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“How thoughtful of you,” I said, my voice dripping sarcasm.
“I was calling to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. You, Alyssa, and Gabriel. What do you think?”
I glanced over at Gabriel, who was scrolling through his own phone.
Damn her for cornering me like this. “I don’t know, Mom, I think we might have plans already,” I said as Gabriel gave me a questioning look across the table.
“Jesus Penny, you can’t avoid me forever, I’m your mother,” she said, her voice losing its happy tone.
“It’s not you I’m trying to avoid, and you know it,” I said sharply.
Now I had Gabriel’s full attention. He put his phone down and studied me as I continued to talk to my mother.
“Oh Penny, you’re just imagining things,” she said and I shook my head.
I refused to let my mother put this on me again. It was not my fault that her creepy-ass boyfriend had a thing for me and liked to make me feel uncomfortable. The fact that she cared more about what he thought and felt, than her own daughter made me angry all over again.
“Look, I have to go Mom. I’ll talk to you later,” I said, hanging up before she could say anything else.
“What was that all about?” Gabriel asked, concern clouding his green eyes.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Didn’t sound like nothing Penny. I think it’s time you finally told me what is going on? Who are you trying to avoid if not your mother?” he asked.
“Gabriel, I really appreciate your concern, but I really don’t want to ruin my evening by talking about this.”
Gabriel held my gaze for a moment before finally dropping the subject. I’d be damned if I let my mother’s boyfriend affect me more than he already had.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – GABRIEL
The next day, I arrived back at the condo after a hectic day in the office. I found Penny paci
ng nervously in the living room. She paused briefly as I set my computer down on my desk to plug the charger in.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I returned with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
“Really? You’re burning a trail in my floor from all the pacing,” I stated, shaking my head at her. “Is there something that you want to talk to me about, Penny?”
Penny chewed on the pad of her thumb as she turned to look out the living room windows.
“My mother invited us all to dinner tonight,” she said. “I just want to get it over with so she’ll stop bothering me and go home.”
“Fair enough,” I said, crossing the living room to where she stood. I glanced over my shoulder to look for any sign of Alyssa, but the entire condo was quiet. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Either in the shower or getting dressed. She’ll be out in a minute.”
I rested my hands on Penny’s shoulders to coax her around to face me. Her eyes widened visibly as I lowered my head to press my lips against hers, for what I intended to be a brief kiss. I just needed a touch of her lips against mine to ease the tension from my day. Our dinner plans yesterday had gone completely awry because of her mother’s phone call. We didn’t get a chance to talk, but right now, I didn’t want to talk. I wanted my body to communicate for me.
It took a few seconds before Penny’s lips started to move beneath mine. The tips of our tongues collided as she reached up to lightly drag her fingertips across my jawline. It felt so good, too good for me to pull away. She tasted of mint toothpaste. The smell of vanilla clung to her skin and the soft strands of her long blonde hair. I buried my hand into her luxurious locks and savored the silkiness that I felt there. It reminded me of other places on Penny’s body that felt like heated silk on my flesh.
Penny’s hands shot out to push me back with a startled glance. She took a hasty step back from me right before Alyssa came into the living room. My daughter’s head was tilted down to focus on her phone in her hand. I silently thanked Penny’s quick reflexes and Alyssa’s constant fascination with her phone.
“How long do you think we’ll be at dinner?” Alyssa asked. She glanced up and looked at me in surprise. “Oh, Dad. I didn’t hear you come in. Did you just get here?”
