Something Wild (15 page)

Yet,
she wondered, biting her lip, did it really count as being wild if she thought she was falling in love? Maybe it wasn't wildness at all. Maybe it was just the beginning of something deeper.

She shook her head in disbelief. Here she was, still trying to turn down one man's proposal, and she thought she might already be starting to fall in love with another.

Well, that part wouldn't matter in the end anyway, since she knew this was just casual sex to Ryan; it
couldn't
be any more than that, at least not as long as he remained at Schuster Systems.

The worst part was she had no idea how things would be between them tomorrow, and no way of knowing if they'd ever make love again.

7

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"
T
he party you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message."

Penny hung up the phone in the pub's office with a heavy sigh. Parts of her life were starting to play like a broken record. Which made her all the more thankful Ryan hadn't left before making love to her last night—that was one pattern she'd been especially anxious to alter. She still got tingly inside every time she thought about it, about him.

And as things with Ryan deepened, she burned with the need to talk to Martin, to get this proposal business cleared up. She glanced at her watch. 8:57 a.m. Almost six in Vegas. She'd been certain if she called him this early in the morning, he'd be there.

Picking the phone back up, Penny redialed the Flamingo Hilton's number, which she now knew by heart. This time, however, instead of requesting his room, she asked the operator if she could have a message delivered personally to Mr. Schuster. "What's the message, ma'am?"

Simple. "Call Penny."

She couldn't believe it was Thursday, a week since she'd talked to him. But, she reasoned, Martin always put the company first, so if there was some important early-morning computer seminar, he'd be there. Or maybe he'd just left to meet with potential clients over breakfast. Whatever the case, she could almost imagine his words when he finally got in touch with her. "Penny, I apologize for not calling, but I got so wrapped up in the conference that time got away from me." Then he'd drift off onto a tangent about the marvelous networking opportunities or the new technologies.

"Hello, are you in there?" A brisk knock came on the office door as Patti's voice cut into her thoughts.

Penny swung the door open. "Hi," she said, but knew she sounded dejected.

"What's wrong? And why are you hiding in the office?"

"I was trying to get in touch with Martin, but no luck."

Patti glanced at the phone on the desk, then back at Penny, then broke into a let's-tell-secrets smile. "Well, Martin's not the guy I want to hear about anyway. Tell me everything."

Penny wished she were more annoyed at her sister's nosiness, but it was fun to be the one doing something exciting for a change. She felt as if it put her and Patti on equal ground. Nonetheless, she played aloof, tossing out, "Nothing to tell," as she sauntered past into the pub.

"Nothing to tell,"
Patti mimicked, grabbing her wrist to spin her around. "Well, you can at least tell me where you got that bra. I thought poor Scott would have a heart attack."

Heat filled Penny's cheeks. "Me, too. I have no idea how I'll ever face the guy again. But I'm betting that's the last time you'll come barging into my house like that, huh?"

They both burst into laughter then, even though Penny's was slightly nervous. Patti's eyes still danced with mirth after they'd quieted. "Come on, Pen. At least tell me if he was good or not."

Penny cast a slow, wicked grin. "Well, he was … just as good as he looks like he'd be."

"Ooh, sounds fun." Patti took on a rather lascivious expression herself before casting a suspicious look. "So what's the deal with you anyway? Something's suddenly very different."

Her sister's powers of perception were truly amazing, but at least Penny still held her limousine encounter secret. It remained the one thing she was determined not to share. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't have a word for it exactly, but … wow, Pen, having sex with a guy you hardly know? That's not like you. And in your foyer, too!"

"We didn't do it in the foyer," Penny cut in, but she had to laugh at her own defensiveness as she added, "It was in the bathtub."

Patti joined in the giggling. "See what I mean? It's like you're a new woman."

"I think I am," Penny confessed. "I've stumbled across a side of myself I never knew before."
Even if it's
a
side I'm still struggling to get comfortable with.
"A side that'll let me cut loose a little, let me have a full-blown fling for once in my life."

"You lie," Patti accused, her tone shifting.

"What?"

"You keep using that word, fling, but new woman or not, I don't believe for a minute that's all this is. You as much as admitted that to me yesterday."

Penny sighed, but stood strong. "Be that as it may, a fling is all it can be, and I'm prepared to deal with that."
I think.

"Oh, I get it," Patti replied. "You're really digging him, but he's still got this job hang-up going on."

"It's not a hang-up. Martin would probably fire Ryan if he found out. At the very least, it would strain their relationship."

"Maybe he could get a new job," Patti suggested.

"Yeah, he could quit a job he relocated for, so he can date a girl he barely knows. That makes a lot of sense."

"He had sex with you."

Twice, in fact, although Patti didn't know that. "It's the twenty-first century. It happens. I don't think he feels obligated to me just because I invited him into my bathtub."

Penny hated the look that formed on Patti's face. She could see the pity and concern, not to mention the fear that Penny would get her heart broken.

"Don't worry," Penny insisted, "I can handle this." Besides, she had no other choice. She'd let herself go wild with him, and she hadn't asked for promises. "For all I know, it won't even happen again. And if so … I'll live."
Even if I'm miserable for a while.

When the phone rang, Penny flinched, thinking it was Martin, and raced to snatch up the receiver. "Two Sisters Pub. This is Penny."

"Hi Penny, it's Grace."

She suppressed a groan—still no Martin. "Hi, Grace. What's up?"

"I want to place a breakfast order."

"Breakfast, huh?" She tried to sound lighthearted. "That's different." Schuster Systems ordered five to ten lunches from them every day, but never breakfast.

"I know," Grace laughed, "but Eve, Ryan and I were standing here saying how hungry we are, and we decided some Danishes sounded good. We want two apple, two cheese and one cherry."

Penny scribbled the order, but was stuck on hearing Ryan's name, on envisioning him standing at Grace's desk this very second, listening to their phone call. "Got it. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. I'll be down in five to get them."

"I can bring them up," Penny offered.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not busy, so why not?"

After she got off the phone, she packed the order and told Patti where she was headed. Patti simply shook her head. "Fling, my butt."

"I'm not going up there just to see
him.
I'm going … to be nice." And that was partially true. She and Grace were casual friends and she knew Grace was busy this time of day, answering phones and dealing with early-morning office duties. In fact, that's how the daily sandwich delivery ritual had originally begun. Grace had been unable to leave the phones for several days in a row at lunchtime, and Penny had offered to start bringing them up.

When she stepped off the elevator a few minutes later at Schuster Systems, everything felt normal. The lobby's chrome trim shone beneath recessed lighting and fresh flower arrangements adorned the tables in the small waiting area. Grace resided behind her circular desk, her hair swept back in its usual bun, and she looked buried in mail-sorting. Penny approached with a smile. "Two apple, two cheese, one cherry," she said, handing over the white bag.

Grace pushed up her tiny glasses. "That was quick."

Penny shrugged. "Five Danishes are easier than five sandwiches."

Just then, Ryan passed through the rear of the lobby behind Grace's desk, a handful of diskettes clutched in his fist. He glanced up, saw Penny, then stopped short. "Uh, hi."

Suddenly nothing felt very normal anymore. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of his smile on this official "morning after," and she almost smiled back, but then remembered that Grace was sitting right there. "Hi," she said, trying to sound completely casual. "I … brought your Danish."

He seemed to catch on then, his eyes flashing just a hint of alarm. "Great. Thanks."

"I'll bring it back in a minute," Grace told him over her shoulder.

"Thanks," he said again, then gave Penny a quick wink before heading on his way.

"So," Grace said when he was gone, "I bet you're looking forward to Martin's return in a few days."

Penny winced inside, and drew her gaze down to Grace's friendly eyes. "Uh, yeah." For more reasons than you know. Then she tilted her head, and took the opportunity to ask the question that had been plaguing her. "Grace, have you heard from Martin since he's been away?"

Grace shook her head. "No, but that's not uncommon. He's such a workaholic, he tends to get so mired in whatever he's doing that he forgets to check in. And he trusts me to keep things moving smoothly while he's away." A hint of pride echoed in her voice.

"Then you don't think it's a little weird that I haven't heard from him, either?"

"Not really. He's probably backing off, trying to give you some space, time to think."

Penny knew Martin had told Grace about his proposal before he'd left. Grace had been with him since Schuster Systems' inception and he tended to share certain personal issues with her as a matter of course.

"That would make sense," Penny said, "except that I've left messages at his hotel."

Grace gave her an encouraging look. "I wouldn't worry, Penny. It's like I said. He's probably completely immersed in conference activities and hasn't even checked his messages. Those events can be really hectic and tiring."

Penny nodded, reassured if not consoled. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"But I'm sure you're on his mind every second." Grace smiled. "I'm sure he's hoping to slip a ring on your finger as soon as he gets back."

That's the part that's eating me alive,
she thought. "Thanks, Grace," was all she said.

* * *

Ryan felt great as he moved up Penny's front walk. He
shouldn't
feel great, he knew that. He should feel awful. And it wasn't that he'd quit worrying about Martin and his job, but yesterday with Penny had been incredible! A dart of pleasure arced through him just remembering.

When Ryan looked back on his life, he couldn't remember ever knowing anyone like Penny. He'd dated mostly sophisticated girls, or at least girls who
thought
they were sophisticated—cheerleaders in high school, sorority girls in college, and since then, executive-type women. But something in those relationships had always lacked… What was the word he was searching for? Heart? Substance?

He'd probably talked more with Penny in the short time he'd known her than he ever had with any other woman. It had happened again after they'd made love yesterday. They'd just talked. About everything and nothing. It had been nice. So nice that leaving hadn't come as easy as he would have liked, but he'd done it anyway because it had seemed the prudent thing to do. If he could call anything about yesterday afternoon prudent.

So for now, he had no answers; he just had to go with the flow. The good news was that after he'd gone yesterday, he'd gotten a tremendous amount of work done on her system. Relieving his sexual frustrations with her must have been good for him on more than one level.

When Penny opened the door, she wore brief denim shorts that hugged her slender hips and a bright-red tank top that conformed to her curves, as well. Her sandy-blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. "Hi," she said.

The very sight of her left him speechless. After all, this morning at the office she'd been wearing her Two Sisters T-shirt and baseball cap, which was cute, of course, but now she looked plain sexy. "Uh, hi," he finally sputtered, then realized he was staring. "Sorry. But you look good."

She gave him a bashful smile. "Thanks."

Ah yes, the simpler Penny. But he knew what lay underneath that innocent veneer, and the mere knowledge drove him crazy. He moved closer and slid his arms around her waist, then lowered a kiss to her lips that heated his blood. As she lifted her hands to his chest, he whispered in her ear, "So tell me, what kind of bra are you wearing today?"

He drew back in time to see a coquettish look form in her eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know." Mmm, the vixen Penny had arrived.

Lifting a hand to her shoulder, Ryan eased his fingers beneath her tank top to reveal an equally red strap. His heart stopped. "Nice. Can I see the rest?"