Chapter 1

"Pen!" Anthony called as he slipped through the half-closed back door that Pen had just exited. "PENELOPE! Wait!" he shouted again into the inky blackness of night as rain pelted his tuxedo, soaking him to the bone in seconds.

He could still hear the click of her high heels on the blacktop of the alley, so he gave it one last-ditch effort as he sped up in the direction of the noise. "Pen. Please. Stop." he begged as her shadowed form, now still, came into his view.

When Anthony caught up to her, he added, "He didn't mean it."

"Yes, Anthony, he did," Pen replied defeatedly, back still turned to him. "He wouldn't have said it otherwise."

When he heard her sniffle and saw her lift her hand to her face, Anthony knew she was crying. He closed the remaining distance between them, gently grasped her by the upper arm, and pivoted her to face him. "He's drunk, Pen. He doesn't know what he is saying."

Pen, who'd been staring at the pavement, swiped roughly at her face and looked up at him with mascara-streaked eyes. "You know as well as I do that he's an honest drunk, Anthony. He said what he believed. And I can't fault him for it, no matter how much it hurts."

Anthony knew she spoke the truth. Colin took after Anthony when it came to the effects of alcohol. With Anthony, who felt burdened by the weight of the world, alcohol freed him to be more of the man he would have been had he not taken on responsibility for the family and company so early. For Colin, however, it was when he allowed the mask of charm he wore like armor to slip away to reveal the flawed and sometimes insecure man beneath it to come out.

Anthony opened his mouth to apologize on Colin's behalf, as his brother would be mortified to know how badly his words had hurt his friend, but Pen held up a hand to stop him, "Just don't, okay? I can't bear the pity." As she began violently tugging the pins from her intricate updo, she ranted, "Deep down, I knew he didn't see me that way. No one ever does. I was just stupid enough to believe that maybe he was different." When she was done, she threw the pins to the ground with a huff and raked her hands through her wet hair until it cascaded down her back. "Stupid. So damn stupid," Pen mumbled under her breath. "Go back to the party, Anthony. There's a spare tux in the green room. If you leave now, they won't realize you're gone."

Leave it to Pen to mention the one thing that might convince him to abandon her in an alley in the rain - duty. But, deep down, Anthony knew he was a gentleman first and foremost and he couldn't leave her there alone, so he replied, "Come with me. You're going to be missed, too. I'm sure one of my sisters has an extra dress in the green room you can borrow for the rest of the evening." He held out his hand when he finished speaking, but she didn't take it. Instead, she laughed. And not just a chuckle. A full-belly laugh that caused her to double over. "Pen?" he asked, worried about what caused this reaction.

When she stopped laughing, Pen stood up. "You're kidding, right?"

"About the dress? No. They all always overpack…"

"No. Not about the dress, which wouldn't fit me anyway. But, about being missed."

He was about to respond when she added, "Because no one ever misses me. I mean, how could I excel at my job the way I do if people actually cared about where I am?"

"I care," he responded petulantly.

She snorted and eyed him in disbelief as she crossed her arms over her drenched bodice to stave off the shivers he saw wracking her body.

Quickly, Anthony shrugged off his tux jacket and stepped forward to place it over her shoulders. It was soaked through, too, but at least it would provide her a modicum of warmth over the flimsy silk black sheath strapless cocktail dress she was wearing.

She murmured a "Thank you," and shifted her weight as if she were going to step back when he reached out and stopped her.

He knew what she spoke of was true. Few people really ever saw her. Pen was excellent at her job as the Bridgerton family spokesperson because she blended so well into the background. She could stealthily manipulate any situation in favor of the family because she worked with quiet, cutting efficiency behind the scenes. Anthony never knew the toll it took on her, though, until tonight.

He'd been backstage looking for Colin, who was due to present the Bridgerton Foundation's study abroad scholarships during the ceremony with their mother later when he happened upon him and Marina Thompson, his flavor-of-the-month. Their clothes were disheveled as if they had been making out when Colin impulsively asked her to elope with him. Marina reeled back in shock and asked, "What about Pen?" He scrunched his face and replied, "What about her?" Marina responded with, "She won't take it well being as, you know, she's practically in love with you." When he said, "You can't be serious. Pen's like a sister to me." He shook his head vigorously and added, "I could never think of her in that way. So, will you marry me or not?"

Anthony was about to interrupt them so he could shake some sense into his drunk and recklessly impulsive brother when he heard a quiet gasp from the direction of the stage door to the back alley about ten feet away. He looked over and saw Pen, hands covering her mouth in shock, just before she fled out the exit. In that moment, he realized two things: 1) she definitely had more than sisterly feelings toward his brother and 2) he couldn't let her leave that way because he had decidedly un-sisterly feelings toward her. So, against his better judgment, Anthony shucked his duty and followed her into the storm.

"Just because you blend in, Pen, doesn't mean people don't see you."

She rolled her eyes and stepped fully out of his grasp.

Closing his jacket around her body like a cacoon, Pen commented. "I didn't figure you for the pep talk type, but I give you an A for effort. Now, go. I'll be fine. I swear."

"No."

Pen's brows furrowed in question as Anthony stalked toward her. "But you are right. I'm not really the talking type."

When he reached Pen and used the lapels of his tux jacket to pull her flush against his body, her eyes widened in shock. "And I'm not going anywhere," Anthony stated right before his lips crushed into hers in a searing kiss.

He saw her. He had for months. Now she needed to know it, too.