Chapter Eleven
S weat dripped into Penny’s eye as she taped shut the last box in her bedroom.
The Wright house had been closed up tight. Not a soul in sight.
Which was probably a good thing.
Yeah, probably.
Most likely.
Just a few more loads and she’d be done. The movers would take care of the heavy stuff. She’d insisted upon packing personal belongings herself. The idea of strangers going through all that she owned in the world seemed distasteful.
Walking to the other side of the bed, a piece of fabric caught her eye and her heart leaped into her throat.
She should just throw it away, give it to Goodwill.
The first T-Shirt Chaz gave her had somehow become wedged between the headboard and the wall. She’d wondered what happened to it.
Not stopping to think, she picked it up and held it to her face. Mary, Mother of God, but it still carried his scent. She closed her eyes and inhaled again.
This was stupid. Why torture herself? They’d had a good time. Some really great sex. No, it had been phenomenal sex.
But she needed to get over it.
She pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head and then slipped into Chaz’s.
Biggest.
Idiot.
Ever.
He’s gone. What can it hurt? She was moving forward, building a new life. She would be independent, a world traveler, editor extraordinaire.
She crept out of the bedroom and across the hall. She’d packed the contents of the office earlier. There was nothing for her to do in there.
The window drew her inside.
She’d not once opened the drapes since coming back. She’d not once allowed herself to peer through the blinds.
She wouldn’t do it. She’d promised herself.
Until now, with the scent of him around her. She would remember one last time.
The curtain was a little dusty so she covered her face with the bottom of the shirt. Ah, yes. Much better.
And then she lifted her hand and pried open the blinds.
His room, as she’d expected, was empty.
Devastatingly so.
No water bottle on the dresser, no flight suit hanging on the door. No masculine god for her to spy on.
Feeling melancholy, she grabbed the string and tugged until the blinds stacked themselves tightly at the top of the window.
It looked as though he’d completely moved out.
And then the door opened.
When Chaz entered the room, she stopped breathing. A suitcase sat on the bed and he looked to be making certain it closed properly. And then he stilled.
He’d seen her in the mirror.
His bandage was gone, and he wore cargo pants and a white T-shirt.
Penny froze.
***
Chaz had known she was home. He’d recognized her car. It hadn’t been there for nearly two weeks.
And now he was leaving.
He’d received orders two days after the doctor released him for P.T., and his parents had surprised him as well. They had temporarily moved up to Denver to take care of Grandma. She didn’t have much time left, and his dad wanted to be with her until the end.
Chaz’s pride, at first, convinced him not to seek Penny out. She was the one who’d taken off. He had no desire to grovel; it wasn’t something he did.
Except, now, seeing her, adrenaline poured through him. She was standing in the window, looking into his room.
Wearing his shirt.
That meant something to chicks. They didn’t wear a guy’s shirt unless they liked him.
Or unless they really liked the shirt.
He was willing to bet it wasn’t the shirt.
Not stopping to think, he pointed at her in the mirror, mouthed the words ‘don’t move,’ and bolted out the door.
It took him less than thirty seconds to make it into her upstairs office.
He was a little surprised to find himself out of breath. But she’d done exactly as he’d said. She’d not moved an inch. In fact, she was still looking into his bedroom.
And then she turned her head and stared at him over her shoulder. Her smile was bright. Too bright.
“Hey, Chaz.” She was trying to sound breezy. “I thought you’d already left town.”
She looked incredible.
She didn’t look so forlorn as when he’d first met her. He’d kind of been hoping she’d pined for him.
Except it was good to see a sparkle in her eyes.
“I just got my orders. Vacation’s over.” Did she look disappointed at his words? Maybe a little?
“I’m putting the house up for sale.” Her smile faded.
“Yeah, I saw the sign.” He crossed one foot over the other and leaned against the doorframe.
He’d flustered her. “Oh, yeah,” she kind of whispered. And then, apparently realizing what she was wearing, crossed her arms over her breasts.
Too late, sweetheart, I already saw it.
She’d been remembering.
And missing him.
But he needed her to crack. He pushed himself away from the doorframe and took three steps toward her, cutting the distance between them in half.
“Are you running toward something this time? Or away again?” He needed to push but not too far. He wanted her to be strong.
He wanted her to meet him somewhere in the middle.
She relaxed for the first time since he entered the room. “Toward something,” she said. “I got a great job up in Denver.”
She was moving to Denver?
And then she smiled for real. “The bandages are gone. How’s the arm? Better?”
He raised his right arm halfway and made a fist. He didn’t have all his strength back but he would soon. It was great to just be able to pick things up again. “Much.” And then he couldn’t help himself. “Imagine the fun we could have now.”
She glanced away from him but not before he could see that her eyes were almost entirely green. “It was fun, wasn’t it? I mean, it wasn’t ever meant to be anything more, was it?” She was trying to sound casual but her voice broke on the last few words.
Chaz froze. “Penny, I’ll be working out of Denver, too. They want me to be a recruiter for this region.”
“You’re gonna be in Denver?” Her eyes lit up for just a moment and then she shifted her gaze to the floor. “That’s great, we’ll have to go out for drinks sometime.”
He wondered if that was it.
Was that her move?
The best she could do?
But then she added, “I guess you can be closer to Francine then.”
Ah… She thought he and Francine— Oh, hell, no!
“I could have killed my mom for bringing her down. Took me nearly a week to get her to leave.”
“You wanted her to leave?” She’d turned her body toward him, her arms still folded in front of her.
Chaz nodded. “I’d love to have a drink with you in Denver. Where should we go?” He stood his ground. She needed to do this. She needed to have enough faith in herself reach for him.
“Somewhere downtown. We can check out one of the new places.” She shuffled her feet a little and then took one step forward. “You weren’t happy Francine showed up? Really?”
“Not even a little. What happened with the ex? He didn’t look like much of an ex when I saw him, his arm wrapped around my girl.” There, he’d help her out.
She took another step. Her steps were smaller than his. She still had about two to go. “Kent wanted to get back together. I sent him away. I don’t know what he was thinking. We were done even before the divorce...”
“So, it’s definitely over?”
She laughed. “Yeah.”
Chaz hooked his thumb through the belt loop on his jeans. “Francine and old Kent have horrible timing.” At his words, she took another step toward him. If he reached out, he could pull her into his arms.
“So, a recruiter, huh? Are you happy about that?” Almost without thinking, it seemed, she reached out and skimmed her hand down his right arm.
Chaz swallowed hard. “I’m good with it. Eventually they’ll want me to teach. It’s not permanent but it gives me something to do until the doc’s clear me. I’m glad about Denver.” He’d been surprised at how many options he had. “You know, I should take you out to dinner first, then we could check out some of those new clubs.” His skin burned where she’d touched him.
And then she was there. In his arms. Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his chest. “Chaz, I know I’m a lot older than you, but I’d love to…” She’d done it. She’d come to him. He tilted her head back and caught her lips with his.
Her mouth was warm, sweet. Chaz took his time tasting her. He’d learned to not take things for granted. Not friends, not family, and not life.
As he nipped at her lower lip, one of those little sexy sigh’s escaped her. He didn’t give a rat’s ass how old she was. He was just going to have to prove that to her. “Me too,” he growled.
And then he threw her over his shoulder.
On his way up, he’d noticed a perfectly good bed in the room down the hall.
Denver be damned.
They both needed a little more sexual healing right now.
–The End –