She needed to breathe. Her body was electrified and all she wanted to do was jump into bed with that man, forgetting everything else. Every nerve ending in her lips still hungered for his kiss. Living with Jay for the next month, faking a relationship on Friday, and starting a new job all added up to too much, too fast. She needed a cold shower. But first she had to go clothes shopping, then she’d meet Eva later in the week, pretending to admit she dated Jay.
What would she say to her now?
Penny’s mind raced while she rushed down the highway. At least in Miami, stores stayed open late. And she did need to round out a work wardrobe. Ratty jeans did not look professional.
On the half-hour drive to the Dolphin mall, she let her mind relax. Her skin jumped when she thought about Jay and what she’d like to do when she went home. Letting out a small yell, she decided to tune him out, so she sang along with any song she could find on the radio. Outlet shopping would be less expensive, though she’d make up for it with bulk orders.
His kiss and how she ran her hands briefly in his sandy blond hair melted her. She needed to stop. On the ride, she called Sandra, who answered on the second ring. “Can you meet Eva and me for coffee tonight?”
Envisioning a firing squad, she answered nonchalantly, “I can’t. I need to go shopping for work tomorrow, and it’s already late.”
“Make time. We won’t keep you long.”
She bit her lip. “I guess I can go to our usual place on the ride home.”
“Text me when you’re done. She’s upset it was you all along, Pen. We need to smooth things over.”
What? Her friends all overanalyzed everything, confusing her. She hadn’t talked to Jay until she moved back. Sandy, of all people, had to know that. “Me all along? What does that mean?”
Sandy whispered into her phone, “Jay never touched Eva. They didn’t date all that long and she thought he wanted someone else. And then bam, turns out the girl was you.”
She almost swerved her Jeep into another car.
“No.” A secret thrill raced up her body. The man never touched Eva. Tamara had been pretty, but she didn’t have Eva’s star power. No mortals did, including Penny. Jay had “perfect guy” written on his forehead. Eva had “gorgeous” on hers. But the rawness in his blue eyes earlier told her they had both been rocked by that kiss. The hum in her body grew while she told her friend, “We need to smooth everything out, then.”
“Penny, did you know?”
Her friend read her mind. Her hands shook in excitement, though she focused on the road. She giggled. “Know what?”
“That’s a no, then. Let me get my business closed so I can meet you for coffee. I have your back. You’re both my friends. Finish shopping. Be there soon.”
Pulling into the mall, she found a spot in the back. Good. In Miami people stayed out late every night. Technically, she could walk around all night, never going home, but she’d need sleep at some point. Running to the outlets with good quality clothing, she tried on countless dresses, skirts, blazers and blouses settling on four outfits at one store, two at another, three someplace else, and, surprisingly, one at a store she’d never heard of.
Her only issue was spending too much on these clothes. But if she shopped at Gainesville where it was cheaper, she’d have had additional shipping costs. Ok, time to move on and forgive herself. She started work tomorrow.
Glancing at her phone, she saw the time. It was getting late, and she had to be up early.
She’d face Eva soon.
She walked out of the mall as more people headed inside.
Gritting her teeth, she faced traffic. She’d get moving, though part of her wished to stay. Crowds sounded more tolerable than Eva, though they’d always been friendly back in their high school days.
The lights and cars slowed her down on the roads, but soon enough she found herself on US 1, parking at the shop in the Gables.
Fumbling for her purse, she almost screamed when someone opened her car door. Stifling her terror, she breathed, then yelled out, “Fernando, never touch my car door!”
“I came to greet you, baby girl, and walk you back in.”
Why would he still be here? She had enough changes in her life, but staring at a mistake hadn’t been on the agenda. She groaned before reminding him, “I’m not your baby. Not anymore. I never really was.”
Fernando had cute brown eyes, but her fingers ached to touch Jay again. Her lips tingled when she thought about a few hours ago. And the hardness on his body showed the dedication he had to everything he did. In comparison, the boy staring at her right now was just that, a stupid boy. And she now preferred a man. Jay, to be exact.
Stepping out of her Jeep, she locked the door, and kept two feet from Fernando, who followed her inside. Eva first. Fernando second.
Eva sat with Sandra. Fernando waved at them. Clearly, they’d became friendly yesterday. Penny imagined a huge bull’s-eye on her forehead when she ordered her chamomile tea. Waiting for her drink at the counter made her jumpy.
Hopefully the drink would calm her, like it was supposed to. “Here you go, ma’am.”
She jerked a quick nod before she closed her eyes to take a relaxing breath. Heading to the table made her stomach flutter, and in taking the seat, her legs quivered. “Hi.”
Sandra reached across the table and squeezed Penny’s hand in support.
Eva’s eyes narrowed. “Nervous to talk to me? We were always friends, Penny.
“Sandra tells me you didn’t know Jay and I were dating at all until you came home yesterday.”
Lying didn’t solve anything. Sandra didn’t need to smooth this over. Not when she hadn’t done anything wrong. Ripping open the honey in the small plastic package, Penny’s hand only slightly shook as she stared up at her, then nodded. “I knew.”
“And you dated him online anyway?”
“No. We weren’t dating. I was dating Fernando, staying away from Miami.”
“Then one day back you land Jay. The same day we were breaking up.”
Penny’s lips pressed into a grimace. She liked Eva as a person, but she didn’t get to interfere in her life either. “I came in for coffee. He was here. I went to my mother’s that night he broke up with you.”
Eva mimicked her head shake. “Don’t be nervous. I’m not the bad girl in this story, but I wish you had told me you loved Jay a long time ago. I would have done things differently too.”
“Loved?” She sipped her tea before shaking her head. This was getting out of control fast. Her body hoped to throw him down on her bed and have her wicked way with him, but reallove took time. She crossed her legs, then straightened them out while sitting. A headache formed. “I don’t know what to say. My life is spinning fast right now, but I’d never purposefully hurt you, Eva. Part of me is terrified of getting in your way. You always get what you want out of life.”
Eva’s smile grew larger. “True. Which is why I need your help now.”
Penny’s heart raced at being confronted. Sipping her tea in a gulp didn’t stop the sinking feeling in her chest. She gazed away, then asked, “What do you need from me?”
Eva raised a finger while she reached into her bag, taking out a folder. She had a glimmer in her eye as she pushed it toward Penny. “It’s a contract for Jay to sign, sponsoring our production of Cinderella.”
Business and manipulating killed her libido, and it would crush his too. Opening the contract, the number “two million” glared in her eyes, overpowering everything else she saw. “Are you serious?”
Eva shrugged. “He’s one of many sponsors, but his company benefits from me being happy for the two of you and my production company gets the money. It’s a win-win.”
Did all rich people care about giving and getting something when discussing how to help each other? Jay would probably talk about a deal while he slept. “You talk like him. I can’t promise anything but to show him this.”
“You can persuade him, Penny,” Eva prodded. “You have everything going for you.”
“She promised to talk to him. Trust her,” Sandra said.
Nodding, Penny added in a serious tone, “It’s a lot of money. And I don’t have anything to do with his business deals. Giving this to him already makes me feel uncomfortable, but I will because I’d like us to be friends still.”
She avoided direct eye contact with Eva until Eva spoke, “Jay doesn’t have your middle-class view of numbers. The only penny he counts as important is you. Don’t let me down.”
No. She kept her gaze down. Involving herself in these affairs should not be how she talked to him. As friends, she could say anything to the man. As a potential date that wasn’t a lie like Friday, she didn’t know how. She’d figure out what to do somehow. “I’m going to go home now. Work starts tomorrow. Fernando, go home to Tallahassee and don’t follow me to my car.”
Entering the apartment, she saw Jay pacing and talking to someone on the phone. His broad, naked back left her fantasizing about how strong he’d be holding her. She pretended to be busy, and shuttled all t her shopping bags into her room. She smiled at him, and he nodded before going back into his office.
Breathing normally took a few seconds, but she cooled off and began putting everything away. After sorting out her new clothes, she stared down at the bed. Jay taking off those sexy boxers would steam up her room and cause her to explode at the same time.
Laughing, she decided to get something to eat before bed. It wasn’t like she could sleep anyhow. Tomorrow was the big day.
After putting the papers on the counter, she decided to make them a simple dinner of pasta, eggplant, and breaded chicken. Jay stayed in his office while she prepped for the food. When she was done, she put the food in the oven. then she went to put the last of her new clothes in the closet and to wash the hot sun off her body.
Smelling clean and fresh, she went back to check on her food and caught Jay reading the folder she’d left on the counter.
Biting her lip, she told him, “I promised to deliver that to you from Eva.”
“Clearly. It had my name on it.”
This wasn’t how she’d planned tonight. She’d rather have another go at that kiss, but he seemed so serious at the moment. She went into the kitchen to open the oven and not look at him. “I told her no, but she insisted I give it to you. I said I would, but I swore not to be involved with your answer.”
“Will she leave you alone if I agree to this?” he asked.
Turning around, she met clear, judging eyes that made her body want to jump out of her skin. Rubbing her hand on her nightshirt, she gazed down again. “She mentioned we’d be friends no matter what you said.”
“I’ll have my lawyers look at this.”
He hopped out of his chair, walking back to his office, not looking at her. She picked at a loose thread on her shirt, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush she felt extending down her entire body. When the door clicked closed, she opened the oven to check on the food.
At least she did one thing right today. Finding the oven mitts, she took out the food, placing it on top of the counter next to the oven. She smiled, then washed her hands. She hadn’t cooked in a while. Calmness enveloped her and soon everything in the kitchen smelled delicious. Finished with all the prep, she heard the crackle of the olive oil one more time, then she added onions, garlic, green peppers to the stir-fry pan to let everything get brown and cook together.
A hand went on her back, causing her knees to almost buckle.
“Smells delicious, Penny. Is there enough for me?”
“Yes.” Arching her head back, she caught hold of herself before she jumped into another fire. Math was addition, one step at a time. She should live her life one thing at a time. It would make everything better. “I hoped you’d join me. I need to calm down to be fresh for work tomorrow. It’s why I moved back here.”
Not because she missed him, though she always had. She should stick with friends until she understood what was going on with him and started her new job.
He found the plates in the cabinet and told her, “I’ll clean up after. Go inside, download a book, and relax. Tomorrow will be hard.”
“You’re not mad at me for giving you those papers, though?”
He stared up, surprised. “No. I’ll settle with Eva and keep you out of it.”
Why would he do that? Eva and Jay spoke a language she didn’t understand at all. “Settle? You’ll give her the money?”
He shrugged. “I get it back on my taxes. So it’s a wash and it makes our lives easier. Don’t stress over it.”
Two million dollars? “Is that because of me or your own conscience, Jay?”
“I don’t have one of those anymore.”
Yes, he did. They were always friends. He needed her. “Don’t lie to yourself or to me. You know right from wrong, and you always have. Jay, you’re a good man.”
“It’s good you think so. Let’s eat.”
She didn’t mention the kiss. It would be better to bury that. After putting her dish in the sink, she took his advice and downloaded a book to read and relax with before bedtime.
While she snuggled under her soft blankets, Penny listened to him humming as he cleaned up the kitchen. If they weren’t friends, stripping him down and kissing him senseless would be so much easier.