Chapter 38 Penny
Chapter 38
Penny
When Penny boards the van for the drive home, she’s hot and sweaty, and she’s sure Leo notices her breasts pressed through her white T-shirt. This time, he takes the seat directly beside her and drops a hand on her thigh. The warmth dissipates, replaced by a cool thrill, and he spots the goose bumps floating down her leg. He takes his time, sliding his palm along her skin.
His nearness excites her, and she can’t deny what’s building between them, what never died. Hiking beside him felt normal. Effortless. They didn’t have to talk; proximity was plenty. She spots Henry out of the corner of her eye. The irony isn’t lost on her. One marriage ends, another begins again.
She mulls this over as they enter the kitchen. Tonight’s menu has some of her favorites, fig and prosciutto, pasta with shrimp and orange and mint. The chocolate lava cake sounds like they’re in for a festive evening.
She wonders how things will play out between Henry and Lucy. She’s surprised they’re still here. But not as surprised to see Cassidy waltzing down the kitchen steps, her hand plucking the seam of the attention-grabbing slit in her skirt. Leo doesn’t seem to notice the effort in her grand entrance. If only his on-screen image didn’t contradict his true persona. Fan expectations, his publicist, Lucinda, had called it. She’d begged him to learn to flirt, to work the room with more than those eyes. But he didn’t know how. He blamed it on Penny. You did this to me.
Renée offers her a glass of wine, and Penny swigs it back. Leo sidles over and takes the empty seat beside her. Cassidy deflates, and the table quietly fills. Adam and Sienna. Lucy hobbling on her crutches, Henry in tow. Rosalie.
They gather and do what they do. They reminisce about their day, talking over one another. Someone’s describing the hike, the twisty trail surrounded by tumbling water. Someone brings up a comparable hike in Colorado. Another compliments the wine. Henry ties everything into a lesson about the sky and stars. They talk about travel disasters and the dangers of the internet and the type of alcohol they can never drink again. Henry and Lucy seem less on edge now that their secret’s out in the open. Like they’ve made peace with their truth.
Jean-Paul’s quiet. Something’s weighing on his mind. Renée too. She ordinarily scurries around the table, but tonight she huddles over her phone intently reading. Penny knows the concerns surrounding the inn. They all do. She wonders if there’s a way they could help.
Cassidy’s on her second, maybe third drink, and her words begin to slur. Penny spots the worried look Rosalie shoots her way, but it doesn’t make a dent in Cassidy. She gulps her wine in one swallow and holds the glass up for Renée to fill. That’s when Rosalie’s hand shoots up.
Good for her. Simone preserves the moment on her camera.