“All this time, I was mad at Mom and Dad for not trying hard enough to make it work. And while I still think it’s true that they were selfish assholes who loved themselves more than anyone else and that’s why they didn’t want to try … at least they were honest enough to admit it.”

“Damn, Luke.” Penelope’s voice was hoarse as she reached for him.

He hugged his sister tightly, struggling against the sudden sting of tears. “I will always love you enough to fight for you,” he said fiercely. “Always.” He eased his hold on her and wiped his eyes. “And Vijay will, too,” he added. “If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have been so chill about his marriage proposal.”

“That was you being chill?” Penelope laughed. “You need to let me fight my own battles,” she reminded him, rubbing at her tearstained cheeks. “Besides, it’s not me you have to worry about fighting for.”

Luke’s throat tightened; there was that lump again.

“Stop being a daft prick and tell her how you feel.”

He jerked back in surprise. “What the hell, Pen?”

“Enough with the pearl-clutching.” She rolled her eyes. “I was quoting Notting Hill, you idiot.”

“Oh.”

“Seriously, though.” She leaned into him, nudging him with her elbow. “Go to Chicago and find Julia and be honest with her. No more games.”

Luke wanted to. He’d been wanting to do exactly that since the moment Julia walked away from him. But he hadn’t. He wasn’t sure how. Problems in gaming programs were so much easier to deal with than people. With people, it’s not like he could identify the broken piece of code, fix it, and hit Refresh.

If he dug deeper, Luke knew that much of his hesitation stemmed from fear. What happened if he admitted his true feelings and she walked away again? Or worse, what if she said she felt the same and they decided to make a go at a relationship together? Once she had a chance to really get to know him, would she still love him? All of him? Or would she start to find him intolerable?

“Pen,” Luke blurted out. “Am I intolerable?”

“Only sometimes.” She flashed him a smile. “But I’m your sister. I have to love you anyway.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Luke admitted. “There’s nothing forcing Julia to put up with me, no reason she has to love me.”

“That’s what makes love so amazing.” Penelope squeezed his hand. “When someone sees you—the real you. And loves you just for you.”

Luke nodded.

“You won’t know unless you try,” she added quietly.

He nodded again.

“I need to head back. Jay’s going to be wondering where I wandered off to.” Penelope reached for Crumpet’s leash and tugged it loose. “Are you going to join us for lunch?”