by M. Malone
No, she’d definitely enjoyed herself. Multiple times, in fact. However, it seemed that enjoyment had been all she’d wanted, because she hadn’t been able to get away from him fast enough.
He pressed a hand over his heart. He was as guilty as the next guy of taking women to bed just for fun and not wanting anything more. He’d never understood before what it felt like for women. It was a kick in the gut to spend time with someone and enjoy their company, only to realize they didn’t want anything from you but sex. It was a rejection of the worst kind.
For all her talk about them being adults and not letting it interfere with their work relationship, he wondered how much of that she’d even meant. After everything they’d talked about and shared, it felt like he’d been spurned when she’d acted as though she couldn’t even share a bed overnight with him.
He wished he’d planned his trip home for the coming weekend. A little distance was exactly what he needed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
PENNY WAS ALMOST done for the day when the door to her office opened and Charles stepped through. It was a struggle to keep her eyes in place when they wanted to roll all over the place. It had been an exhausting week. The last thing she needed was a confrontation with her boss.
Matt had skipped his Friday appointment the previous week and she really couldn’t blame him. She’d been on edge all that morning, wondering how to act when he came in. It was almost a relief when he didn’t show. Then she started to feel guilty.
He’d shown up on Monday morning with his usual smirk in place. That had made her feel a little better. She’d decided to just pretend like nothing had changed. It had worked, for the most part. But touching him and smelling his scent had her nerves stretched to the breaking point. It had been her decision to keep things professional between them from here on out, but she hadn’t counted on how hard it would be.
“Hi, Charles. I was just about done for the day. Did you need something?”
He had never been her biggest fan and never seemed to have much positive to say to her. She was not in the mood to deal with any of his nitpicking about the amount of pro bono work she did or how many vacation days she took to do it. It still chapped her ass that she had to take vacation to do her unapproved pro bono work in the first place. It wouldn’t kill the center to allow her to do it while she was attending to her paying patients.
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you.” He pushed the door partially closed behind him and Penny’s heart sank. Her dreams of getting home at a decent hour and taking a hot bath were looking more and more unlikely.
“Of course. What’s on your mind?”
Charles threw the folded up newspaper he held on the desk in front of her. She leaned over to read the article on the front page.
“Oh, it’s the article about Chris Walters’s recovery. We made the front page. That’s exciting.”
Charles leaned down and tapped the headline. “Except they didn’t mention the name of the center. They also didn’t ask anyone else here for a quote. You aren’t the only one he’s been working with here.”
“I know that, Charles. I told the reporter about his full treatment plan, and I even took him on a tour of the whole facility. He had a photographer with him who took pictures of all the new equipment.”
He scowled. “Yet somehow the only picture they printed was one of you and Chris. How convenient for you.”
“What exactly are you implying? I have no control over what some reporter chooses to write!”
“Of course you don’t. Nothing is ever your fault. You know, I may be older and I don’t have all these fancy new techniques you seem to invent each week, but I’ve been in this game a long time. I know bullshit when I hear it. This is not the Penny Lewis show. Although you seem to be doing everything in your power to make sure it is.”
“You’re going to want to walk away now.”
They both turned at the low, gravelly voice. Matt stood directly behind Charles and somehow managed to look menacing without moving a muscle.
“Who the hell are you?”
Penny stood, sensing that the situation could easily go nuclear. “It’s okay, Matt. Charles was just leaving anyway.”
Charles peered at Matt. “I’ve seen you around here before.” He turned back to Penny with a nasty gleam in his eyes. “A patient, Penny? Really?”
Penny glanced at Matt. This was exactly what she’d been afraid of. Charles would be all too happy to have this to hold over her head.
Before she could speak, Matt stepped closer. “I’m her boyfriend. And yes, I’m also her patient. Why would I go to someone else for physical therapy when Penny is the best in her field? The best. You’ve never treated a family member, Charles, was it?”
Suddenly Charles didn’t look so sure of himself. “Well, yes I have, but—”
Matt leaned forward and nailed Charles with a hard stare. “Because I’m sure you’re not suggesting that Penny should have turned away her boyfriend, an injured Army veteran. I bet that newspaper reporter would love to hear your views on that.”
Charles turned toward Matt. “I beg your pardon? How dare you?”
He looked like he was going to say something else, but Matt stepped closer and growled. “Walk away. Now.”
He glared at Charles until the man picked up the newspaper and backed toward the door. Charles gave Penny a hard look as he left. “This isn’t over. We’ll talk again later.”
Once the door closed behind him, Penny let out a breath. “Matt, what the hell? You can’t just come in while I’m talking to my boss and threaten him.”
Matt closed the door and turned back to her. He didn’t look at all sorry as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. It gave her a small thrill of triumph to see him do that. He couldn’t have done that a month ago.
“I didn’t threaten him. I made a suggestion. One he was wise to take.”
Penny stood and grabbed her handbag. She was more than ready to go home and escape the stink of male aggression.
“Matt, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. You stood up for me and that feels nice. I wish I had done a better job of that myself. He’s been a nightmare ever since I’ve been working here. I really appreciate what you were trying to do. I’m just worried about what’s fueling this anger. I thought you’d been doing better lately.”
“Some guy standing over you and speaking to you like that is reason enough for me to get angry.”
“Did you ever call that therapist I recommended?”
Matt didn’t look at her. “I’ve already had a psych eval. I’m fine.”
“Just like you’d already had physical therapy?”
He conceded the point with a small nod. “I’m fine, Penny.”
When she opened her mouth to respond, he held up a hand. “I’m sorry if I got you into trouble. That wasn’t my intention. I just stopped by to let you know I’ll be gone for the weekend and might not make it back in time for our appointment Monday.”
“Are you running away?” Penny tried not to let her hurt creep into her voice. Even though she didn’t want things to get too serious, the thought of never seeing him again made her heart stop. What if he didn’t come back?
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
“This is exactly what I was afraid of. If you quit at the most critical phase of your treatment just because you don’t want to see me, I’ll never forgive myself. I want so much more for you than that.” Penny had never spoken truer words. It had been inevitable that she’d succumb to the attraction between them at some point, but she wished she’d been able to hold out until he was completely healed.
“You want better for me?” Matt turned to leave and then stopped to look back. “You know, you’re the one who didn’t want to care about a military guy. You can’t pick and choose when you care and when you don’t.”
* * * * *
MATT WOKE THE next morning, and after wolfing down a quick breakfast of a bagel and coffee, he got on the road. He’d l
earned from experience that the traffic in the area was unpredictable and Mara would never let him forget it if he missed her party.
He guessed it was his party as well since they were twins, but his sister and friends knew how he felt about birthday parties. He’d rather be deployed on a mission than have to stand at the front of a room while people sang to him. After everything that had happened with Penny he’d been tempted to skip it, but Trent was planning to formally propose to Mara. Despite their argument, he couldn’t miss that. He was one of the main people who’d teased his friend about his sister’s bare finger.
A part of him suspected that his sister had also left more than a few hints about wanting a real proposal. He’d overheard her complain she didn’t want to tell their children their father had proposed while the two of them were in bed.
He could understand that because he’d immediately wanted to bleach his brain when he’d heard it.
To his surprise, traffic was light and he was driving into New Haven roughly three hours later. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jackson’s number.
“Hey, man, I just got back into town. The party is at your house, right?”
“Yeah, it’s here but it’s not starting until four o’clock. Ridley is already driving me crazy obsessing over the details. Was there anything you needed to tell her?”
“No, I was just checking to make sure I had the right location. I’ll be there in a few hours. See you later.”
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard of his truck. It was barely noon, so he decided to go straight to his house and wait until a little later to announce his presence. If his sister found out he was back in town already, she’d expect him to come over and hang out with her and Trent.
He’d accepted Trent’s apology and understood where his friend was coming from, but it didn’t mean he was comfortable hanging out just yet. It was going to take him a little while before he could recapture the carefree, easy rapport they’d had before.
He pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. The tension between him and Trent was a sober reminder of the power of words spoken in haste. He thought back to how he’d brushed off Penny’s concerns. She was only worried about him and he’d thrown her words back in her face.
Their rapport was undoubtedly ruined as well.
He turned on the lights as he stepped over the threshold into his house. He could tell his sister had been here keeping things clean because there wasn’t a speck of dust in sight. His mail was stacked on the counter in the kitchen. He dropped his duffel bag on the floor by his feet.
After standing in front of the refrigerator for a few minutes, he finally pulled out a canned soda. He sat on the couch in the living room and drank it while watching the sports channel. He should be happy to be back in his own space. It felt like ages since he’d been here, surrounded by his own stuff. He was just going to kick his feet up and relax.
It wasn’t even ten minutes before he got up. At least at Jackson’s house he could help set up for the party and distract himself with small talk.
Anything was better than torturing himself with thoughts of everything he’d done wrong lately.
* * * * *
PENNY WONDERED FOR the hundredth time that morning what the hell she was doing. She should have been spending her morning working out, cleaning her house, or doing some shopping. Anything but chasing a man a couple of hundred miles away. A man who was probably not going to be all that happy to see her when she showed up on his doorstep.
At least the drive itself was worth the trouble. She leaned forward to get a better view as she drove over yet another bridge that crossed a sparkling river. She was well acquainted with the Chesapeake Bay since it stretched all the way up through Northern Virginia and Maryland, but there were quite a few smaller rivers that she’d never heard of documented on the signs she drove past. She exited the highway and tried to pay attention to the directions coming from her GPS system.
“Turn left onto New Haven Drive in 1.4 miles,” the electronic voice said.
Penny followed the instructions and was sure to slow down when she noted the speed limit was only twenty-five miles per hour. The town wasn’t as small as she’d thought. There were several major chain stores in a shopping center she passed and the roads were wide and recently paved. However, there was a small-town feel to many of the businesses. The smaller shops lining the road all sported distinctive bright red awnings and the people on the sidewalks nodded to each other as they walked, enjoying the sunny day.
She passed a sign for a boardwalk and realized it must be the entrance to the beach. There were people walking that way even though it was only March. Matt had mentioned the town had a small local beach that was less commercial than the neighboring one in Virginia Beach.
“Turn right on Shoreline Avenue. You have reached your destination.”
Penny turned into the driveway of a cheerful one-story house with a small porch. The grass was slightly wild and there were no flowers in the tiny bed in the front. The driveway was empty.
“Great. He’s not even here.” She got out and knocked on the door anyway. She hadn’t wanted to call him because she suspected he wouldn’t answer, but she finally gave in and dialed his number. When it went straight to voicemail, she texted Mara. After a few minutes, she put her phone away. It looked like her grand plan to surprise Matt was a bust.
Then her phone rang. She snatched it up without even looking to see who it was. “Matt?”
“No, it’s me. Mara. I got your message.”
“Hi, Mara. I know this is weird, me showing up out of the blue like this. I was hoping to surprise Matt, but he isn’t even home.”
“He’s not at home but he’s in town. We’re at our friend Jackson’s house. It’s not far from where you are. I’ll text you the directions, okay? See you soon!”
After they hung up, Penny programmed the address Mara sent into her GPS. It took only ten minutes for her to reach the swanky community called Havensbrooke. She drove past the towering houses and pulled up to the white brick colonial that Mara had said belonged to Jackson Alexander.
She’d thought the name sounded familiar but hadn’t thought Mara’s friend could be the Jackson Alexander, the music producer. But judging by the size of the house, it must be.
There was no answer when she knocked, but she could hear music and laughter inside. Could they even hear her knocking? She twisted the doorknob and it turned easily under her hand. When she opened the door, she was stopped by two burly-looking men in black.
“Name, please.”
Taken aback, Penny stammered. “Penelope Lewis. I’m looking for Matt Simmons.”
They glanced at each other and then waved her in. “Go ahead.”
Penny scampered into the room, then stopped short at the huge collection of balloons and the massive “Happy Birthday, Mara” banner stretched across the wall.
It was Matt and Mara’s birthday?
He hadn’t mentioned it before leaving, and Mara hadn’t said anything on the phone. Typical. Now she was here at a birthday party empty-handed. Although there were so many people here it was unlikely anyone would care.
Penny walked around for a few minutes. There was no sign of Matt or Mara. She decided to ask the next person she saw. A curvy girl with brown skin and long, dark, twisted hair stood at the buffet table staring at the food with a mournful expression.
“Trying to decide between the mini egg rolls and the artichoke dip?”
The girl whirled around with a guilty look on her face that turned to surprise when she spotted Penny standing next to her. “Oh, hello. I was just wondering what I could eat that wouldn’t instantly add five pounds.”
“You and me, both. I’m looking for Matt Simmons. Have you seen him?”
The girl jerked her head toward the other side of the room. “He’s with the beautiful people. It might take a while.”
Penny looked in the direction the girl had indicated until she found him. He wa
s in the middle of a group, holding a beer and looking supremely uncomfortable. Mara stood next to him, holding hands with an attractive blond man. She recognized Jackson Alexander, whom she’d seen on TV a lot recently, and his brother, the finance guru. There was also a pair of twin girls so beautiful it instantly made Penny wish she’d changed clothes into something a little nicer than her jeans and button-down white shirt.
She was supposed to go over there and interrupt them? No way. “Geez. I haven’t felt like this since high school,” she mumbled.
“Welcome to my life, sister.” The girl at the buffet picked up one of the mini egg rolls and bit the edge of it delicately. “Those are the cool kids and the rest of us mere mortals are just caught in their orbit. Luckily, they’re all really nice, but the Wonder Twins are so perfect they cause an instant inferiority complex, so you’re not alone. I’m Kay, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
Penny grinned, liking the girl more and more. “I’m Penny. So, the Wonder Twins, huh? Which ones are you talking about? The girls, or Matt and Mara?”
Kay stopped chewing and tilted her head. “Does it matter?”
“I guess not.”
“Don’t worry, though. The girl twins are both attached, so they aren’t hitting on Matt if that’s what you’re worried about. Are you his girlfriend or something?” Kay swallowed her food with a loud gulp, looking suddenly worried.
“Not exactly. It’s kind of complicated. So what about you? Which one are you attached to?”
Kay looked behind her. A stocky, dark-skinned man stood a few feet behind her. When he caught Penny’s eye, he nodded. He was handsome and completely focused on Kay. Penny wasn’t sure she could handle being at the receiving end of that kind of intensity.
“What about that guy? He’s been staring at you this entire time.”
Kay whipped around and snatched another egg roll from the table. “That’s Elliott Alexander. But we are not attached by my choice. Trust me.”
“Never mind. I have a feeling that’s complicated, too.” Penny picked up a plastic cup and poured herself a drink. At least she wasn’t the only one having trouble understanding the opposite sex.