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“I feel the same way.” Alex took a sip from his coffee, and then smiled. “I know. Since we haven’t heard from Lola about dinner tonight at Sorrento’s, let’s take Penelope there. We do have the reservation, and it is for three.”
“Good thinking. And if Lola
does
call us back, we’ll just tell her that since we didn’t hear from her, we made other arrangements.”
“That feels better. Penelope deserves to go out and about.”
“Do you want me to see if I can get us some tickets for the symphony?” Josh asked. Alex knew that procuring tickets even the day of wasn’t a problem for a Benedict. They could always use the family box, but that usually was arranged with the Town Trust well ahead of time, since any member of the families was entitled to do so.
“Yeah. I have no idea what they’re performing, but they’re bound to be playing something classy tonight.” Alex smiled, because it felt good to be planning a night out with Penelope. Then he frowned.
“Maybe I should call her and make sure she’s okay with these plans.”
“Really good thinking! Women sometimes don’t take to these kinds of last-minute surprises the way we men believe they should.”
Josh sighed. “It’s just one of the things I don’t get about them.”
Alex pulled out his cell phone while Josh pulled out his. They walked away from each other in order to make the separate calls. Alex felt much better now that he and Josh were going to take Penelope out. Sorrento’s and the symphony. An evening with taste and style.
What could be better?
* * * *
“You look shell-shocked. Bad news?” Susan Benedict came back from searching one of the racks of casual dresses. She had a couple more hangers holding dresses in her hands that she’d obviously selected, not for herself, but for Penelope.
Penelope had never met a woman who liked to shop the way Susan did.
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She slid her cell phone back into her jeans pocket. “Your brother, Alex, just called. He and Josh have invited me out with the two of them tonight. Someplace called Sorrento’s, and then on to the symphony.”
“Tonight.”
Susan proved her intelligence by honing in on the one word that had Penelope feeling in a panic.
“Yes. Tonight. They’ll pick me up at six.”
“I hope you told them no, and that next time they could give you more advance notice. Damn it, those two really don’t have a clue when it comes to women.”
Penelope felt her face heating. “I was going to say no. I
meant
to say no.” She sighed. She didn’t want to agree with Susan’s assessment of her brothers, because they certainly had more than a clue as to how to heat her up and turn her on.
But Susan had a point. For all that they could make her melt in mere seconds flat, Josh and Alex seemed to be somewhat socially inept.
Penelope sighed again. That was a condition she could relate to, as she’d never been particularly adroit in that area herself. When she looked up to see Susan looking at her, she thought that maybe a partial confession was in order. “I can’t seem to say no to those two.
At any time at all, for anything. Ever.”
“Oh.” Susan’s mouth formed a perfect O. When Penelope just looked at her, she snapped it shut.
“You and my brothers?” She sounded incredulous. Then she smiled. “Well, that’s…good. Really! I like you. And, you’re okay with…” She let her words drop off, her hand waving to indicate, well, it could be anything and everything, but Penelope understood what she meant.
“I grew up hearing stories of your family every time Grandma Kate came to visit. So the idea of a ménage relationship isn’t as foreign to me as it might be to someone else. And although I’d never before taken two lovers at the same time, I’m fine with it.” Now her
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face did heat. “Um, more than fine, and maybe we can get back to the matter of my upcoming date tonight, because it’s a little embarrassing to be talking about this here, in Neiman Marcus, and with you, their sister.”
“Okay. But maybe we’ll grab lunch one day next week, in your office, and you can tell all.” Susan wore such a wickedly overdone leer on her face Penelope laughed.
“I’m not sure I want to dish to you about sex with your brothers.
But we’ll definitely have lunch.”
Susan grinned. “Kelsey felt the same way, but I eventually wormed some details out of her.”
“I’m made of sterner stuff. Half old England, half New England.”
Then she shook her head. “I can only imagine what sort of restaurant Sorrento’s is. Very good, very posh.”
“And very welcoming,” Susan said. “It’s one of Grandma Kate’s favorite places to eat in Houston. Not at all stuffy.”
“Then there’s the symphony. That black dress I bought today should do for tonight. I was going to wait to buy some bling to go with it. But I think I’m going to have to do that, now.”
“Let’s get you a couple more outfits first. Then we’ll go after accessories and bling.”
Penelope could afford to splurge on herself, but she found a lifetime of living frugally difficult to overcome. Her grandmother had left her very well-off. That had surprised her at the time because while they’d lived well, they hadn’t lived lavishly.
Penelope missed her grandmother. The older woman had never heaped a lot of affection on her, but Penelope had come to know, over time, that she could count on Eloise Wright to be there for her, day in and day out, no matter what.
That steadiness, that solidity, had healed her after the cruel rejection of her mother. After her grandmother’s funeral, she’d discovered that her Gram had sent periodic letters to Chloe Primrose Smitherman, but had received very few in return.
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As far as Penelope was concerned, the woman who had given birth to her could stay on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean forever.
She wanted no part of her.
“Wow, you look pissed. Should I warn my brothers?”
Penelope shook her head. “Sorry. My thoughts wandered to unhappy territory.”
She wouldn’t splurge overmuch, but she
would
see to it that when the brothers Benedict called for her this evening, they’d swallow their tongues.
* * * *
A few hours later when she opened her door in response to the doorbell, Penelope decided the money she’d just spent had been well worth it.
She had been going to wear the all-occasion little black dress she’d purchased at Macy’s, until she’d found the silk kimono dress in rich cornflower blue. On the hanger, the garment had looked deceptively demure. On her, it was a whole other story. The silk clung in all the right places, and the slit over her left thigh teased unmercifully. The silver accents on the dress itself had limited the need for bling. She’d swept her hair up using subtle pins and a pair of chopsticks to complement the exotic look.
Both men’s mouths dropped open when they saw her, and that, Penelope thought, was certainly worth every dollar she’d spent.
“Wow. You tempt us to keep you here, all to ourselves,” Josh said.
“We’re going to have to protect you from all the men who are certain to vie for your attention.” Alex’s words had come out softer, as if he hadn’t meant to say them aloud.
“You can’t offer me a night out with Italian food and music, and then renege.” She gave them a smile that felt sultry. “And as far as I’m concerned, there won’t be any other men. Shall we go?”
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Penelope felt charmed from the moment they stepped out of the lobby of Benedict Towers. The men had arranged for a limousine.
The car came equipped with a bar, and Josh made a great ceremony of pouring them each a glass of champagne.
“I’m completely uneducated when it comes to wine and fine dining,” she confessed. She took a sip of the bubbly.
“Ah, well, this is a Louis Roederer Cristal Brut, 2002, of which one wine review characterized as insolent, brash, and earthbound.
That’s a direct quote,” Josh said.
“Which magazine?” Alex asked.
“
Wine & Spirits
.”
Penelope hid her smile behind her glass. She really wasn’t much of a wine drinker, period, but liked the hint of citrus in this champagne.
Before she’d had more than a few more sips, they arrived at the restaurant. The sense of otherworldly enchantment continued as she took in the building, and as they went inside. She felt transported to a villa in Italy, with piano music, soft voices, and gentle lighting.
“Ah, Signors Benedict,
benvenuto a
Sorrento Ristorante Italiano!”
“Hello, Maria, how are you tonight?” Alex smiled and nodded, and kept one arm protectively around Penelope’s waist.
“Very well, sir. Your table is ready, of course.”
The young woman led them to a table set for three, in a dining room that featured a painting that took up an entire wall, of incredible blue water and a slice of coast, likely a depiction of the city for which the restaurant was named.
“Enjoy your meal.” Maria bowed slightly as she left.
Josh noticed her looking at the painting. “Have you ever been to Italy?” he asked.
“No. The extent of my worldly travels were when I flew from London to America, and most recently, came from New York to here.”
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“We realize that we haven’t taken the time to get to know you.”
Alex looked around as if to ensure no one was paying them any attention. “At least, not outside of the bedroom. Grandma Kate said you were raised by your maternal grandmother? That must have been hard, losing your parents when you were so young.”
Penelope rarely spoke of her past, simply because to do so not only always felt uncomfortable, but often left her feeling raw and angry.
She’d used several lines to gloss over her history, and most people didn’t pry any further. Since it felt very much as if the brothers Benedict wanted to move this relationship to another level, she decided to be honest with them.
“I didn’t lose my parents in the way I think you mean. I never knew my father, as he died of a drug overdose before I was born. And as for my mother, when I turned ten, she met a man, a wealthy man who had no interest in having anything to do with another man’s child. So she sent me to live with her mother, my grandmother, whom I’d never met.”
“Your own mother sent you away so she could be with a
man
?”
Josh’s obvious outrage soothed Penelope in ways she couldn’t define. She nodded. “Chloe Primrose Smitherman is very good at looking out for herself. I understand she and
his nibs
have a beautiful home in Wiltshire, and a couple of children, to boot.”
“I can’t tolerate a man who won’t man up,” Alex said. His tone matched his brother’s. He picked up her hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry you went through that,” he said.
“But if you hadn’t, we might never have met you,” Josh said.
Penelope felt her throat tighten. Before she could respond, she sensed movement behind her. She saw only a flash of red, and the sudden white, worried expressions on the men’s faces.
Penelope thought the blonde looked demure, despite her rather impressive bosom. That impression melted away as she picked up a glass of wine from the next table and tossed it in Alex’s face.
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“So, this is the tramp you threw me over for?” the woman all but screamed. “Does she know she’s a candidate for your Legacy Project?
That you want to make her your brood mare?”
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Chapter 15
Oh, shit
.
Joshua surged to his feet, outrage warring with embarrassment as he faced the very pissed-off, very buxom blonde. His brain scrambled, trying to analyze the best tact to take to prevent an all-out disaster. In a sudden explosion of insight, he realized it wouldn’t do for Penelope to find out about the Legacy Project. No, that wouldn’t do at all.
“Ms. Dell. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Of course, he didn’t have to ask that, as two of the heftier waiters were rushing toward them to do that very thing. As well, several men were on their feet. Of course, Josh didn’t know if they were getting ready to pitch in and help him or were just trying to get a better look at Lola’s décolletage.
“You can ask all you want. I’m going to let it be known far and wide what kind of nefarious plan the two of you sickos have been hatching. I’ve heard stories about that place you come from out there in the middle of nowhere. I’ve heard about the orgies that happen all over the damn place and how women are treated like things, little better than animals. Well, I’m having none of it!”
Joshua took note of two things at once. The first was that Lola looked perilously close to tears. The second was that Penelope, whose shocked expression had turned curious, was fast edging toward outrage herself.
It was likely the slur against the town that did that, he thought.
If Joshua didn’t do something soon, an all-out catfight might happen, and while there was an adolescent part of him that got excited at that prospect, his adult self fully understood such a thing might be his and Alex’s own personal flaming Waterloo.
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When in doubt, go on the indignant attack
.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ms. Dell, or where you get your information. I suggest you leave now, before this situation escalates into one with litigious ramifications.”
The woman shouldn’t have looked as if she didn’t understand him, considering she’d graduated Phi Beta Kappa and held two separate master’s degrees in business administration and accounting.
One thing was certain. This incident had taken her off the Legacy list completely.
No way in hell either he or Alex wanted a wife given to public displays.
“Madam, we must ask you to leave immediately. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to call the police.”
Joshua thought it was the mention of the cops that got Lola’s attention. Still furious, she gave them the finger, said, “fuck you, assholes,” and, with an escort on either side of her, left their table and the restaurant.