Playing at Forever (24 page)

“Oh, I’m already there.  Don’t worry; I’m saving a seat for you, too.”  Penny could do nothing more than glare at him, feeling powerless.  “Maybe now that she’s given it up, you’ll be satisfied.  Thomson Davis is always up for a challenge, isn’t he?  Well, there’s no game left to be had here.  It’s time to move on.” 

“We’ve already decided how we’re going to take care of it, Graham.”  Tommy spoke after several moments.  “We’ll play it off for a little bit longer.  Then we’ll just claim that we live in two different worlds and it could never work.”

Had they figured all of that out?  Penny couldn’t recall.  Then again, if they had, she might have been blinded by the sudden pain in her chest.

She couldn’t have felt more betrayed. 

Was that really all it had been to him? 
Just a game?
 

It couldn’t have. 

But when she looked up at him, she couldn’t be certain.  He wouldn’t look at her. 

Tears flooded her eyes. 

How could she have fallen for it?

She said nothing as she turned around and made for her own bedroom, slamming the door behind her.  She needed to get away from them.  She needed just a few minutes alone to regain her composure and to figure out what she was going to do. 

After a quick shower, she dressed and sat on the armchair, staring at the floor. 

How had things changed so completely in such a short amount of time? 

The buzzing noise of her phone sounded and Penny sighed, deciding that it was probably time to face reality—especially after such a harsh dose of it already this morning.  “Hello?”  She questioned, hoping the happiness in her voice didn’t sound too forced. 

“Penelope?”  It was her mother.  “Well, it’s about time, isn’t it?”

“Sorry, Mom.
  I’ve been…busy.” 

“Well, I can only imagine, what with a wedding and all.”  It was obvious by her tone that her feelings had been hurt. 

“I’m sorry, Mom.  It wasn’t exactly my most thought-out moment—”

“Well, that much is obvious.”  Now her father was there too.  Penny sighed, closing her eyes.  “Oh, I understand, Penny, dear.  Love makes people act crazy.  Your mother and I almost eloped, too.”

“Elliot!”  Her mother snapped. 

“I really am sorry, Dad—”

“Well, you can make it up to us by bringing that new son-in-law of ours home for Thanksgiving.”

“Dad—”

“No buts about it, Penelope.  Thanksgiving is meant to be spent with your family.  If Tommy Davidson doesn’t understand that, then you’ll have to tell him to take it up with me.  Family is always first.  Work can wait.” 

The thought of spending the holiday with her parents was almost unbearable, but she knew it was the right thing to do.  Unless she broke down and told them the truth right then and there…

“I’ll talk to him,”
  Penny
finally replied, sighing quietly. 

“Great, we’ll see you in a couple of days then, dear!”  Her mother’s tone was noticeably more joyful now. 

Well, at least she’d made someone happy. 

The airport was equally as busy on the way out as it had been on the way in.  Penny hadn’t spoken a word to Tommy since the outburst with Graham and she didn’t intend to. 

At least until she discovered they were flying back to L.A.

“I thought we were going back to
Ravenside
.”

“I have that meeting.  Remember?”  Sure, she remembered the meeting.  But what did that have to do with her?  As if reading her mind, Graham spoke next.

“Didn’t you know, Penelope?  They requested you be there.” 

No, she hadn’t known, and she didn’t understand why. 

She had sent the small, lesser-known studio Tommy’s script and a copy of their final performance before bumping into the executive at the after-party.  But once he revealed to her where he worked, she thought him to be fair game and did her best to convince him to give Tommy’s script a chance. 

There was no reason at all that
she
needed to be there. 

All she wanted to do was go home.

Unfortunately, she realized, she wasn’t even sure where that was anymore. 

“Well then,
Graham
, I’m going to need you to cancel anything you have planned for Tommy after that.”  Her voice was steady, her eyes unemotional.  Business, she told herself.  They both looked at her as if she was crazy.  “Thanksgiving is Thursday.  We’re going to my parents’ house.”

“Pen, the movie comes out—”

“Then you can promote until Wednesday.  But we’re going.  If I’m going to keep up this little charade for
you
, I think you can return the favor for me just this once.” 

“I’m
sure
the
Langs
will understand—”
  Graham
started, but it was Tommy who cut him off.

“Cancel the promo stints.”  His manager tried to argue with him, but Tommy would have none of it. 

Good, Penny thought.  He owed her that much.

 Tommy was just as clueless as to why the studio had requested Penny at the meeting—until he saw who was conducting the meeting, anyway. 

He tried not to notice the way the man from the premiere hugged Penny.  Or the way he let his hands linger just a moment too long at the small of her back.  Or the way his eyes flickered over her as if she was nothing more than a piece of meat.

He tried, and he failed. 

He knew it shouldn’t matter to him.  It was obvious that whatever had been between he and Penny was long gone now. 

Still, he couldn’t help but to feel jealous. 

After all, she was his wife. 
Even if only on paper.

Tommy sighed. 

They sat down—Penny, Tommy, and Mark, Tommy’s agent, along with those from the studio. 

It wasn’t all that different from the meetings Tommy had sat through before.  Lots of shop talk, mostly between Mark and the studio guys.  Lots of shop talk that Tommy couldn’t really bring himself to care about, though he knew he should. 

This was supposed to be his dream, wasn’t it? 

But he couldn’t stop thinking about Penny, especially with her sitting right beside him. 

Finally, Penny turned and glanced at him, as if scolding him with her eyes.

“Now, there are a few things
we
need to discuss.”  The man, who had been introduced to him as Gary, but who Tommy could only think of as the man who was doing his very best to get into Penny’s good graces, said to both he and Penny.  “First of which, and most importantly, is the casting.”

“Tommy has to play the lead—”

“That’s without question, of course.”  Tommy looked up, surprised. 
Really?
 
That easily?
  There had to be a catch.  “No, the role we’re looking to cast is actually the role of the wife.  I know it’s only a small role, but we need someone who can really pull it off.”  Gary looked at Tommy for a long moment before turning to look at Penny.  “We want you, Penny.” 

“Excuse me?”  Penny’s voice was a few octaves higher than it normally was.  “You must have misunderstood—it wasn’t an audition for
myself
.  I’m not an actress.”

“Oh no, we understood.”  Gary perched himself atop his desk.  “You might not see yourself as an actress, but we saw that tape, Penelope.  And you definitely have talent.” 

Of course, it made sense.  Tommy saw it now, as he glanced sideways at her.  He hadn’t realized it until just this moment, but, in his mind, Sarah had always been Penny. 

“Tommy, tell him that it’s a bad idea—”

“I can’t.”  Tommy shrugged his shoulders casually.  “I think it’s a great idea.”  He didn’t have to look at Penny to know that she was angry with him.  “Just take the part, Pen.  It’s not very big.  You’ll be fine.” 

“But—”

“Don’t worry; you’ll be compensated for it.  It’s a win-win situation.”  They took her silence as acceptance, but Tommy knew Penny.  He knew that this was not going to thrill her. 

Well, just add that to the list of things he’d done wrong.  She would be grateful he was such a screw-up in the end, if only because he would have saved her from a great deal of unnecessary pain.  It was inevitable that he would screw it all up, anyway.

The meeting came to a close shortly after that.  They were hoping to begin shooting as soon as possible, and told Tommy to stay on alert. 

As they were leaving, Tommy couldn’t help but pay attention to the way Gary smiled expectantly at Penny.  “I came through with my end of the deal—now it’s your turn, Miss Lang.  Or is it Mrs. Davis now?” 

What kind of a deal was he talking about?  What had Penny offered him?  What was his dream going to cost her? 

What was it going to cost him?

Penny only smiled, ducking her head.  “You’ve got my number.  Make sure you use it—and we’ll see you in a few weeks.” 

“Thanks again, Gary.”  Penny wrapped her arms around the man’s neck for just a moment before stepping away.  She avoided his gaze, just like she had been since Vegas. 

Oh well, he told himself. 

It was really for the best.

But why didn’t he believe that?

They left early Thursday morning.  Penny was grateful, for once, that they had their own private plane.  The airport was insane, both leaving and arriving.  She had never been a fan of airports—especially when it came to holiday travel.

Tommy loaded their bags into the trunk of the rental car while Penny sat nervously in the passenger seat, dreading the day they were about to begin.  The tension between them was more than obvious to even a casual bystander.  Wouldn’t her parents be able to tell with ease? 

“I’m only going to ask you, just once, to please put on a happy face when we’re with my parents.” 

“Do you really think I would do any different?”  She didn’t, of course.  But she just felt the need to remind him.  This wasn’t a horde of paparazzi.  These were her parents—people who cared about the both of them.  “Relax, Penny.  I do this for a living.  I think I can pull off one holiday dinner.” 

She hoped he could.

Who was she kidding?  She hoped
she
could.  She wasn’t an actress, despite what Gary and the others seemed to think.  She hoped there was some way she would be able to pull it off.

They pulled up into her parents’ driveway several moments later, Penny taking a moment to breathe before she heard the door open and saw her parents rushing out to greet them.  “Penny!”  Her mom called excitedly, pulling her daughter in for a hug as she kissed her cheek. 
“And Tommy!”
 

“Pen, darling,”
  her
dad was next, pulling her in for a long hug.  “You look lovely.” 

“Thanks, Dad,”
  Penny
smiled, stepping back so that she could watch her dad greet Tommy. 

“Good to see you, son,”
  the
older man told the younger, shaking his hand before pulling him in for a quick hug.  Penny’s chest ached momentarily, wishing that she didn’t have to lie to them.  She hated that they were getting their hopes so high.

“Oh, you kids come on in.  We’ve got all sorts of catching up to do, not to mention a meal to cook.”  Her mom was ushering them inside and Penny was instantly greeted by memories of her childhood as the scent of a turkey in the oven filled her nose.  She hadn’t had a Thanksgiving dinner with her parents since the first year she and Kevin had been married. 

“Can I help with anything?”  Penny asked, setting her bag on the floor. 

“Nothing yet, dear.
  We have plenty of time to relax.” 

Great, because that was
exactly
what she wanted. 
Lots of time to spend with her parents and her fake husband.
 

But rather than say anything, she smiled brightly—even as Tommy tucked his arm around her waist. 

“Come in, sit down,
make
yourselves comfortable.”  Her dad urged and Penny sighed, slipping her shoes off and crossing the room to sit on the sofa.  Tommy joined her, now casually draping his arm around her shoulders.  “How was your flight? 
And the drive?”
 

“Oh, everything was great,”
  Tommy
smiled. 
“One of the perks of chartering your own plane.
 
Minimizes holiday traffic.”

“That’s one of the perks, I’m sure!”  Marion laughed.  “It must be nice.”

“I haven’t minded,”
  Penny
admitted bashfully. 

“I think our little Penelope has developed a bit of a taste for the finer things, these days.”   Tommy told her parents, a teasing tone in his voice.

“It’s all about quality, Tommy.  Not quantity.”  She reminded him, looking him directly in the eye as if to convey some secret message to him.  It didn’t matter to her how much something cost, or how flashy it was—all that mattered to her was the heart of the matter. 

“I couldn’t agree more.” 

Then why had he changed so dramatically, seemingly overnight?

“Well, we’ve seen some pictures of the home in
Ravenside
.  It’s just gorgeous.  We’ll have to come up and take a look.  Maybe for Christmas,”
  Marion continued. 

“Sure, Christmas would be great,”
  Tommy
told them and Penny glanced at him sharply.

Christmas…how different would everything be by then? 

“How was the benefit?”  Her dad asked. 

“Penny did an amazing job.”

“She usually does.”  He agreed, continuing the conversation with Tommy.  Penny didn’t mind—it was easier, sitting there with a smile on her face, laughing where she knew she was supposed to laugh. 

Before she knew it, several hours had passed.  “Here, Pen, why don’t you come
help
me get everything ready?” 

“Of course, Mom,”
  Penny
excused herself from the living room. 

The tradition came back naturally, Penny working alongside her mom to make the mashed potatoes and vegetables while the older woman took responsibility for the pie.  She liked the familiarity of it all, distracting her from the mess her life had fallen into.