She had no words. She was beyond ashamed of herself for getting so carried away with her quest for information on Sam and for believing the worst of him when he had done nothing to deserve her distrust. Crying wasn’t the prerogative of the transgressor in her family growing up, so she bit her tongue and held her tears. She looked down at her boots instead.
His face took a serious turn and he looked at her closely. “Jenny, look at me. Please look at me. Listen, I know you don’t know me very well, but, I need you to know this: When I’m with someone, I’m really with them. I wouldn’t have touched you yesterday if I wasn’t free to do so. We may live in different worlds, Jen, but that’s just not the kind of man I am, or would be, in either world.” He looked at her, waiting for an indication that she understood and accepted what he was saying, and she nodded back.
He sat back down at the table and turned his attention to the omelets, sliding the all-weather omelet onto his plate with several pieces of bacon.
“You didn’t do anything to these omelets, did you?” His eyes sparkled with laughter. “I’m not going to die from too much cayenne or a rotten yam, am I?”
She closed her eyes, breathing in and closed them, breathing out. It didn’t help. She had done it again after she had promised herself she wouldn’t: jumped to conclusions. Misjudged him. How in the world could she offer a sufficient apology? Lord help me to swallow my terrible pride and show him how sorry I am.
“No, Sam. They’re fine. I promise.”
“Then come sit with me and have some breakfast.” He gestured to the empty seat across from him. “And if you want, I’ll tell you all about Pepper.”
Burning cheeks. Wounded pride. Repentant heart.
She sat. There was nothing else to do.
***
Jenny, Jenny. He glanced over at her as they shared breakfast, sipping coffee in the silence of her kitchen. She looked young and miserable, occasionally taking a small bite of egg or bacon. This is the most alive I’ve felt in years. Like waking up after sleeping for way too long.
“So…” He began after polishing off half the omelet and several pieces of crispy cheap pig. “Do you want to know about Pepper or not?”
“Okay.” She nodded. She picked at her bacon distractedly, Sam noticed, and she didn’t meet his eyes. He wasn’t a fan of mopey Jenny. He was anxious to dispense with Pepper’s story and get on with their day.
“Her name’s really Penelope. I work at an investment firm and schmoozing is pretty important to my boss.”
“Schmoozing?” she interrupted, finally looking up.
“You know, taking clients out to over-the-top dinners, going to galas to rub elbows with millionaires, that sort of thing.” She nodded and he continued. “So my boss had two tickets to a fundraiser at the Chicago Cultural Center. He couldn’t go at the last minute and asked me to go. I didn’t have a date and he suggested that his niece, Penelope, who was supposed to be going with him, could just as well go with me. I didn’t put two and two together until she met me there and I realized the girl from ‘What’s the Weather? With Pepper’ and my boss’s niece Penelope were one and the same. We had a great time at the gala and started dating.”
“She’s perfect, Sam. Beautiful. And the burned children…” Jenny looked at him so earnestly, looking so miserable, with such vulnerability etched on her face his heart clenched with tenderness.
“Jenny. Those are just pictures. Pepper Pettway is really beautiful. You’re right. She is. But with her, the beauty is skin deep, and no deeper. Those burned children? She read three sentences of a story while the camera was flashing, then marched out of there to get her nails done a minute after the reporter left. I doubt those poor kids will ever find out what happened to the grumpy puppy.” He sipped his coffee, pushing his plate away.
Jenny seemed unconvinced. “She seems so selfless, helping with so many fundraisers and good causes.”
“She was an honorary member on most of those committees.” He noted her puzzled expression and continued, “Someone whose name goes on the invitation because they’re a public figure, but who does nothing to contribute to the event aside from showing up and having her picture taken for publicity.”
“With you.”
Ah, Jen. You’re killing me with these searching blue eyes. I want to hold you and kiss all of that uncertainty away. But I know what would comfort me wouldn’t comfort you…
“Sure. Sometimes. When we were together. Now, I’m sure it’s someone else. And you know what? Good riddance.” He knew his tone was hard as he said this and his eyes narrowed. But damn it, Pepper wasn’t one of his favorite conversation topics and certainly one he wouldn’t have volunteered with Jenny.