Brushing her hair one more time, she knew that shower had taken longer than she intended. The air mattress deflated while she moisturized her face. Jay could have gone for coffee at this point without her. She threw her jeans and a clean shirt on before she ran out to see Jay sitting on the floor with his tablet. She spied his camping backpack with a rollup sleeping bag neatly on the kitchen counter before she went to stand in front of him. “Thanks for waking up early to drive me to the airport and waiting for me. I made an appointment at the dealer online for the car I liked, but traffic near Miami International gets evil later in the day.”
“Sleeping on the floor wasn’t exactly what I thought I’d be doing. We need to be home at noon so you can deal with the furniture people. Right now, though, I need my coffee.”
“We’ll stop. I’m glad we found a way for me to help you. It makes me relax knowing I can live here.” She smiled while folding his sleeping bag once more, making it smaller. “Let’s go.”
“You can do whatever you want, Pen. You’re smart.”
He saw her brains, not a dazzling personality. She let that sink into her head, glancing away. Heading out to their vehicles, she told him, “It was you that helped me survive high school. Being the only girl on scholarship in my class meant everyone knew I couldn’t afford to go there.”
“You were smarter than them and deserved to be there. See you at the rental place.”
She watched him mount his motorcycle. The rich prep boy turned jeans-wearing motorcycle-riding hotness revved up more than his motorcycle engine, though she couldn’t let her feelings get too serious. He’d never look at her. Brains. It was all he saw. He broke up with beauty personified yesterday. Longing for that man who didn’t notice her at all made her the fool. Shaking it off, she started the car, heading for the highway to get to the airport.
Forty minutes later, she signed the paper, handed the car keys over, and met Jay in the parking lot. He offered his arm, which she took. She appeared like a fresh-out-of-college student, and he looked put together. He motioned to help her climb on. She followed, grabbed hold of his waist, and held on for when he went fast. Inhaling the scent of his warm body unleashed her imagination.
The strong shoulders on his muscular body meant he’d look like Mr. Perfect on the beach. To compare, she’d look embarrassed next to the bodies meant to be worshipped. It would be better to avoid the option and not see his sexy body underneath his clothes. She’d put that on the list of rules for what to wear outside the separate bedrooms. It was okay. She needed to stop obsessing about him anyhow, though the tropical heat outside wasn’t the only thing getting under her skin.
When they pulled into the dealer, she released him, feigning tremendous interest in the vehicles around them. Hopefully, her face didn’t show her blush.
“Car dealers are notorious for taking too long with the paperwork. I’m going to talk to the finance people and sit with my tablet while you shop. I don’t want to be here all day.”
Slowing down, she stared at a yellow car. “Perfect. I’ll find you.”
He nodded before she walked away to look at a black sedan, though she swore someone watched her hips sway. She must have imagined it, and she kept her silence. When he went inside, she moved to the front door. At the entry, she picked a younger salesman. “I’m looking for Kenny. I have an appointment to talk about a car.”
He smiled at her. “I’m Kenny, making you Penelope Knightheart. This way.”
Her heart didn’t race when she saw the plain white four-door small car. But she didn’t need to love a car. It would be cheap on gas and have affordable payments. The car didn’t look like much of anything, but it would work fine. While she was eying the car, another salesman came over to talk to Kenny. She stepped away to find something to like about her choice when Kenny said to her, “I’m shocked, actually. We have a mint condition Jeep Wrangler, black with tan roof, priced at the same amount this white one is. Would you like to see that one first before it sells to someone else?”
Her jaw dropped. “What? That’s my favorite car ever. I have wanted one all my life. I need to see that.”
Two minutes later, she smiled. She’d figure out the gas later. Wow. Her eyes must still look like saucers, and she didn’t care. She almost tripped while staring. The machine seemed brand new. “How many miles?”
“One thousand.”
That was it? She took the seat to take a test drive while suppressing a giggle. While test-driving the car, her mouth wouldn’t form the question for a few minutes. The smoothness of the ride left butterflies in her stomach. She’d be in heaven with this car. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Why is the Jeep priced so low?”
The man gazed to the ground before he answered. “We’re running a special a day on cars we don’t specialize in to get them off the lot.”
She gave him a crisp nod when they headed back into the lot. Smiling to herself, she told him, “Keep the keys. I’ll buy this one.”
Inside the office, Jay sat silent in the corner, waiting for her and working on his tablet, as always. The seriousness on his face showed his concentration. He didn’t notice her when she walked past. She sat down in Kenny’s cubicle and the paperwork came ten minutes later. When done, she ran to Jay and hugged his shoulders, despite the fact he was working. She noticed a spreadsheet with his mother’s name on it before he turned it off to hug her. Jumping up and down, she told him, “I bought a Jeep. Tonight, I’m driving us to dinner.”
His chin sat nicely on her head while he hugged her. “I’m happy for you. Let’s get home, cutie. The furniture arrives.”
Jay found a spot near a window in his bare office and squatted on the floor with his laptop. His tablet charged in the plug next to him, and he sipped his coffee. She watched him and nodded to herself. Tomorrow she worked. Yeah. Life would be easier when she had his focus on work and a design due. She cleaned off the kitchen and her leg muscles quivered. Nervous energy needed a release without staring at Jay. She needed to run. In the kitchen, she put her pots and pans away and stared at the clock to see she had an hour, before calling out, “Be right back.”
“Okay.” His voice echoed in the halls.
Her sneakers squeaked on the floor when she ran to her car. Food shopping would be fast when it was simple meals for a few days. The grocery store wasn’t far, so she hopped into her car, which purred when it started. With her hands behind the wheel, she raced the short distance on the open road. After parking her car, she jumped out, almost running into Fernando. She blinked when he smiled. “Penelope, you look good. New car?”
She had left him in Tallahassee. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a few days off and wanted to check on you. I should have told you a few things before, and I need to apologize—”
“I’m happy.” Interrupting him, she told him what she could. “I’ve got a new place, a new roommate for a month, a new job, a new car. You shouldn’t be here.”
Jay’s blue eyes and determined chin flashed in her mind. The man worked hard, and she always respected work.
Fernando tried to take her hand in his, but she stepped back. “Baby girl.”
“Go home. I’m not your baby any more, Fernando.” The relationship between them had never brought her joy. It was easy having a partner in her determination not go back to Miami, but she had grown up now.
“Penny.”
The unmistakable voice belonged to none other than Eva. Turning around, Penny saw the dark-haired beauty with ice-blue eyes and flawless complexion. Suppressing a groan, she pasted a smile on her face while Eva joined them in the parking lot. Did she live in the neighborhood? Blinking rapidly, she knew she needed to escape. She refused to get involved with Eva and Jay. She didn’t have nearly that kind of power and would be a damaged bystander in the fireworks. When Eva came close, Penny hugged her. “Eva, it’s good to see you.”
“How is Jay?”
Sandra must have told her about the living arrangements. “Good. Fernando, this is Eva. We went to high school together.”
Fernando couldn’t speak. Good. Eva still had that wow. Penny inched back toward her Jeep.
Eva nodded her head at Fernando, saying, “Hello. It’s nice to meet a friend of Penny’s.”
Fidgeting, she reached for the door to her SUV. “I have to get going.”
“Wait,” Eva called out, tapping her feet. “We have to catch up. You’ve rekindled your friendships with Sandra and Jay, and I want to be on the list. You are going to Sandra’s party?”
Eva tolerated her in high school due to their mutual friend, Sandy. They were not close without the cute blonde between them. She’d have to find a way out of that somehow. Having Eva upset at anything was always something to avoid. “I have to go.”
“We should get together tomorrow. Meet me at our coffee shop,” Eva told her.
“Okay, if I can” Her pulse spiked before she peeled out of the parking lot as she could get groceries elsewhere, where less people knew her.
After parking her car in the assigned spot in the lot, she put her head on the wheel to calm down. She counted to three before she peeked up, seeing the moving trucks. They were early. Racing to the elevator with her few bags of groceries, she joined the furniture on its ride up. Jay was in the living room directing people when she stepped into the place. Going over to him, she put her hand on his arm, silently telling him she’d do the rest.
He patted her hand, then walked away. She’d do this job, then tell him about running into Eva. Without a second thought, she pointed to where everything went and had the movers change where stuff had been put down.
Four hours later, she stood in the living room exhausted. She had a bed to sleep in for now, a car, a job starting, and once she bought some new work outfits, she’d be happy.
Jay peeked out. “Everything’s done?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s gone. I never ate lunch, so would you like to grab an early dinner?”
“Love to. I’m hungry too. Where did you disappear to earlier?”
She found a sweater, then joined him in the living room again to leave. “I wanted to make us some lunch, but I ran into Eva and Fernando.”
“Who’s Fernando?”
“The ex-boyfriend.” His eyebrows rose. “And I’m meeting Eva for lunch tomorrow.”
“Don’t tell her you’re living with me. It won’t go over too well this soon.”
“She sounded like she knew already.”
“I don’t want her striking out at you for things you’re not a part of.”
He’d never choose a girl like her. She guessed that, but hearing it still hit her hard. Eva might blame her for Jay, though in the name of old friendships, especially their mutual friend, Sandra, Penny would take that blame graciously. It would be impossible for any guy to choose brains when beauty shone so brightly. Miami bred the importance of radiating beauty as being the most important trait for any woman to possess, and Jay had grown up here.