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The thing about marrying a Bridgerton — and not just any Bridgerton, but Colin Bridgerton — was that no one warned you how dramatic a man could be about something as simple as sunlight.
Penelope had only gone inside for ten minutes. Ten. Long enough to grab her sunglasses, a book, and two margaritas. But when she returned to the private villa’s poolside deck, she found Colin lying on a lounger like he was auditioning for the cover of GQ.
Shirt off. Hat on. Sunglasses in place.
And his left arm stretched unnaturally in the air, wrist bent just so, with his wedding ring shimmering proudly in the sun.
Penelope stopped short. “…What exactly are you doing?”
Colin didn’t move. “Important work.”
“Does this important work involve your finger trying to signal passing planes?”
“Funny,” he said, eyes still closed. “But no. I’m tanning my ring line.”
“You’re what now?”
He cracked one eye open and grinned. “It’s called long-term symbolism, my love. If I ever have to take the ring off, I still want proof I’m yours. The tan line will say it all.”
She blinked. “So, instead of avoiding a tan line like most people, you’re actively encouraging it?”
“Correct.”
“Strategically exposing your finger to the sun.”
“Correct.”
“On our honeymoon.”
He gave her a satisfied little shrug. “Is there a more appropriate time?”
Penelope walked over slowly, mocktail still in hand. “You do realize that’s not how tan lines usually work, right? People avoid them.”
“I’m not people, Pen. I’m a husband.”
She snorted. “You’re a menace.”
“And proud.”
She perched on the edge of his lounger and held the cold glass against his bare chest, making him yelp.
“That’s for weaponizing romance,” she said sweetly.
“I’m expressing devotion through melanin!”
“You’re turning into a human mood ring.”
Colin pulled her down beside him and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I just want the world to know I’m taken. Even the sun. Especially the sun.”
She smiled despite herself. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Your ridiculous.”
“Don’t test me. I’ll stencil my initials across your abs and call it ‘custom shading.’”
He raised his brows. “Kinky.”
She rolled her eyes but laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. The ring caught the light again, casting a glint against his tanned skin. Her heart did a little flip.
It was absurd. It was over-the-top. It was so Colin.
And it was hers.
Colin had made his point.
Loudly. Repeatedly. Shirtlessly.
He was very married, and the glowing tan line beneath his ring was apparently his chosen proof.
Penelope let him have his moment — the dramatic sunbathing, the finger angles, the passing mention to hotel staff that “the sun and I are in a committed relationship… with my wife.”
It was charming. A little ridiculous. A lot Bridgerton.
But Penelope? She preferred subtlety.
So she waited.
Two mornings later, they were having breakfast on the villa terrace. Penelope wore a simple linen dress and no makeup, her hair up in a messy bun.
Colin, ever observant and annoyingly smug, sipped his espresso and tapped his ring against the cup like it had earned the right to clink.
“Still holding strong,” he said casually, flexing his hand.
“Fascinating,” she murmured, spreading marmalade across toast.
“You’re dying to admit it’s impressive.”
She smiled into her teacup. “You’re not wrong.”
He beamed, prideful and golden in the morning sun.
Penelope waited one beat. Then another. Then—quietly, like it was nothing at all—she reached up and pushed her hair to the side, baring the slope of her neck.
And there it was.
Just behind her ear, delicate and warm against her skin, tanned in the same golden hue as the rest of her: a small heart. With the initials “C.B.” inside.
Colin froze mid-sip.
“…What is that?”
She tilted her head innocently. “What’s what?”
“Your neck.”
“Oh.” She sipped her tea. “Just a little something from the spa. Temporary sun tattoo. You know, one of those light-blocking stencils.”
He blinked. “You got a sun tattoo of my initials?”
“Mmm,” she said. “It’ll fade in about ten days. But I’m thinking of reapplying.”
“You—Pen—Penelope Featherington Bridgerton—”
She finally looked at him, eyes sparkling. “If you can tan your love into your finger, I can tan mine behind my ear.”
Colin stood abruptly, walked around the table, and bent to inspect the tiny heart like it was the Mona Lisa.
“You are diabolical.”
“Romantic,” she corrected.
“I can’t believe you did this without telling me.”
“Exactly the point.”
He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck. “I want one. I want one right now.”
She laughed. “You already have the ring.”
“I want one like yours so we can match."
She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “I’m going to stencil property of Penelope Bridgerton across your forehead.”
He grinned. ”You're incorrigible."
“You married me.”
And he kissed her like he’d just remembered exactly why.
Everything was glowing.
Everything was easy.
“You know,” he began, “I don’t think I realized how badly I needed to be in love with you.”
Penelope turned her head slightly. “What?”
He looked up at the sky, hands folded over his chest. “I mean it. I think I was half-alive before you. Like a Colin-shaped blur just floating around, vaguely charming, mildly lost.”
“That’s dramatic,” she teased gently.
“I’m a Bridgerton,” he said. “Dramatic is genetic.”
She snorted, but he went on, suddenly very sincere.
“I didn’t know that loving someone could feel like this. Like being home and on an adventure at the same time. Like rest. Like magic. Like—”
She pressed a hand to his chest. “You’re about to say something ridiculous like ‘like coconuts,’ aren’t you?”
“I was going to say like breathing, but coconuts work too,” he said, grinning. “I love you, Pen. Completely. Like everything fell into place the exact moment I realized that I am in love with you.”
She was quiet for a moment. The breeze ran its fingers through the palms above them.
Then, softly, she said, “You always talk so much when you’re in love.”
“You noticed?”
“Hard not to.” She looked at him then, eyes sparkling. “Good thing I love you too.”
He turned to her, eyes wide and boyish. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Even when you're doing the most unhinged things just to show how much you love me. ”
“My love, I believe I'm just getting started, we have a whole lifetime ahead of us.”
“Married life is exhausting,” she groaned.
Colin pulled her close and kissed her temple.
“Married life is perfect. Because you’re in it.”