Playing at Forever

chapter Seven



“Oh my goodness,” Penny breathed as they pulled up to Tommy’s house. “You live here?” The house was huge. Ridiculously huge. The car made it’s way up the drive slowly, stopping at the gate to wait for it to open. Penny was in awe.

This was just too much.

There were photographers stationed just outside the gate and she felt herself slide closer to Tommy and further away from the windows as a few of them pressed their faces up to the glass.

As the car pulled through the gate, though, the photographers pulled back. “They know better. I’ll get them for trespassing if they cross that line.” Penny stared back at them. He had been right when he’d told her it was worse in L.A. She couldn’t imagine not even being able to have even a single moment’s privacy.

“You can hear them all the way up here,” she mused as they stepped out of the car. The sun hung high in the sky above them and she was suddenly longing for shorts and a tank top.

“You get used to it.” Penny looked back at the gate, knowing her picture was being taken but not even really caring. She just couldn’t believe it. “Hey, you coming?” She turned to find Tommy walking up his porch and she hurried to catch up with him, only to come to a sudden stop as soon as she did.

“Are those palm trees? In your house?”

“I don’t know if that’s technically inside the house or not.” Penny just stared at him, her eyes wide. Tommy laughed, reaching out to take her hand. “Come on, let me give you the tour.”

They passed through the first set of glass doors and Penny immediately understood what Tommy was talking about. What she would consider the foyer was huge: to her right was obviously part of the house and to her left was a pool, complete with a waterfall cascading down from the second floor.

She felt her jaw drop.

Several glass doors led inside the house—one looked like it led to a bedroom and the other two to the main living area of the house. He took her through one of those. “This is the living area—kitchen, theater room.” He wasn’t kidding when he called it a theater room—there was a giant screen on the back wall. “Over there is a bedroom.”

“How many bedrooms does this place have?”

“I think it’s about six, but I use one as my office.” Penny covered her mouth with her hand and Tommy only laughed some more. “Come on, there’s still more.” They passed by the kitchen to get to the stairs. “Down there is the dining room and the living room.”

“And it’s just you that lives here, right?”

“I have company often,” he waved for her to follow him up the stairs and so she did, trying to take it all in. The theater room was visible from upstairs as well, and Tommy even had a few chairs situated so that you could watch from this spot. “There’s the laundry room, and my office—and there are two more bedrooms that way.”

“Is that an elevator, Tommy?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And all of these walls are made of glass, aren’t they?”

“You got it.” Penny couldn’t believe it. She just couldn’t believe it. “This is my room,” he pulled one of the heavy glass doors right in front of them open and held it, motioning for her to go in.

She gasped the moment she set foot through the door, covering her mouth with both her hands.

It was beautiful. The glass walls continued in here, two doors leading out to a balcony. Even from where she stood, she could see the waterfall. “That overlooks the pool.” He told her, and she stepped forward, pulling the doors open. When she looked to her right, she could see a mixture of cliff and beach.

“Is that another bedroom over there?” she asked and he nodded. “Tommy, this is just—”

“A lot?” Penny nodded. She turned around and walked back into the bedroom, peaking around corners. There weren’t any doors for the bathroom—but in a house made mostly of glass, she figured privacy wasn’t really of the utmost concern.

Except from the outside. All of the exterior walls were made of thick adobe, as if to keep all outsiders in their place.

“I can’t believe this is all yours.” She sat down on his bed, needing a moment to take it all in. “Which room am I supposed to be sleeping in?”

“Whatever one you want. You can even have this one, if you’d like.”

“I’m not going to take your bedroom—especially when you have so many others to offer. That’s just plain rude.”

“But this is the best room in the house—really, you can take it. I insist.”

“I don’t know…” Penny bit her lip. She really didn’t want to take Tommy’s room.

“I insist. I’ll just sleep across the hall. It’s not like we’ll be here for long anyway.” They weren’t even staying a full week, so he had a point. She had told Tommy they could stay as long as he’d like, but he had insisted it didn’t need to be a long trip.

“If you’re sure,” Penny sighed, laying back on the bed. “I can’t believe all of this is yours.”

“Sometimes I can’t either.” She rolled on to her side and propped herself up on her elbow.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“What would you like to be on the agenda?”

“You mean we have the day to ourselves?” Penny sat up excitedly. She had thought this trip was going to be nothing but business—for both of them. On the flight in, Graham had given them both a very detailed itinerary. Tommy had nothing to look forward to but meetings and interviews for the next few days—except, of course, for his evenings, which would be spent out on the town with Penny on his arm.

Graham had told her to be prepared for a couple of busy days of her own as well, though he didn’t tell her what they would be spent doing.

“All to ourselves.”

“Well then, I know exactly how I want to spend it.”



Of course she chose to spend the first few hours in her bikini. Of course she did.

Tommy was beginning to think that Penny was sent to this earth for the sole purpose of making his life a living hell.

Well, when she wasn’t too busy making him happier than he had ever been.

Tommy was becoming a walking contradiction.

He hated the way she tackled him into the pool, tumbling in with him.

But he also loved the way her eyes lit up as she did so, as if it was possibly one of the happiest moments in her life.

He hated the way her body had developed over the years, how she’d grown into her curves.

But he absolutely loved watching her run around the edge of the pool, squealing as he chased after her.

Most of all, though, he hated the way she smiled at him—not just with her lips, but with her entire being.

But he couldn’t get enough of it either.

What he needed was some time away from her, he told himself. He needed to go out for an evening, pick up some girl, and make himself forget all about Penelope Lang. He’d done it before, hadn’t he?

But even as he thought it, he knew it sounded like it was about the least appealing thing he could imagine.

“Can we watch a movie?” She asked him as she towel-dried her hair. When she flipped her head upright, he wanted to pinch her pink little cheeks.

Ugh, pinch her cheeks?

That was so not the kind of guy he was. Tommy Davidson was a ladies man. He wined and dined with the best of them. He wasn’t playful. He was seductive.

Unless it was with Penny. She had always been the exception, hadn’t she?

“We can do whatever you’d like, pretty lady. The day is yours to do with me whatever you like.”

“Whatever I like?” She questioned, her tone tinted with suggestion. Tommy raised an eyebrow.

“Well that depends. We can’t be breaking any rules, can we? I gave my word to a girl I kinda owe it to.”

“Well, I guess I can’t do anything then, can I?” She smiled at him from over her shoulder as she tossed her towel aside and disappeared into the house. Tommy remained outside for a moment, clenching his jaw.

Maybe he was going to have to have a little talk with her about her behavior.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to control himself if this kept up.

He imagined that conversation. “Penny, I’m going to need you to stop being so goddamn cute. And sexy. And intelligent, too. Oh, and please never wear a bikini ever again. At least while I’m around. No, wait, make that ever. And while we’re on the subject, let’s add sexy red dresses and adorable sweaters. Maybe you just shouldn’t wear anything at all. Wait—no—that is a bad idea. How do you feel about muumuu’s?”

Yeah, that was definitely a conversation he was going to have with her.

He made his way into the house to find her wearing one of his t-shirts as she thumbed through his vast film collection.

“You know, you probably have more movies here than my dad had at his store.” He didn’t notice the banana until she took a bite.

Well, maybe he’d save it for after the movie, he thought.

Yes, after the movie. That was a good idea.

“Are you hungry?” She questioned. Starving.

“I…could eat.”

“I already checked the cupboards. You don’t have any food.” Tommy shrugged, trying to focus here.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to order in then, won’t we?” Penny smiled happily as Tommy disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve his extensive menu selection. “How about Chinese? This place has some of the most amazing—”

“Stop right there and just dial the number. This is about experience for me. I’m ready for just about anything.” She leaned in very close. “Within reason, of course.”

“Penny Lane, you might very well be the death of me,” he couldn’t stop himself from saying the words. And of course, Penny just giggled.

It wasn’t until a couple hours later, after the movie, after they’d eaten, that Penny hurried into the room from the kitchen and jumped onto the couch, lying down in his lap. “I feel like I’m in a fairytale, Tommy. My own personal fairytale.”

“You haven’t even seen anything yet,” he told her, tangling his fingers in her hair.

“I can’t imagine it getting any better than this, though.” She rolled on to her side, using his leg as a pillow as she used the remote to turn the lights down and start the next movie.

And it was in that moment that Tommy realized he felt exactly the same way.



She woke to find herself on Tommy’s couch. It wasn’t like any couch she had slept on before, though, because she woke up feeling wide awake and refreshed—not at all stiff or sore. “What a lot of good it did me, giving up my room for you,” Tommy’s tone was sarcastic as Penny opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Good morning.”

“You should have woken me!” She sat up quickly, looking around the room. “You’re already dressed?”

“And showered, aren’t you proud?” Penny frowned. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep last night. She couldn’t even remember what had been going on in the movie.

“How long was I sleeping?” Tommy glanced at his watch. “About ten hours.”

“Ten hours?” Penny jumped up, realizing she still wore Tommy’s t-shirt, and under that, her bathing suit. “Well that just wasn’t supposed to happen.” Tommy laughed.

“It’s a vacation, Pen. Relax a little bit.”

“Actually, don’t relax. Not today. Today, you’ve got appointments.” It was Graham’s voice. Penny turned around to find the man coming down the hallway behind her.

“What kind of appointments?” Penny asked.

“I’m curious about that myself.” Tommy added, crossing his arms.

“Nothing too strenuous. I just scheduled some time at the spa. Maybe a little shopping afterward.” Graham turned to Penny. “Don’t worry, it’s all on Tom’s tab.”

“I don’t need Tommy to pay—”

“No, it’s okay, Penny. I want you to be able to enjoy yourself a little while you’re here.”

“But Tommy—”

“It’s all about experience, isn’t it?” Penny glared at him. How dare he turn her own words against her. That wasn’t fair.

“Don’t worry, you two little lovebirds will be reunited tonight. You’re having dinner at The Ivy tonight. Reservations for nine sharp.” Graham offered a cocky grin. “Now, you run off and see what you can do with yourself and you, come with me,” he pointed to Tommy. “A driver will be by to pick you up in about thirty minutes, Penelope.”

“Oh wow,” she only had time to offer Graham a dirty look before he ushered Tommy off and she had to hurry upstairs to shower.

She finished with almost no time to spare, having taken a few minutes to decide what to wear. She had no idea what people in L.A. wore to spas. Finally, she just settled on a pair of shorts and a plain tank top. She’d seen people in Hollywood wearing shorts and tank tops before, hadn’t she?

Of course she had, she told herself as she climbed into the back of the car. The driver didn’t speak to her at all and so she sat quietly in the back, taking it all in. The paparazzi still waited outside Tommy’s house, as if they had taken up permanent residency there. Part of her almost felt bad for them. What kind of a life did that leave them with, spending all their time chasing after someone else’s?

Traffic was much worse here than it was at home and the majority of the trip was spent amidst a sea of angry drivers.

In fact, that was how she spent a greater majority of the day, she thought.

Graham had her sent to a spa first, where she had muscles massaged that she hadn’t even been aware she’d had. She had been moisturized to and fro, and treated to an all-natural breakfast consisting mostly of fruits and granola.

The shopping had been a little bit more than she’d bargained for. Graham had even gone so far as to provide her with her own personal shopper—a chipper gay man named Diego, who was much more straightforward than Penny was used to.

She hadn’t expected to go shopping on Rodeo Drive.

The shops had nearly overwhelmed her as she walked along the sidewalk, trailing behind Diego. He knew exactly what he was looking for, not even stopping to ask for her opinion. It was fortunate for her she had done this several times with Amy—Amy found the clothes, made Penny try them on, and offered her opinion before Penny even had a chance to speak hers.

It was the price tags that held her up the most. Finally, Diego had to put his foot down. “Sweetheart, you are new in town. You’re going to see and be seen by some of the most famous people in the world. Your boyfriend is treating you to a shopping spree. Take advantage. This opportunity may not present itself again.”

Penny had comforted herself with the thought that, whatever she didn’t wear, she was going to return. Just so Tommy could get his money back.

She hadn’t realized just how much Diego had bought for her until she was settled back into the car, bags surrounding her. She had no idea what she’d even acquired.

When the car stopped in front of a very swank looking salon, Penny suddenly grew very nervous. Graham had mentioned the spa and the shopping, but he had said nothing about a salon. She almost contemplated not going inside, but after a few deep breaths, she had convinced herself to go through with it. If she could spend the afternoon shopping on Rodeo Drive, she could handle a salon.

“Um, hi,” she spoke as she approached the counter. “I should have an appointment?”

“Your name?”

“Penelope Lang.” The girl checked her list on the computer screen before smiling brightly at Penny.

“Well, you’re in for a treat. We’ve been ordered to give you the full treatment.”

“What, exactly, is that?”

“Hair, nails, makeup. You name it, you’re getting it done.” Penny’s smile faltered for a moment. What was she getting herself into? “Follow me. I’ll take you back to Jane.”

Penny followed the girl, trying not to notice the faces of the people she passed by. She was certain at least a few of them were on her wall back home.

“Well, hello!” She was young—at least a few years younger than Penny. “I’m Jane.” She seemed friendly enough, Penny thought. “You must be Penelope.”

“Penny is fine.”

“Well, Penny, what did you have in mind?”

“Um, well…” Penny sighed, holding her hands up in the air. “I’ll be honest. I’m really not very good at any of this stuff. I didn’t even make this appointment. My…” She paused, almost calling him her friend. “My boyfriend’s manager made this appointment for me. Apparently, he thinks I need to be more L.A.”

“And where are you from originally?”

“North Carolina.” Jane laughed, nodding her head.

“Definitely not L.A.” The girl studied Penny for a few minutes. “How do you feel about maintenance?”

“The lower the better.”

“My kind of girl,” Jane grinned. “Well, I’m thinking maybe take a little bit of the length off, bring in a little bang, and add in a few natural-looking highlights. If you feel like glamming it up a bit, I can show you a few techniques—but otherwise, it’ll be exactly what you have right now. Sound like a plan?”

Everything the girl said sounded oddly foreign to her, but Penny nodded, agreeing anyway. It was about experience, right? She was going to take advantage of every opportunity she came across.

“If it makes any difference, we’re eating at The Ivy tonight.”

“The Ivy?” Penny nodded. “Sweetie, that makes a whole world of difference.” Jane smiled happily. “Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“Oh, sweetie, we’re going to have so much fun together.”

Penny was suddenly very worried.



It wasn’t until she found herself standing in the master bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror, that she discovered she had nothing at all to worry about.

She wore a pink dress—more form fitting than her last had been, and much shorter, with a pair of darker pink high heels. The girls at the salon had been very helpful when it came to putting her together—they handled everything, giving Penny pointers for future reference. Her hair had been tied up in some fancy up-do that she could never recreate, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

She was ready for her L.A. debut, as the girls had called it.

“Hey Pen?” Tommy called.

“Up here,” she replied, looking at her reflection once more.

“Sorry I’m late. You wouldn’t believe how bad traffic was. I’d forgotten after being in Ravenside for—” He came to a stop as he entered the bathroom, both his mouth and his body.

“Darn right you’re late,” she told him, using her most haughty voice possible.

“Well, don’t you look like the perfect little L.A. socialite.” She frowned, looking over her reflection once more.

“You don’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that,”

“You called me a socialite.” He stepped forward, holding her arms with his hands. “You think I look silly.”

“I didn’t say that either.” Tommy touched his forehead to hers. “I think you look very pretty, and I think you’ll fit right in at The Ivy. That’s all.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? I mean, according to the girls at the salon, I’m debuting.”

“They weren’t wrong.” Penny couldn’t understand why he wasn’t as excited about this as she was. Shouldn’t he want her to fit in with his crowd?

“Do you want me to change? Take my hair down?” Penny reached up to the mess on top of her head and Tommy laughed, shaking his head.

“No, Penny, you look great.” He reached up to take her hands. “Really, you do. Don’t do a single thing.”

“But you’re clearly not happy with—”

“It’s just that—” Tommy sighed, shaking his head. “It’s just me, Penny. Really.”

“Well then you’d better explain, because I’m not going out like this if you don’t like it.” She placed her hands on her hips, suddenly feeling very self conscious. Tommy groaned, turning his back and crossing the large bathroom.

“I don’t like the thought of exposing you to these people. If they see you, with that amazing combination of cute and sexy, they’ll eat you alive.”

“Wait, are you trying to tell me that I look too good?” Tommy laughed, finding her eyes for a moment before finally nodding his head.

“You know, that about sums it up.” Penny laughed then too, running across the room and taking Tommy’s face in her hands so that she could kiss him on the cheek. “If you’d like, you can run along downstairs and show Graham what a monster he’s created. I just need to jump in the shower—it won’t take me very long to get ready.”

“I’ll see you downstairs then!” Her excitement had returned full force as she nearly danced down the stairs.

“My oh my, don’t you look like a shiny new Penny,” Graham grinned, sitting at the island in the center of the kitchen. An open beer sat in front of him. “You’re going to make quite the splash, I can see it already.”

“What else is on my agenda?” She actually was curious, but she only asked to turn the attention away from herself.

“Well, tomorrow evening you two will be dining out once more. That’s really about all that I’ve got lined up for you this trip.”

“This trip?”

“Well, you’ll be back, obviously. Tom’s going to be having a premiere within the next month or so. I’m going to make sure you two get in to a Lakers game next visit. I can just see you two all cuddled up, floor seats…”

“You’ve got it all planned out, don’t you?” Penny sat down on one of the stools across from Graham. “Do you even have our breakup planned already?”

“It’s my job, Penelope.” Penny nodded her head, deciding once and for all she didn’t like Graham all that much. “You signed on for this. Remember that. You were the one who came to us.”

“I went to Tommy. You just happened to be there.” Penny told the man.

“You do know that this is just temporary, don’t you? You’re the flavor of the month right now, but he’ll move on. He always does.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing all of this is just for show, isn’t it?” She really, really didn’t like him. Who was he to say anything about their relationship? He knew nothing about them.

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” Tommy announced, bouncing down the stairs airily. He wore a pair of dark jeans with a gray dress shirt and black sweater vest—the picture of perfection. Penny was, once again, taken aback by how handsome he could look without any amount of effort at all.

“You kids have a good night.” Graham called as Penny hopped off her stool and hurried to catch up with Tommy. She didn’t even bother looking behind her to acknowledge the other man.

“You two looked pretty serious back there.”

“Oh, it was just business,” she told him. Wasn’t it always? “You’re driving?” She questioned as the garage door began to open.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Penny told him. Inside the garage were two very fast looking cars, one some classic convertible, the other much more modern. “Your choice.”

“Let’s go with the one that’s least likely to make a mess of my hair,” she told him, approaching the newer car.

“The Porsche it is.” Penny hopped into the passenger seat, starting to feel slightly nervous.

“Don’t worry, Pen. It’s just business as usual. Just smile a lot. Laugh here and there. These people are no different from you.”

“That’s what you say,” Penny shook her head, knowing better. Just because Tommy thought the world of her didn’t mean everyone else would.

“It’s what I know.” She sighed as he backed out of the garage and hit a button, allowing the gate to open. Within moments, they were flying through the crowd of photographers, taking off down the street.

It took much less time to get somewhere in L.A. with Tommy behind the wheel, Penny mused as they pulled up to a very busy looking restaurant. A patio encased by a short, white picket fence buzzed with faces she recognized. “All right, Pen. Here we go—no turning back now.” Tommy squeezed her hand as the valet approached, opening her door for her.

As she stepped out, several cameras began flashing and Penny turned to look for Tommy—feeling his hand in hers before she could see him. He smiled at her as they walked toward the entrance. “Good evening Mr. Davis,” the pretty girl welcomed him. “We have a table waiting for you on the terrace.”

“Thank you, Miley.” Tommy nodded, following the woman who approached them. Penny clung to his hand, looking straight ahead so as not to stumble if she saw someone too famous.

“Graham must’ve called in some favors for this one,” Tommy muttered as they were seated at a table very near the fence. “To get this table on such short notice? Unheard of.”

“Well, that Graham is certainly something, isn’t he?” She had to remind herself to keep smiling. “Tommy, isn’t that Ryan Wilson behind you?” Ryan Wilson had been the villain in one of Tommy’s more recent movies. Tommy turned around to look.

“So it is.” As if on cue, the other actor turned around to greet Tommy. “Ryan, this is my girlfriend Penny.”

“Finally settling down, are we?” Ryan gave Tommy a pat on the back. “About time, man.” He turned his attention to Penny. “You’ve got yourself a good guy here—especially if you can get him to put down some roots.”

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Penny smiled. “Let’s just see if he can make it through dinner first.” Ryan laughed, nodding his head.

“You’d be a fool to mess this one up, man,”

“You know, I’m starting to think you might be right.” Tommy told the man, grinning happily as Penny tried to hide her enthusiasm.

By the end of the night, one thing was clear: Penny was a hit.



Tommy took an extra long shower the next morning, trying very hard to let the hot water relax his tense muscles. He knew it was useless, though.

Being around her this much was…killing him. Literally.

He sighed, tossing his towel aside as he left the bathroom.

Penny was upstairs, presumably still sleeping after their late night. She’d had a ball, joking around with Ryan and his date. It had been everything Graham had hoped it would be and more.

The two of them had been quite the pair.

It wasn’t that Tommy was unhappy with the results. No, it was quite the opposite. He was elated everything had gone so well, especially for Penny.

But it meant that her integration into his life was almost complete. Soon enough, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without being reminded of her in one way or another. And for a relationship that began with a predetermined expiration date…well, that didn’t bode well for him.

He’d had a hard enough time locking her away into the back of his mind last time. He could only imagine how much more difficult it would be now.

For a few moments, Tommy allowed himself to contemplate the possibility of keeping her in his life.

But then he changed his mind as he imagined her laughing with Ryan last night, only this time she was laughing at him with a different look in her eye. No, Tommy couldn’t take that.

He couldn’t even stand the thought of another guy looking at her. How would he do if he had to watch someone else put their hands on her?

Out of the question.

She would move on, eventually. A girl like Penny was meant to have a family—he could tell how much she wanted one just with the way she handled Amy’s girls.

Someday, she was going to make an excellent mother.

Unlike Tommy, who only seemed to destroy any life he touched.

He shut the refrigerator door and decided he would go upstairs to check on Penny before he had to leave for yet another day of contract negotiations and interviews. Damage control, as Graham called it.

As he opened the bedroom door, though, he realized that Penny wasn’t sleeping—from the sounds of it, she was taking a shower.

He knew he should turn around and go—but for whatever reason, Tommy was set on making things even harder for himself. He peeked around the corner to find that, yes, Penny was definitely taking a shower. He saw nothing more than her shadow through the obscured glass—but it was more than he needed to see.

He immediately turned and left the room, heading for the closest bathroom.

This time, he was going to take the coldest shower his body could withstand.



“Hey Tommy, do you mind if I use your computer for a few things?”

“Hm?” He looked up at her, looking very distracted. “Oh, my computer? Sure, go right ahead. I’ll be gone most of the day again. Feel free to make yourself at home.”

“We’re having dinner again tonight, aren’t we?”

“Yep—reservations are at eight.”

“Things went well last night, didn’t they?” Penny sat down on one of the stools and plucked a few grapes from the bowl in front of her. “I never would have thought that Ryan Wilson was such a nice guy. He always plays such a jerk.”

“Well, they call it acting for a reason,” she frowned, looking down at the table.

“I guess you’ll be off soon, then, won’t you?” Penny tried once more, but still, he wouldn’t even look at her.

“Probably should get going, yeah.” He rose to his feet and finally looked at her, but only for a moment. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

“See you tonight.”

The tension in the air was so thick, she could almost taste it. Whatever it was, she didn’t like it in the slightest.

With a heavy sigh, Penny headed back upstairs, over to Tommy’s office. She only wanted to check her email, really. Her parents often sent her all sorts of things—from legitimate letters to jokes they passed on. Even if she didn’t reply to all of them, she at least liked to acknowledge that she received them.

She sat down at the desk and moved the mouse around, pleased to find the computer was on. But as she went to open the browser, a different window popped open. Penny stared at it for a moment.

It was clearly a document of some kind. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a script. A wave of excitement jumped through her—maybe this was the script for a movie Tommy was thinking about doing.

A dilemma of ethic arose as she tried to decide whether to go through with reading it or not. On the one hand, it was obviously property that did not belong to her. On the other, though, it might be something that could possibly damage Tommy’s career.

This was how Penny justified scrolling to the top of the document and beginning to read.



She had no idea how much time had passed—in fact, she had been so caught up in the script she was reading that she hadn’t even heard the door open. “Pen?”

“Oh my god, you startled me,” Penny jumped, her hand covering her heart. “Wait, aren’t you home early?”

“Meetings didn’t take as long I thought they would. Thought I’d come home early and see how you were doing.”

“Oh, I’m—I’ve just been…reading.” She could hear the guilt in her own voice.

“Reading what…?” And the near-anger in his.

“I wasn’t snooping, Tommy—I swear I wasn’t. I just wanted to check my email and then this document just…popped up.”

“It just popped up.” It was not a question, but instead a statement of disbelief. “How much, exactly, have you read?”

Oh, this was bad. Penny bit her lip. “Um, well…all of it.” She paused. “Some parts twice.”

“Oh, come on, Penny—that was my business. You don’t see me digging through your personal files—”

“Wait, you wrote that?”

“No, I wasted my time on it.” Tommy walked over to the computer and, without even asking Penny to let him in, he took the mouse from her and closed the file.

“Have you shown that to anybody else?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He was already hurrying down the stairs, trying to escape her. But it was too bad for Tommy that Penny was not the type to just let things so.

Especially when she thought they were worth fighting for.

“Tommy,” He made a beeline for the terrace and Penny followed after. “Tommy.”

“What?”

“Would you just sit still for five seconds? Please.” Finally he turned around, his arms crossed over his chest like a sullen child. “First of all, that story—that script—whatever you want to call it—that was not a waste of time. I sat there thinking I was reading something you were going to be starring in and I was prepared to tell you that, if you didn’t do that movie, I would no longer consider you a friend.”

Penny took a step closer. “I mean, it brought me to tears, Tommy. And it really touched me on so many different levels—you have to show that to someone.”

“You shouldn’t have read it, Penny. You just—you shouldn’t have.”

“Why not? It’s good!”

“Are you lying to me? Or do you really mean that?” There was something almost desperate about his tone.

“I have no reason at all to lie to you. None.”

“And you really think it’s good?”

“Honestly, I think it’s better than good.”

Once she had started reading, she couldn’t look away. Tommy had written a beautiful story about a man who, after the death of his wife during childbirth, gave up his own little girl. He then spiraled downward, losing himself to drugs and alcohol—anything that would make the memories go away and the pain stop. But then, one day, a young girl—starving and homeless—showed up on his doorstep and changed his life forever.

Penny had been so moved that she’d cried several times, and then, once she’d finished, she’d gone back to reread it.

“You don’t think it’s depressing?” Her expression became one of confusion. Who could think that story was depressing?

“No, I think it’s just the opposite.” There were heavy themes throughout the story, but she found them in no way depressing. “It’s a story about hope, Tommy. Isn’t it?”

Tommy sat down on a chair beside the pool, resting his head in his hands.

“I don’t know what it’s a story about, Pen. All I know is that I sat there in that chair for a week straight. I hardly slept. Hardly ate. It was like I was possessed.” She watched as he sighed, closing his eyes. “I only know that it feels like it’s something important.”

“Have you shown it to anyone else?”

“Graham. He’s shopped it around a bit.”

“And how has the response been?” She couldn’t imagine it being anything but good.

“They like the story.”

“Tommy, that’s great—” Her feet were already carrying her closer to him.

“They don’t like me all that much, though.” Penny stopped, not understanding. “I’ve shopped it around with the condition that I play the lead. The studios haven’t been too receptive of that idea.”

“Why not?” Wasn’t Tommy a big enough actor? He would pull in an audience, of that she was certain.

“They don’t think it’s my kind of role.” Understanding quickly washed over her. Of course. Tommy had done nothing outside of the action genre. “Maybe they’re right.”

“Clearly they never saw you on the stage.” She did go to his side now, kneeling down beside him. “Tommy, you are more than capable of playing that role. I know it.”

“Too bad you don’t run a studio.”

“Well, we’ll just have to come up with a way of convincing someone who does, then. I’m going to make it my mission.” She meant it, too. Tommy was doing so much for her by helping her to buy Kevin out, letting her live her dream.

The least Penny could do was return the favor.