Together, they set up a password for Penny to use during the test phase, and she chose "prettypenny," explaining with a wistful smile that her grandpa had called her that when she was a little girl. "He and my grandmother had a farm down in Kentucky, about an hour south of here. The land is covered with strip malls and fast food restaurants now, but back then, there was a silo, and acres of tall corn, and a tire swing that hung from the big apple tree in front of their house, just for Patti and me."
Ryan himself had grown up in a rural farming community, and though Penny's memories of such surroundings sounded warmer than his own, it reminded him of good times. "My brother Dan and I had a swing, too, a wooden one. My dad sat down in it one day after we'd outgrown it and broke right through it."
They shared a smile over Ryan's recollection, and he decided he certainly agreed with her grandfather's nickname for her, but how had they gotten off track so quickly? He determinedly wiped the grin from his face and returned his eyes to the computer, ready to move into the accounting program once and for all.
An incredible sense of relief washed over him as he finally fell into full work mode, soon showing her the accounting elements he'd designed for the pub after leaving last night. He supposed his comfort came from having done this hundreds of times; working with clients had become second nature to him and explanations for each screen display rolled off his tongue with ease. But he didn't really care why, he only cared that it'd happened, that she hadn't distracted him with any more personal stuff, and that he'd finally started acting more professionally before anything could go awry.
Every now and then, Penny uttered an "mmmhmm" or an "ah" or asked a question, and he made sure she understood the relevant features of each component before going to the next. Periodically, he asked her to give suggestions or point out things she disliked, taking notes and responding with suggestions of his own. By the time they'd walked through the screens he'd created, he felt a familiar sense of pride and satisfaction in his work.
"All right then," he said, "we've got the payables and receivables programs roughed in, let's move on to payroll. Like yesterday, I'll want to look at your notes, hear your thoughts, and we'll discuss ideas and look at some templates."
Glancing up, he saw her smile. "Dare I suggest a bathroom break?"
Ryan leaned back in his chair with a sigh and slowly let a conceding grin spread across his face. "I guess that's not a totally unreasonable request."
"And I, for one, am thirsty. Sure I can't tempt you?" She raised her eyebrows.
Okay, maybe he had been a little rigid earlier-it was easier to see in retrospect. But now they'd proven this could still be done, they could still work together like two normal human beings, two mature adults, even after last evening's kisses. "All right. I'll have something cold."
Penny got to her feet and padded from the room, and he had to admit, things truly seemed ordinary here. They were working well together as they had the other day, making good progress, and he was enjoying the interaction the same way he usually enjoyed client interaction. He might catch the occasional whiff of her hair now and then-what was that fragrance?-and he might notice the cute lilt in her voice when she caught on to how something worked, but overall, they'd fallen back into the roles of client and system designer with startling ease.
"I made some lemonade before you got here," her voice echoed from the kitchen.
"Sounds great." Peering at her hard drive resting upright on the floor beneath the desk, Ryan shrugged free of his suit jacket and got down on his knees. He started fiddling with the floppy drive where, sure enough, a diskette was lodged inside. It surprised him Martin couldn't have spent a little time making Penny's computer functional, but tomorrow, he'd bring a tool kit and take a closer look.
"It's from my grandma's secret recipe," she called, still in the other room.
"Your grandma has a secret recipe for lemonade?" he yelled back. "How can there be a secret to that?"
He continued to poke and prod at the diskette as she replied. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?"
Her playful tone made him smile. "Is this the same grandma who lived in Kentucky?"
"Yep, same one."
"So you said the farm isn't a farm anymore. Did all the Hallorans get into the food-and-drink business?"
"No, just Patti and me. My father owns a hardware store, one of the last family-run ones in the city. And my grandparents are retired. But they probably should all be in the restaurant business. My grandmother and mother are wonderful cooks and they taught me everything I know."
"What about Patti?" he asked over his shoulder. "They didn't teach her?"
Penny's short laugh resonated through the house. "Well, they tried, but it didn't work out. She handles more the management end of the business, the hiring, the firing, the banking. And I handle the menu and payroll … and now, I guess, the computer."
The glasses nearly slipped from Penny's hands when she entered the room to see Ryan down on all fours, his suit-clad butt in the air. She'd never really seen his butt before, but it looked nice. Really nice. Pinpricks of sensation skittered up her inner thighs. Right when things were going so smoothly, too.
After standing frozen in place for a moment, she lowered the two lemonades quietly to the corner of the desk, then headed for the bathroom. That's why she'd originally gotten up, wasn't it? And she certainly didn't want to get caught gaping, or risk messing up what had, so far, been a nice, normal workday between them, despite what she'd felt upon his arrival. Familiar tendrils of desire had curled through her when she'd found him standing on her doorstep looking totally GQ, but she'd pushed them down, helped along by his brusque candor and his refusal to look at her. Now, however, the tension had eased-other than these sexy little shivers he never had to know about-and she hoped they could keep things on an even keel.
When she returned, Ryan had, thankfully, risen back to his chair to take a sip of lemonade. "This is good."
But their eyes met, and something warm melted through her. Uh-oh.
"Real lemons, ice not water, and lots of extra sugar," she unthinkingly blurted out, then hurried to take her seat beside him. Somehow it was easier then, when they were looking at the computers and not each other.
"What?" he asked.
She lifted her gaze, then lowered it just as quickly. "That's the recipe. In case you wanted to know."
Maybe he'd been right when he'd arrived, Penny thought. Maybe anything else was inviting trouble. Reaching for her own lemonade, she took a long swallow and tried to let it cool her down inside.
She felt his glance from the corner of her eye. "I thought it was a secret."
Penny sighed. "Well, you seem trustworthy," she said, for lack of any better response.
He reached to type something onto his laptop and accidentally bumped her arm. They both flinched uncomfortably, then exchanged lightning-quick looks.
"So … " he said.
"So … " she replied. Her heart beat too fast. Darn it, why couldn't they act normal around each other for longer periods of time?
"Let's talk payroll," he suggested hurriedly.
"Yes, let's."
* * *
When Ryan looked past her toward the window, Penny raised her gaze, as well.
"It's getting dark," he said.
It startled Penny to see dusk falling outside; the lights she'd turned on this afternoon had kept them from noticing the gradual change. She glanced to the mantel clock. "I can't believe it's so late. Almost nine."
He gave his head a regretful shake. "My fault. I get on a roll, and I totally lose track of time."
"No need to apologize," Penny assured him. "I'm just surprised. I had no idea we'd worked that long." But when she thought about it, they'd covered a lot. They'd gone over her manual payroll procedures and discussed how to best represent them in the system, then they'd moved on to her notes about budget and the monthly balance sheets. Although the comfort level had grown steadily deeper, Penny had remained aware of her attraction to him.
Now Ryan's smile trickled through her like a hot drink. "It's always a good sign when time flies, you know. Every now and then, I get into a situation where it's just the opposite, where one hour with a client feels like five, and that always means we're getting nothing accomplished. But I feel really positive about our work here, and I think we'll create a system you'll like."