Chapter Text
From across the room Penelope watches as Colin leans against the bar top, swirling a tumbler of whiskey while Benedict cracks on about some old story from their youth. A few feet away her daughter Agatha builds a tower from wooden blocks while her cousins crowd around the parlor playing games and occasionally antagonizing each other.
“Wine?” Eloise waltzes by and tops of her glass.
“Thanks,” Penelope replies before taking a sip.
“So,” Eloise abandons the empty bottle on a nearby credenza, “how much did you pay for this place?”
Penelope laughs. She loves her little flat in the city and she especially loved that she bought it on her own. It made her feel very grown up. Which is why it took Colin so long to convince her to move.
But they did agree to keep her flat in the city and she has to admit she likes having a house in the suburbs for their daughter to grow up near her cousins and have a garden to run around in.
“Let’s just say I need to get cracking on another memoir,” Penelope replies.
She takes a long swig of her wine and looks up to find a sleepy Agatha tugging on her father’s pant leg. Colin scoops her up in a second, cradling her in one arm as she buries her head in his chest. His free hand placed protectively on her back, rubbing soothing circles.
“I should get her to bed,” Penelope says, excusing herself.
But Colin reminds her he is more than capable, disappearing a moment later. While he’s gone, Eloise coaxes gossip from Penelope and they tease Gregory about his horribly mismatched outfit.
When Colin returns nearly an hour later, he has a handheld monitor tucked in his pocket, the antennae sticking out like a rogue alien, and he refreshes Penelope’s glass before settling down on the settee next to her.
“She okay?” Penelope asks.
“Yeah,” Colin replies. “But she insisted on two princess stories. She’ll be writing fiction just like her mum.”
“Hey!” She laughs. “Everything I wrote is true…even if I do elaborate a little. Some of these politicians are dreadfully boring.”
Little by little Colin’s siblings start excusing themselves as their own children rub sleepy eyes. Goodbyes and well wishes are exchanged for what feels like hours until it’s finally just Pen and Colin left.
Their little girl sleeps soundly upstairs and their new house echoes with the promise of new memories. Penelope always dreamed of a life like this but never dared to let herself believe it was impossible.
Even with Alfie, so much of their marriage was spent suffering that she doesn’t even remember the good times. But with Colin everything is so different. Easy in a way that makes even the most insurmountable hurdle feel manageable.
So she lets herself fall into his arms, a little sleepy and a little drunk, sprawled on the sofa, pinned between his legs. His hands drag lazily along the bare skin of her arms and he presses a kiss to her hair. He stirs softly, a low groan emanating from his throat and when she turns to face him, knowing that sound so well, he palms her face to press his lips to hers.
Her cheeks warm and she hums against his mouth. It doesn’t take long for her to feel the hardness in his pants, only to realize it’s the baby monitor. They both laugh and he places it on the coffee table before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. His hands linger as he kisses her again, more deeply this time.
Penelope leans into him, hips circling in a sultry way until he moans in response, pressing his hands so urgently on her waist that she doesn’t know where she ends and he begins. She’s the first to tug at his shirt, unbuttoning it slowly to reveal a patch of dark curly hair, graying in some places. He’s grown a bit self conscious about it but she finds it dignified and sexy.
She has his full chest exposed when Colin’s hand slides along the hem of her dress, inching slowly up her thigh until he slides aside her pants to find her hot wet center. His fingers glide along her, dipping gently before landing on her clit eliciting a soft gasp from her lips.
That low rumbling sensation builds in Penelope’s belly and her kisses become sloppy in response to the pleasure Colin coaxes from her. She squirms in his arms, fingers digging into his skin as he brings her to the very brink until she crashes in waves, head falling on his chest.
She rests for a moment, not ignorant to the hardness presses against her thigh. When she finally stops pulsing with pleasure, she drags her hand down to his waistband, petite fingers unbuttoning his trousers until he springs free. Colin shudders as she takes him in her small hand.
Slowly, she gets to her knees, kicking one leg over to straddle to him until she slowly glides down along his length. It takes a moment to adjust to his size and she shakes her hair back over her shoulders as she settles on his lap. A smile crosses Colin’s face as his hands find purchase on her hips.
It feels so perfect in this moment, their two bodies intertwined, and she wonders how she ever lived a life without knowing Colin in this way. Because it’s almost as if she wasn’t truly living until they came together. She rides him hard, mouth agape and hips pounding against him as he pumps in and out of her, quickening the pace until he spills with a groan.
Afterward, she lies on top of him, her dress scrunched at her waist, his fingers dragging along her thigh. His lips meet her forehead and she feels him press her even closer to his side.
“It was good to see your family tonight,” she tells him. “Wish you min could have come though,”
“Don’t talk about my mum when you just made me come,” he says teasing.
“You are vile Colin!”
She laughs, her head landing back on his chest.
“But it was nice,” he replies. “Agatha getting to see her cousins. My sisters were intense, as usual, but it’s good to have them close.”
“We should do it more often.”
“We should do this more often,” Colin counters, squeezing her ass in a way that presses his erection into her belly.
“Again?”
“You’re turning me on in this fucking hot little dress,” he says. He nips at the bodice just to punctuate his point.
Slowly, he slides out from under her, gently laying Penelope’s head back against the pillows so he can position himself between her knees. She rests up on her elbows to buck her hips forward as Colin buries his face in her chest. His hands tug her dress down to give his mouth access to her breasts until he’s sucking on the exposed pink skin.
“You make me wanna put another baby in you,” he says.
“You’re hilarious!” She says. “I’m forty.”
“Let me try, at least,” he says with a wink that makes her wet.
She would love another baby with Colin. A chance to give Agatha a sibling. It only makes her wish they had started sooner, gotten together without letting decades escape them. And she’s realistic. The chances of a second miraculous baby after all her struggles is near impossible. But she enjoys trying.
In fact, she’s so resolute in her happiness that she doesn’t notice the signs for a long time. It’s actually Colin who suggests taking a pregnancy test when he notices how full and round her breasts have gotten. And sure enough, despite her own doubts, she stares at that plus sign in utter disbelief.
That night, Colin makes love to her, lit by the crackling fire. And after, his hand stays plastered over the subtle curve of her belly, warming the new life that grows within.
“I love you,” he says.
And she’s not sure if he’s speaking to her or the baby. But she’s not sure she minds either way.