Chapter 20 #2
“Ha! The paparazzi would probably make up some story about me ripping it off your neck and stealing Alex away from you. Caroline would love that. Think of the buzz that would stir up.” Indy looked back at the necklace.
“God, it’s the most perfect gift I have ever seen.
You two are just—you kind of make me want to vomit. ”
“Love you, too,” Penny said, checking her phone. No messages.
Where was he?
Should she text him?
Just to say thank you?
Or wait to do it in person?
In person. That was better and she needed to stop obsessing.
She’d see him later, at the gala.
“How was your flight?”
Indy tossed herself back onto the bed and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Jasmine didn’t speak to me the entire trip here. How do you think it was?”
“You can’t take all that negative energy out onto the court. You guys will get destroyed.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it or anything.” Indy stretched her neck and groaned. “I’m working on it, promise.”
“Good, but for now I think I have something that’ll cheer you up,” Penny said, grabbing her phone and texting Jack. “The dresses will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Penny couldn’t help but admire the dress she’d chosen for the players’ gala. Strapless taupe silk embellished with beading at the waist and hem, it gave her a chicer look than her usual style. She bent her arm back, gave the zipper one last tug, and it slid into place.
“There,” she said, turning and twisting in the mirror. Perfect.
A knock sounded and she moved to open the door. “Indy, hurry up,” she called toward the bathroom. “We’ve only got like…”
When she opened the door, he was there. Penny bit her lip, trying to stop her grin at the sight of him, hair still damp from the probable mad dash from the car into the hotel, his bags dropped at his feet, a hand supporting him against the doorframe, head ducked before he looked up at her, his eyes already burning into hers from beneath his furrowed brow.
It was a losing battle, and as soon as her mouth curved into a soft smile, he reached out with his free arm and pulled her in, bracing her back against the doorframe and bending his head to her.
The kiss was hot and deep and all-consuming, and his hands buried into her hair, totally ruining the silky curls she’d meticulously arranged. Penny didn’t care as she curled her leg around his calf, pulling him even closer.
Ignoring the pointed throat clearing from behind them, likely Indy emerging from the bathroom, Penny pulled away, then kissed him lightly one more time as Indy’s gagging noises faded back into the bathroom. They finally moved out of the hallway and let the hotel room door close behind them.
“You got the necklace.” His hand came up to where the coin rested against her skin, just above the neckline of her dress, rising and falling with every breath she took. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
“I’ve had it with me during every Grand Slam I’ve ever played in and I wanted you to have it.
” She leaned forward again to kiss him, but he rested his forehead against hers, stopping her.
“I’m sorry about how I left things between us,” he murmured against her lips.
“I couldn’t figure out a way to say that over the phone, so I thought this might do it for me. ”
If he kept this up, all of her lingering doubts would be long gone in no time.
This was how it needed to be, them talking things out, not stressing over silly misunderstandings when their minds needed to be on the court.
“You thought right. It’s perfect. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about your knee, though, okay? ”
He winced. “Yeah, about that. I saw my surgeon in London while I was there. I told him about the pain and he took a look. Knee’s fine, I promise, but worry away if it’ll make you feel better.”
“Oh,” Penny said, the flurry of information making her mind whirl as much as his arrival. “You could’ve said something.”
Alex shrugged. “Might have been a little embarrassed about how I snapped.”
“Next time talk to me, okay? Don’t disappear.”
“Promise,” he said, pressing his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of the kiss, but her mind was still spinning; she was still unsure if she could let go enough to trust him completely.
“I stand by what I said, you two make me want to vomit,” Indy called from the opposite end of the room, balancing against the dresser to put on her black heels, which were paired perfectly with an emerald-green halter dress with a metallic sheen that hugged her long, lean figure tightly.
Penny couldn’t help the soft snort of amusement against Alex’s neck. He hushed her lightly.
“You look lovely tonight, Indy,” Alex said, and Penny lifted her head in time to see her friend blush.
“Thanks. Are you guys actually going to the party, or should I finish up here and leave you to it?”
Penny rolled her eyes. “We’re going. Do you want us to wait for you?”
Indy grabbed her makeup bag and waved them out of the room. “No, go ahead. I’m almost done.”
They walked hand in hand toward the elevator bay, but once there, Penny couldn’t resist. She stood on her toes, leaned against his chest, and kissed him lightly once, twice, then, slowly opening her mouth beneath his, she nudged her tongue against his bottom lip.
They broke apart and came together over and over again, neither willing to stop until they both pulled away, gasping for air, shaky breaths matching the trembling in her body.
“Jesus,” he breathed. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” she asked as his hands fell to her waist, squeezing gently.
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Do it again.”
Laughing a little, she pressed her lips to his again. “Your flight got in early?”
“Took an earlier one,” he said, reaching around her to push the elevator call button. “I wanted to get here in time for the gala.”
“So you could go with me?” she asked, only half teasing him. “We can’t even stay that long. I have my first-round match tomorrow.”
“So I could see you in a dress like that, and I don’t care how long we stay. In fact, I’m all in favor of making an early night of it.” He stepped back and let his eyes travel up from the floor over every inch of her body.
Penny laughed. “You’re so smooth.”
A deep chuckle echoed from his chest. “Apparently not that smooth.”
“Smooth enough,” she said, then grasped the front of his crisp white dress shirt and pulled him in for another kiss.
A ding from the elevator’s arriving registered in her mind, but she didn’t care.
“Damn it, could you two not do that in front of me, ever?”
Alex pulled away at the sound of her brother’s voice. She fell back on her heels, turned, and glared at Jack.
“Can we hold hands or is that too much for your delicate sensibilities?”
“Jack, good to see you, mate,” Alex said, extending his hand toward her brother.
Jack frowned but shook his hand. The handshake lasted longer than it probably should have. Penny watched as the knuckles of both men’s hands turned red and then briefly white before they both released their grip.
“Are you done?” she asked Jack sharply.
He ignored her question. “Is Indiana ready, too? Dom’s downstairs holding a car for all of us.”
As if on cue, Indy appeared around the corner looking like someone who belonged on a runway rather than a tennis court, long blond hair in wild waves hanging down her back, smoky eyes, and gloss making her lips shine.
Penny saw Jack suck in a breath and a sudden heaviness cut through the small space.
She glanced between her brother and her friend, but as quickly as she felt the tension, it was gone again.
“All right, let’s go,” Jack said, calling the elevator again. The door opened immediately. They all stepped inside. As the door closed and the car started moving, Alex slipped his hand around Penny’s and squeezed.
It was going to be a good night.
“Penny! Alex!”
“When’s the wedding?”
“Look this way!”
“Give her a kiss!”
Alex stepped out of the car and then offered her his hand as the camera flashes assaulted them.
Penny steadied her heels against the cobblestone street, feeling his arm slide around her waist. Indy, Jasmine, Jack, and Dom followed behind, but the reporters were in a frenzy for tennis’s new golden couple.
No more unsubstantiated rumors. They were clearly together.
And as if to emphasize the point, Alex’s hand slid a little lower.
Penny bit her lip and glanced up at him through her lashes.
He winked at her and then nodded at the red carpet. The flashes were blinding and it was almost impossible to understand anything in the cacophony coming from the camera pool.
“You okay?” Alex muttered into her ear about halfway down the line.
“This is wild,” she said through her teeth, keeping her smile firmly in place, but moving closer to him, pressing her side into his.
He exhaled into her hair and then brushed a kiss against her temple, his neatly trimmed five-o’clock shadow scraping lightly against her skin.
The paparazzi went wild. If it hadn’t sunk in that her life had changed forever when she’d arrived at the hotel earlier to a sea of cameras, the point was hammered home now.
She couldn’t just be Penny Harrison, tennis player, anymore.
She was a celebrity, whether she wanted to be or not.