And to think Ryan had lost his last job for showing up somewhere ninety minutes late!
He made his way back to his desk and returned to work, but when noon arrived and still his bones ached with missing Penny, he threw down his pencil and got to his feet. This was it! He was taking action.
For one thing, he couldn't live with the fact that he'd hurt her. For another, he was beginning to think he had his priorities screwed up. Not to mention that he was confused as hell about his recent realization that he was in love with her.
No wonder he was acting so ridiculous; part of him remained concerned about his job, while another part was starting to think about some impossible, improbable future, and he'd even started worrying about her wild side. What if he was wrong and she didn't feel the same way he felt about her? What if she realized she wanted to have fun, live the single life? Maybe Penny wouldn't even want anything long-term.
Oh hell, nothing made sense to him anymore, and this new fear just complicated things even further.
"I'm going out for a while," he told Grace as he headed toward the elevator. He had to get out of the office before he lost his mind.
"I already ordered your sandwich. Do you still want it."
"Yeah, I'll eat when I get back. I just need to run an errand."
Getting off the elevator and moving through the revolving door onto
Walnut Street
a minute later, Ryan hit the sidewalk toward the Tower Place Mall. What he planned to do wouldn't even begin to help his confusion or solve their problems, but at least it would let Penny know she was on his mind, and that he wanted her desperately.
* * *
Penny went through the workday in a daze. They were busy for a Monday, and she kept up with the pub's traffic, but she barely remembered what she was doing from one moment to the next. When she left a little before five, she was exhausted, although she knew it was more mental than physical. Martin's unexplained absence was eating at her, and Ryan's explained absence was killing her.
Maybe Patti had been right. Maybe her only crime was falling for a guy who couldn't return her feelings no matter how wonderful things seemed when they were together. So she tried not to concentrate on memories of their shared laughter, their sweet quiet moments, their lovemaking, and instead attempted to focus on the fact that none of it had been enough to win his love.
After Patti's relentless prodding, Penny had returned home with a new miniskirt yesterday, her first ever. She'd also picked up a couple of tops that were more formfitting than the clothes she usually wore. She had actually enjoyed their spree, and even liked the idea of wearing her new purchases; she was used to wearing flirty stuff underneath her clothes, but wearing it on the outside would be a new thing for her-other than the night of the limo encounter, of course. The only problem was, she wasn't sure she'd feel comfortable wearing her new clothes for anyone, with anyone, but Ryan.
Swinging the car into the driveway, she dragged herself over the lawn and into the house. As she thumbed through her mail, she noticed her answering machine was blinking and absently reached to press the playback button. When she heard Martin's voice, she dropped the mail on the counter and stared at the phone.
"Penny, it's Martin. Forgive me for not calling sooner-time has gotten away from me here. I wish you were home; I'd hoped we could talk." He paused then, sighing. "Well, as you know by now, I've been delayed, but I'll be back soon, and you'll be hearing from me."
When the machine clicked off, Penny just kept staring at it. She was glad he'd finally called, but his vague message about being delayed left her even more frustrated. This meant he wouldn't be home tonight, just as he hadn't been home all weekend. And for all she knew, he wouldn't come home for days yet. Something in his voice had sounded so cryptic that it added to her feelings of disappointment. Why hadn't he said when he was coming back? Why hadn't he mentioned what the holdup was?
When the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, Penny shifted her thoughts away from Martin as best she could to find a deliveryman waiting on her front porch. After signing and accepting the small package-a pretty little box covered in tiny red hearts with a redfoil bow on top-she shut the door and looked at it. "What on earth … ?"
Thoughts skittered through her head. Had Patti sent her something to cheer her up? No, if her sister had wanted to give her a gift, she'd have done it at the restaurant, or yesterday when they'd shopped together. And then it hit her. Martin. This was some sort of combination romance/apology/explanation present. He'd said she'd be hearing from him and maybe this was what he'd meant.
Penny untied the bow, letting the ribbon drop to the floor, then removed the lid. Nestled in a bed of red tissue paper lay a skimpy, flirty pair of tiger-striped thong panties with a scalloped edge. Oh my. This was from Martin?
But slowly, warily, another possibility began to nudge its way into her mind as she reached for the card inside.
To the woman who brings out the animal in me. I miss you. Ryan.
Penny went as weak as a kitten, even as her heart pounded out of control. She remembered wanting to bring out the animal in Martin, and instead it had happened with someone else.
Oh God, she loved him. With all her aching heart.
She wasn't even sure exactly what the panties meant, if anything had really changed, but … maybe she could make them change.
* * *
Ryan had planned to leave the office by six, anxious to get home to see if a message from Penny might be waiting on his answering machine. If not, he'd thought he might call her or drive by her house to see if she'd gotten his gift, and to see if she hated him or if the gesture had managed to smooth things over at all.
But when Ryan checked Martin's e-mail right before leaving, he found one that had to be dealt with, which meant so much for leaving by six. A client in California was having system problems and Ryan didn't know if he could help, but felt obligated to call him anyway, especially since it was only three o'clock there.
Two hours later, he hung up the phone. It had taken a while, but he'd figured out the problem and walked the guy through fixing it. After turning off the last light in the office, he made his way up a now empty
Fourth Street
toward his parking garage. And even if he didn't feel great about much else in his life at the moment, he at least knew he'd put in a good, hard day's work.
The sun was sinking over the river by the time he got out of his car, the Daniel Beard bridge silhouetted in the forefront, and it made him think of Penny and the sunset they'd shared just a few nights ago. Strange, it seemed more like an eternity.
He wondered if it was too late to go see her now, knowing she must have gotten her surprise by this time. His skin prickled with uncharacteristic nervousness as he tried to imagine her reaction. He felt like a kid who'd just sent his first love note.
Stepping into the condo, dark but for the pink glow of sky blazing through the huge living room window, he flipped on an overhead light. He'd been just about to swing his briefcase onto the kitchen counter when he stopped, his eyes drawn to a piece of paper he hadn't put there, a note written in red ink.
Come to the bedroom, Tiger.
* * *
10
Ryan stopped in the bedroom doorway, stunned by the sight before him. Penny stood against the open balcony door, arms stretched above her head, wearing nothing but the tiger-striped panties he'd sent her.
The first seductive notes of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" wafted from the radio by the bed. Penny's hair spilled over her shoulders in dark blond waves, framing her pretty face and the rounded breasts below, their pink crests beaded. Her hips flared slightly from her narrowed waist, the small swath of tiger print stretching across them. With the white sheers fluttering around her in the breeze, she looked like a flesh-and-blood sex goddess, something he might've dreamed.
But he wasn't dreaming. This was real. She was real. He let his briefcase drop to the floor.
"Hello there," she said in a breathy voice that added to his arousal.
"Uh, hi. I see you, uh, got my … "
She gave him a provocative nod. "Do you like?"
"Yeah," he said, adding a deeper, "Oh yeah," as her hips began to sway in slow rhythm with the music. "Uh, how did you … "
She kept the sexy voice. "I forgot to return your key."
"I'm glad."
"Me, too," she whispered, but then the sensual look in her eyes softened as her hips stilled. "I missed you, Ryan."