Penny to your room! That was definitely not what I was saying!

Rob laughed. And then threw his hand over his mouth when Penny stirred.

We were both completely still for a moment.

But Penny didn’t open her eyes.

“Sorry,” Rob whispered. “Good luck!” He finally went toward his bedroom.

I stared at Penny sleeping and took a deep breath. Penny and I had a lot to talk about. But all that mattered was that from here on out we made decisions together. Well…starting after she decided to say yes or no to my proposal.

Fuck, why was I so nervous? My palms were starting to feel sweaty. I wiped them off on my pants. I looked down at what I was wearing. The same outfit I’d worn last night. That definitely wasn’t going to do. Penny had asked for romance. And a wrinkly shirt was hardly romantic.

I quickly changed and freshened up. I looked in the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair.

I barely even recognized myself. Because even though I was nervous, I still had a smile permanently glued to my face.

It has taken me 27 years, but I finally knew what I wanted.

I finally knew what it felt like to be happy.

And it didn’t matter that I was Penny’s professor or that she was seven years younger than me.

Because she was made for me. I knew it in my gut.

I nodded to myself and walked out of the bathroom.

Penny was still fast asleep on the couch. I took a moment to just stare at her. The freckles smattered beneath her eyes. Her red hair falling into her face. Her plump lips that looked best around my cock…

Breathe. I could have that later. I could have that forever. After she said yes.

I dropped onto one knee in front of the couch and put my phone on the ground. I ran my fingers along Penny’s cheek. “Penny.”

Her eyes flew open eyes. "You're okay?" She reached her hand out and ran it along the scruff on my jaw line. “Thank God you're okay.”

"Of course I'm okay." I couldn’t even try to hide the big smile on my face.

She looked down and saw that I was on one knee. Her eyes grew round and she pushed herself up into a seated position.

“Penny, I love you so much,” I said.

She looked so damn excited. And my heart finally started beating normally again. She was going to say yes. When I actually proposed. But this definitely wasn’t the moment. I just couldn’t help messing with her though. I loved when her cheeks flushed.

"Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked. “Oh, you thought..." I laughed. "No." I laughed again. "I just dropped my cell phone." I picked it up off the ground and stood up. "I said it would be romantic. This is hardly romantic."

"Oh, no, I didn't think you were proposing."

There was that flush on her cheeks that I loved. She looked so embarrassed. And so damn cute.

"I was going to go get breakfast,” I said. “I just wanted to see if there was something in particular that you wanted."

"I was worried about you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have called."

"And you shouldn't have let Rob answer your phone."

That had actually been pretty hilarious. Rob was great at pretending to be drunk. "Things got a little out of hand last night,” I lied. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that I worried you, Penny."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"7:30."

"Can I come with you?"

"If you want."

She yawned and got up off the couch. "Just give me a minute." She hurried into the bedroom.

I took another deep breath. She was going to say yes. We were going to get our fresh start. I walked into the kitchen to wait for her. I slid my hand into my pocket and wrapped it around the ring box. She was going to say yes.

Penny smiled shyly as she met me in the kitchen. And I wondered if she was still embarrassed that she’d thought I was about to propose. She wouldn’t have to be embarrassed for long.

I wrapped my arms around her. "I missed you last night." I did. Normally hanging out with my friends would be a highlight. But all I ever seemed capable of now was thinking about her.

"I missed you too. What did you guys end up doing?"

"We went all over the place. Thanks for convincing me to go out. It's a lot of fun hanging out with Rob. And Brendan's actually alright."

"Why do you never seem like you're hungover?"

"I have a high tolerance to alcohol." That was the truth. But I also hadn’t had anything to drink last night.

She bit her lip.

I forced myself not to groan. I really loved when she did that.

“When did you get home last night?” she asked. “I never heard you come in."

She really had been worried. I grabbed her hand and led her over to the elevator. "I only just got in. Which is why I so badly need some coffee."

"Or some sleep?"

"We got a hotel in New York. I'm not that tired. I just need some caffeine." I smiled at her. We hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. I’d just been practicing my proposal. But I truly wasn’t tired. And I definitely didn’t need caffeine. I’d already had a cup on the way home.

"Wait, you went to New York? Why?"

"I had some secret stuff to do."

She laughed. "Yeah, I got that." She looked up at me. "I like you when you're like this."

"Like what?"

"Playful. I think that maybe Rob is a good influence on you."

I don’t think anyone had ever used those words to describe Rob before. "I've always thought he was a bad influence on me."

"Well, in a lot of ways he is. He drinks too much and he says awful stuff. Really, you do drink too much when you're with him."

"It won't happen again." I rubbed my thumb against her palm. She had nothing to worry about. All I needed was her.

"But you're happy when he's here. So in that way, he's the best possible influence." She looked down at the ground for a second and then back up at me. "Are you sure you want to move? Rob just got here and I don't want to make you leave if..."

"Penny. I was just thinking that I can't wait to move.

" I smiled at her. And odds were that Rob would follow us back to New York.

That was his city too. I held her hand as we stepped off the elevator and led her toward the side exit of the parking garage.

"And actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.

The reason I went to New York was to talk to the dean at NYCU. "

"About what?"

I rubbed my thumb along her palm again. "About you, of course."

"But I didn't even apply yet."