Losing Penny (19 page)

He had to focus on Penny. Drake looked down
at the box of chocolates in his hand.

Fiona’s Chocolates—fine European milk and
dark chocolate truffles and bars made with all-natural ingredients.
Penny, who carefully considered everything that she put in her
mouth, wouldn’t want chocolate. Stupid. Again. He’d paid forty
dollars for four ounces of unwanted chocolate.

A trio of young boys walked by. They had long
shorts and dangerous looking hair—the sort of hairdos that reminded
Drake of porcupines. “Hey, would you guys like some
chocolates?”

The boys stopped, nudged each other, and
turned away without a comment.

He thought they were rude until he remembered
that the kids were doing exactly as they had been taught. Never
take candy from strangers.

A group of teenage girls walked past in a
cloud of perfume. They wore fluorescent colored T-shirts and
contrasting polish on their fingernails and toes. A few of them
smiled shyly at him, giving him the same sort of attention and
admiration he received in daily doses from Western Washington
coeds. He shook himself. He didn’t want that attention anymore. He
wanted Penny’s blunt honesty. She was real. She wasn’t wrapped up
in a cloud of perfume or hiding behind bright colors.

“Drake?”

He turned and faced Andrea. How long since
he’d last seen her? A couple of months? Her band had been playing
that night at the Fish House when Melinda had made her
proposition.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She barely
came to his shoulder. He was often so overwhelmed by Andrea’s giant
personality that he forgot how small she actually was, which was
shorter than Penny. He almost laughed, realizing that Penny had
become his new standard—the girl he measured all other girls
against.

He blinked down at her. Sunlight reflected
off her giant hoop earrings and blinded him for a moment.

When he didn’t respond, she softly said, “You
know Blair’s out of town, right?”

Drake blinked again. Of course, she would
think he had come to Rose Arbor for Blair. “I know,” he told her.
“I’m staying at a beach house just outside of town.”

Andrea’s eyebrows rose with questions.

“A friend offered the house and it was too
good of an opportunity to pass up.” He paused then decided on
honesty. He’d known Andrea too well and for too long to hedge the
truth. “I didn’t know it was in Rose Arbor when I signed the lease.
If I had thought I would run into Blair, I probably wouldn’t have
come.”

Andrea touched his arm sympathetically. “You
know Blair doesn’t—”

“I know. She thinks we’re friends, but
honestly, I don’t know why she wants to be friends with me.”

“Hey,” Andrea said softly and motioned toward
her café, “do you want to come in for a free milkshake?”

Drake looked back at the flower shop and then
down at Andrea’s smiling face. “Can I pay you with chocolates?”

Laughter really is the best medicine. Unless
you feel that the laughter is directed at you.

From
Losing Penny and Pounds

Mia and Don Marx
burst into the beach house, laughing. Penny looked up from her
computer screen and her post from Istanbul. Her pudgy self smiled
and waved from the midst of a crowded bazaar. Her recipe for lamb
kabobs still wasn’t finished, but she didn’t want to risk blowing
her cover. Should she turn it off and lose her information? Or
leave it open and risk exposure? Despite the giggling and teenage
behavior, she knew she couldn’t underestimate Mia or Don’s
intelligence. She closed the laptop lid and hoped that her guests
would leave soon.

“Oh, Maggs, look at what we bought,” Mia’s
voice literally trilled.

Maggs? That was new. Penny raised her
eyebrows as Mia and Don set multiple shopping bags down on the
table. Colorful paper umbrellas, brightly painted maracas, and
several sombreros spilled from the bags.

“What’s all this?” Penny asked with a hollow
feeling in her belly.

“For Drake’s birthday party,” Mia said as she
unloaded her bags onto the table. Trevor and Melinda had spilled
the beans.

“I thought we’d go with a Mexican theme,” Mia
interrupted.

“I want to pay for everything.” Don stood
behind Mia and placed his hands on the back of Penny’s chair. He
not only invaded her personal space, but he’d crossed into her
party territory too.

“That’s not necessary.” Penny bit back the
desire to tell him her net worth. She wanted to tell him she didn’t
need his money, but she also didn’t want to be the person who
flaunted her wealth. She scolded herself for pride and vanity and
only half listened to Mia making plans. A mariachi band—local, of
course—shrimp tacos, and Black Forest Cake, Drake’s favorite.

That caught Penny’s attention. Not only
because a Black Forest Cake didn’t go with the fiesta theme, but
also because she didn’t know that Drake liked Black Forest Cake.
She would have pegged him as a lemon meringue or a berry tart sort
of guy—someone who preferred the twang of tart over the weight of
richness.

“Nonsense,” Don boomed. “I’ve come to think
of him as a son.”

Mia gave Don a glowing look that turned
Penny’s stomach. She wanted to ask if Drake’s dad would be invited.
Naturally he’d have to be, and that would make the Mia and Don
mutual appreciation party a little awkward.

“Melinda wants to help, of course,” Don
continued.

“Of course, she does,” Penny murmured. She
wondered what use Melinda could be. Penny couldn’t see her in the
kitchen preparing food or behind the bar mixing drinks.

“She said she’d be responsible for the
invitations,” Mia told Penny.

Brilliant. Penny’s heart sank, and for a
moment she wished she really
were
in Istanbul. Penny didn’t
know any of Drake’s friends, so of course it made sense that
someone who did would make the invitations, but by extending the
invitations, it would seem to everyone that Melinda was throwing at
the party.

“The only snafu is the location,” Mia said,
clasping her hands in front of her and looking intently at
Penny.

“What’s wrong with the beach?” Penny asked,
her voice a surprised squeak.

“Well, it’s a long way to haul all the food
and decorations. And think of the band.”

“The band?” Penny didn’t know if Drake liked
Mariachi music. Everything she didn’t know about him seemed immense
and overwhelming.

“It has to be at the house,” Don said.

Penny felt the party slipping away from her,
which, when she thought about it, made sense. She couldn’t throw a
party for Drake while posing to be his ex-wife. Some of his friends
had to know or have seen photos of Magdalena, so how could Penny
even go? She clearly didn’t think this through properly.

The party had seemed like such a good idea
that provided exposure and an added boost of income for Andrea’s
café, but while listening to Mia and Don, Penny realized that the
party was a nail in her fake marriage’s coffin.

At his words, the creature sank into the
deep, leaving Hans alone on the ship. He was surrounded by his
father’s men, but he was alone. Without Ingrid he would remain
alone. A thousand stars lit the sky and the moon winked her
secrets, but Hans felt nothing but the isolation of his aching
heart.

From
Hans and the Sunstone

Drake sat at the
Bluebird Café counter, nursing his milkshake. “It’s been what, less
than six months since my divorce?” He shook his head. “I feel like
an idiot twenty times over for even considering another
relationship.”

Andrea popped a chocolate into her mouth.
“Can you even call your marriage a relationship? It was more of a
fling.”

“Not according to the state of New York,”
Drake mumbled.

“The divorce has been at least five times
longer than your marriage,” Andrea told him.

Drake picked up a cherry cordial and bit into
it. The sweet goo ran down his fingers, but he didn’t mind.

“I’m just saying that if you really like this
one, you should tell her,” Andrea said.

“How can I? She’s—“ He waved his hands in the
air searching for words. He gave up and picked up another
chocolate. “I’m nothing.”

Andrea nudged him with her elbow. “Come on,
professor, admit it. Twelve hundred Western Washington University
coeds wouldn’t call you ‘nothing.’”

Drake sighed. “She’s rich.”

“So what?” Andrea sounded defensive.

Drake looked around at Andrea’s empty,
failing café. He didn’t want to say it, he didn’t want to hurt her,
but money mattered. His father had been preaching that to him all
of his life and he didn’t think he could pretend for much longer
that his father was wrong. Sure, he wanted to believe that all that
really mattered were freshly cut pears or snowy woods on a dark
evening. But when it came right down to it, the world ran on money,
and Penny had plenty and he had none.

“I don’t see you falling for a material
girl.”

“I didn’t say she was materialistic.”

“Then what’s your problem?”

“It’s too soon and too fast. I made that
mistake with Magdalena, and I don’t want to make it again.”

Andrea frowned at him. “Maybe too soon and
too fast is better than a slow and drawn out misery.”

An oppressive brain freeze, typical when
eating ice cream, hit Drake, and he blinked away the sudden pain.
“Did something…” he searched for the right thing to say, “change
between you and Graham?”

Andrea nodded while studying a chocolate
caramel. “He’s gone. He joined the military.”

“That’s not like joining the circus or the
French Foreign Legion.”

“It might as well be.” Andrea nibbled on the
caramel.

Drake shook his head. “I can’t believe that.
You two have been together since when? High school?”

Andrea snorted and put down her candy. “Since
kindergarten. I can’t remember not knowing him or loving him…until
now.”

“That makes my relationship with Blair sound
like a fling.”Drake wrapped his arm around Andrea’s slim waist and
she laid her head on his shoulder. “We’re veterans. We loved and we
lost, and we both know what Shakespeare said about that.”

“That we’re scarred, wounded, and gun shy,”
Andrea said, leaning away from Drake. She picked up another
chocolate and put it in her mouth. “And a little high on
caffeine-rich chocolates. And maybe a little in love.”

“Not Graham?” Drake quirked an eyebrow at
her.

She nodded. “So not Graham.”

“Well that’s great!” he said, but his voice
sounded hollow and full of disbelief.

She shook her head. “He doesn’t know I exist.
I’m just…he would never be attracted to someone like me.”

“Why would you say that?”

“He’s handsome, sophisticated, and rich.”

Drake groaned. “Oh, these richies.”

“And he doesn’t even notice me because he’s
always with someone else. Someone like him, someone so obviously
not
from Rose Arbor.”

Drake stared into his shake. “Don’t sell
yourself or Rose Arbor short.”

Andrea’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t even
really know him.”

“Then get to know him.” Drake gave her a
sidewise glance. “If nothing else, maybe he can help you stop
thinking about Graham.”

“That’s true.”

“Sure, think of him as a nicotine patch. If
he’s not into, you what’s the harm? It’s not like you’re stringing
him along or using him.”

Andrea sat up and squared her shoulders. “You
are so right! I’ll just get to know him.”

“Exactly! Put yourself in his path, stalk
him, woo him.”

Doubt flickered across Andrea’s features. “I
don’t really get why he’s always with this other woman.”

“It doesn’t matter! He’s not a keeper. He’s a
pit stop, a drive-through window.”

Andrea put her elbow on the table and propped
her chin in her hand. “Is that what Penny is to you? A way to help
you forget Blair and Magdalena?”

“Magdalena was a five foot ten, one hundred
and twenty pound mistake,” Drake said firmly. “My mistake with
Blair was…monumental stupidity.” He paused. “I’m not going to be
stupid with Penny.”

Andrea smiled.

“What?” Drake asked. “You don’t think I’m
smart?”

Andrea’s smile broadened. “Oh no, I just
think it’s funny that someone so incredibly brilliant can sometimes
be so incredibly dumb.”

“Thanks,” Drake said. “You’re right. I’m dumb
when it comes to her. I really don’t know what to do next.”

“Blair loved you.”

“Yeah, and I blew that.”

“But before you blew it you must have been
doing something right.”

Drake thought back to the early days when he
loved Blair and she loved him. Before he met Magdalena at his
sabbatical of stupidity. He didn’t know if he had ever loved
Magdalena, or if she was a convenient excuse to distance himself
from Blair, which allowed him to avoid any real emotional
attachment. As long as he had a dream of Magdalena then he couldn’t
really love Blair, couldn’t commit, couldn’t start a marriage or
take on the responsibility of a family. And Blair wanted a family.
She wanted children. No wonder she didn’t want him back.

“What did you do to make Blair fall in love
with you?” Andrea asked.

Drake frowned at Andrea. “We wrote poetry
together.”

Andrea laughed. “I’m pretty sure Blair didn’t
love you for your poetry.”

“What do you mean?”

Andrea looked away, fighting a smile and
stifling her laughter. “I’m just pretty sure that Blair didn’t love
your poetry.”

Drake bit his lip and looked out the window.
Andrea must have realized how badly she’d hurt his feelings,
because she rushed in with, “Okay, try it. Take Penny somewhere
romantic—the beach at night or the old stone church—and ask her if
she’d like to hear your poetry.”