Something was up. She’d been saying it for days but as Spencer left Tuesday morning, her suspicion grew. He’d been a little distant after the show Friday night and even though they had a great weekend, it wasn’t hard to tell that he had something on his mind. It could have been work that was distracting him, but for some reason, she didn’t think so. At her meeting on Monday she had tried to feel out Becca and Angie about it – being that she had found them all talking together after the show, but they didn’t seem to have anything to share either.

Weird.

Penny wasn’t one to make waves or force anyone to talk about things they didn’t want to talk about, so she tried to push it out of her mind. She had asked for a four-day weekend off as soon as it could be arranged so she could go to Atlanta and Hailey had been more than accommodating. Well, as accommodating as she could be when Ella was out on maternity leave and they had shows scheduled.

All she had to do was wait three weeks.

While that might not seem like a lot, Penny knew Spencer had spoiled her. She was used to seeing him more often and it was going to be hard to deal with only seeing each other via FaceTime or Skype.

As they were closing up the shop for the night, it was down to just Penny and Hailey.

“I don’t know about you, but that last bride just about wore me out,” Hailey said as she sat down at her desk.

“I agree. It was almost as if she’d never even looked at wedding gowns before. I don’t think I’ve ever met a bride who didn’t have some idea of what she wanted.”

Hailey rubbed at her temples. “Hey, um…Jack’s working late tonight and I was going to go grab some sushi. Want to join me?”

For a moment, Penny was a little dumbstruck. As much as she and her bosses got along and spent time together, it was normally all work-related. She’d never gone out socially with any of them.

“Um…sure,” she agreed.

Within minutes, the shop was closed and they were both in Hailey’s BMW, driving to her favorite sushi restaurant. The conversation was fairly neutral – today’s clients and what was on the schedule for tomorrow – and Penny felt herself relaxing. Not that she wanted to only talk about work, but it was a topic she felt comfortable talking to Hailey about.

It wasn’t until they were seated and had ordered that Hailey brought up the glam squad.

“So, what are your plans for your business?” she asked.

For a minute, Penny wasn’t sure what to say. “Well…um…nothing. I need to work on paying off the last of my student loans and getting my credit in a little better shape before I can even think of doing anything.”

“I know you turned down our offer for help – and I totally respect your reasons – but I hate to think of you not moving forward with it, Penny. Your plan was spot on and I can envision the salon so clearly that it’s killing me that it’s not going to be there.” She paused and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Have you thought about asking your parents for the money?”

Just as she had explained to Becca on Friday night, she told Hailey all about her family and their situation. “Honestly, if I can’t get them on board to potentially help pay for my wedding – should I ever get married – how can I possibly think they’ll be able to help with money for a business?”

“Well, for starters, this is something you’d be paying back. You aren’t asking for the money free and clear, right?”

“No, but…”

“And it would show that you’re taking initiative to be an independent and responsible adult and business owner – one who could make enough money to pay for her own dream wedding when the time came,” Hailey went on.

“Maybe, but…”

“And you can draw up a contract with them so they know you’re serious about paying them back or maybe offer them some sort of share of the business. I know I’d be happy to sit down with them – as would my mom and the girls – and tell them how much we support the business and everything we’d do to help it grow.”

Penny’s head was spinning. She was so certain that this wasn’t going to happen and had resigned herself to it and to picking up and moving to Atlanta to be with Spencer that…

Spencer!

She must have gasped or said his name because Hailey reached across the table, concern written all over her face. “Penny? Are you okay?”

Was she?

At the moment, the answer was definitely no.

If anything, her heart was racing and she felt like she was hyperventilating. Hailey immediately walked around the table to her and forced her to have something to drink as she tried to calm her down. By the time she did, she was mildly embarrassed.

“Sorry.”

As she sat back down, Hailey smiled. “Don’t be. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Penny nodded but…right now, she needed…

“Can I ask you something?” she asked quickly before she lost her nerve.

“Of course. Anything,” Hailey replied.

“But I need you to be like…a friend and not my boss,” she said hesitantly.

And then Hailey gave her a reassuring smile. “Penny, I would have thought by now that you would consider me a friend.”

“I do, I really do, but…you’re also my boss and this kind of has to do with work so…”

Hailey held up a hand to stop her. “Okay. Got it. No boss here. Just two friends out for sushi.”

And then Penny poured her heart out – about Spencer, about how she was thinking of moving to Atlanta and how she was torn about the entire thing.

When she was done, Hailey didn’t say anything right away and then their food arrived so that was a distraction. It wasn’t until they had each taken a few bites when Hailey put her chopsticks down and spoke.

“I know I said no boss here, but for a minute or two, I might be.”

Penny nodded.

“I think I can speak for everyone at Enchanted when I say that the thought of losing you is just awful. You never were just an employee, Penny. You were one of the girls – family. That being said, I understand exactly what you’re saying and how you feel. You have this opportunity to be with an amazing man who you’ve been in love with since forever. The two of you have waited so long for things to go your way and it sucks that work – for the both of you – is such an obstacle.”

Then Penny explained about Spencer’s father and the opportunity he has at the firm.

“But that’s not what he wants,” Hailey said, and Penny shook her head. “Then it’s not an option to even take into consideration.”

“I know, I know but…it would be so great if…”

“You can’t think that way. Because it might not seem like a big deal now, but eventually it will be. Then not only will there be tension between the two of you, but tension between Spencer and his family. And that’s not going to help the situation.”

Damn, she hadn’t thought of it like that.

“So what do I do? What if I give up my job and move and end up miserable down in Atlanta? What if I can’t find work or I end up with a job I hate? Isn’t that the same thing?”

Hailey studied her for a minute. “There is that possibility, but you could also find something wonderful that you’ll love. And believe me, as supportive as I’m trying to be, the selfish part of me hates saying it!” They both laughed softly. “You know what I’m saying. Spencer already knows he’s going to be miserable working with his father, whereas you have the opportunity to find something that works for you.”

“I don’t know. I think that’s going to be hard to find no matter what. Even now.”

“What do you mean?”

She let out a breath and figured she might as well be totally – even brutally – honest. “I’m not happy right now,” she said. “I’m disappointed about my business getting rejected by the bank and I feel like I’m at a standstill. I enjoy doing the work with you in the bridal shop, but subbing all over the place is just starting to…well, it’s getting…”

“You hate it,” Hailey finished for her but there was no condemnation in her words. “I get it. Personally, I wouldn’t like it much either. And after all of the things you shared with me about Martin and how he’s running the tuxedo shop, we’ve had a long and drawn-out meeting with him to explain to him our expectations and how he needs to step up his game. We can’t have groomsmen coming in and feeling like they’re not being taken care of or being taken care of poorly.”

“Oh, well…that’s good. I guess.”

“I’m sorry if we took advantage of your willingness to help out. That wasn’t fair of us.”

Penny shrugged and gave her a weak smile. “For a while I didn’t mind it. But now? Now I think everything is going to be a disappointment because…well, because I’m disappointed. I know I’ll get over it eventually, but right now I think I might just need a change.”

“I see.”

They finished their meal in relative silence before Hailey picked up the check. After she handed her card to the waitress, she looked at Penny.

“I am going to support you no matter what you decide. I want you to know that. And I’m going to help you with whatever it is that you need. If you go to Atlanta and hate it and want to move back, there will always be a position for you with Enchanted.”

“Thank you.”

“Just one more thing, I want you to promise that you’ll come and talk to me and let me know what you decide or even if you just need someone to vent to. I’m always here.”

“I appreciate that.”

* * *

“So you were back in the tux shop? Even after Hailey talked to Martin?” Spencer asked a week later.

“Yup,” she sighed. “I don’t think his heart is in the business and to be honest, it’s killing me to sit back and watch him ruin it. It’s just so wrong how someone like him can have a business and doesn’t appreciate it, while I have all these ideas for a place of my own and I’m not allowed to have one!” She growled in frustration. “There is so much potential there!” She began to talk about promotional ideas and ways to fix up the shop and – again – there was an excitement in her voice that wasn’t there a whole lot lately.

Especially whenever she talked about moving to Atlanta.

“Have you given any more thought to talking to your folks about helping you with the business?” he asked.

She let out a long breath. “You know, as much as I want to, I just can’t. You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about it.”

“But…?”

“But then I remember how they told me about wanting to retire and all the ways they’ve helped my siblings and…I don’t know…I think I was just born too late.”

“Oh, Penny. You can’t think like that.”

“But it’s true,” she said sadly. “They already put eight kids through school, helped pay for weddings, welcomed a dozen grandkids – give or take – and I think they’re just done.”

“That’s not fair,” he argued lightly. “You’re their child too. Just because you were born last doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the same help they gave their other kids.”

“You don’t understand.”

On that, she was right. He didn’t. Not that he had any idea what it was like to come from such a large family, but how was it fair that Penny had to be the one singled out not to get the help her siblings had?

“Maybe you should do as Hailey suggested and bring them in to talk to her and the girls? Maybe if they saw the potential, they wouldn’t look at this as a financial strain, you know?”

She was silent for a moment. “All my life I was fine with hand-me-downs and not having all the things my oldest siblings had. But I had something none of them had – once everyone moved out, I had Mom and Dad to myself for a little while. With no one to share the attention, it was just the three of us and it was awesome.”

He could hear the joy in her voice and it made him smile.

“They’ve done so much for all of their kids and really, what right do I have to stand there and demand more of them? How crappy would that be?”

“I wouldn’t call it crappy…”

“You know what I’m saying, Spencer. I love my parents and I’m thankful for all that they’ve done for me. And besides, if I had to ask them for anything, it wouldn’t be for a business, it would be for a…” Her words cut short before she quickly added, “It’s nothing. Either way, I’m not going to involve them in this.”

“But Penny…”

“Ugh…enough about me,” she quickly interrupted, “let’s talk about you. How’s work going? Everything on track with this project?”

He’d been sharing his work schedule with her, as well as the building schedule and how much of a struggle it is to keep on track when dealing with subcontractors and waiting on permits. “For the most part,” he replied. “I got an assistant assigned to me to help with a lot of the legwork so that I can focus on the bigger engineering issues and be in my office.”

“Oh…well…that’s good, right?”

“I don’t know. I kind of enjoy being on site. I’m always fascinated when we break ground and when I can watch things progress in person.”

“You can still go to the site though, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. But I feel like I’ve been relegated to my office and someone else is getting to have all the fun.”

She laughed softly and he loved the sound of it.

“Either way, it’s temporary and my bosses are already looking at the next project for me to work on.”

“Oh, wow. That’s kind of fast. I would think you’d only work on one project at a time.”

“Normally that’s the case, but there are some new jobs we’re bidding on that I expressed an interest in so…”

This was one of the nights that they were simply on the phone rather than using FaceTime or Skype and right now he wished he could see her face.

“It sounds like you’re going to be pretty busy for a while,” she said softly. “If it’s not a good time to come down…”

“Are you kidding me? I can’t wait to see you,” he said earnestly. “I miss you, Penny. I can’t wait for you to get here so I can show you around and have you here in my home for a change.” Then he looked around and realized he’d better do something to spruce it up a bit before she arrived.

“I miss you too.”

After they hung up, Spencer spent a lot of time sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. Besides sprucing up the place so that she wouldn’t be disappointed in it, he knew he’d also have to wrap up a lot of loose ends at work so they could actually spend time together and he could show her around. He still had well over a week to make that happen, but it wouldn’t hurt to start burning the midnight oil now to make sure he stayed a little ahead.

Sitting up, he reached for his laptop and was just getting ready to look over some reports when his phone rang again.

His father.

Shit.

“Hey, Dad,” he said pleasantly.

“Hey, Spencer. I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”

“No, not at all. I was just…relaxing,” he lied. “What’s up?”

“Well, I was a little hesitant to call you because you’ve been pretty vocal about the offer to come and work for me, but…”

“What’s going on, Dad?” There was something in his father’s voice that wasn’t sitting well with him.

“I’ve been approached by a large design firm. They’d like to buy me out and take over – use what I’ve built here over the years to expand their own company.”

Holy. Crap. “Really? That’s…that’s great, Dad. How do you feel about it?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I was hoping you’d have some advice.”

That was surprising. “Me? What kind of advice could I possibly give? I think this would allow you to retire comfortably – more so than you would if I were to come in and take over for you. You would probably have time to help work with the transition so it’s not like you’d be out right away…”

His father laughed softly. “You realize that was advice you just gave me, right?”

Spencer laughed with him. “I guess so.” He paused. “But how do you feel about it? I mean…this is your company, your baby. I know you’re disappointed that it wasn’t something I wanted to do, but…”

“Spencer, I think you wanted to do it, but I made it too unappealing to you.”

Well…shit. “That’s not true, Dad. Not really.”

His father laughed again. “Believe it or not, I wouldn’t have wanted to work with my dad either.”

“Grandpa was a lawyer. Of course you didn’t want to work with him.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s not easy to be expected to follow in somebody’s footsteps. There’s a lot of pressure there, a lot of expectations and I realize now that you had your own vision for what you wanted to do and I was trying to make you conform to what I had built. I was closed-minded about what you saw for the firm’s future and for that I’m sorry.”

Raking a hand through his hair, Spencer let out a long breath. “You don’t have to apologize, Dad. Like I said, this is your firm, your baby, so of course you didn’t want to see it change.”

“But it’s going to anyway,” he said wearily. “And I know it’s a good thing, but…part of me is just a little sad about it.”

And Spencer could understand that. “When is all this happening?”

“The proposal just came to me yesterday. I’ve been sitting here weighing the pros and cons and talking with my team to see if it was something they were on board with and…”

“And are they? Is anyone opposed to it?”

“Surprisingly, no. So many of my employees have been with me since the beginning and – like me – they’re going to be retiring soon or hoping too. The younger architects and designers? They’ll fit right in because I think I’ve held them back creativity-wise.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Believe what you want,” his father said with a trace of amusement, “but you’re not the only one I’ve been butting heads with.”

Unfortunately, he did believe it, but he was trying to be nice. “I’m sorry I let you down, Dad. I feel like if I could have just…”

“Bit the bullet?” his father teased. “That’s not what I wanted for you, Spencer. You should do what makes you happy. I have for forty years and I don’t regret it. It wasn’t always easy and the climb to have something of my own was hard, but I always loved my job. It made it possible for me to give my kids a good life and to spend time with your beautiful mother.”

“Speaking of…how does Mom feel about all of this?”

“She’s begging me to sign the papers now so that as soon as your sister’s wedding is over, we can leave on a European vacation of some sort. She’s dying to go to Italy and I have to admit, the chance to explore the architecture there is very appealing.”

“Then you should do it. You only have another month until the wedding is over so…” His father was silent for so long that Spencer thought they’d lost the connection. “Dad? You still there?”

“I am,” he said quietly. “It just struck me that in a month my baby girl will be married and moving out.” Then he laughed. “Finally. And I’ll be looking at retirement. That’s a lot of change for me – a guy who doesn’t like change.”

Spencer knew that feeling exactly. He liked stability. Knowing what was coming. His schedule. It was all very…

Boring.

It was very boring.

He thought of Penny and her ever-changing schedule – the way she always went with the flow with a smile on her face and had stories of the things she learned or experienced from taking a different path once in a while. Other than her negative interactions with Martin, she took everything in stride and he loved hearing her stories.

She didn’t have stability; she had experiences.

She didn’t have a schedule; she had dreams.

A slow smile crossed his face.

“Yeah, but…sometimes those changes take us to places that make us even happier than we ever thought possible.”

* * *

When Penny stepped out of the Atlanta airport, she sighed. It was far more crowded than the Raleigh one.

As they drove through downtown to Spencer’s condo, she noted how much traffic there was and how congested it felt compared to home.

Stop doing that, she chided herself. It’s not supposed to be the same. It’s okay for it to be different.

“I thought about doing like we always do when we’re in Raleigh and stopping for takeout on the way home, but I thought we’d bring your stuff to my place and then go out to eat. How does that sound?”

She smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Ugh…could she sound any less enthused?

When they arrived at Spencer’s condo she was…shocked. It was huge but it was…stark. Bare. Void of any personality. White walls, black furniture, stainless steel appliances…definitely not her style at all. He showed her around and it wasn’t until they got to his bedroom that she saw any signs of the man she loved.

In the large room was a king-sized bed, a mountain of pillows and floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the city. He had a picture of the two of them next to his bed and when she saw it, she turned to him and smiled.

“I like looking at your face before I go to bed,” he said as he came to stand beside her.

“We don’t have any dinner reservations, do we?” she asked, turning toward him and reaching for his hands.

Spencer shook his head. “I figured we’d decide when you got here what we were in the mood for.”

Best lead-in ever.

“I’m not in the mood for food,” she said, pressing closer. “As a matter of fact, food is the furthest thing from my mind right now.”

Without another word, Spencer lowered his head and claimed her lips with his.

Thank God, she thought. Three weeks was far too long. She clung to him, releasing his hands so that she could touch and be touched.

And boy did he touch.

Her hands raked up into his hair as Spencer reached down and squeezed her ass. She’d missed those hands, the feel of him, the heat of him…

Just…him.

“Too long,” she murmured when he lifted his head to nip at her ear. His warm breath on her skin felt delicious and she was practically vibrating with need. Not that she wasn’t primed for this – three weeks away from each other already had her on edge and then to take all of that pent-up energy and put them within a foot of a bed and she was ready to come undone.

“Yes,” he said breathlessly as he tried to taste and touch her everywhere. “Too damn long.”

Within minutes, Spencer had her stripped down to her panties and carefully guided her down to the bed. She lay back and watched as he tugged his shirt over his head and quickly discarded his shoes, socks and jeans. He stood before her in nothing but his briefs and she couldn’t wait to touch him. Reaching out a hand to him, she gently tugged him onto the bed to cover her.

And then it was as if the universe righted itself.

All of the sadness and frustration and disappointment vanished as they pressed skin to skin and he kissed her – long and wet and deep and exactly how she liked it. Limbs tangled, breath mingled and rather than the frantic rush she thought they were building, everything slowed. Hands that were grabbing, now caressed, untamed kisses now seduced. It was the sweetest of reunions and they sank into it – getting reacquainted with each other.

And hopefully, this would be one of the last times they had to worry about being apart again.

* * *

“I swear we’ll go out to dinner tomorrow night, but this is exactly what I wanted tonight.”

Beside her, Spencer laughed softly. “I have to agree. All week I’ve been obsessing about where I wanted to take you, but this is damn near perfect.”

They were sprawled out on his sofa watching a movie on Netflix while enjoying takeout Chinese.

“I seriously think we need to just come to grips with the fact that this is our thing,” Penny said, shaking a chopstick at him. “We talk a good game about being the type of people who enjoy going out to fancy restaurants, but at the end of the day, there is just something about being comfortable on the couch and eating some lo mein.”

“Well, there are some merits to going out to a fancy restaurant…”

She shook her head. “Shoes, a bra, possibly some Spanx…too much work. This is much better.”

“Believe me, I have no objections to you not wearing a bra,” he teased. “Any time you want to stop wearing one, I’ll support you one hundred percent.”

She burst out laughing and had to put her carton of food down. “Support? Bra? Good one!”

When he realized what he’d said, he couldn’t help but laugh with her. “Bad choice of words…” he said as he reached out and pulled her against him and kissed her senseless. “But a good visual.” Then he was cupping her breasts and dinner was all but forgotten for a little while.

They resurfaced later to reheat their food and opted to sit at the kitchen table to ensure they would eat.

“I swear I could eat another pint or two of this,” Penny said as she picked up more noodles. “Too bad we couldn’t have ice cream delivered.”

“One step ahead of you,” he said around a mouthful of Moo Shu. “I stocked up already. I made sure I got all of your favorites.”

“Careful…you’re spoiling me. At this rate I’m going to expect you to keep the freezer fully stocked even when I move here.”

He choked on his dinner and it took a minute for him to catch his breath. “Are you serious? You…you’re really going to move here?”

She nodded and gave him a bright smile.

Or what she hoped was a bright smile.

“I talked to Hailey and the girls before I left and told them that my mind was made up,” she said with a curt nod. Then she reached for one of his hands and held it tightly. “I missed you so much these last few weeks and with so much time on my hands, I was able to think about things – about us – and I know that I don’t want to do this long-distance thing anymore.”

“But…what about your job? You love it at Enchanted,” he countered.

She willed herself not to cry. Telling Hailey and Angie and Becca and even Ella – who happened to stop in with baby Devin – had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. Even telling her parents of her plans hadn’t caused such a gut-wrenching reaction as watching the look on her bosses faces.

“I do…I mean, I did,” she quickly corrected. “But things have changed and I’m ready to move on. Try something new. And if I stay in Raleigh, I’m never going to want to leave Enchanted. I’ll always find a reason to stay. I love the girls and they’re really more like friends than bosses…and I’m sure it won’t be easy to find that kind of dynamic again. It’s not completely unheard of but…I don’t know…I’m sure there are bridal shops here that I can apply to and I’ll make new friends. I mean, maybe not with my bosses but…that’s okay, right? Are you friends with your bosses?”

He didn’t get a chance to answer before she was talking again.

“Who knows…maybe I won’t look at bridal shops. And maybe that would be okay…I mean, I enjoy what I do, and I know I’m good at it, but…it might be weird. I would almost feel like I’m competing against Enchanted even though we’re six hours away. Maybe I’ll apply at some salons and start doing hair again full-time. I can rent a booth or something to get started. Of course, in the beginning you need to build your client base so I’ll only get the walk-ins or the people no one wants, and I’ll have to see about getting my license here, but…I’m sure it will be fine.” She sighed. “It’s just time for a change.”

Spencer wanted so badly to believe her and if she hadn’t sounded so unsure or if she hadn’t kept correcting herself he might have.

There wasn’t anything he could say right now. There was too much to think about and to take into consideration. They only had the weekend together and he didn’t want to spend it making her upset.

Which she clearly was.

A change of subject was in order and he did just that.

“So what flavor of ice cream are we starting with tonight?”