Chapter Text
“C-Colin?”
“Pen!” The relief in his voice was immediate, so unmistakable that she could almost picture him sitting upright on the other end of the call. He let out a breath that sounded as though he had been holding it ever since the live ended. “Are you okay, Pen?”
The question was enough to break the fragile control she had been clinging to.
“You saw my live, didn’t you?” she asked, her voice trembling. Tears had already begun to prick the corners of her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. “I’m sorry, Col. I messed everything up.”
“You didn’t mess anything up, Pen.” His voice softened immediately, taking on that familiar, soothing quality that had calmed her through countless moments of panic before. “Take a deep breath for me, alright? Just breathe.”
Penelope swallowed hard and put her phone on speaker, setting it against the roof of her car so she could wipe at her cheeks with both hands. She drew in a shaky breath, then slowly let it out as Colin murmured encouragement from the other end.
“That’s it. Again.”
She obeyed, though her breathing still came out unevenly. “People are going to hate me. I was so unprofessional, and I dragged you into something I never should have answered. I should have handled it better, but I panicked and then everyone was watching and Samantha kept asking questions and—”
“Hey, hey, no.” Colin interrupted her gently, his tone firm enough to stop the spiral before it could gain momentum. “As long as we’re both good, who the fuck cares what they think?”
“But your reputation...” Penelope’s lower lip trembled as she wiped another tear from beneath her eye. “Your family watched that live too, Colin. Fuck. Your sisters, your brothers, your mum... everyone probably thinks I’m—”
“Everything is fine,” he assured her, and she could hear the smile creeping into his voice. “Although I will personally ask Mum to give Hyacinth a week’s worth of chores for writing those ridiculous questions.”
A watery giggle escaped her before she could stop it. “She’s going to kill you.”
“She already tries.”
“That is because you provoke her.”
“It’s because she’s a menace.”
Penelope sniffled, but the smile remained. “She really is.”
“There you go,” Colin said softly, clearly pleased that he had managed to make her laugh. He let the silence settle for a moment before continuing, more seriously this time. “You need to understand something, Pen. People on the internet speculate about everything. They’re harsh, they overanalyse, and half the time they build entire stories out of absolutely nothing. But the good thing is that they forget quickly. One day, they’ll be obsessed with you and me, and the next they’ll have found someone else to dissect.”
She leaned back against the car, closing her eyes as the tension slowly began to leave her shoulders. “Thanks, Col. You always know what to say to make me feel better.”
“Anytime,” he replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice. Then he sighed, the sound quieter now, almost hesitant. “Although... I wish I was a little braver.”
Penelope opened her eyes. “What do you mean?”
There was a pause on the other end, long enough for her heart to begin beating a little faster.
“Penelope...” Colin finally said, and something about the way he said her name made every instinct in her body go still. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you this for a while.”
She stared at the street in front of her, barely registering the people passing by or the faint hum of traffic in the distance.
“Tell me what?”
Another pause.
Then Colin exhaled slowly, as though he were gathering every ounce of courage he possessed.
“That...they are not wrong. I’m in love with you, Penelope.”
Penelope stopped breathing.
The world around her seemed to blur at the edges. She could hear the distant sounds of the city, the occasional car passing, someone laughing nearby, but Colin’s voice was the only thing that existed anymore.
“I’ve been in love with you for a while now,” he continued, his voice quieter than before. “And I know the timing is probably insane, considering what just happened, but watching you tonight... hearing them ask you about us... I realised I’m tired of pretending it doesn’t bother me. I’m tired of acting like you’re just my best friend when you’re so much more than that to me.”
A tear slipped down Penelope’s cheek.
“Colin...”
“I know,” he said quickly, almost nervously. “I know this is a lot. You don’t have to say anything straight away. I just needed you to know. I’ve probably been an idiot about it for months, but I couldn’t keep pretending anymore.”
Penelope let out a shaky laugh through her tears, pressing a hand over her mouth.
“You are such an idiot.”
There was stunned silence.
“...Is that good?”
She laughed again, this time through a sob.
“Yes, you stupid man.”
Colin's own nervous laugh escaped through the phone. “That’s not exactly the romantic response I was hoping for.”
“You could have told me!”
“I was terrified!”
“You?” Penelope shook her head in disbelief, wiping away the tears that had begun falling freely now. “You, Colin Bridgerton, were terrified?”
“Yes, me. The very same Colin Bridgerton.”
She smiled despite herself. “You flirt with women all over the world.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Those are not serious and because none of them are you.”
That silenced her.
Her chest tightened painfully, but not from fear this time. She pressed her fingers against her lips as another tear rolled down her cheek, only to be followed by a smile that she could no longer contain. How long has she waited to hear this from the man of her dreams? Gosh, it feels like a lifetime.
“I love you too.”
Colin went completely silent.
Penelope's smile widened. “I love you too, Colin.”
“You... what?”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “I said I love you too. I have for longer than I should probably admit.”
A breathless laugh came through the speaker, followed by a disbelieving groan. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.”
“Pen, are you actually serious?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God.”
She heard what sounded suspiciously like him dropping back onto the hotel bed.
“You have no idea how many times I almost told you.”
“Probably nowhere near as many times as I almost told you.”
He laughed. “We’re both idiots.”
“Complete idiots.”
“And apparently in love.”
Penelope's cheeks warmed. “Apparently.”
There was a comfortable silence between them then, the kind that only existed because they had known each other for so long. Except this silence felt different somehow. Warmer. More intimate. The words they had both been too afraid to say were finally out in the open, and suddenly every old memory seemed to take on a different meaning.
“Can I ask you something?” Colin murmured.
“What?”
“When did you know?”
Penelope smiled, looking down at the pavement. “I don’t know if there was one exact moment. I think I’ve loved you in some way since we were children. You’ve always been my person. But lately... all those late-night conversations, the way we’ve opened up to each other, the way I started missing you when you were away... I think those feelings just became deeper. I realised I wasn’t simply loving my best friend anymore. I was in love with you. And I couldn't spend a day without hearing your voice and the gentle way you speak to me. You calm me."
“I needed to hear your voice too, you know?” Colin replied with his gentle voice.
“I know. But I thought you were just being sweet and a good friend to me."
Colin groaned. “Jesus, I really was an idiot.”
“An enormous one.”
“And you still love me.”
“Unfortunately.” She mocked.
“Rude.”
She giggled, and he joined her, the sound of his laughter making something warm bloom inside her chest.
Then his voice dropped slightly. “So... what happens when I come home?”
Penelope bit her lip. “I suppose you come see me.”
“Just see you?”
She could hear the teasing smile in his voice.
“You are awfully confident now.”
“I’ve just discovered that the woman I’ve been secretly in love with is secretly in love with me. I think I’ve earned a little confidence.”
“A little?”
“Fine. A lot.”
She laughed, leaning back against the car as she imagined him standing in front of her again. “What do you want to do when you see me?”
Colin was quiet for a second. “Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“I’m going to hug you first.”
Her heart fluttered.
“And then?”
“And then I’m going to kiss you.”
Her breath caught.
“Just once?”
“No chance.”
She laughed softly, but the nervous warmth in her stomach only grew when Colin continued.
“I’ve spent far too long imagining what it would be like to kiss you properly. I’m not wasting my first chance.”
Penelope looked down, her cheeks burning. “You’ve imagined it?”
“More times than I’d like to admit.”
“How many?”
“I’m not answering that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll tease me.”
“I absolutely will.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled, tracing one finger absentmindedly over the edge of the gift basket. “I think I’d like to kiss you too.”
“I think?”
“I’m trying to preserve some dignity.”
“You lost that when you cried on the phone.”
She gasped. “Excuse me?”
“I’m joking.”
“You are terrible.”
“And you love me.”
She couldn't stop smiling. “I do.”
His voice softened again. “When I see you, I want to hold you properly, Pen. No phone between us. No cameras. No audience. Just you and me.”
Her eyes stung again, but this time she smiled through it. “I want that too.”
“And then,” he added, his voice turning playful again, “I’m going to steal you away somewhere private because I have a lot of years of missed kisses to make up for and a lot of fantasies to fullfill.”
Penelope laughed, her blush deepening. “You’re impossible.”
“And you're blushing as deeply as your beautiful hair.”
“You can't see me.”
“I don't need to.”
She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it. “Arrogant.”
“Accurate.”
She laughed again, and Colin's voice softened as he listened to it.
“God, I love your laugh.”
The words landed somewhere deep inside her.
“You really mean it?”
“I mean every word.”
Penelope closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the warmth spreading through her chest. For years, Colin had been the person she ran to whenever life felt frightening, the person who encouraged her when she doubted herself, the person who somehow made every difficult thing seem manageable.
Now he was telling her that he loved her.
And she loved him.
It felt impossible.
It felt terrifying.
It felt completely right.
“I love you, Colin,” she whispered again.
“I love you too, Pen.”
“And when you come home,” she added shyly, “I want that hug.”
“You’ll get it.”
“And the kiss.”
“You’ll definitely get that.”
She smiled.
“More than one?”
Colin laughed softly. “As many as you let me give you.”
Her cheeks burned. “Then you should probably hurry home.”
“Now, where did my shy little best friend go?” Colin teased.
“She has evolved.”
“I can see that.”
Penelope smiled, resting her head against the car as she listened to him laugh. For the first time since the interview had ended, she didn't care what the internet would say tomorrow.
She didn't care about the comments or the speculation or whether anyone believed them.
All she cared about was the man on the other end of the phone.
The man who had been her best friend for years.
The man who was finally, finally hers.
And somewhere in Stockholm, Colin was smiling at his phone with the exact same realisation, "We will attend the next Live show together and give these crazy viewers what they want."