Penny couldn’t remember ever being this happy in her life. Sure, there were maybe a few good memories in her childhood. Before this, the happiest moment in her life was when she left Greenville, but even that good memory was tied to bad ones. And there was Grams, of course. She had had some good times with her grandmother before she passed.

Okay, so it wasn’t like her life had been miserable up to this point. But it was just so … different. It was like all her life she’d been living in a haze, and now everything seemed so clear.

She smiled to herself, thinking of the last three days. After that first morning spent in bed, Ben took her back to Greenville so she could get ready for work, then they had dinner before her shift. Afterwards, he brought her back to his place where they spent the night making love again.

The memories made her cheeks hot. Although she had never been with anyone aside from Ben, she was pretty sure no normal human could have sex that much. She was pretty tired the next day, and Ben let her sleep in, leaving her a note to make herself at home. At lunch time he came home, and they didn’t even get a chance to eat the meal she had prepared. She’ll probably never think of his kitchen the same way again.

It was a good thing she had spare outfits at work because she hadn’t gone home for three days. Last night was their busiest night, and she had spilled some beer on her jeans and really needed fresh clothes.

“Ben.”

“Hmm ….” He trailed kissed between her breasts.

“Ben!” She grabbed a handful of his hair before he could go lower.

“What?” he asked.

“I should go home.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I need clothes. And stuff. You know. Girl stuff.” It was nice using his soaps, and he even got her a new toothbrush, but she just wanted to use her own things again.

“Okay, I’ll take you home and you can pack a bag for the rest of the week.”

Her mouth fell open, but before she could say anything else, a ringing interrupted them.

“Sorry,” he said as he rolled over and reached for his phone. He turned around and spoke softly, nodding now and then. With a long sigh, he put down the phone.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “That was Jason. He says I have to go do wedding stuff tonight. We have security issues we have to work out at the castle, the mines, and the hotel.”

Ben had told her the story of what happened at Matthew’s wedding, how someone had snuck in a bomb that could have leveled Blackstone Castle. The thought that Ben could have been hurt or worse in that attack made tears burn in her throat. She didn’t want that to happen at Jason and Christina’s wedding. “You should go help.”

He frowned. “I should, but I don’t want to be away from you. Matthew asked Nathan, Luke, and me to take turns patrolling the area around the mines overnight. The Rangers will be there too, but Matthew wants someone he personally trusts to do it. I have to do the first shift tonight.”

“I don’t want to be away from you either, but everyone’s safety is important.” It seemed silly, but her stomach was knotting at the thought of not having him around, even for a night. “Go and help your family, Ben. They need you.” She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be fine on my own, just for a night.”

“It’ll probably work out. I can take you home and you can get your car and a change of clothes.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” she said.

“Good. I’ll pick you up for dinner as usual tomorrow.” He crawled back into bed. “But first ….”

* * *

“Watch it, butterfingers!”

“Sorry!” Penny apologized as the glass nearly slipped from her fingers. She steadied it just in time before it tumbled.

The guy she was serving shook his head. “Can’t get good help these days,” he said, shaking his head. His date laughed and nodded in agreement.

She took a deep breath. “Anything else, sir?”

He gave her a dismissive wave. “I’ll call you when I need you.”

“Of course.” When she turned around and the guy couldn’t see her, she grimaced. Why did that jerk have to sit in her section? He was the worst type of customer, snapping his fingers to get her attention and then making himself sound important to impress his date. She couldn’t wait for him to leave.

Actually, she couldn’t wait for tonight to be over. The moment she had walked into the employees’ locker room, she knew there was something going on. Call it instinct or a woman’s intuition. Whatever it was, it was clear the atmosphere had changed. Conversation between the other girls stopped, and the room went quiet. No one would look at her or even acknowledged her.

She had shrugged and thought it was just her imagination. Or maybe she was just too happy to pay attention. But, as the night progressed, that dread in the pit of her stomach grew.

One of the girls ‘accidentally’ picked up her drink orders and served them to another table. Someone in her section had given another server an order, but she ‘forgot’ to pass it on to her. And when it was time for her to take a break, everyone was ‘too busy’ to help her out, so she ended up skipping it.

As she walked back to the bar, she saw Olive leaning over the counter, whispering to Heather. The bartender’s eyes clashed with hers, and as Penny gave her a smile, Heather looked away. Olive glanced at her, smirked, then sashayed off to her table. The pit in her stomach grew into the Grand Canyon.

“Hey, Heather,” she greeted. “Can I have some soda water with ice please? I'm so thirsty.”

Heather wouldn’t look her in the eye. “Sorry, I’m out of soda water. You should go to the employee drinking fountain,” she said in a flat voice before turning her back on Penny.

What was going on? “Okay then. Thanks anyway.”

Heather didn’t even acknowledge her.

Penny tried to ignore that sinking feeling in her heart. It wasn’t her imagination. Something was going on.

She pushed the door that led to the back and walked toward the employee break room, her mind so preoccupied she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her.

“Hey.”

She jumped back in surprise, her hand going to her chest. “Oh.” It was Mia. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You must have a lot on your mind,” she observed.

“Yeah.”

“Is it because of the other girls?”

Her face fell. “So they are ignoring me.”

Mia’s face scrunched up. “It’s that bitch, Olive.” She walked over to Penny and put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, don’t let them get you down. They’re just jealous because they know about you and Ben.”

“They know about us?”

She laughed. “He’s been coming with you to the bar and taking you home for what—days now? I think it’s pretty obvious.”

“But why would the other girls be so mean to me? I didn’t do anything … he didn’t date any of them before me, did he?” She never thought to ask Ben. The truth was, the thought of Ben with anyone else made her uncomfortable.

“Hmm, I don’t think so, but,” Mia leaned closer and lowered her voice, “I just heard Lana telling Olive that she saw you in Luke Lennox’s car the other night. And then Olive told Heather the two of you must be having something on the side.”

“No! That’s not true!” Humiliation crept up her neck. “It’s not! It’s just Ben, I swear.” She buried her face in her hands.

“I told you, Olive’s a jealous bitch.”

She looked up at Mia. “You believe me?”

“Those other girls, they’re human, you know? I mean, they don’t understand. You’re Ben’s mate, right?”

Was Mia asking or telling her? She paused, not knowing what to say. Was this something she was supposed to be keeping to herself? Was there some official ceremony or something?

“Well?”

“Y-y-yeah.”

“So, you’re his mate?”

She nodded.

“Oh. That’s wonderful. Mates aren’t as common as most people think, you know,” Mia said. “But it’s good that he’s found you.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Penny said in a deflated tone.

“Hmm. Well, why don’t you ask me?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She turned back to the door leading to the bar. “Oh shoot, they might be looking for us. But what do you say to lunch tomorrow? In town. You can ask me anything you want, and I’ll help you. Maybe we can figure out a way to stop Olive from spreading those nasty rumors about you.”

“Oh wow! That would be great!” For the first time that night, Penny thought things were looking up. “I can’t thank you enough. You’re too kind.”

Mia gave her a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course. Happy to help.”