Playing at Forever

chapter Four



Penny clung to Tommy as if her life depended on it.

Partially because it did.

And partially because she had missed him so much.

The wind was loud, the engine louder. Tommy navigated the motorcycle like a pro, as if it was an extension of himself. She knew that he liked the freedom—the wind, the speed, the danger. Tommy had always lived on the edge.

Normally, Penny was not a risk taker. She drove a small sedan and she always wore her seatbelt. She ate her meat medium-well. She never gambled.

But here she was, on the back of a bike, speeding down a tree lined street. And she wasn’t even afraid, really.

They had spent the afternoon shopping. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. They’d taken an hour or so to actually shop, Tommy just buying a few pairs of jeans and some t-shirts right off the rack. The rest of the afternoon had been spent trying on goofy outfits and reminiscing about all of the costumes they had worn during their plays.

Now, they were on the way back to the motel, the day coming to a close. The sun was already beginning to set, summer officially over and autumn creeping in. Everything was a blur as they drove by, but she could see the vivid reds and oranges of the leaves.

It was so beautiful, she thought.

The bike rolled to a stop as they came up to a light and Penny leaned forward, so that she was impossibly closer to him. “Hey, do you have plans tonight?”

“I’m pretty sure my social calendar is empty right about now, Pen. What’d you have in mind?” She imagined, briefly, how close they would be to one another if not for the helmets they wore.

“You want to come over to Amy’s for dinner tonight? She’s been pestering me about inviting you over.”

“I’d love to.” He told her, the engine roaring back to life as they passed through town. It was only a moment before they arrived at the motel.

Penny immediately noticed a very flashy car parked near Tommy’s room, an equally as flashy man leaning against it. She pulled her helmet off the moment the bike stopped, Tommy doing the same. “They belong to you?” she asked, nodding toward the man. Tommy swore quietly.

“Unfortunately.” He groaned, holding his arm so that Penny could use it to balance herself as she climbed off the bike. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it. She was suddenly very conscientious of her appearance as she felt this newcomer studying her.

Obviously, this man had high standards. She was quite certain that she would not meet them as she glanced down at her worn jeans and plain gray sweater. No, she was certain she wouldn’t even come close.

“So this is the reason you’ve come to this rink-a-dink little town.” The man removed his sunglasses, tucking them into his pocket as he approached them. Penny wasn’t sure if she should be offended or flattered. “My name is Graham. And you are…?”

Penny took the man’s outstretched hand. “Penelope,” she told him, both her tone and eyes guarded.

“So you are,” he gave her another once over. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Tom?”

“I thought that’s what you were already doing.” Penny watched as Tommy glared at the other man. “Penny, this is Graham Walters. He’s my manager.”

“You must be a friend of Tom’s.”

“You must not be.” She had taken an instant disliking to this man. Graham only laughed.

“Well, I can definitely see the appeal.” Graham laughed again, nodding his head this time. “I was hoping we could talk business, Tom. You’ve kind of left things in a little bit of an uproar back home. But if you’re busy, I can always come back.”

“Like I told you yesterday—”

“This is your career, Tom.”

“It’s okay, Tommy. I have to get back to Amy’s anyway. I’ll see you tonight, though, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Tommy told her, flashing her a strained smile. Part of her thought she should stay, just to support her friend. But another part of her said that this—whatever conversation that needed to be had with Graham—wasn’t her business.

Tommy needed to take care of whatever it was he was running away from, and she had to let him.

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight then. Around seven, okay?”

“I’ll be there.”

“It was nice to meet you, Penelope.” Penny didn’t respond to the man. She had been raised that if she didn’t have anything nice to say, she shouldn’t say anything at all—especially when it came to meeting strangers.



“Has anyone ever told you how much of an ass you are, Graham?”

“I believe you have, a number of times.” They were inside Tommy’s motel room, Tommy pacing back and forth while Graham sat in an old armchair. He looked completely out of place here, in his expensive suit and shoes. The sunglasses he wore cost more than Tommy had paid for an entire week for this room.

“I’m pretty sure I told you to leave, too.”

“As you can see, I am an excellent listener.” Tommy glared at him and Graham sighed, leaning forward. “Look, I’m not here as your manager right now, okay? I’m here as your friend. That’s how we started out, isn’t it?” Tommy thought back many years. Graham had been one of his roommates, before he’d gotten his big break. “I just want to know that you’re okay.”

“I’m great.” While his tone was sarcastic, he was telling the truth. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in a very long time. Of course, he was worried about his career. He couldn’t deny that. But the thing that was worrying him the most right now was Penny.

“You don’t seem great.”

“Well I am. I just—I have some things I need to take care of here.”

“How much longer are we talking about?”

“I don’t know.” Graham sighed again.

“I’m doing the best I can here, Tom. You’re not making my job any easier these days.”

“Look, Penny has been a really good friend to me. She’s going through a rough time right now.” It wasn’t really an excuse, although it felt like one.

“So you came back here to take care of a friend.”

“No, I—I came back here to get away. And then I found out about Penny.”

“What’s her deal?”

“She’s going through a divorce.”

“Please don’t tell me it has something to do with you.” Tommy shook his head, his expression baffled.

“What? No, I haven’t even seen Penny in ten years.”

“Was she your high school girlfriend or something?” Tommy hadn’t told anyone about Penny, mostly because he was ashamed of how he’d treated her. He shook his head.

“She was my best friend.”

“See, this I can spin, Tom. You found out your best friend was going through a rough divorce, so you had to take some time off to help her get back on her feet. Maybe a little romance blossoms—”

“There’s no romance blossoming.” His tone was suddenly very defensive.

“Just think about what a wholesome girl like that could do for your image.”

“Graham…” Tommy warned, not liking the direction this was going in.

“I’m not saying lie to the girl. She might be willing to go along with it. Play a little role, maybe you could even cut her a deal or something.”

It hit him unexpectedly.

Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? It was the most obvious solution to Penny’s problems. “Graham, you’re a genius.” Tommy declared, throwing himself onto the bed.

“You actually think it’s a good idea?” he sounded very surprised.

“No, I actually think your idea is a horrible one. But it did give me another.” Tommy chuckled. It was so simple. He could loan Penny the money. It wasn’t like he didn’t have enough of it.

“We have to figure something out, Tom. You have no idea how bad things are getting for you out there. I’m starting to get desperate.”

“It’ll work itself out. Don’t worry about it.” Tommy sat up, looking at the clock. He wanted to make a quick stop before going to Amy’s. He hated showing up empty-handed.

“I am worried about it. You should be too.”

“I’ll worry about it later on. But for right now, I’ve got some things to take care of. We can talk more tomorrow.” He stood up, Graham doing the same.

“I’m staying in Myrtle Beach. You know that’s like a two hour drive, don’t you?”

“That’s what I pay you the big money for, Graham.” Tommy patted his friend on the back. “We can put it off for another few days, if you’d like. To save you the trip.”

“How about I try calling first?” Tommy grinned, nodding his head.

“Have a nice drive,” Graham only rolled his eyes before Tommy shut the door behind him.



Penny laughed as Amy fretted about the kitchen, trying to make sure nothing was out of place. Both Amber and Darla sat on either side of her, watching their mother with wide eyes. “What is she doing Aunt Penny?”

“She’s getting ready for company.”

“She doesn’t do this whenever the Logans come over.” Penny laughed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Mommy, I think something is burning,” Darla told her mom, sending Amy into another tailspin. Penny only laughed harder.

“Well, I’m so glad you think this is funny, Penny.”

“I just don’t understand why you’re going so crazy about it. I mean, it’s just Tommy.”

“Just Tommy. Uh-huh.” Amy pulled open the oven, her face falling. “My cake didn’t rise!”

Penny laughed again, shaking her head. The doorbell rang and Penny looked at Amy, who’s eyes were panicked. “Come on, girls! Let’s go see who it is!”

“Penny, wait! The cake!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Penny laughed as she slid her chair backward, the two young girls already running toward the front door. By the time she caught up with them, they’d already thrown the door wide open.

“Well, hello,” Tommy told them, looking up at Penny for a moment and smiling before kneeling down to be at eye-level with the much shorter girls.

“Who are you?” Darla asked.

“I’m Tommy. I went to school with your mom and Penny a very long time ago.”

“Really?” Tommy nodded. “You look familiar.” Darla studied him for a moment. “You’re on Aunt Penny’s wall.” Penny laughed, patting Darla on the head. “At The Seaside, you are!”

“Come on, girls. Let Tommy inside.”

“Are you in movies?” Little Amber asked, and this time it was Tommy’s turn to laugh.

“Sometimes.” He rose to his full height, holding out a bottle of wine and a box of cookies. “I brought dessert.”

“Aw, you hear that, Amy? Tommy brought dessert!” Penny called into the kitchen. A moment later, her friend appeared in the walkway, a look of relief on her face.

“How sweet of you, Tommy!” Penny did her best to keep a straight face. “I see you met my girls. This one here is Darla,” Amy touched her oldest daughter on the shoulder. “And this little one here is Amber!”

“Tommy’s in movies, Mommy. Did you know that?”

“Of course she knew that, silly. Don’t you remember her saying that he was a better actor in her plays?”

“Darla!” Amy’s cheeks flared bright red and Penny heard Tommy laugh. Not a little chuckle, but a full-on rumble of laughter. Amy shrugged, a helpless look on her face as Tommy leaned forward and pulled his old friend in for a hug. “I’m sorry,”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the truth anyway.” Tommy told her.

“Why don’t you girls go set the table?”

“Want to help us?” Amber asked Tommy. Penny watched as he was instantly taken in by the girls, each of them taking one of his hands and pulling him into the kitchen.

“I can’t believe Thomson Davis is in my kitchen, helping my little girls set the table.” Penny watched him lift Amber up onto his shoulders, so that she could grab the plates out of the high cupboard. Darla squealed as he acted as if he might drop the plate.

“It really is quite a sight, isn’t it?”

For just a brief moment, Penny allowed herself to imagine that this was a regular occurrence. Family dinner at Amy’s, Tommy playing with the kids while she and Amy talked about work. In her vision, though, there was another little girl in the kitchen—this one with dark hair, much like Tommy’s.

She chased it away though, telling herself this would never happen.

“Okay, that’s enough—you kids better go wash up. That means you too, Tommy.” Amy ordered and Tommy chuckled, his eyes bright and happy as he swept a girl up in each arm, following their directions to the bathroom.

The cheerful mood carried on all throughout dinner and longer, until the girls were sent to bed. “Thanks for having dinner with us, Tommy,” Darla told him. “Will you come again?”

“Well, I’d be a fool to pass up an invitation to have dinner with the four prettiest ladies in Ravenside, wouldn’t I?”

“And next time, we can play some more!” Amber added excitedly.

“Okay, girls, come on—let’s go to bed.”

“You’re going too?” Penny asked. Amy faked a yawn, nodding her head.

“Oh, I’m beat.” But Penny knew her friend was only faking it. “You two go on, have a good night.”

“Good night, Amy,” Tommy rose to his feet, pulling Amy into a hug. “It was great seeing you again.”

“The same goes for you, Tommy. I’ll see you later on, Pen.”

“Good night,”

As the three headed toward the stairs, Amber stopped, hurrying back to wrap her arms around Tommy’s legs. “Good night, Tommy. Thanks for coming over.”

And just as quickly as she’d hurried over, she turned around and ran back to the stairs, where her mom was waiting for her. Penny met Amy’s eyes briefly, the moment touching them both.

The room was suddenly very quiet without the excitement of the girls. Penny sighed softly, glancing up at Tommy to find him already staring down at her. “You’re good with them.”

“I like kids.”

“I can see that,” she smiled. After a moment, he held out his hand to her. “Want to take a walk?”

“Sure,” she agreed without even thinking about it, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet.

It was quiet outside, except for the occasional dog bark here and there. The chill in the air was more than she expected and she immediately regretted not grabbing a jacket of some sort. “You cold?”

“I’ll be okay,”

“Don’t be silly,” he shrugged off the worn leather jacket he’d worn into town and rested it on her shoulders. She could tell it had belonged to him for a long time, the leather worn in just perfectly to match his movements. When she breathed in, she could smell the familiar soapy smell she attributed to him. “That was fun.”

“It really was,” Penny agreed, nodding her head. She hadn’t had that much fun in a long time—and it had been so easy. She hadn’t once thought about Kevin or Gina or even The Seaside.

Until now.

As if reading her mind, Tommy started talking. “So I was thinking earlier, about the situation with Kevin.”

“I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“Well, I think I’ve come up with a solution.”

“Oh?” Penny was intrigued.

“Why don’t I help you? I have money, Pen.” She was immediately touched by his generosity. But she knew she couldn’t take his help.

“That’s really nice of you to offer, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

“Why not?” he stopped, taking her hand so that she stopped too. “I have the money, Penny. I don’t mind loaning it out to you—hell, I wouldn’t even mind giving it to you—”

“Absolutely out of the question.” She had gotten into this mess by relying on somebody else. No, she couldn’t do that again.

Even if it was Tommy.

Especially if it was Tommy.

“Please, Penny. I don’t want you to lose the place. I know how much it means to you.”

“Tommy, I—”

“Look, at least just think about it. Consider your options. See what you can come up with.”

“I’m not going to take your money. I have nothing to even offer you in return.”

“Well, if you believe Graham, that’s not entirely true.” She narrowed her eyes at the mention of the man. Had he made some sort of an insinuation about her?

“I’m not for sale, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. “No, he didn’t mean it like that—he just… he seems to think that my image is in need of a change. He thinks if I settled down with a nice, wholesome girl…people might start to change their minds about me a little bit.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“To settle down with a nice wholesome girl?” Penny laughed, shaking her head.

“No, I mean—well, to get away from all of it?”

“Things haven’t been going well, I’ll just say that. The scripts aren’t coming in anymore. The money…”

If Penny had even been thinking about taking him up on his offer, that alone would have convinced her not to. Tommy was going through some sort of career crisis, a crisis that could potentially leave him broke and penniless, and here he was trying to talk her into taking his money? Well, that wasn’t going to happen.

“How bad, Tommy?” she thought about the cover of the tabloid.

“I’ve just been going through some things, that’s all. But I’m already starting to see everything a little bit more clearly.” He brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “Don’t worry about me.”

“But I do,” she told him, reaching up now to graze the circles beneath his eyes with her thumb. “I’ve been worrying about you since the day I met you, Tommy Davidson. Nothing is going to change that.”

“I’ll be okay. You know me, Pen. I always find a way to get through it.”

Penny sighed, shifting her gaze. “How long are you planning on staying?”

She was afraid to hear the answer, but as she stared up at him just a moment ago, she couldn’t bear the thought of him disappearing into the abyss again, leaving her with nothing but memories. She couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t take the debilitating emptiness.

She realized that this was part of the reason why she hadn’t wanted to tell him the truth about her life earlier. Sure, she was embarrassed. Who wouldn’t be? But she was also afraid. Afraid of letting him in, knowing the pain she would face once he left.

“I’m not sure.” At least he was honest.

“But you are leaving, eventually.” Tommy nodded.

“I have to.” She knew this. “You’ll get sick of having me around soon enough, don’t worry.”

“I just got you back again.” She felt tears forming in her eyes. “Why didn’t you call, Tommy?”

“Oh, Pen. I don’t know. Because I was an idiot.” It wasn’t the answer she was looking for, but then again, she had no idea what she wanted him to say.

“You’re not going to do that again, are you?” His eyes were always so conflicted, as if he was always torn between two things. “Promise me you’re not going to do that again, Thomas Davidson, or you can walk away right now. I’m not going to let you waltz back into my life just so that you can turn around and leave me to rot again.”

“Penny, I—”

“Promise me.” She demanded, knowing she could go no further if it meant more heartache down the line. Losing Tommy, even just as a friend, had been a painful experience.

He held her eyes for a long moment before he finally spoke.

“I promise,”

“It shouldn’t have been that hard.”

“No, it shouldn’t have.” She longed for him to talk to her. To open up to her just as she had done earlier in the day. But she knew Tommy. It took him time.

Eventually, though, he would tell her everything.

“I’m sorry.” She nodded her head.

“Whatever it is you’re afraid of, Tommy, you’re going to have to face it sooner or later.” She knew that she was going to have to take her own advice too, eventually.

Baby steps, she told herself. Baby steps.

“Maybe it’s you I’m afraid of.” His tone was playful, but his eyes were very serious. She wondered for a moment if he felt the same fears she did. A fear of opening up, of feeling the pain. Had she ever done anything to give Tommy the impression that she was going to hurt him? She didn’t think so, but then again…

“Well, you should be. I have piles of pictures of you from way back when. If you’re not careful, I just might have to post them on the internet. You think your image is bad now, just wait…” Penny was doing her best to lighten the mood once more. Things had taken serious turn that she hadn’t been prepared for. She wanted the evening to end on a good note.

“You wouldn’t dare,”

“Don’t try me.” She warned.

“Well, maybe it’s you who should be afraid of me.” His eyes were suddenly very playful.

“Oh? And why would that be?” And then he was leaning in very close—so close she could feel his breath on her neck as he whispered into her ear.

“Because I know exactly where you’re most ticklish,”

Before she knew what was happening, she felt his fingers dancing along the curve of her waist.

And Penny squealed with laughter, slipping out of his grasp and running down the street. When he caught up with her, she found that she was cornered, her back against the thick trunk of a tree. She was breathing heavily, her heart hammering loudly in her chest. Tommy rested one of his hands on the tree, using the other to tuck her hair behind her ear once again.

“I missed this.”

“Me too,” she said, still breathless. She suddenly became very aware of how close he was.

Once more, she was taken back to the night he’d left. How brave she’d been. Bold.

“Do you ever think about the night you left?” she asked at last, her heart now pounding impossibly harder than just a few minutes before. His eyes shifted from hers, down to her lips. His hand cupped her face gently. Finally, he brought his eyes back to hers, his only response a subtle nod. “Which part?” she pressed.

“Depends on my mood.”

“Which part are you thinking of right now?”

Tommy edged closer to her, his eyes holding hers. He didn’t have to speak the words—she could see them written clearly in his eyes.

The anticipation in the air was almost tangible. Her body filled with longing, as if kissing Tommy Davidson was her one and only purpose in life.

And the moment their lips touched, the longing grew exponentially stronger.

It was exactly how she remembered it—no, it was better.

She felt her heart fluttering wildly in her chest as Tommy stepped closer, deepening the kiss. Her entire body was alive, feeling as if it had been laying dormant somewhere—untouched, forgotten. But now…

She couldn’t think. She didn’t want to. All she could do was feel.

It ended abruptly, as a car of young boys passed, honking their horn and yelling hoots of encouragement at the obviously more experienced male. Tommy stepped away, clearing his throat as he mumbled something about kids under his breath.

Penny agreed, if only to say something. She was trying to catch her breath, her entire body feeling flushed. “Walk me home?” she whispered, trying to keep the moment from becoming anymore awkward than it already was.

“You didn’t even have to ask.”

They remained quiet the whole way back, both lost to their own thoughts. It wasn’t until they reached Amy’s door that Tommy spoke again. “Well, thank you for a very…enjoyable evening.” He raised an eyebrow and Penny couldn’t help but giggle.

“Good night,” she told him, watching as he began to back away.

“Good night.”

“Wait! Your jacket—”

“Nah, you keep it. I think I could use a little cool air.” Penny giggled again, covering her mouth with her hand. “Remember to at least think about my little proposal, Penny Lane.”

And as Penny crawled into bed, she found, for once, she was able to fall asleep without any problems whatsoever.



She knew it was going to be a long day the moment she stepped through the door to find Kevin already there, waiting for her.

“Where the hell were you yesterday? I was calling you all day.”

“I decided to take the day off. Is that a problem?” Penny walked by her soon-to- be ex-husband, trying her hardest to remain steady. She had decided that, no matter what, she wasn’t going to let her emotions get the best of her. Not in front of Kevin, anyway.

“It would have been nice of you to call or something.”

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware that I had to report to you.” She removed the leather jacket Tommy had lent her the night before and hung it on the back of the door. “Last I knew, we both owned this place. And I’m entitled to a day off here and there.”

“That’s not your jacket.”

“No, it isn’t,” she shrugged passed him, making her way toward the kitchen so that she could check on the cook and see if there was anything she would need to order.

“What the hell has gotten into you these last few days?” Penny stopped short, turning around to look at him, her expression incredulous.

“Maybe it has something to do with the way you’re forcing me to either give up my dream or go bankrupt trying to save it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Just a thought.”

“Penelope—”

“I have work to do, since I’m pretty sure that neither you nor Gina even bothered to make an order yesterday. So I’d appreciate it if you’d give me just a little bit of space here.”

When Tommy showed up just before the restaurant opened, Penny could literally feel the relief wash over her. A smile danced on her lips as she hurried over to the door, opening it slowly. “Sir, we don’t open for another three minutes.”

“Really?” He looked at his watch for a moment, that million dollar smile already forming on his lips. “Think you could make an exception for a big star like me? I mean, I am on the wall, after all.”

Penny laughed, rolling her eyes and holding the door open the rest of the way.

“What are you doing here so early?”

“Well, I just woke up…starving. Found that I’d done nothing but dream about this place all night…figured that had to mean something.”

“It’s the pancakes. We use the mini chocolate chips. Makes all the difference in the world.” Her tone was playful as she led him to a booth near the kitchen.

“Seeing as how I’ve never actually sampled the pancakes, I think it must be something else.” His eyes caught hers. “Someone else, maybe.”

“Should I go get Kevin for you? I know how much you’ve been looking forward to catching up with him.” Penny took a few steps away and Tommy reached out, grabbing her wrist and tugging her toward him. She sat down beside him, enjoying the way his arm rested around her shoulders.

“Don’t even think about it. You don’t even want me in the same room as that guy. Hurting my Penny Lane like that…” His lips touched the top of her head. “You sleep okay last night?”

“Like a baby,” she told him, resting her head on his chest. “You?”

“You girls really wore me out.” He stroked her hair casually. “Did you think about my offer at all?”

“I still say thanks, but no thanks. This is my problem. I’ll work it out.”

“Penny,” his tone was stern.

“Nope. You worry about your own problems, Mr. Davidson. I’ll worry about mine. Besides, it sounds like you’ve got enough on your plate.”

“You’re going to start sounding like Graham if you’re not careful.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, that’s for sure.” She sighed.

“I think we have an audience.” Penny opened her eyes to find Kevin staring from across the room. “Should I ham it up a little? Make him think there’s something going on here?” She felt his breath on her ear, drawing himself nearer to her. Her body reacted and she had to fight against every instinct to turn her head ever-so-slightly—because she knew, if she did, she would bring herself face to face with Tommy. And she wasn’t sure she would be able to resist herself if presented with that temptation.

When she had woken this morning, she had lay in bed not dreading the day, but instead thinking about the night before. She really had thought seriously about Tommy’s offer. How easy it would make things for her. But then she had thought once more about Tommy’s current situation, a myriad of tabloid covers flashing through her mind rapidly.

She wasn’t even in his world and she’d had her concerns. She could only imagine what those actually in the business would think. She had thought about the half empty bottle of whiskey she had seen on his nightstand at the motel.

It was very obvious that Tommy Davidson was in a dark place. If anything, she should be the one trying to help him.

Then again, they could help each other. But, Penny had thought better of it.

She wasn’t sure she was a good enough actress to pull off such a task.

She had spent a great deal of time thinking about their kiss and the implications of such an act. Sure, she had kissed him before. But that had been different. She knew she wasn’t going to see him again, though every fiber of her being had hoped for the contrary.

Last night, though…

She’d had a hard time justifying the kiss to herself. Finally, she had settled on the desire to see if she had imagined the feeling she had attached to their first kiss, or to see if it had really been there.

And Penny had certainly gotten an answer.

It was more than she had remembered.

But still, where did that leave them now? They were friends—that was it. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

In the end, a kiss was just a kiss. In the end, she had decided that she wasn’t going to risk her entire friendship for the sake of a couple of kisses, however intense they may have been.

“Hey, where’d you go?” he asked, pulling back a little so that he could look into her eyes.

“Just thinking,” she said quietly. “Have you spoken with Graham yet?” He shook his head.

“He’ll be here later, I’m sure.” Penny nodded, suddenly feeling some vague sensation of sadness. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she thought it might have something to do with the fact that, soon, whether she liked it or not, everything was going to be changing. “You okay, Pen?” She pulled away, nodding her head.

“I’m great,” she told him, plastering a smile on her face. “Why don’t I go ahead and bring you some of those pancakes I was talking about earlier? I should probably be getting back to work.”

“Can I get them to go?” he asked and she watched as his eyes darted around the room. One of the younger couples sitting at a table across the restaurant was leaning across their table, looking over in Tommy’s direction every few minutes.

“Of course,” she told him, wondering how much longer it would be before he was found out. Penny hadn’t even thought about that aspect. He was a movie star now. People were bound to recognize him. “If you want, you can come back tonight for dinner.”

“That sounds like something to look forward to,” he told her.



It was right around the after-dinner rush when Penny found herself sitting in the office, going over the books. Kevin was on the floor, making his rounds.

And Gina, apparently, was on the warpath. “Kevin said he talked to you about selling.” Penny nearly jumped, startled by the younger woman’s sudden appearance.

“Not that it’s really any of your business, but yes, he did.” Penny felt her features harden ever-so-slightly. “I think you’re forgetting, Gina—this restaurant does not belong to you.”

“Not yet, no,” Penny set her pen down on the desk, closing the workbook she was currently going over.

“Not yet?”

“Kevin and I are talking about buying you out.”

“Well, that’s awfully funny, considering I’m not planning on selling.” Penny looked the girl over. She was so young—so naïve. Yet she was probably one of the most coarse people Penny had ever met. She hadn’t started out that way, though. No, when Penny had first hired her, she had seemed like such a sweet girl.

“Did Kevin tell you we’re getting married, Penny?” For just a moment, the room swayed in front of her. “And if you can’t buy us out, then I’m afraid we’re going to have to take some drastic measures. I mean, you’ve done such a stellar job building this place. We can’t let a business like this just…fade away.”

“I won’t sell,” Penny’s voice was suddenly much less firm than it had been before. Deep down, she knew that there was a strong likelihood that she would be forced to.

“Well, I’m not going to continue to work with you. And neither is Kevin.” Penny was hardly hearing the girl anymore.

Her head was swimming.

The divorce wasn’t even finalized yet, and Kevin was already proposing?

She couldn’t breathe.

“You can tell Kevin that I’m not selling.” Penny pushed her chair back, suddenly needing to get out of here. “This restaurant is my dream. Neither one of you are going to take that away from me.”

“I’ve already taken your husband, Penny. Don’t be so sure I can’t take this too.”

It took every ounce of control that Penny could muster to keep herself from slapping the girl in front of her. “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life, Gina.”

With those words, Penny grabbed her things and walked out of the office. She looked at no one as she departed, knowing that Kevin was watching her from the other side of the restaurant.

But she didn’t care. She had to get out of there.

She didn’t even know where she was going until she was there, knocking on his door, with tears streaming down her face.

“Penny? What’s wrong?” Tommy asked, pulling her inside.

“I’ll do it, Tommy. I’ll go along with whatever Graham wants me to.”

“Now that is music to my ears.” Penny looked over her shoulder to find Graham sitting in an armchair, a pleased smile on his face.