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“Me neither,” Vilma said.
Jinny tilted her head. “He did seem kind of…snotty.”
“Yes! Exactly!” Vilma pointed with the hand holding her wineglass. “Did you ever notice how he talked to service employees?”
Cynthia pursed her lips without looking up from her knitting needles. “Like they were the help?”
“That was just his Britishness,” Penny said.
“He never looked me in the eye.” Cynthia shook her head slowly. “There was definitely something weaselly about him.”
“You are incredibly tall,” Penny pointed out. “And he’s incredibly not.” She wasn’t sure why she was defending him. Habit, maybe.
Cynthia sniffed. “He could have tilted his head a little. It’s not that hard.”
Jinny twisted her lips to one side. “Cynthia’s right. He never gave anyone the time of day unless he was trying to get something from them.”
“I thought he was charming when I first met him,” Penny said. If there was one thing Kenneth had going for him, it was charm.
Esther snorted. “Yeah. Because he wanted something from you.”
Penny frowned at her in confusion. “What?”
“Sex.”
Penny wasn’t so sure about that. “To be honest, he never seemed that enthusiastic about it.” She grimaced. “I guess now I know why.”
“Mmmm, that doesn’t surprise me one bit.” Vilma looked up from her needles with an evil grin. “The way his hair’s thinning? Low testosterone.”
Penny let out a giggle that quickly turned teary, thanks to the wine coursing through her system. “Thanks for being here tonight, you guys.” Vilma patted her knee and pushed her share of the cupcake onto Penny’s plate.
Cynthia directed an expressive look in Penny’s direction. “You know we’d do anything for you, right?”
Esther nodded her agreement. “If you want us to go over to his apartment and kick his ass, all you have to do is say the word. We’ll totally do it.”
Penny shook her head, smiling at the image. “Thank you, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m actually feeling better about the whole situation already.”
“How about instead we get another bottle of wine?” Jinny said, getting to her feet.
Cynthia held up her half-empty glass. “Make it two bottles.”
Penny glanced toward the counter and caught Caleb watching them. As soon as their eyes met he turned away. She knocked back the rest of her wine and tried not to care.
Chapter Two
By the end of the evening, their table had gone through four bottles of wine—although Penny suspected she’d consumed at least one and a half of them all on her own. She didn’t usually drink more than a single glass at a time, and she was definitely feeling the effects when Olivia drove her home.
It felt good though. The fuzziness helped dull some of her rage and humiliation.
“You want me to come up?” Olivia asked as she stopped in front of Penny’s Culver City apartment building. “I think I saw a space back there.”
“Not necessary,” Penny said, fumbling with the door handle. “Thanks though.”
“You sure? We could get in our pajamas and watch TV. Anything you want.”
Penny yawned and shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m just going to fall into bed and go straight to sleep.”
“Drink some water,” Olivia instructed as Penny hauled herself out of the car. “And call me tomorrow.”
