Chapter 371
Penelope had never seen Theodore like this. His face was ashen, his eyes wide and unfocused, as if he might shatter at any moment. Without a second thought, she rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“Honey, you p>
Startled, he instinctively pushed her away.
“It’s me,” she said quickly, forcing a tremble into her own voice. “I… I’m so scared p>
Theodore’s hand, which had been pushing her, suddenly gripped her arm, so tightly it hurt. But she didn’t make a sound, only repeating that she was frightened. His expression softened, and he pulled her into an embrace, gently patting her back. “It’s okay. It was just a car hitting the emergency door, not thunder p>
Penelope pressed her lips together. So he’s afraid of thunder. Her mind flashed back to the day he’d been driving back to the city, when a bus had knocked his car off a bridge. He’d saved a child but had been swept away by the floodwaters. It had been a thunderstorm that day. He must have been terrified, lost in the woods. But he had never mentioned it, and she had only just discovered it by accident. She suspected his fear was rooted in the day Lorraine died—that, too, had been a stormy day.
Back in the car, Penelope pretended to be scared, insisting on sitting on his lap. She burrowed into his chest, playfully begged for kisses, and teased him relentlessly. Theodore, exasperated but amused, finally pinned her against the seat and gave her a deep, thorough kiss.
“Still scared?” he asked with a chuckle.
Penelope put on a dramatic, breathy voice. “I’m just naturally timid, especially when it comes to thunder. So from now on, whenever it storms, you have to be right
beside me, holding me and kissing me p>
Theodore rolled his eyes. “Talk normally p>
“But I p>
“If you don’t start talking normally, you’re not allowed in my bed tonight p>
“You’re awful p>
They drove on, and Theodore was behind the wheel. Penelope sat in the passenger seat, stealing glances at him, her heart aching with a love so deep it hurt.
“You’re looking at me funny,” Theodore said, narrowing his eyes.
“I’m just p>
“You look like you want to eat me alive p>
Penelope’s mouth twitched. “Is that how you see me? As some kind of creep p>
“Creep’ is a good word for it,” he teased.
“Hmph p>
As they were joking, they passed through a busy downtown area. Suddenly, a little girl darted from the sidewalk into the street. Theodore slammed on the brakes With screech of tires, the car came to a halt just inches from the child. The little girl, terrified, burst into tears.
Theodore and Penelope were shaken as well. If Theodore hadn’t reacted so quickly, it would have been a terrible accident. They both jumped out of the car A woman ran over, frantically checking the girl. Seeing she was unharmed, she let out a sigh of relief before turning on her.
“What were you thinking, running into the street like that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” The woman, still panicked, yelled at her daughter.
The little girl cried even harder. “I… I was looking for… my brother p>
“Where is your brother? I told him to watch you!” The woman scanned the area and spotted her son hiding behind a tree. “Get over here!” she roared.
The little boy approached timidly, but before he could even stop, his mother kicked him. “I told you to watch your sister! What were you doing p>
“I… I saw a cute puppy and was playing with it. I forgot about my sister,” the boy sobbed. “I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong p>
“What’s more important, a dog or your sister p>
“If something had happened to your sister, I… I don’t know what I would have done p>
Penelope glanced instinctively at
Theodore. His brow was deeply
furrowed the
clearlyering
reminding him of what had
happened twenty years ago. She
hurried over to the woman. “Blease, don’t blame him p>
“He’s just a child. How can you say it’s his fault p>