Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,71

a few octaves higher than it normally was. “You must have misunderstood—it wasn’t an audition for myself. I’m not an actress.”

“Oh no, we understood.” Gary perched himself atop his desk. “You might not see yourself as an actress, but we saw that tape, Penelope. And you definitely have talent.”

Of course, it made sense. Tommy saw it now, as he glanced sideways at her. He hadn’t realized it until just this moment, but, in his mind, Sarah had always been Penny.

“Tommy, tell him that it’s a bad idea—”

“I can’t.” Tommy shrugged his shoulders casually. “I think it’s a great idea.” He didn’t have to look at Penny to know that she was angry with him. “Just take the part, Pen. It’s not very big. You’ll be fine.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry; you’ll be compensated for it. It’s a win-win situation.” They took her silence as acceptance, but Tommy knew Penny. He knew that this was not going to thrill her.

Well, just add that to the list of things he’d done wrong. She would be grateful he was such a screw-up in the end, if only because he would have saved her from a great deal of unnecessary pain. It was inevitable that he would screw it all up, anyway.

The meeting came to a close shortly after that. They were hoping to begin shooting as soon as possible, and told Tommy to stay on alert.

As they were leaving, Tommy couldn’t help but pay attention to the way Gary smiled expectantly at Penny. “I came through with my end of the deal—now it’s your turn, Miss Lang. Or is it Mrs. Davis now?”

What kind of a deal was he talking about? What had Penny offered him? What was his dream going to cost her?

What was it going to cost him?

Penny only smiled, ducking her head. “You’ve got my number. Make sure you use it—and we’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Thanks again, Gary.” Penny wrapped her arms around the man’s neck for just a moment before stepping away. She avoided his gaze, just like she had been since Vegas.

Oh well, he told himself.

It was really for the best.

But why didn’t he believe that?

Chapter Twelve

They left early Thursday morning. Penny was grateful, for once, that they had their own private plane. The airport was insane, both leaving and arriving. She had never been a fan of airports—especially when it came to holiday travel.

Tommy loaded their bags into the trunk of the rental car while Penny sat nervously in the passenger seat, dreading the day they were about to begin. The tension between them was more than obvious to even a casual bystander. Wouldn’t her parents be able to tell with ease?

“I’m only going to ask you, just once, to please put on a happy face when we’re with my parents.”

“Do you really think I would do any different?” She didn’t, of course. But she just felt the need to remind him. This wasn’t a horde of paparazzi. These were her parents—people who cared about the both of them. “Relax, Penny. I do this for a living. I think I can pull off one holiday dinner.”

She hoped he could.

Who was she kidding? She hoped she could. She wasn’t an actress, despite what Gary and the others seemed to think. She hoped there was some way she would be able to pull it off.

They pulled up into her parents’ driveway several moments later, Penny taking a moment to breathe before she heard the door open and saw her parents rushing out to greet them. “Penny!” Her mom called excitedly, pulling her daughter in for a hug as she kissed her cheek. “And Tommy!”

“Pen, darling,” her dad was next, pulling her in for a long hug. “You look lovely.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Penny smiled, stepping back so that she could watch her dad greet Tommy.

“Good to see you, son,” the older man told the younger, shaking his hand before pulling him in for a quick hug. Penny’s chest ached momentarily, wishing that she didn’t have to lie to them. She hated that they were getting their hopes so high.

“Oh, you kids come on in. We’ve got all sorts of catching up to do, not to mention a meal to cook.” Her mom was ushering them inside and Penny was instantly greeted by memories of her childhood as the scent of a turkey in the oven filled her nose. She hadn’t had a Thanksgiving dinner with her parents since the first year she and Kevin had been married.

“Can I help with anything?” Penny