my snarl. "And second . . . " Now she blushed and giggled. "Who could resist a chance to get inside Israel Caine's head?" She grabbed my hand. "X-rated? Is there such a thing as Z?"
Now she had me flushing.
Penny sighed. "Wow, Glory. If you didn't fall into that guy's bed, you're crazy."
"Guess I am. Crazy enough to see Ray for what he is, a man who will never settle down with one woman for the long haul." I leaned back, sighing myself. Oh, the memories. We'd had some really close calls, but I just never could let myself go with Ray. And my reasons had always been valid. "I was scared to love him too much because I knew he'd just break my heart."
"I can see your point." Penny sighed. "But what a fine time you could have short-term."
I smiled and patted her knee. "There are guys out there who are much better bets, for both of us." Penny was wearing black jeans I'd picked out for her. Tonight she had on a black cardigan and turquoise V-neck shell. She looked good, especially with her new haircut and simple makeup. She'd pulled out some dangly topaz earrings that matched her eyes, a gift from her parents that she never wore. I'd complimented her enough that I had a feeling she'd be wearing them a lot now. Funny how becoming a vampire had brought life to her look.
"Speaking of bets . . ." She leaned forward. "I've been thinking about this meeting with Ian. If he's a genius like you say he is, he could be on his way to figuring out how to resurrect a normal life for vampires. Maybe get me some quality time with my folks before" - her voice cracked - "before it's too late."
"It's a dream we've all had, Penny. Nothing more than that. I hate to see you get your hopes up just to be disappointed." I sighed when she shook her head.
"With science, anything is possible. Don't be so pessimistic, Glory." Penny crossed her legs and bumped her knee on the new coffee table. "Damn, that thing weighs a ton."
"Not pessimistic, realistic. But I've seen too many miracles in my long life to count anything out. So you can meet with Ian and see what he says." I got up and walked carefully around the table. What had Jerry told that designer about his requirements in a coffee table? It was too big and way too heavy for this room. But it was beautiful. I arranged my latest issue of InStyle in the middle of it, then set the remote on top. Penny was quiet and I finally turned to her.
"I'm going down to the shop. I'll meet you there at two thirty. Are you going to just stay here and watch the tube till then?" I could see she had a good six hours to kill. For Penny, that was plenty of time to get up to mischief.
"I'll call the rat rescue people again, tell them it's urgent, then I may call Trey, see if he has a break and if I could meet him at N-V for it." Penny grabbed the remote but didn't touch a button. "What do you think?"
"Sure, why not? But let me know if you go out. Please?" I knew that was asking a lot. "The council wants me to keep tabs on you for now. It's important."
"Fine. You are helping me." She glanced back toward her bedroom and wrinkled her nose. "And I am kind of taking advantage here."
"Great. That's all I ask, that I know your schedule. Just stay out of trouble and we'll be cool." I picked up my purse and headed out.
Penny and Trey. Surely they could hang out without fallout.
Oh, Glory, when will you learn not to tempt fate?
Chapter Twelve
The shop was busy as usual for a Friday night, so it was almost midnight before I got a chance to call Jerry and let him know about the meeting with Ian. I hated to do it. He'd want to tag along and I wasn't going to allow it. So we'd fight. I was right, of course.
"Seriously, we'll be fine. No need for you to go with us, Jer." I had taken this call to the back room since we were in a brief lull. Erin was handling the front.
"I don't like you doing anything with a MacDonald when I'm not around. I'm coming over." Jerry was in command mode.