Penny's mouth fell open and her heart nearly stopped from the shock. "Oh?"
"I'm so, so sorry, Penny, but when I asked you to marry me, I'm afraid I was … on the rebound from Sheila. You remember hearing me talk about Sheila, don't you?"
Martin's old girlfriend. "Yes," she said, too bewildered to utter more.
"Well, Sheila's in software, too. She moved to Minneapolis for a job, which is why we broke up. I saw her at the conference and … "
As Penny's surprise wore off, it all started to become clear. Her heart warmed and she smiled. "You realized you couldn't live without her."
"No," Martin said.
Penny's eyes widened. "No?"
"I realized she'd held me back, turned me into a real stick-in-the-mud." Martin's eyes glazed over slightly. "She made us wear matching Christmas sweaters, Penny! It seemed fine at the time because I was in love, but no more." She'd never heard him sound more vehement. "What I discovered in Vegas after sharing a buffet with her and then, on the way back to my hotel, chancing to meet a lovely showgirl named Cherise is, I haven't yet lived."
Penny felt numb. "You haven't?"
"Cherise changed the way I look at life. We painted the town red, and lost a thousand dollars at roulette!"
He laughed and Penny gasped.
"We danced the night away in nightclubs!"
Penny gasped again because she'd seen Martin dance and it wasn't pretty.
"We drove out into the desert and made passionate-" He stopped, his face reddening. "Oh, Penny, I'm so sorry." He shook his head in distress. "Look at me. I came home wanting to break this to you gently and instead I just spew it all out like the volcano at the Mirage. Have you seen it, by the way?"
Penny remained nonplussed. "On TV."
"Quite a sight, especially after a few shots of tequila, let me tell you." He stopped again, shaking his head once more, as if clearing it. "What it comes down to, Penny, is … "
She gently tilted her head as her shock slowly gave way to a different sort of understanding this time, one that hit a little closer to home. "You've discovered you have a wild side," she said softly.
Martin nodded and turned somber. "I'm sorry. I hope you're not too hurt."
"Actually, Martin, I … think it's for the best."
Martin's expression brightened, clearly surprised at how easy this had been, since he'd expected to leave her heartbroken. "Well, thank you for being so understanding. I hope we can still be friends."
"Of course." She sealed the promise with a smile.
"And maybe occasionally take in an exhibit at the art museum together?"
"If you won't find it too tame," she teased.
He winked and got to his feet, and Penny followed suit, then he reached to squeeze her hand once more. He had just turned to go when he stopped and looked back. "I can't believe I'm so rude. What was it you wanted to tell me?"
Penny shook her head. "Nothing."
"Are you sure?" He leaned forward slightly, as if prodding her.
"Yes, Martin. I'm sure."
"Well then," he said slowly, "I'll see you soon." He headed toward the door, leaving her standing in the pub alone.
She stared after him for a long moment, still trying to absorb all he'd just told her, and realizing what probably would've happened if Martin had gotten her note that day and joined her in the limo. Thank goodness Cherise had been the one to uncover his wild side.
Finally, she let out a laugh, but it dissipated quickly into thoughts of Ryan. She was so happy that he had been the man to get in that car with her, and that she'd had the last week and a half with him.
She'd almost considered stopping Martin on his way out, confessing about her and Ryan. Considering this new change in him, he might've thought it was fine. And the horrible guilt she'd been suffering on Martin's behalf had suddenly dissolved into nothing. But she hadn't told him the truth because she still didn't really know how he would take it, and what if she were wrong and it made him angry, or hurt? She still couldn't risk Ryan's job that way. And yet, maybe, just maybe, there was hope now for her and Ryan to share a future together?
But no. Depression whisked through her, quickly squelching the hope.
She kept forgetting one important thing. Ryan didn't love her. When all was said and done, the dreaded F-word kept reentering Penny's head-fling. That's what their relationship was, what it had always been. There had never been any question about that except maybe in her own lovestruck mind.
Just then, the office door squeaked open a crack, and one of Patti's eyes peered through.
"It's safe," Penny said. "He's gone."
Her sister yanked open the door. "Well? How'd he take it? Tell me everything. Spare no detail."
"You won't believe it."
"Try me," Patti said. "You've shocked me so much lately that it would take quite a whopper to throw me at this point."
"Well, you'd better sit down."
* * *
Ryan lingered in the shadow of a potted ficus tree in the lobby outside the Two Sisters Pub, watching as Martin exited. He'd been on his way to see Penny, to tell her his crazy idea, when he'd realized Martin had beat him to her. Now he started casually toward the pub again, passing Martin on the way.
"Hey there, Ryan, scouting for a little breakfast?"
The guy still seemed awfully happy for someone who'd just been dumped.
Unless-oh God-he hadn't been. The thought nearly paralyzed Ryan, but he hid his reaction. "Uh, yeah."
"Great Danishes at Penny's place." Martin pointed, then winked at Ryan for the second time in half an hour. "She gets a fresh tray from the bakery across the street every morning."
Martin moved on toward the elevators, and Ryan picked up his pace until he practically burst through the pub's door. Penny and her sister sat at one of the tables, and both looked up, clearly stunned to see him barreling into their restaurant.
Patti sighed. "I'll be in the back," she said, then rose to make her way to the office.
Ryan wasted no time striding to the table, staring down at the woman he loved. "Did you tell him you wouldn't marry him? Did you?"
"Not exactly, but-"
It was just as he'd feared. "Penny, you can't marry him! You don't love him! And he didn't even call you for over a week! I won't let you throw away your whole-"
"Wait!" she interrupted, getting to her feet. "If you'd let me finish, you'd know the only reason I didn't tell him was because he told me he doesn't want to marry me first."
The news nearly knocked the wind out of Ryan. "Is he nuts?"
"Well, he did seem a bit out of sorts, but-"
"Listen, I have something to say and I can't go slow or I might start thinking I'm crazy and stop."
She stared at him, her pretty eyes wide upon him. "Well then, go ahead."
"I'm gonna quit my job and start my own company," he announced.
She looked confused. "Why?"
He thought the answer was obvious. "So I can be with you. So we can do wild things if we want to and it won't be anyone else's business. And because … " he spoke more softly now " … I can't sleep nights without you."
He saw her pull in a deep breath and thought, Please tell me you want me, too.
"Is this," she began uncertainly, "what you really want?"
"To start my own company?" he replied. "Well … not exactly. I mean, I like where I am. I like the work I'm doing for Martin and I already know he values it. I think I could go places at Schuster, grow with the company." Then he bent one finger to lift her chin, and gazed into those warm blue eyes that had the power to swallow him. "But do I want to be with you? Definitely. Otherwise, I'd never even consider this."
Penny's heart constricted. She couldn't believe Ryan would make that kind of sacrifice, take that kind of risk, for her. She'd never been more touched by any gesture in her life, but she couldn't let him do something like that if his whole heart wasn't in it. She pressed her hands to his chest. "Ryan, it might not be necessary to take such drastic steps for us to be together."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you hear what I said about Martin? He doesn't want to marry me. And when he was out in Vegas, he wasn't just working."
"What was he doing?"
Penny smiled into Ryan's eyes and spoke softly. "He was finding his wild side."
Ryan blinked. "You're kidding."