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“To Penny.”
Everyone joined in. Penny smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Now one of you volunteer to take care of my shift tomorrow and I’ll be really grateful.”
“Not a good idea,” Naomi said from her place next to Reid. “You’re the talented one.”
“That is the rumor.”
Penny picked up her glass of water. She’d been fake-drinking her wine for nearly half an hour and was ready to give up the game. Half the people at the table knew the truth. She did, of course. Naomi and Reid. Which left Dani, Hugh and Cal as the only ones who didn’t.
Penny looked at Dani and her husband. Dani sat on her husband’s lap, her legs hanging over the arm of his wheelchair. Hugh was tall and muscled, a former star football player at the University of Washington. He’d been injured his senior year, a hit gone wrong paralyzing him from the waist down. Dani had stuck by him through his recovery and rehab, her love never wavering.
Penny didn’t know anything about their sex life, although with Hugh’s injuries it was unlikely to be completely conventional. What would happen when they wanted children?
On the off chance word of her pregnancy might send Dani to a bad place, Penny decided to keep the news to herself for now. She would have to come clean with Cal sooner rather than later, but not tonight.
Speaking of Cal—she turned her attention to her ex-husband. She was still pissed off that he’d insisted she use his suppliers who had then totally screwed her, but she had to admit he’d taken the fall like a gentleman and had done everything he could to help. He’d always been a great guy to have around in an emergency. It was the day-to-day stuff he wasn’t so good at.
“Your fish and chips were a hit,” Cal said, with a nod of his head. “I bow to your superior cooking skills.”
“As you should,” Naomi told him.
“It’s our first victory,” Penny said. “Let’s hope there are others that follow.”
He stood. “I need some more wine,” he said. “Anyone want any?”
There was a chorus of no s. Cal had a feeling the party was going to break up soon. Both Dani and Hugh had to be up early, and Reid and Naomi were looking at each other like sharks eyeing bait. He guessed they’d be heading out shortly to do things he didn’t want to think about.
He nudged Penny’s chair. “Come into the kitchen for a second,” he said.
She pushed herself to her feet and followed him. “If we’ve got rats, I don’t want to know.”
“It’s a restaurant in an old building. What do you think?”
She shuddered. “I know it’s inevitable, but I don’t want to see them.”
“I’ve got a great exterminator.”
“You’d better. I hate rats. It’s the tails. They’re so scaly looking. Why can’t their tails be furry?”
“Not my department.”
He crossed to the freezer and stepped inside. The carton Reid had brought earlier was right where Cal had left it. Orange sherbet didn’t sound the least bit like anything Penny—the queen of fussy eating—would want, but Naomi was too happy with Reid to lie. So he pulled out the container and slapped it on the counter.
“I heard you had a taste for this,” he said. “It’s my way of saying thanks for doing a hell of a job tonight.”
Penny took a step back. “Who told you to buy this?”
“Naomi. I think she felt bad because I heard you planning to kill me.”
Penny grabbed a bowl and a spoon. “I only threatened to take out your liver. There’s a difference.”
“It’s a subtle one.”
“Want some?”
“No, thanks. Not my favorite flavor.”
“More for me.”
She scooped out the sherbet and pushed the carton toward him so he could put it away. When he stepped back into the kitchen, she’d raised herself onto the stainless-steel counter and was happily chowing down on sherbet that was a very unnatural color of orange.
“Couldn’t you just drink juice?” he asked.
“Not the same.”
“If you say so.” He leaned against the counter opposite hers. “You did good tonight.”
“Thanks. You did okay, too.”
He chuckled. “Gee, thanks. You still mad?”
“Not so much. Everything worked out.” She raised her head. “I’m good at my job, Cal. That’s why you hired me.”
“I know.”
“Then stay the hell out of my way. Do I come into the dining room and tell you how to fold napkins?”
“There’s more to my job than that.”
“You get my point.”
“I do and it’s well taken. The kitchen is your responsibility.”
“Except for the rats.”
“Fine. The rats are mine,” he said.
She licked her spoon. “Gloria didn’t come. I thought she might.”
“She was here last night.”
“Oh, I know.”
He frowned. “Did she bother you?”
Penny shrugged. “Was she breathing?”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really. She’s a cold old woman. That hasn’t changed. She didn’t exactly scare me when we were married, but I never wanted us to be best friends.”
“She’s not my favorite person.”
“That makes me sad,” Penny said.
“Why?”
“Because she’s family. Your folks are gone. She’s the last living member of a previous generation. It’s too bad she makes it so hard to love her.”
As nothing about his family situation had changed since he and Penny split up, she was dead on in her assessment.
“I think she needs to get laid,” Penny said.
Cal winced. “Tell me you’re not talking about Gloria.”
“It’s true. When do you think was the last time the old bird got any?”
“I am not going to think about that.”
“I’m not asking you to stand in the room and watch. I’m saying she’s lonely. It’s sad.”
“You’re being nicer to her than she deserves.”
“I have very little to do with her, so it’s easier for me. Although last night she really got on my nerves.”
“What did she say?”
“What did who say?” Reid asked as he and Naomi walked into the kitchen. “Dani and Hugh bugged out. They said to say good night. We’re heading home, too.”
“Thanks for coming, baby cakes,” Penny said to Reid.
He walked over and kissed her cheek. “You, too, knife girl.”
Penny laughed. “Night, Naomi. See you tomorrow.”
“Bright and early.”
Reid put his arm around her. “Early, at least. I don’t think your assistant is going to be getting any sleep tonight.”
Naomi smiled. “I like that in a man.” As she passed Cal, she patted his arm. “Want to know how many times we did it last night?”
“Not even for money.”
Reid made a fist. Cal did the same. They bumped them together.
“Later,” Reid called as they left.
When the front door of the restaurant closed, Penny grinned. “So do you think they’ll wait until they get back to his place or do you think they’ll do it in the car?”
“What is with you? You’re on a roll with the sex talk tonight.” Was she feeling an itch? He would admit to a need to scratch. After all this time, Penny could still get to him just by being in the same room. “Someone else might think you were issuing an invitation.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t go there. This is my kitchen and I know where all the knives are. It’s just interesting to speculate. Okay, not about Gloria, because I don’t want to think about her naked. But with Naomi and Reid. Come on—you have to wonder. They’re both out to break the land speed record for most partners in a lifetime.”
“Doesn’t it get old after a while?”
Penny’s eyes brightened. “Are you saying sex gets boring? How interesting.”
“No. I’m saying switching partners all the time would get old. I gave up counting conquests about the time I turned twenty-two. The sex is more fun when I’m in a relationship.”
He hadn’t had any complaints about Penny. She’d been caring and responsive and just adventurous enough to keep him guessing about what was going to happen next.
“I think they both do it because they can,” she said. “I’m not sure Naomi’s ever met a guy who didn’t want her and Reid is just, well, Reid. Women flock to him.”
“Not you.”
“I know. I always saw him as a friend.”
“And after we split up?”
He’d wondered. Had his brother offered comfort?
He’d told himself it wasn’t possible. That neither of them would do that to him. Except Reid didn’t play by the rules and Penny had wanted revenge.
“Yuck,” Penny said, sounding both sincere and annoyed. “Why on earth would I sleep with your brother? It’s gross and tacky. It would be like you sleeping with Naomi.”
“No, thanks.”
“That’s my point. Besides, I wouldn’t have done that to you.”
“Why? I thought you hated my guts.”
“I did. But I didn’t want you punished.”
He thought about the angry fights, the things she’d said to him. “Could have fooled me.”
Penny put down her empty bowl. He hadn’t understood then and she doubted he would understand now, but she meant what she’d said. She didn’t want Cal punished—she’d wanted him to get it. She’d wanted him to love her enough to want to have a baby with her. She’d wanted them to be a family.
Deep in her heart, she believed he loved her but with Gloria always ready to pounce at any sign of emotional weakness, he’d been afraid to show his tender side. Leaving had been a last-ditch attempt to get him to admit that she was important to him. The plan had backfired. Instead of coming after her, he had let her go and decided that being apart permanently was the best course for both of them.
“It was three years ago,” she said. “Does it really matter now?”
“Probably not. But speaking of the past, I heard an interesting story about you the other day.”
Uh-oh. “From who?”
“Gloria.”
“Then it’s probably not true.”
