As Good as New

by Jennifer Dawson

  “I believe you’re tired.” He reached up and brushed a thumb over her cheekbone. “Despite looking fantastic, you’ve got dark circles under your eyes makeup can’t quite hide.”

  “I had a rough night’s sleep.” Not that tossing and turning could be called sleep. Then she’d spent the day dodging her friends—Maddie, Sophie, and Cecilia, with their flirting game-plan to lure Logan into her fictitious infatuation. The three of them were bad enough, but avoiding Gracie was the worst.

  Because she knew the truth. She kept saying they needed to talk, but Penelope kept finding other things to pull her away. She wasn’t ready to admit the truth yet, that she had no stories of the hot sex Gracie was expecting.

  That he’d left. That she’d spent half the night crying.

  That it was over before it had even begun.

  And finally, that they just weren’t meant to be.

  Logan’s hand slipped over her waist. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  Penelope blinked rapidly to quell the treacherous welling of her eyes, and swallowed down the tightness in her throat, but couldn’t speak. She shook her head.

  Expression filling with concern, Logan pulled her close and kissed her temple. “Tell me what’s wrong, and maybe we can fix it.”

  She wanted to pretend, but couldn’t hide what was so blatantly obvious. So she stayed frozen, rigid in his embrace, afraid if she gave in for even one second, she’d start crying all over again. She managed to croak out, “It’s nothing.”

  “Let me talk to her.” That low, deep, unmistakable voice.

  It must be in her imagination. She jerked up, her head swinging around as she looked into Evan’s dark green eyes.

  Logan frowned, stepping back but not removing his hand from Penelope’s lower spine.

  Evan’s gaze zeroed in on where Logan touched her. “I’ve got her.”

  Shocked at his overtness, Penelope couldn’t stop the gasp.

  Logan studied Evan for a long, long time, before shifting his attention to her. “I see.”

  Penelope shook her head. “No. What? There’s nothing to see.” She put on her most passive expression. “What’s wrong, Evan, does Shane need something?”

  “No, he doesn’t.” Evan’s gaze flicked to Logan’s and he cracked a smile. “Only thing that’s really stopping me from trying to rip your arm off right now is you’re a black belt and will probably kick my ass.”

  Logan’s brow rose and instead of removing his palm, he seemed to dip lower, causing Evan to grit his teeth. “Ninth-degree black belt.”

  Evan nodded. “I’m sure that’s very impressive, and being a football player, I only know how to block and tackle. I’ll concede you’ll probably win.”

  Penelope’s brain could not process what was happening. Were they discussing fighting over her? She had to be wrong. There was no way. Logan didn’t feel that way about her and Evan barely acknowledged her unless they were alone.

  “Probably?” Logan scoffed. “I can assure you, most definitely.”

  Oh God, they were. How could this be happening?

  “Fair enough.” Evan shrugged. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d appreciate you removing your hands from her.”

  The statement finally snapped Penelope out of her stupor. Cheeks burning, she hissed, “Evan, what are you doing?”

  Evan looked at her. “I believe this is known as claiming what’s mine.”

  Shock once again rolled through her and she could only gape at him. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Nope,” Evan said, his voice sure and confident, his gaze steady on hers.

  Logan chuckled. “Well now, isn’t this an interesting turn of events.”

  Evan glanced pointedly to where Logan still touched her. “Hands.”

  Logan’s palm slid away. Slowly. “Shane is not going to be happy.”

  What in God’s name was happening here? Why was Evan acting like this? This was not how they did things. She tried to form a sentence but none of the words flying through her head made it to her mouth.

  “I’m well aware of that,” Evan said, before turning to her. “We need to talk.”

  “There’s nothing to say,” Penelope said, but her voice cracked, belying her emotions.

  “Then you can just listen.” Evan held out his hand. “Logan, good to see you again, but I’ll take it from here.”

  Had he just dismissed Logan?

  The other man shook Evan’s outstretched palm, nodding. “Fair enough.” He shot a sly glance at her. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

  When Logan left she whirled on Evan. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? What if Logan tells everyone?”

  “I don’t think he will.” Evan stepped into the spot Logan had vacated. “And I don’t care if he does.”

  Anger spiked hot and fast inside her as she waved at the crowds of people inside. This was not how they did things. They were a secret. They needed to stay a secret. “So what? You’re going to make me explain myself over something that happened fifteen years ago? That’s over?”

  He gripped her wrist and tugged, making her falter on her black heels. “It’s not over.”

  The hope that surged made her cringe. “Yes, it is.”

  “No, it is not.” He slid his hand around her waist.

  She pushed at his chest. “What are you doing?”

  “Coming for you.”

  Her words from last night. He’d been listening. She shook her head. “Stop this. What is wrong with you? Are you drunk again?”

  “Nothing is wrong with me and I haven’t had a drop of alcohol.” He pulled her closer.

  She darted nervous glances around the balcony and through the glass into the benefit, hyperaware that anyone watching them would know this wasn’t a friendly embrace.

  His chin dipped as he stared at her with such intensity she wanted to fidget. “I’m doing what I should have done all along.”

  Hope, the worst of all emotions because of its sheer persistence and futility. Heart hammering in her chest, her voice cracked when she spoke. “I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means I’m going to fight for you, and I’m going to win.” He slid his hand up her back and tangled his fingers in her hair. An artfully arranged, haphazard side bun with tendrils that curled over her cheekbones and framed her face. “I like your hair like this, but I like it better down.”

  “Stop this.” But her fingers curled into his shirt. “People are going to see us.”

  “I don’t care,” he said before dipping down, mere inches away.

  One lift of her toes and tilt of her head and their mouths would fuse together. She could still feel him, the memory fresh now from the night before. The hot sear of his lips. The stroke of his tongue. The rough movements of his hands over her body. When she spoke, her words were far too breathless. “Evan, enough.”

  “It’s not enough. I want them to see. I can’t woo you properly with all this sneaking around.”

  She could not process what was happening. She leaned back but he wouldn’t let her go. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying it’s hard to seduce you from across the room if I can’t look at you. I’m saying I want to touch you without having to worry about who’s watching us.” He plucked the pins from her hair and the waves tumbled around her shoulders, making tingles break out over her skin. “I’m saying that I’m making my intentions clear. What you want to tell them about the past is up to you. I’ll stick with whatever you want to say, but from this day forward I’m done keeping you a secret. In an effort at full disclosure, I told James everything, so I’m sure he and Gracie are having a field day discussing us. But from here out, I’ll sell whatever story you want, except the one that has me pretending I don’t want you.”

  The lack of sleep, the crying, the exhaustion and crazy, roller-coaster emotions, it was all too much. She yelled, “You decided? You? Without even talking to me, you decided to out us?”

  “Out you?” Maddi
e said.

  Both Penelope and Evan whipped toward her, instinctively taking a step away from each other.

  Maddie’s attention darted back and forth between them. “What’s going on here? Why is Evan touching you?”

  Penelope stared at her best friend with a mixture of embarrassment, mortification, and horror, the world gone so silent she could hear a pin drop. And suddenly she couldn’t stand it for one more second. She needed to be alone, so she could think. She let out an exasperated scream and jerked away from Evan before pinning him with a fierce glare. “You made this mess, you deal with it.”

  Then she turned and walked away, as fast as her too-high heels would carry her.

  * * *

  Evan watched as Penelope stalked through the crowd, then he turned on his sister. “Not your best timing, Mads.”

  Maddie’s mouth opened. Closed. Then opened again. She shook her head and frowned. “What did you do? You’ve upset Penelope. The most unflappable woman on the planet.”

  Over his sister’s head, he watched as Penelope stomped through the room and disappeared out of sight. Okay, she was angry. Now his sister was angry. And soon Shane would be angry.

  He’d expected it and was prepared to deal with every single one of them, but Penelope was his top priority. He had to go after her and he didn’t have the time to explain to Maddie.

  “Evan!” his sister yelled. When he looked at her, her arms were crossed and she tapped the toe of her high-heeled sandal, looking exactly like their mother. Not that telling her that would put him in her good graces.

  “I’ll explain everything later, but now I need to go find Penelope.”

  He stepped around Maddie only for her to step in front of him and put her hand on his chest. “What have you done?”

  “Nothing.” Well, that wasn’t true. He dragged a hand through his hair. “Everything. It’s complicated. We’ll talk later.”

  “We’ll talk now,” she said in a stern voice.

  Irritation and impatience pricked along his skin. He put his hand on her wrist and removed it from his chest. “I’m fourteen inches taller than you and outweigh you by over a hundred pounds. I’ll pick you up and move you if I’m forced to, but I’m going after Penelope.”

  She blinked, rearing back to look up at him to search his expression. All of a sudden her features widened. “Oh. Oh no.” She shook her head. “No, Evan, you can’t have her. There are a million women waiting in line for you. Not. Her. Anyone but her.”

  Evan had expected this reaction as well. It still stung. If Maddie felt this way and she liked him, what would Shane say? He’d deal with it later after he went after Penny, because it was imperative he pursue her. To not let her go. To show her. Jaw tight, he said, “I’m not asking your permission.”

  And before Maddie could say another word, he stepped around her and headed in the direction where he’d last seen Penelope. Unable to find her among the crowd and knowing she probably wanted to be alone, he left the large room and went into the hallway.

  She wasn’t there.

  He counted fifteen doors and exit points. He sighed. Where to find her?

  He walked to the first door on his left and twisted the handle, finding it locked.

  He pulled his cell from his pocket and called her. Of course she didn’t answer.

  He tried the next door.

  And the one after that.

  He went to the coat-check woman behind the counter located next to the banquet room.

  Seemingly engrossed in the book she was reading, he cleared his throat. She huffed and glanced up, freezing when she saw him. He flashed her his interview, got-to-love-me smile. “Hi.”

  She flushed scarlet. “H-hi.”

  He pointed down the hallway. “Did you see a woman with dark hair, wearing a white strapless dress and a black belt, come this way?”

  The woman shook her head, looking vaguely disappointed.

  “All right, thanks,” he said, and turned away. He tried to call Penelope again, not surprised she didn’t answer.

  All right then, he’d told her he was going to come for her and that’s what he’d do. Even if it took him all night to do it.

  He checked every door.

  Every room.

  The bathrooms.

  The storage closet.

  The stairwell.

  When none of those worked, he went down one floor and started again. Methodically working his way through the hallways and cursing Shane for picking a venue that had so many stories.

  He finally found her on the fourth floor down, sitting on a high-backed chair, in those little sitting areas hotels sometimes had. Eyes closed, her head rested in her open palm, that minklike hair flowing over her shoulder.

  He walked over and squatted down in front of her.

  She didn’t open her eyes. “Go away, Evan.”

  He put his hands on her knees and she tensed under his touch. “I can’t do that, Pen.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you why.”

  Her lashes fluttered open and her blue eyes pierced right through him. “I don’t understand the first thing about what’s going on here.”

  His fingers slipped under the hem of her dress and brushed across her soft skin. She couldn’t hide the tremble. “I shouldn’t have left you last night. I didn’t want to leave and I was wrong.” He blew out a long breath. “I know I have this reputation for being great with women, but the truth is, with you, I’m a complete idiot.”

  Her expression didn’t change, but when she didn’t pull away or speak he kept talking, deciding on brutal honesty. “I have no idea what you’re thinking or what you want. It frustrates me trying to figure out the woman you’ve become. I can’t let go. I don’t want to let go. But the only thing I’m confident about when it comes to you is our chemistry, and how to give you multiple orgasms. I know it’s not enough, but it’s my only real hold on you, and I’m lost whenever I try and make us real.”

  She still didn’t speak, but at least instead of looking resigned she looked interested, and he took it as a sign to continue. His legs were starting to burn so he stood and pointed to a chair across from her. “Can I sit?”

  She nodded.

  He took that as progress.

  He pulled the chair close to her and sat down so their knees were touching. Once again he placed his palms on her legs and she didn’t flinch away. He continued on, knowing all he could really do was be as honest as possible. “I’m sorry I hurt you by telling you about those women. I have a past, a lengthy and often seedy one, and I should have kept it to myself. All I can say is that it’s my stupid way of trying to show you how, after all these years, you still get to me. You matter to me, Pen. You have always mattered. I had this plan, to show you, but obviously I’m messing it all up.”

  She clasped her fingers tight in her lap. “What was your plan?”

  “Like I said, I wanted to court you properly. Take you out to dinner. Go to the movies. Take you to the museums I’m guessing you probably like. To prove to you that this isn’t about sex. It’s more than chemistry. Only I underestimated two things.”

  “And those are?”

  The corners of his lips lifted. “I can’t seem to touch you without going overboard. It’s like now that the seal has been broken, every time I lay a finger on you all I can think about is pushing you down to the first available flat surface.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “I mean, you don’t understand. I don’t think I have the patience to get you naked first. It’s a little disconcerting to realize I had more control when I was seventeen than I do now.”

  Their gazes met, held, and clung, and the air filled with that indescribable heat they generated. She scraped her teeth against her bottom lip and cleared her throat. “And the other one?”

  “I don’t want to keep you a secret.”

  “You don’t?” Her head tilted and she crossed her leg.

  His hand slipped up her skirt to rest on her bare skin. He shook his head
slowly. “How can I prove to you I’m serious while keeping you a secret? I can’t, and I don’t want to do it anymore. Even though I’m going to incur the wrath of a lot of people. Since, universally, nobody thinks I’m good enough for you.”

  “Do you think you’re good enough for me?”

  “No, I don’t,” he said, his voice serious. “But I want to be.”

  Something flickered over her features. “Do you know what I think?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  She squared her shoulders and Evan knew he wasn’t going to like what she said. “I think this is about football. You’ve lost your career and now you need a new challenge to keep you interested in life. I’m conveniently it.”

  He put his elbows on his knees. “You’re wrong. First, there’s not one thing convenient about you. And second, I have thought of you and wanted you every single day we have been apart. That has nothing to do with football.”

  Another flash of emotion. “You left, Evan. And you never once looked back.”

  “I have my reasons.” He looked away and took a deep breath.

  “And those are?”

  The time had come, and while he’d decided last night he’d tell her everything, this wasn’t where he’d wanted to have the conversation. But since he was fighting for his life right now, he didn’t see any other option.

  He’d never told a soul, but he’d tell her, and hoped she’d understand. He looked back at her. “My dad knew about you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Shocked, Penelope could only stare at him. It was the last thing she expected him to say. “How?”

  Evan shrugged. “He didn’t specifically say, and I couldn’t ask, because asking was the same as confirming, but if I had to guess, I think he saw us together.”

  A million things they’d done flashed rapid-fire through her mind. She licked her lips. “In the basement?”

  His gaze met hers. “Yes.”

  “Why do you think that? Maybe he saw us look at each other?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. He didn’t talk to me like he thought we had a crush, or were flirting. He was very serious and not happy about it.”