ONE NIGHT WITH THE BEST MAN

by AMANDA BERRY - Special Edition 2364 - ONE NIGHT

  “That’s real mature of you, Penny.” Bitsy glanced at her watch. “Oh, I have to run. Things to do, you know.”

  Most likely Bitsy wanted to go from store to store to tell everyone about their conversation. The bell rang as Bitsy went out the door, throwing a goodbye behind her as she went.

  A year? Cheryl never committed to anything longer than month to month. How would she ever fit in in this small town? The nearest bar was over in Owen. Did she even have a car? A license? How did she have money to pay the security deposit on a house?

  Cheryl had been pretty hard up for money when she’d dropped Penny off years ago. Hadn’t she said she’d wound up in rehab because of being arrested? Or had Penny filled in that part herself?

  The door rang again. Penny held her breath as she peeked around the corner. A couple, probably from out of town, walked in.

  “If you need any help with anything, just holler,” she said and turned back to the shelf she was reorganizing.

  “Thanks,” the man said.

  When minutes went by and the door jingled again, she figured the couple had left. She didn’t like to police her store by hovering over customers. It made people feel uncomfortable if she stood up front and stared at them while they browsed.

  She went back to her register and looked over the monthly receipts.

  “I love what you’ve done with the shop.”

  Penny froze, then lifted her gaze to her mother’s. Her eyes darted to the back, where the couple was looking at furniture.

  “Thanks.” Penny didn’t want her mother here. This was hers. Her safety net. Her roots. Everything her mother had never given her. It was Penny’s and she didn’t want her mother to destroy that. But she couldn’t exactly throw a fit with customers in the back.

  “I’m sorry I came over unannounced last night.”

  “You mean like you are doing now?”

  Cheryl grinned sheepishly. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t want to meet up for lunch or dinner after last night. If the only way to see you is to just pop up, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Gee, aren’t I lucky?” Penny’s voice might have been deadpan, but her heart was racing as if the devil himself was chasing her. The antiques store’s high ceilings and large rooms seemed to close in around her. If she didn’t get some air soon, she might pass out.

  “Breathe, Penny,” her mother said calmly.

  Penny pulled in a breath and then another.

  Her mother had the gall to look hurt. “I swear I didn’t come back to upset you.”

  “You don’t upset me. You don’t do anything to me.” She wasn’t fooling Cheryl and she knew it.

  “I promised to come back.”

  “Excuse me, but what is the price of this plate?” the woman said.

  Penny pulled her gaze away from Cheryl and focused on the costumer. She put on her best smile and glanced at the plate. “That one is a 1938 Wedgwood nonhunting dog plate with poodles called March Winds. It runs around one hundred and fifty online, but I’d be willing to bargain if you are interested.”

  The woman glanced back at the man with a pleading look on her face.

  The man shook his head but got out his wallet. “Would you take one-thirty for it?”

  “For you two? Of course.” Penny held out her hand for the plate.

  The woman beamed. Cheryl slipped away from the counter as Penny conducted the sales transaction. Penny tried to ignore her mother’s wanderings, but the back of her neck prickled.

  “There you go. I added a care instruction sheet in there. Have a safe trip.” Penny handed the bag to the woman, who hadn’t stopped grinning.

  The man put his hand on the woman’s back and led her to the door as if he were afraid she might find something else.

  “Thank you,” he called out.

  “Come again,” Penny said. As soon as the door closed, the smile fell off her face.

  She found Cheryl in the toy aisle. Penny kept her inventory low on these items because they weren’t big sellers around here, but occasionally someone wanted something that they’d had as a child. Penny herself didn’t have good memories associated with her childhood toys.

  “You know, I don’t think Mom would have thought of toys as antiques,” Cheryl said as she picked up an old spinning top. “She always wanted this to be a classy store with only antiques from overseas.”

  “Classy stores don’t do well in the country.” Penny looked around to make sure Cheryl hadn’t pocketed anything.

  “She never understood that.” She set down the top and faced Penny. “I know she wasn’t the easiest person to live with, but she was good to you, wasn’t she?”

  Penny crossed her arms over her chest. “If you had cared, maybe you should have checked up on us. But then again, you just didn’t care enough about me.”

  “I deserve that.” Cheryl put her hands in her back pockets and looked down at the floor. “I wanted to come back, but I knew you were better off without me.”

  “How would you know?” Penny dropped her arms, walked behind the front counter and pretended to study a list of recent transactions. Her mother could run off with the whole inventory for all she cared, as long as she left.

  Penny was done. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Her mother had been long gone. She had no right to show up now. Penny didn’t need her anymore.

  “Mother wrote me.”

  Penny didn’t look up from the figures, but they blurred before her eyes.

  “She told me all about you and school and your friend Maggie.” Cheryl sighed. “How could I come back and ask you to come live with me when you were clearly happier without me? How could I take care of you when I couldn’t even take care of myself?”

  “I could take care of myself.”

  “Exactly. What type of mother was I that my daughter took better care of me than I did of her? Everything you said last night was true. The men, the drinking. I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want my addiction to hurt you any more than it already had.” Cheryl brushed tears from her cheeks.

  “Do you know how hard it was to call my mother, let alone drive back to this godforsaken town and give you to her?” Cheryl laughed bitterly. “I couldn’t put you in the foster system. I was afraid I’d never get you back out of it. Plus I’ve heard about what happens to some kids in the system and you were already starting to develop...”

  Penny pushed away from the counter. Her mother’s “dates” had definitely begun to notice her development. She could still feel their hot gazes and subtle remarks.

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Penny glared at Cheryl. “What do you want from me? Money?”

  “No. No,” she said firmly. “It took me a year of sobriety to get here because I wanted to be able to stay. I worked hard and saved every cent I made. I knew it wouldn’t be easy coming back, but the only person’s approval I need is yours.”

  Penny pressed her lips together tightly.

  “I swear to you, I’m not out for anything except you. I know you don’t believe it, but I love you, Penny. I’ve already applied for a waitressing job at The Rooster Café. I’m going to rent one of the houses in town. I’m staying—”

  “Until you fall off the wagon.”

  “No, baby.” Cheryl looked her in the eyes. “I’m staying for good.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I promised you dinner and a movie.” Luke held up a bag of groceries and a DVD.

  “I hope you aren’t looking for homemade from me because I’m no Betty Crocker.” Penny stepped aside to let him in.

  “I’ll have you know that not only did I attend medical school, but I also learned to cook decent-tasting food on a small allowance every week.” Luke started pulling out the ingredients. “Besides, if it really sucks, I’ve got
a twenty in my wallet for pizza.”

  Penny smiled. “I suppose I can risk food poisoning as long as there’s a backup plan.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “That’s my girl.”

  She flushed with warmth and sat at the kitchen table. This was just what she needed. No strings, no future commitment, just here and now with Luke. He wasn’t pressing her to be family with him or to let him back into her life. No, it was just casual sex with the bonus of spending time together.

  So what if she was head over heels in love with him? It wasn’t as if that would make a difference, and it shouldn’t. They could just keep having sex until he left for St. Louis.

  She rubbed at the sudden ache in her chest. She needed a distraction from her crazy thoughts. “Okay, what are you going to make me?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. “Let’s see if you can guess from the ingredients.”

  She raised her eyebrow in retaliation. “What part of ‘I’m no Betty Crocker’ did you not understand?”

  “That’s okay—I just want the saucy part of you.”

  “Good answer.”

  “I was a straight-A student.”

  “Mostly.”

  “Hey, everyone has an off year.” He tweaked her nose for that one.

  “I had twelve of them.”

  “I know for a fact you did much better your senior year.” He sorted his groceries on her counter. “You can’t tell me you didn’t do well in kindergarten. I’ve seen you color. You mostly get it inside the lines.”

  Her mouth dropped open in mock indignity. “Mostly?”

  “You’ve always been a little bit of a rebel.” He winked at her.

  She chuckled. “You’ve got me there.”

  He started opening and closing her drawers, pulling out a knife and then a cutting board. “I bet you would have done awesome if you’d had a fair shot at school.”

  Some of her lightheartedness fled at the reminder of her mother. “Probably not. Like you said, I was always a rebel.”

  “You know if you want to talk about it, I’m here.” He glanced up at her as he cut a tomato.

  “I didn’t think you’d know that much about being a rebel.” She touched her finger to her lip in mock surprise. “Oh, wait, you did have that one year.... How many fights did you get in? Five or six?”

  “Seven.” Luke set aside the diced tomato and started cutting a garlic clove. “All but two were off school property.”

  “And what did those boys do to deserve your anger?” She reached over and plucked a chunk of tomato off the cutting board and popped it in her mouth.

  “Is it bad if I say I don’t remember?” He glanced at her sheepishly, then sliced a green pepper.

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t believe you. That giant brain of yours won’t let you forget anything.”

  It was what she’d counted on when she decided to kiss Sam. Luke would remember every time some guy had implied he’d banged her.

  “Yeah, well,” he said, “some things I wish I could forget and others I wish I remembered better.”

  “What do you wish you remembered?”

  Luke rinsed his hands and pulled out a saucepan and a stockpot. “My childhood. My parents. Sam and Brady before our parents died. Every now and then I catch a memory, but they are few and far between. I can’t remember much before I became angry all the time.”

  She watched him as he added his chopped ingredients to the saucepan and set a pot of water to boil. “And here I keep wishing I could forget my childhood, but that’s not going to happen now that Cheryl is in town.”

  “Do you want wine or something else to drink?” He held up a bottle of red.

  “It’s definitely a wine night.” When he raised his eyebrow, she added, “In moderation.”

  He poured them both a glass. When he brought her glass to her, he leaned down and kissed her. Sparks sizzled through her at the contact.

  “I don’t think I could ever forget you.” Luke straightened and winked before turning back to the stove.

  “I hope not,” she said softly, more to herself than to him. She hoped she was as scorched into his memory as he was in hers. After the past week and a half with him she was fairly certain that he’d ruined her for casual sex. It didn’t help that she’d already been losing interest in it before he arrived. She still wanted sex, just not from some random guy. Actually only one guy would do now....

  “So have you guessed what I’m making you yet?” Luke glanced over his shoulder.

  “Hamburgers?”

  “I don’t even have ground meat.”

  “That’s probably a good thing.”

  “Guess again.”

  “Hmm...tomatoes, garlic, pepper and some stuff in a jar.... Haggis?”

  Luke turned and gave her the stink eye. “Haggis?”

  “You mean I guessed right?” She grinned.

  “If I didn’t have to make sure the food didn’t burn, I’d show you what I think of your guesses.” He stirred the sauce and then added pasta to the boiling water.

  “I’m just surprised you don’t have garlic bread. After all, everyone knows garlic bread goes well with haggis.”

  He very carefully laid down his spoon, then turned and headed for her.

  She tried not to giggle, but a few laughs slipped out. “Spaghetti! Spaghetti!”

  “Too late.” He yanked her up to standing and kissed her soundly. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her against him and walked her back toward the stove.

  She squealed when he lifted her higher and set her on the counter next to the cooking food. Without a word, he walked back to the kitchen table and grabbed her wine. He handed her the glass before resuming his stirring.

  She crossed her legs, glad that she’d worn shorts today. Luke’s gaze dropped to her calves. Everything felt wonderful. It was so easy to forget that Cheryl was in town and that Luke was leaving. This moment could last forever for all she cared.

  “Isn’t using the jar sauce cheating?” She lifted the empty jar off the counter behind her.

  “Rather than spend hours waiting for the sauce to get ready, I’d rather spend the extra time making love with you.”

  Tingles coursed through Penny at the words making love. It meant nothing. Loads of people used that term for sex. Just because she was in love with him didn’t make him in love with her.

  “I add a few things to make their sauce a little richer. You’ll notice I used store-bought pasta, too. Think of all the time I saved not doing that from scratch.” His eyes raked her body from head to toe and back again.

  “You better watch it, or dinner will burn and we’ll be stuck with pizza.”

  “Thirty minutes for delivery time....” He looked as if he was contemplating it.

  She laughed. “Forget it. You promised me a home-cooked meal, so you’re stuck now.”

  “Good thing this is quick to prepare. The pasta only needs a few more minutes.”

  When he returned to stirring, she took in a deep breath and filled her senses with rich garlicky tomato sauce and just a hint of Luke.

  “I hope you are a fast eater.” Luke lifted the pot and took it to the sink, careful not to lose any noodles as he poured out the water.

  “Why is that?”

  He put the pot down and lifted her from the counter. The kiss he gave her was less teasing and more ravenous. It lit an answering hunger from deep inside her that had nothing to do with food. His lips tasted of the red wine they’d been sharing.

  When he released her, she leaned against the counter to regain her balance. “Good answer.”

  He grinned. “I can’t wait to ace the final.”

  She pulled out two plates. He loaded their plates with pasta, sauce and garlic bread—which he’d wa
ited to unpack from the sack. She refilled their glasses and they sat at the kitchen table.

  “To healthy appetites.” Luke lifted his glass.

  She flushed with warmth from the look in his blue eyes. “To healthy appetites.”

  They made it about halfway through their dinner before he moved in for a kiss. They rose from the table as one and worked their way down the hall and up the stairs to her bedroom, chucking clothes as they went.

  Right beside her bedroom door, he pinned her to the wall and pressed his naked body against hers. Her breath caught in her throat as he kissed his way down her neck and along her shoulder. His hands held hers against the wall as he dipped his head to take her breast into his mouth. She was helpless against the rising tide of passion that engulfed her. When she thought she could take no more, he pushed her just a little further over the edge until she forgot where he ended and she began.

  He pulled her through the doorway to her bedroom. They fell together on the bed, consuming each other with hands and mouths, finding the spots that made her moan and him gasp. When he finally lifted above her and slowly entered her, she felt as if the fire in her had always been and would never find release.

  Luke made the flames burn hotter with every stroke, every touch of his hands. Finally she reached the highest point and turned to ashes, floating back down into her body. He came down with her.

  With the gentlest touch, he brushed her hair away from her face. Still joined, he lightly touched his lips against hers. She’d never felt more fulfilled, more cherished. More loved.

  “This isn’t just about sex anymore, Penny.” Luke lay beside her with his shoulder touching hers and her hand in his. She wanted this and it was terrifying.

  She stared up at the ceiling, willing her body to return to normal. Fighting to hold back from proclaiming her love. She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. The one person she’d never wanted to lie to... The one person she always wanted to tell everything... But she couldn’t ruin his future.