Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,29

last night. How desperately she wanted to save her restaurant. How much she was willing to do in order to do just that.

Should she tell Amy?

No, she realized. No, the less people knew, the better. For both her sake and for Tommy’s.

“And how did things go with Tommy?” Penny shrugged her shoulders.

“I just wanted to make it go away.” Which was exactly what she had done. She had erased the problem by taking Tommy up on his solution. And then, she had erased the problems that arose because of that solution by drinking whiskey. Lots and lots of whiskey.

“And did you…?”

“Nothing happened,” she told her friend. It was the truth. They had spent the rest of the evening talking about the plan. They would go out on a few dates, maybe spend some time in L.A. They could hold hands and hug—things they normally did even just as friends, but that was where the line was drawn.

She thought about the one rule she had given him.

No kissing.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to maintain the façade. Kissing Tommy the first time had been a lapse of judgment. Kissing him the second time—that had been a mistake. Penny wasn’t willing to let it happen again.

They were friends. This was something she had to continually remind herself.

And kissing him…well, that made her want to forget all about being friends.

Penny didn’t need romance right now. She’d had that, and it hadn’t given her anything worthwhile.

No, what she needed was business. And that was exactly what her arrangement with Tommy was. Business.

“You sure?” Amy questioned and Penny pulled herself away from her thoughts.

“Positive. Of course, the tabloids will probably claim something different. They must have found out he was here—and of course, they just had to be waiting out there the one morning I want to just…disappear.”

“You were photographed?” Penny nodded grimly, taking another drink of her juice. “By paparazzi?” Penny nodded again. “Oh wow, Pen—that’s so—you’re, like, famous now!” Penny laughed then, shaking her head.

“No, I’m pretty sure the word is infamous.” She sighed. “I have to take a shower. I should be at The Seaside already.”

“Let those two handle it. You don’t need to be there, dealing with them.”

“No, but I should be. It’s my restaurant.” She shrugged her shoulders, finishing off the orange juice. “I’ll see you tonight, Amy.”

Penny was, once again, facing her day with dread.

Tommy was livid. He had known the paparazzi were going to track him down eventually—that was a given. But he thought it awfully funny that they had shown up just hours after Graham had left. Didn’t he understand that, sometimes, a person just needed a few days outside of the spotlight?

He hadn’t returned to the motel right away, instead opting to spend a good portion of the day out on his bike. He drove along the coast, taking in the fresh air, pushing all of his thoughts out of his head.

By the time he’d returned, it was already getting dark. He pulled up to the motel, the swarm of photographers milling around. It didn’t take long for them to jump up and circle him, but he pushed forward, saying nothing. Even on the other side of the door, he could hear them out there, begging him for answers.

Who was she? Where did she go? What brought him here? Was he planning on staying? It wouldn’t be long before they had the answers to most of those questions, not in a small town like this. People were probably already talking about Tommy’s return and what his relationship might be with Penny. He’d seen it at The Seaside yesterday morning.

Everyone would be clambering for their moment to shine. Pretty soon, he would be able to read all about the supposed romance he and Penny had shared in high school.

He’d heard that rumor often, though there had never been any truth to it. He had purposely chased girls very different from his best friend, just so that nobody would get the two confused. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of Penny—no, it was quite the opposite.

He had always known that Penny deserved better. In a way, he was glad that this was how things were going to turn out. Because at least this way, he knew the rules. He knew that, no matter what things may look like, it was just another acting gig.

Just like old times. He was the lead, and Penny was his leading lady.

He could do this.

It didn’t take him long to shower and