Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,61

couldn’t touch her. Not really. He could hold her hand and put his arm around her. But what he really wanted to do was to take her back to his house and—

Stop, he cut himself off before he could get too far into his fantasy. He had thus far managed to keep himself under control, despite how difficult she’d made it by wearing that dress.

He made the rounds at the posh restaurant, doing his best to ignore Penny’s laughter whenever he heard it from across the room.

“There are some high-quality choices in this room, Tom. Take your pick.” Graham sidled up alongside Tommy, holding a drink out to him. Tommy knew he’d probably already met his limit but as he glanced over his shoulder at Penny, he decided an extra drink or two wouldn’t hurt. “I don’t know how many times I have to remind you—this is business. There is nothing more between you and that girl.”

“I didn’t say there was, did I?”

“I’m just saying.” Graham took a long drink from his glass, finishing it off. He stopped one of the cocktail waitresses as she was passing by. “Hey, Lydi, have you met Thomson yet?”

“No, I don’t believe I’ve had that pleasure,” The chesty blonde leaned in closer to Tommy, smiling at him in a way that he normally would have taken as his cue. “Hi, Thomson. My name is Lydi.”

He thought about how easy it would be—to slip away with this girl, to forget all about Penelope Lang and her perfect smile. In a way, he craved it. It had all been so easy several months ago. He could go home with a girl and think nothing of it. It wasn’t as if either of them expected anything to come of it.

But now…

He couldn’t even look at this girl.

He tried, though, for several minutes. He wanted to forget so many things.

Lydi offered him another drink and he took it, drinking it quickly. Maybe if he drank enough, she might actually have a chance. She was talking to him about wanting to be an actress, he had pieced that much together. She probably thought he could be of some assistance in that area. They usually did.

He noticed the way she touched him, her fingers soft and smooth. She talked with her body more than anything.

Normally, he would have already taken the bait. As strong as his need was, he probably would have already let her take him wherever it was she wanted to go.

Another drink and some encouragement from Graham and he was actually going for it. Lydi took him by the hand, leading him toward the back of the restaurant, up a set of stairs.

He didn’t even realize what was happening until he felt her lips touch his—he pulled away, using his hands to hold her away from him. “This isn’t going to happen.”

“Oh, come on—”

“I’m with someone.” He liked how those words sounded rolling off his tongue. With someone.

It sounded like he actually meant it.

“Then why isn’t she up here with you?”

“Because she’s downstairs, waiting for me.” What was he doing?

He was back in the main room within moments, his eyes searching the crowd for Penny. He almost sighed with relief when he finally found her, off in a corner, fidgeting with a napkin. “Let’s get out of here.” He suggested, wanting nothing more than to be back at home, lying on the couch, watching a movie.

“What, you’re finished already?” The tone of her voice was foreign to him.

“Penny,”

“Let’s just go.” She rose to her feet and walked toward the door, her expression blank. They only had to wait a moment for his limo to pull up and Penny climbed in without looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked after a few minutes, though he already knew the answer to that question. Penny couldn’t even look at him, her eyes far away. Even though she wasn’t more than two feet away from him, he felt as if there was an entire continent filling the void.

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head, but he knew she was lying.

The rest of the ride home was silent. She didn’t even speak to him as they entered the house, the click of her heels the only noise in the room as she climbed the stairs. He walked into the theater room and poured himself a scotch, finishing it off before he could work up the courage to go upstairs.

She was in the bathroom, taking her hair down. “Nothing happened, Penny.”

“I don’t care if it