* * * * *
THE AROMA OF grilled chicken soon filled the kitchen. Penny stirred the sliced-up chicken breasts in the skillet with one hand and took a nervous gulp of her wine with the other.
It was a lot easier to be “just friends” with Matt when they were out doing things in public places. Now she had him here in her kitchen, looking so good that she wanted to put him on her plate instead of the chicken.
How was she supposed to entertain a man who made her want to tear her clothes off when she’d resolved not to tear her clothes off?
Stop thinking about tearing stuff off. There will be no tearing around Matt Simmons.
Her libido didn’t seem impressed with the warning. Her temperature was rising with every minute they were alone together.
She turned down the heat on the chicken and pulled out the ingredients for a salad. Crisp lettuce greens were tossed in a bowl, followed by sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. She layered the salad on plates and then scooped the chicken slices on top. Last, she mixed oil and vinegar in a jar as a quick dressing and dashed a little on each plate.
“Here you go. It’s not gourmet, but it’s fast.”
“Thank you. I’m starving.” Matt accepted the plate and fork and shoveled a big bite into his mouth. They ate in silence for a while until Matt finished. Penny was only halfway through with her own salad when he got up to refill their wine glasses.
Her eyes followed him as he reached into the refrigerator. The move only emphasized his long, lean body and amazing ass. He turned and caught her staring. She choked on the piece of chicken she’d just taken a bite of.
Dammit. The man couldn’t even bend over to look in the refrigerator without her molesting him with her eyes. Sexual desperation was turning her into a pervert.
“So, how are things with your sister?” She thought dimly after the fact that she probably shouldn’t have asked that. It was obviously a delicate subject and she wasn’t trying to pry into his business, just distract herself. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind.
“Things are good. She and Trent made up. It was just a shock for him because he hadn’t realized how much money I’d given her.”
He poured a generous amount of wine in both of their glasses before pushing the cork back into the bottle.
“I’m glad. It sounds like they have a solid relationship. Too many people give up too easily. If you’re lucky enough to have that special connection, you have to be willing to work things out. To compromise. That’s a lot more realistic than all the soul mate crap we’re spoon-fed from the cradle.”
Matt raised his eyebrows. “Wow. That wasn’t what I expected. I thought all women went in for the love at first sight, romantic stuff.”
“I know I sound like a brat. It’s just that girls are conditioned from a young age to expect the fairy tale. The handsome prince who saves you from whatever. A great and grand love.”
Penny shrugged and concentrated on the last remaining lettuce leaf on her plate. She pushed it back and forth with her fork, trying to find the right words.
“There is no great love. There’s just love. It’s toxic to pretend otherwise. If people are expecting a fairy tale, then they aren’t expecting to have to work at it. The fairy tale conditions us to expect something that doesn’t exist. It makes us think it should be easy. It’s hard enough to deal with reality without having your expectations built up to expect something that will never happen.”
“I’m not sure I agree.” Matt calmly took a sip of wine as she gaped at him.
“You’re not seriously telling me you believe in all that fairy tale nonsense, do you?” Penny barely recognized that she was holding her breath waiting for his answer. He trailed a long finger down the stem of his wineglass and her eyes followed the motion.
“I agree that all relationships take work, but I also I believe when we meet the person best suited to us, we feel it. I’m not sure if I’d call it love at first sight, but there’s definitely something.”
Penny let out her breath in a soft huff. “Have you ever felt like that?” She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted him to say. The thought of Matt being in love with some nameless woman left her with a desperate sense of loss. A loss she had no right to claim. He wasn’t hers.
His finger stopped moving on the glass. “Yeah. I have.”
When she looked up, his eyes were focused on hers. He moved closer so he was sitting in the chair right next to hers. Penny’s heart sped up as their thighs brushed. She jumped when his arm landed on the back of her chair.
“Penelope,” he whispered. His firm lips moved sensually just pronouncing her name.
It was a struggle to get her mouth to cooperate, but she finally answered. “Yes?”
“I need you to kiss me now.”
Penny didn’t even answer him. She just jumped out of her seat and into his lap.
* * * * *