Page 61 of Once Upon A Second Chance

I step aside. “Then I’d say thank you. And also that I almost had a heart attack when you knocked, so if you were trying to flirt, poor execution.”

He sobers immediately as he steps inside. “I was afraid of that.”

He doesn’t head for the couch or the kitchen. He just stops there in the middle of my living room, eyes on me like he’s still not sure I’m actually okay.

“You’ve been on edge all day.”

“I’m fine,” I lie.

He gives me that look—the one that sees straight through it.

I flop down on the couch, Bijou leaping up beside me, and sigh. “Okay. I’ve been... not fine. But I’m managing.”

Richard crouches in front of me, resting his forearms on his knees. “Penny, I’m serious. I think you should consider a restraining order. Travis showing up the way he did? Thatwasn’t a misunderstanding or a coincidence. It was intimidation, as he meant it to be.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“I have a friend,” he says. “A lawyer. Trevor Lambert. Lives in New York, in Albany, but he owes me about seventeen favors and he’s good at this kind of thing. Quiet, discreet. Smart.”

“Of course your lawyer friend’s name is Trevor,” I mutter, trying to lighten the weight in the room.

Richard doesn’t laugh.

I reach out, brush my fingers against his. “I’ll think about it.”

“Penny—”

“I will,” I say firmly. “But not tonight. Tonight, I just want to be here. With you. Not thinking about porch shadows or legal paperwork.”

His jaw tightens like he wants to argue. But he nods. “All right. But I’m holding you to that promise.”

I squeezehis hand. “Deal.”

He stands and finally lets his shoulders drop as he joins me on the couch. Bijou immediately plops herself between us like a glorified throw pillow.

Once we’ve settled in, he says, “Andrew came to see me.”

I tilt my head, surprised. “Seriously?”

“Showed up at the motel like a ghost from a worse life.”

“And?”

“He says he regrets testifying against me. Claims he didn’t know what Rebecca was doing.”

I snort. “Sure.”

“Exactly. I don’t believe him either. But...” Richard pauses. “I think some part of him heard what I said. I told him to get her out of here, or leave her himself. I don’t think she’ll stop, but he might.”

I rest my head on his shoulder. “So that’s what we are now? Fighting exes and ghosts and town gossip like some Hallmark-adjacent Avengers team?”

He chuckles softly. “Only if I get to be thebrooding one.”

“You already are.”

He turns his head, brushing a kiss to my hair. “You’re not alone, Penny. Not anymore.”

“I know,” I murmur. “That’s the only reason I slept last night.”