The tension flowed out of Penny’s body as her foot connected with the bag. It felt so energizing to kick something.

“Bad day at work?” Amanda asked as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Jab, cross, jab!” the instructor yelled from the front of the room.

Penny turned away from Amanda to repeat the move, feeling the power of her punch vibrate through her arms.

Kickboxing always made her feel better. There was just something so relaxing about beating the shit out of the bag. You could imagine anyone’s face, and over the years that face had varied. Right now, it was Ethan.

Jab, right between his blue eyes. Eyes that reminded her of the Mediterranean Sea. She took in a shallow breath, willing the memory away.

Cross, right to his gut. But he didn’t have a gut. Just a stomach she could do laundry on. Probably because he was a freaking hockey player.

Dammit!

Uppercut, right to his crooked smile. Maybe she could straighten it out. But no, it just laughed back at her.

Uppercut, jab, uppercut, jab. The moves rolled through her head as she continued to punch. Sweat trickled down her back.

“Let’s move on to uppercuts,” the instructor yelled out.

Hadn’t they already been working on uppercuts?

What the hell! Focus Penny, focus. He was ruining her workout.

Today had been a disaster. After he’d left her in her office, her mouth gaping like a fish at his last remark, she’d been useless. Luckily, she’d gotten most of her work done before lunch, but that wasn’t the point. He was invading her every thought. Every time she heard a knock on her office door, or a low voice coming down the hall, her heart raced, and her nerves went haywire. She could not function like this.

She growled as she punched the bag again.

She couldn’t get a moment’s peace, and it was all in her freaking head. She hadn’t seen him since that morning in her office, but he hovered over her shoulder. Figuratively, of course. Which was almost worse than literally. She was a damn mess.

She felt the flush travel up her skin, as if he was standing right next to her. Felt his fingertips tracing a line down her back, instead of the sweat currently making the journey down her spine. Sweat. Oh, he had made her sweat. Under the hot Tuscan sun. It sounded like such a cliché, she wanted to vomit.

His hands travelling down her body as he’d made love to her over and over again. She could still picture his tongue skating across her skin. A moan crept up her throat, and she shook her head trying to clear it before it escaped through her lips.

“Punch, then a side kick.” The perky instructor was at it again. “C’mon ladies. Ten minutes left. Show me what you got,” she yelled.

Stop interrupting, Penny wanted to yell back. I’m having a moment over here.

An erotic moment that she should have stuffed into the back of her mind, never to be retrieved. She wished she could blame the hot flashes on her kicks, but as soon as she raised her leg, she felt the air conditioning waft over her heated core. And then she remembered how his breath had whispered over her flesh before his tongue had wiped all coherent thoughts from her mind.

Son of a bitch!

She was going to melt into a puddle in the middle of her class in about five seconds. Or maybe in six seconds. Six sounded like sex.

What the hell! She could even make numbers dirty. Numbers were not dirty.

If someone had access to her thoughts they might lock her away. It was like a goddamn tennis match. Back and forth and back and forth. From one end of crazy to the next.

What move were they even on at this point? She quickly glanced around and noticed that the kicks had stopped. Only cross jabs.

Jab, jab, jab. She hit the bag repeatedly, her breath coming in short gasps as she tried to focus on the workout. She stared intently in front of her as she punched, her feet stabilized on the floor. She could feel the vibrations in her shoulder as the bag swayed.

“Whoa,” Amanda said.

“What?”

“Why do you look about ready to go a few rounds with something other than that poor bag?”

“It’s just been a rough couple of days.”

Amanda laughed. “Okay, Sugar Ray, how about we discuss it over Chinese?”

“Chinese? Doesn’t that defeat the entire purpose of the workout?”

“We have to replenish the calories we just burned. Do you know nothing about how exercise works?”

“Thank you, Jillian Michaels.” Penny rolled her eyes. “I must have missed that article in Shape magazine.”

“It was the cover story.”

“I’m not sure what kind of magical scale you have at home, but I don’t think mine works that way. But of course, I’m in. I’ve been dreaming of Chinese.”

“Right,” Amanda said slowly, “because that’s what it looked like you were thinking of before you started punching the shit out of that bag. Sure you weren’t dreaming about Ethan?”

“What?” She froze, and then the bag slammed into her, knocking her back and she lost her footing. Her knee twinged a little as she went down, and she shook her head, glaring at the swinging bag.

“Definitely about Ethan,” Amanda said with a grin, as she reached out a hand to help Penny up. “Still can’t believe he was at the bar. You know, he darted out after you. I’m assuming he never caught you.”

He did? Penny ignored the thrill that rocked through her. No. He’d just wanted to yell at her, which he’d done in glorious fashion earlier today. She was definitely not telling Amanda that right now. She’d fess up over dinner. In the quiet of her own home, where Amanda’s outbursts wouldn’t be witnessed by strangers.

Penny ignored the proffered hand and got up, swiping at her ass and straightening her shirt. “Leave me alone. I’ve had a bad week, and today was a nightmare. Can’t you just let me work out in peace?”

“Okay. This calls for reinforcements. And we will discuss your behavior or whatever the hell is up your ass over takeout.”

“What kind of reinforcements? And will there be wine?” If she was going to suffer through an interrogation, she might as well have a buzz.

“I’m calling Lexi. I’m sure Grant can watch Abby. Obviously, this is an emergency,” Amanda said, that stupid grin still in place.

“Don’t make a big deal about this,” Penny grumbled as they walked back to the locker room, and Amanda quickly grabbed her phone, tapping out a message.

“She’ll be at your place in fifteen,” Amanda said, clearly proud of herself.

Fuck. Her plans of gorging on carbs and disappearing into a bottle of wine by herself vanished. She refused to pout, but she was not looking forward to this at all.

It was a short walk back to her townhouse, one of the few reasons she used to convince herself to attend the class at least once a week. She needed to ramp it up to at least twice a week, but she had so many legit reasons to skip it. TV, her Kindle, her sweats…all viable motives to stay home.

“Don’t you just feel so refreshed?” Amanda asked, as she followed Penny through the front door of Penny’s townhouse a few minutes later, and headed for the kitchen.

“Normally yes, but you two are going to grill me, so refreshed isn’t exactly what I’m feeling right now,” Penny said, grabbing the menu—not that she needed it. It was going to be an orange chicken and rice night. White rice, that was slightly healthier than fried rice, right?

“If you provide us with the info we need then we won’t need to grill you. Apparently, more is going on than you’ve told us, so you’re going to fess up. I’ll grab the first shower,” Amanda said, before heading down the hallway to the bathroom. “Don’t forget to order me an eggroll.”

“I don’t think you deserve an eggroll,” Penny muttered, pulling up the restaurant’s info on her phone. She quickly placed their order and then plopped down on the couch.

Penny was still trying to figure out how to tell her best friends that the man she’d had crazy rebound sex with was her boss’s nephew, when Amanda came back down the hall ten minutes later.

“Your turn.”

“Money’s on the counter,” Penny replied as she escaped to take a quick shower. She focused on thoughts of orange chicken and rice and refused to let Ethan creep into her mind.

“Food’s here. And so is Lexi,” Amanda yelled just as Penny made her way back into the living room ten minutes later. “Now, what is going on?”

“Yes. What is going on with you? Is it Ethan? Did you track him down?” Lexi asked.

Penny put her wet curls up into a clip. “Can I make up my plate first? I’m famished.”

Amanda laughed. “Of course. You definitely worked up an appetite. I can’t remember the last time you were so energetic in class. But be quick about it, no stalling.”

As Penny filled her plate, Amanda and Lexi settled around the coffee table.

“Is this going to cut it, or do we need something stronger?” Amanda asked, holding up a bottle of wine.

“I hope not, and I do have to work tomorrow. Wine should be fine.”

“Okay.” Amanda filled her own plate, snatching up an egg roll.

“You know you can have mine,” Penny said.

“I don’t know why you don’t like these. They’re so good.”

Penny wrinkled her nose. “No thanks. Too much green stuff inside.” She really wasn’t a fan of vegetables.

“Just tastes like fried yummy goodness to me. Your loss. Anyway. So, what’s going on?”

“With what?” She knew she shouldn’t stall.

“Umm, with you beating the shit out of that bag tonight. You getting flustered when I mentioned Ethan. I know you’ve been holding out on us, and that hurts, Penny,” Amanda said, feigning pain.

“I’m just a little frustrated.”

“So, spill. You get me for at least an hour and then I should probably head home. Grant is great with Abby, but I don’t want to miss bedtime,” Lexi said, and Penny’s chest squeezed.

“I’m so happy for you, Lexi. Grant is amazing,” Penny said. It’d only been four months since Lexi had gotten her shit together and worked everything out with Grant, and Penny wanted that. The love in their eyes whenever they saw each other or talked about each other. She’d thought she’d had that with Michael. That was a lie. She knew she hadn’t had that. But she’d thought they’d be happy together, until it had come crashing down around her. Shit, her life had done that a few times in the last few months.

“Yes, he’s amazing. Now stop stalling and spill your guts,” Lexi said.

“Yes, you blew us both off about Ethan, and we want to know what is going on,” Amanda chimed in.

She had to stop stalling. They were her friends—her best friends. They’d been there to pick her up off the floor—literally, at her bachelorette party, and Amanda still offered, almost daily, to run Michael over with her car.

She’d tried to put her life back in order after she’d returned from Italy, but things were still strained with her family. And Michael. He needed to stop trying to get in touch with her. She’d spoken with him when she’d returned from Italy, telling him it was over. But he still called. And called.

And then there was Ethan. Fuck, this was a nightmare. She pinched herself, but the only result was a bruise on her arm and a reality she didn’t want to face. When Amanda and Lexi had picked her up from the airport, she’d looked like a puffy, messy fright from all her crying. They’d consoled her over comfort food and wine that night, assuming she’d still been upset about Michael, which had angered them even more. Their shock when she’d told them about Ethan almost made her chuckle. Not that she’d told them everything.

“So, um, yes, that was Italian Ethan and, funny story, he’s pissed because we didn’t really say goodbye. I kind of left him a note saying thanks for a good time and that check-out was at eleven,” she said, shoving a piece of orange chicken in her mouth, munching away like nothing was wrong. Until this moment, she’d kept that little nugget from her friends, and she held back her laugh as they both gaped at her.

“Seriously?” Lexi asked, dropping her fork.

“Wow. That’s kind of brutal, Penny. I’m sort of impressed,” Amanda said.

“Amanda, really? You’re impressed?” Lexi asked.

“She was sad and finally threw caution—and her lists, most likely—to the wind and had some fun. She needed it,” Amanda said.

“I agree, but that note might’ve been a bit much. You really said that check-out was at eleven?” Lexi asked, shaking her head.

“I sent him room service to soften the blow,” Penny said, playing with her wine glass. Yeah, it hadn’t been her finest moment, but she’d panicked. She did that a lot around him.

Amanda chuckled. “Baller move, Penny. So not like you.”

“You know I felt bad. You saw me come off that plane. I just didn’t know what to do about him, so I bolted instead of talking to him,” Penny said.

“Which is exactly what you did when you saw him in the bar,” Lexi said.

“I know. Ethan said the same thing today.”

“Today?” Amanda asked.

“You saw him again? Today?” Lexi asked.

“So, another funny story. He’s Robert’s nephew.” 

“Robert? Like our boss, Robert?” Lexi asked, her eyes wide.

“Umm. Yes,” Penny stuttered.

“No, that’s not possible. How is that possible?” Lexi asked.

“Yes, how the hell is that possible?” Amanda piped in. “Wow. Fate is freaking crazy.”

“I wouldn’t call it fate. Just horrible, horrible bad luck,” Penny grumbled.

“So how did you see him?” Lexi asked.

“I was in Robert’s office earlier today, and Ethan walked in to take his uncle out to lunch.”

“Oh shit,” Amanda said.

“Oh shit, is right. When Robert introduced us, I claimed not to know Ethan and then Robert joked about how we’d both been in Italy at the same time and wouldn’t it be funny if we’d run into each other.”

“Oh crap.”

“It’s not funny,” Penny said, glaring at Amanda, while Lexi just stared, her mouth hanging open.

“Damn. I can’t believe I missed seeing him. And, wow. What are the odds?” Lexi said.

“I’ll tell you what the odds are. They should’ve been freaking minimal, like non-existent,” Penny bit out, knocking back the rest of her wine and holding out her empty glass to Lexi. “Load me up. I need it.”

“Yeah you do,” Amanda said between chuckles.

“This is not funny,” Penny grumbled.

“Then what happened?” Lexi asked.

“I escaped, and he followed me. Started asking me questions and accusing me of knowing who he was when we were in Italy. I stupidly talked about my frustrations at not being promoted a few times. I had no idea he was related to my boss. Jesus. How the hell could this happen?”

“Wait. He accused you of knowing who he was? What, that you slept with him so he’d put in a good word for you with Robert? That’s ridiculous,” Lexi said, sitting up straighter, her anger apparent.

“That bastard. How dare he,” Amanda said.

“I set him straight on that and asked him to leave. He made a parting jab that he finally had the chance to say goodbye to me, right before he slammed my door. What if he tells Robert?”

“Hopefully he won’t. Honestly, he sounds hurt,” Lexi said.

“Oh please. I’m sure it’s just his pride. He’s basically a celebrity. I googled him and he always has a new girl on his arm. Who would skip out on a star hockey player, player being the correct term. Hopefully he’s not vindictive, but I have no idea. I’m dreading tomorrow. What if he shows up again?”

“Then you ping me, and I’ll rush to your office and kick him out,” Lexi said.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Penny said, shaking her head.

“We’ll figure it out. And I doubt that he’ll show up at the office that much. The season started two months ago, and this is the first time you’ve seen him, so he probably doesn’t stop in to take Robert to lunch all that often,” Lexi said.

“I hope you’re right.”

Penny dug back into her orange chicken. She didn’t want to talk about Ethan anymore, let alone think about him. He was a wild card she hadn’t planned on and that freaked her the hell out.

“I’m grabbing the first round,” Colin O’Sullivan said Wednesday night when they walked into Byrne’s.

“Damn straight you are,” Baz said. “Your pull-up performance was weak today.”

“Yeah, yeah. You edged me out by one, but a bet is a bet,” Sully said, making his way toward the bar.

They had two nights off, after playing—and winning—back-to-back games. Morning practice had been pushed back a few hours, so Ethan had agreed to a few drinks with some teammates. He should’ve known they’d head to Adam’s bar.

The scene of the incident.

He would not look around the room to see if Penny was here. No. Absolutely not. And he would not think about running into her at his uncle’s office earlier this week. What were the fucking odds of that? He was still having trouble processing that one. And he still felt like an ass for accusing her of knowing who he was in Italy. Her shock had been as clear as the glass around the rink when she’d seen him for the first time since Italy in this very bar last week.

His gut reaction had been to accuse, and he wasn’t proud of that. Or his parting shot in her office. Usually, he wasn’t a disaster like this. Fuck. Why did she throw him so off balance?

“So is she here?” Sully asked, when he brought over their drinks.

“Is who here?” Baz asked, quickly scanning the bar.

“That girl from last week. The one who ran out of here when she saw you,” Sully said.

“Why am I just hearing about this? You chase another girl off, Hartless?” Baz asked.

Fuck. He hated that nickname. He’d been hoping to leave it in New York. Most guys called him Harty, but Hartless came out whenever his dating life did. It’s not like he set out to hurt anyone. Every woman he dated knew the score going in. And he really didn’t want to talk about Penny with the guys. He was still trying to figure out what to do with the fact that she worked for his freaking uncle.

“Ah, yeah. Ran into some girl I dated. It was nothing,” he said, trying to brush it off. “So, last night’s game was awesome. I think we’re really gelling as a team.”

“Nope. You’re hiding something, and it sounds like it’s a doozy,” Baz said.

He never should’ve agreed to come out tonight. Especially to this bar. He didn’t want to think about Penny, but he’d spend all night looking over his shoulder. Why did she do this to him? Her ditching him in Italy and bolting every time he’d seen her since should make her feelings and intentions clear. She wanted nothing to do with him.

He refused to believe that was why he was interested. But it had to be. He’d rarely pursued anything that wasn’t a sure thing.

The whole situation was insane. Shit. This was a disaster.

“Hey, Hartless, give it up already and fill me in,” Baz said. Ethan glared at the guy. He was the worst gossip on the team, and Ethan had no desire to give him any fodder.

“She’s just some girl I met over the summer before I moved here. Didn’t expect to see her again. No crazy story.” Had that come out as nonchalant as he’d hoped?

“Looked like a lot of drama to me,” Sully said.

Ethan shrugged. “Just shock. Nothing more.”

“Not sure I’m buying what you’re selling,” Baz said.

“Not sure I care. Now, doesn’t Sully owe us drinks?” Ethan asked, trying to change the focus away from him.

“Did you know she lived here?” Sully asked.

“Yes. Just didn’t plan on seeing her again.”

Baz laughed. “Hartless probably broke her heart. Not nice, Hartless. Not nice.”

“She looked pretty shocked to see you,” Sully said.

“Yeah. So, did we come here to drink or gossip?” Ethan asked. He’d given up the pretense of being subtle.

“You have much to learn, my boy. We can do both, but I’ll let you off the hook for right now because I’m a nice guy. Although I make no promises after a few beers,” Baz said, with a loud laugh. “Sully, go grab a round.”

“I wonder if Adam knows her. I should ask,” Sully said, a grin on his face.

Ethan glared. “How about no.”

“Are you sure? Maybe she’s a regular,” Sully said.

Ethan bit back his groan, refusing to give up any more information. They didn’t need to know that Ethan could find Penny any time he wanted to. He just wouldn’t be inviting the guys to lunch with Robert any time soon. Not that lunch with his uncle was a normal occurrence, even if he’d made plans to do just that in a few days.

“You don’t need to do that,” Ethan said.

“He who doth protest too much, or some shit,” Baz said, his grin wide.

“Doth protest? Who says that?”

“I’m hooking up with a grad student. She’s studying Shakespeare or something,” Baz said.

“Wow. So, she’s slumming it with you,” Ethan teased.

“I’m very intelligent behind my rough exterior,” Baz said, running a hand down his long beard. At least the guy had put all his teeth back in tonight.

“So, Sully, how about those beers?” Ethan asked.

“On it. Baz, if you get anything out of him, I expect a full report,” Sully said before heading to the bar.

“You two are like gossipy old hens,” Ethan muttered.

“Old hens? Who says that?” Baz barked out.

His grandmother used to say that. Man, he missed her. She would’ve loved Penny. He paused. Where the ever-loving fuck had that come from? Yep, he was a mess.

“What did I miss?” Sully said, breaking into Ethan’s downward spiral a few minutes later.

“I think we’ve lost him again to the girl who doesn’t mean anything,” Baz said, and Ethan glared at both of them, snagging a beer from Sully’s hand and gulping down half the pint.

“You good?” Sully asked.

“Just thirsty.”

“So, I think we should play a game,” Baz said.

Ethan eyed his teammate warily. “What kind of game?” He heard his fair share of stories about Baz and the man’s pranks and games that never went well for anyone aside from Baz.

“We need to get you out of your doldrums after being bailed on by the mystery woman,” Baz teased.

“This probably isn’t going to end well,” Sully said, echoing Ethan’s thoughts.

“Probably not,” Ethan grumbled.

“Come on. Have some fun. You clearly need it,” Baz said. “How long has it been since you’ve had any fun? Wait…when was the last time you got any?”

“I’ve been busy. It’s been a crazy few months, the trade, moving, the start of the season,” Ethan said, surprised he hadn’t ticked that list off on his fingers. That was something Penny would’ve done. He bit back his smile. Her love of lists was epic. He’d invaded her lunch in Siena, the day after their vineyard meeting. She’d been nibbling on gelato as she flipped through her heavily flagged guide book. The pink bits of plastic on almost every page.

He’d watched her remove a pink flag as she walked up the steps to the church, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from asking.

She’d told him that after she visited a landmark or museum, she removed the flag. That her goal was to remove every flag before she went home. How else would she have known she’d succeeded in seeing everything?

It was oddly adorable, and he’d offered to help her clear that book. They’d started with the cathedral in Siena and visited every museum she’d flagged over the following days. It’d been the start of an unforgettable week. One that had ended with her bailing. She’d removed the last flag that final afternoon so he should’ve seen it coming. Fuck. It wasn’t supposed to sting.

“Ethan, you in?” Sully asked.

“What?”

Baz laughed. “He was thinking about her again. That glazed look is a dead giveaway.”

“Screw you, man. No, I wasn’t.”

“There he goes, doth protesting again,” Baz said, wiggling his brows at Ethan’s glare.

“Whatever. So, what’s this stupid game?” Ethan asked.

“A game of numbers. And how many you can get,” Baz said.

“I’m passing the Hartless nickname over to you,” Ethan said.

“Stop pouting and stalling. You playing this game, or not?” Baz asked.

“You haven’t explained it yet,” Ethan said.

“There seem to be some good pickings here tonight,” Baz said.

“And…” Ethan trailed off, not trusting Baz’s grin.

“The game is two parts. First, the last guy to get a number has to take a shot and buy the next round,” Baz said.

Okay, that was no biggie.

“And you can’t tell her you’re a hockey player, and if she guesses and gives you her number, it doesn’t count,” Baz continued. “And if she guesses you’re a hockey player, you have to also do a shot.”

“These shots keep adding up,” Ethan said.

Baz smirked. “Only if you lose.”

“Practice could suck tomorrow, but I’m in,” Sully said.

“Fine,” Ethan muttered, already thinking of ways to knock back a few loser shots and escape home, without the guys razzing the hell out of him. Odds of Ethan succeeding on that front were basically nil.

“I’ll be back,” Baz said in his best Schwarzenegger impression, which really wasn’t all that bad, as he headed into the crowd.

Ethan finished his beer, and grabbed another one. This was not going to end well. But at least they weren’t talking about Penny anymore. Shit. And there went his plans of not thinking about her.