Penn dropped his hand, shoving it into his pocket. “I understand.”

Unlike last night when I got on my knees and sucked him, he wasn’t doing it to hold himself back. He stood protective of himself—a safety thing to keep himself rigid and firm to do whatever it was he’d come to do.

Don’t let him.

I had no idea what had changed, but every instinct screamed to stop him...before it was too late.

Striding to his side, I slinked an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Do you want to grab some lunch? Maybe take a quick walk and get some fresh air?”

Penn shivered at my closeness then stiffened. Never looking at me, he clenched his jaw and sidestepped out of my embrace.

He didn’t answer my question, sticking to his script, giving me no way to stop him. “There’s something I came to do.”

I trembled in terror, wishing I could grab the hands of a clock and shoot us back to last night when everything had been so rosy and bright.

Dad frowned. “What is it you came to do, Mr. Everett?”

My heart sank. It didn’t escape my notice or Penn’s that Dad had gone from calling him son back to his formal address. Just like Penn had called him Mr. Charlston.

This is all so wrong.

Penn needed to be welcomed—to feel as if he belonged because he did. Just because it would be rough for the next few months in the tabloids didn’t mean Dad had to be cruel.

“Dad, Penn saved me. He deserves—”

“Don’t, Elle.” Penn pulled one hand out of his pocket and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s best if your father is here to hear this.” His voice stayed calm and focused, but his muscles tensed, his back going overly straight.

“Hear what?” I locked my knees from sudden quaking.

“About our fake engagement.” He looked at the carpet, his voice bitter and sharp, his body broken and sad. “I think it’s time to call it off.” He exhaled in a rush, the raw agony in his eyes a bleeding wound.

“What?”

Dad interrupted. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think it’s best—for everyone involved—if we go our separate ways.”

I stumbled. “You can’t be serious.”

Dad held up his hand. “What are you saying?”

Penn’s face turned black. “I’m saying I have too much shit in my life to smear your perfection. I have a chief of police about to come after me, a criminal record, and a whole bunch of other issues. I saw how you being associated with me is already affecting your business. I never wanted that. I never wanted to make things worse for Elle, especially knowing how hard she works.”

I gulped. “Penn, stop. It’s over. You’re free. The rumors will fade, and life will go back to normal.”

“No.” Dad held up his finger. “He’s right. It won’t. These sort of things last forever, Elle. Sure, it will fade in favor of other gossip, but the next time Belle Elle has a lawsuit or some nasty reporter has a grudge, they’ll drag this story out all over again. We’ll never be free of it.”

“Exactly.” Penn nodded curtly. “You’d never be free of me and the turmoil I’d cause.”

Dad puffed his chest even as his confidence faded. His mood switched from corporate to apologetic. “Look, I’m sorry, Penn. I genuinely like you, and you make my daughter happy. You saved her, and you’ll forever have my gratitude, but Elle isn’t a normal girl. She comes with a company that has been a part of our family for generations. I can’t let her jeopardize that.”

Penn stood to his full height, hiding his wince. “Sometimes, love isn’t enough. It doesn’t conquer everything.”

I flinched, holding my broken pieces together. “That’s ridiculous. How can you say love isn’t enough?” The dirty disbelief in my voice made me snarl. “You want me, Penn. I want you. Don’t do something as stupid as—”

“I’m not being stupid, Elle. I’m being smart.”

“No, you’re being a raging moron.” Stomping toward him, I placed my hand over his thumping heart. “Tell me you love me. Tell me what you told me last night. Tell my dad so he can hear what an idiot you are.”

Penn gritted his teeth, moving away from my touch. “I’m not an idiot for trying to protect you, Elle. Why can you do so much for me and I can’t do the same for you?”

“I didn’t hurt you and call it helping!”

“You don’t think I’m not hurting? That this isn’t fucking killing me?”

My cheeks burned with terror that I wouldn’t be able to talk him out of this. To stop this lunacy. “Then don’t do it! It’s a silly newspaper.”

“It’s in black and white!” He bared his teeth. “It’s damaging. I know how awful the mob mentality can be, Elle. It can fucking ruin everything you love.”

“Can you really stand there and talk about love even while breaking my heart?” I wrapped my arms around my waist, hugging hard. “I chose you, Penn. You’re worth whatever silly stories they make up about us. Admit you love me and stop trying to be a martyr.”

His lips remained stubbornly locked together.

He couldn’t tell me that he loved me.

He wouldn’t.

He believed he was doing the right thing.

It’s not.

It’s not the right thing!

“As much as I agree with you,” Dad said. “Are you sure about this? You seem to care deeply—”