A Better Man Louise Penny Novels & Stories

“Ewh, she has bad taste. After being heartbroken, she fell into the arms of such a shabby street man. I'll bet that guy will only take advantage of Lola's wealth." "You are right. I don't think Lola is a random woman. Look at the shiny chevy corvette. The car looks like it just came out of the dealership.” "It's a good thing I met you Lou, you're such a nice guy. You're not like the mean guys out there. Especially in this pike street.” Lowering his voice slightly, Alan tried to tell Louise about the bad guys who like to hang around Pike Street doing drug deals, as well as peddling the women they picked up from poor towns outside Seattle.

Before Lizzie could protest, there was a knock at the door—two sharp raps that cut through the chatter. “That must be the lawyer,” I said, heading to open it. Standing in the doorway was a tall woman dressed in a maroon skirt suit, her hair pinned in a sleek twist. She looked effortlessly composed — sharp lines, controlled expression, eyes that didn’t miss much. Penny. “Thank you for coming,” I said, extending my hand, trying to sound civil. And maybe, also show off my ring. Just as a subtle backoff. She looked at it for a fraction too long before taking it—polite, but distant. “Roman asked me for a favor,” she said smoothly. “And when he calls, I don’t say no.”

After chewing slowly, she spoke: "Let me be honest with you. Except for Phelan, I'm not interested in any man. Phelan is more perfect than you in every way. He's arrogant but not conceited, he's handsome but sincere, he's rich but he doesn't show off. All that in Phelan is not in you." When a man hears a woman he's interested in praising another man, he will obviously be unhappy or even grumpy. However, Louis Victor restrained his emotions quite well. Aurora only saw Louis' displeased look pass by, then he returned to his original dignified and confident appearance.

I flinched hard. “Sorry… Queen Penelope.” That made her smile. Laura snickered. “Penny, you didn’t correct her.” That’s what they called abuse—correction. But Penny surprised us both. She flipped her glossy hair over her shoulder and smirked. “I can’t ruin my soft hands on her,” she said. “I’m saving them for my man to kiss.” Laura lit up like Penny had just ended world hunger. “That’s my girl.”

"Or could it be that your age has affected your ability to judge performances, and now it's worse than mine, who isn't even a professional?" The man's voice carried a lazy tone, and in the small space, it echoed slightly. Despite this, you could tell he wasn't very old, and the shadows cast from the dark corners revealed his relaxed posture. Penny was slowly coming out of character. Although her chest still felt heavy with sorrow, immersed in the terror of that time, her attention was somewhat diverted by the man whose face she couldn't clearly see. She could only see one side of his face, but he appeared to be more handsome than many celebrities in the entertainment industry.

"If you ever kiss my finance again, I will destroy you." Penny went around to see Lisa on Sunday afternoon, they talked about what happened last night. Lisa had vague memories of Joseph coming under the influence of alcohol, a certain hollowness that she tried to stifle. To think that she had kissed Raymond wildly, a wave of nausea and disgusting swept over her. But what Penny had said aroused her. "Penny, are you trying to make welcome with the usual pantomime of exaggerated words and gestures?"

I was a perfect wife, not even someone like Silver. So why the heck was I being punished for being a good person? The thought kept circling in my mind. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Penny asked. She was sitting at the table with her old mate, the one I once thought would turn out to be a cheater. He will have fun with her for some time, and then we’ll just move on from her. Instead, he seemed far more loyal to Penny than his son had ever been to me in our marriage.

She opened it to see a miniature photograph of the two of them from last summer, smiling and carefree at the park. “Oh, Louisa,” Cynthia whispered, touched. “This is beautiful. Thank you.” Louisa grinned, brushing back a stray strand of hair. “I just wanted you to have something real today. Something that’s yours.” Cynthia hugged her again, a genuine smile lighting her face. “You’re the best, Lou. I really mean it.” Louisa: “Thank you for being ama...” She stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening as she spotted the mannequin. “Oh. My. God.”

Ray. "Audrey" Aunt Stacey draws me back to the present. "Your uncle–" she starts to say but I cut her off "He is not my uncle" I say through gritted teeth. "My husband, h-he is in a lot of debt. We don't have any money for your college"

“I was just trying to defend my friend, you know?” They nodded, even though they didn’t understand what I meant. Louise however, was quite observant. She knew something was up with me even though she didn’t exactly know what it was. Penny muttered to herself about how they were wasting time and they all edged towards the exit. The three women murmured to themselves while I followed closely behind. “Did you see the look on her face when she saw our bags?” Penny said excitedly. “Oh, I could live on that expression forever!”