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The moment she lifted her voice to shout the accusation, his eyes slid over her shoulder and the sound of low, casual chatter filtered out onto the balcony.
Reason being, Stefanie Ferguson stood at the threshold to the balcony, door open wide. Her eyes welled with unshed tears, betrayal radiating off her strong, petite form.
“Stefanie,” Pen started, but Stef steeled her spine and looked, not to Penelope, but to Zach for answers.
“Is that true?” Stef asked him.
Behind her, onlookers peered out, eyebrows raised, mouths forming Os of curiosity. Stef shut the door behind her and stepped onto the patio, crossing her arms over her midsection.
“What lie?” she asked.
“Stef,” Pen tried again, but the younger woman stood in front of her brother. Zach, who’d released Pen the moment Stefanie appeared, shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Penelope and I are discussing something very important. Go inside and we’ll be in soon.”
“Tell me what lie and I’ll leave you to it,” Stef said.
“I said—”
“The engagement isn’t real,” Pen blurted. Zach’s jaw clenched and he shot Pen a look showcasing both his outrage and feelings of betrayal. Well, too bad. She felt betrayed, too.
Pen took her eyes off him to comfort her almost-future-sister-in-law, who looked thoroughly heartbroken.
“Zach made up the engagement when Yvonne interrupted Chase’s birthday party,” Pen said softly. “He needed a distraction.”
“And you agreed.” Stef’s voice was steel, similar to the tone her brother had used many times before.
“I agreed to help him, yes.” Pen thrust her chin forward. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“And the pregnancy?” Mortification colored Stef’s features as she swept her eyes to Pen’s belly. “Is it real?”
“Yes.” Pen let out a gusty sigh. “God. Yes, Stefanie. I’d never lie about that. I was pregnant the night of Chase’s birthday party, but didn’t know it.”
Stef’s sigh of relief was short-lived. “You lied to me.” She swung her gaze from Pen to include Zach. “Both of you.”
“It started out as a lie to distract from Yvonne, yes,” Zach said. “But things between Pen and me have developed since then.” He fastened his eyes on Penelope, but spoke to his sister. “I proposed to Pen right before you walked out here.”
The warm breeze lifted Stefanie’s bangs from her forehead. She tightened her arms around her middle and shook her head.
“I don’t think your proposal went over well.” Stef backed to the door. “I came out here to tell you we’re ready for the announcement about the baby...” Inside a sea of curious faces studied the scene beyond the wide windows. Pen and Zach and Stef must look like a dramatic silent movie from their guests’ vantage point. “Now it seems you owe your guests an explanation.
“Tell them the truth, Zach,” Stef said. “It’s the least you could’ve done for me.” She pulled open the door but before she went inside, skewered Pen with, “I expected it from him. Not from you.”
Once she was inside, Chase pushed out the door next and angled his head at his brother.
“Excuse me.” Penelope bumped past Chase’s suited arm and darted through the crowd. Zach called her name, but when she peeked over her shoulder, Chase was blocking the door and giving advice she knew Zach didn’t want to hear.
“Let her go.”
