"It's not about the money," I said loud enough to make the bathroom tiles echo. "It's because he lied."
"And you've been the fountain of truth," Ginny snorted.
"There's no fountain of truth," I started to explain, but she cut me off.
"Exactly. You haven't told him anything about your past because you wish it wasn't part of your life. Don't you think that's exactly why he didn't tell you the truth about Xavier Templeton being his father?"
I groaned in frustration. "But that's not it at all. I'm going out there right now to tell him why I'm leaving. You can't just go around lying to people about who you are."
Ginny tried to talk me down off my righteous high ground, but I was too flustered to listen. I had laid awake all night thinking about Penn. My brain swung between empathy and embarrassment, while my traitorous body hummed with desire for him.
Did he think we were a good match because I had nothing? I was going to show him.
I marched down the hallway and found him leaning against the kitchen island, sipping a mug of coffee. The early morning light was dim, and he'd left all the lights off except one small lamp. The soft shadows gave his bare chest even more definition, and all my anger turned to smoldering desire.
"I'm glad you're still here," Penn said.
"For now," I snapped. "I can't believe you lied to me!"
He stood up and poured me a mug of coffee. "You believed whatever you wanted to because you really just wanted to stay in that apartment overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Then you caught the chance to helicopter down to Monterey with Xavier Templeton, and I was just your excuse."
"That's not why I came, and you know it!" I cried. "Oh my God, you made your father lie to me, too. And your mother! That's how badly you didn't want me to know. Why? You want to keep your black sheep image while weaseling your way back into the will?"
"Just like you're only here to rub elbows with the insanely rich." He slapped the coffee mug down on the counter, and it sloshed over.
I circled through the kitchen and grabbed a rag. "Here, sire. I'm not sure you know how to clean up your own messes."
He snatched the rag from my hand and caught my wrist. "Why did you come to Monterey?"
I was caught by the bright embers in his eyes. My chest heaved, but I forced my words to come out even. "You asked me to. Begged me. You didn't want to be alone with your own father, remember? And you had just found out your mother has cancer."
Penn’s fingers loosened around my wrist. "When are you going to tell me about that?" he asked softly. "There's something there. Why are you hiding it?"
I wrenched my wrist free. "I'm sorry. We're busy talking about your lies."
"Whoa, so you admit it; you're lying about something, too."
"I'm not lying," I snapped. "You just don't know me."
Penn leaned in. "Exactly. I wasn't lying either. You just don't know me. So, what are we going to do about that?"
The fight went out of me. "Wait, what?"
"I wasn't lying last night when I said I wanted time alone with you. I want to get to know you better, Corsica," Penn said.
I swayed and found myself leaning against the counter next to him. He reached out and squeezed my fingertips. When I let out a shaky breath and nodded, Penn lifted my fingers to his mouth. I watched his lips graze my knuckles and couldn't think of a thing to say.
"I'm here, but I'll have you know I've been practicing exactly what I want to say to these so-called specialists," Alice swept into the room. "If they can't handle an honest conversation, then we're leaving immediately."
"Exactly," I whispered to Penn.
He smiled and kissed my fingers one more time before he turned to greet his mother. Neither of us got a chance to say another word. Alice Brightwater was determined to make her case for natural medicine even as we helped her into the car.
"Good morning. Looks like everyone's ready to go," Xavier said. He stepped out of his car and strolled across the driveway to join us. "Here, Corsica. Let me open the door for you."
Penn rolled his eyes at his father, winked at me, and then climbed into the car.
When the door was shut behind him, I turned on his father. "You can stop pretending now. I know that Penn's your son."