except for now, darn it. "Of course. I'm sorry." As she grabbed the coffeepot and scurried toward him, she could feel Patti's scowl from where she sat at a nearby table rolling silverware into napkins.
Great, now the whole Ryan/Martin fiasco was distracting Penny from her job, too. Still, thank God she'd figured out the right answer to Martin's proposal before it was too late.
So it was actually good this whole thing happened, she tried to convince herself, returning the coffeepot to its place. Wanting another guy so much had made the decision about marrying Martin clearer than anything else could have. But now her entanglement with Ryan was over because of his job. Which was also good, because even after she officially broke things off with Martin, it would look awfully suspicious if she and Ryan were suddenly together, wouldn't it? And besides, he had the ridiculous idea that she was too wild for him anyway. "Ha!"
"What?" Patti looked up, clearly perplexed. Penny felt the rumpled businessman's questioning gaze, as well.
"Nothing." She shook her head lightly. She'd not meant to say that aloud, but when she thought about Ryan's accusation, it made her a little crazy inside.
After all, she'd been accused of a lot of things in her day. In elementary school, she'd been called Goody Two-Shoes; in junior high, she'd been the Teacher's Pet; and in high school, she'd not dated a lot due to her reputation as a Nice Girl. Her family and friends had always labeled her with words like dependable and hardworking, and Patti always distinguished between the two of them by calling her The Sweet One. But no one had ever, by any stretch of the imagination, called Penny Halloran wild.
On the other hand, she chided herself, you did seduce the man in a limousine. The same man with whom she had to design a computer system now. The same man she couldn't kiss anymore, or have sex with anymore, either. She shook her head in disbelief, then tossed down her rag. The whole thing still didn't quite seem real, and her confusion over it had escalated with Ryan's kisses last night.
Finishing up a few last tasks behind the bar, Penny took a look around. After asking one of the waitresses, Lisa, to refill ketchup bottles when she got a chance, she said to Patti, "I've gotta run. Ryan will be over soon."
"Oh yeah. Time for your big computer date."
Penny blinked and hoped she looked normal. "What are you talking about?" It didn't help that Lisa and Bearface down at the end of the bar were both listening, too.
"I'm not sure," Patti said, sounding irritatingly sleuthlike, "but I'm telling you, you get wide-eyed and sort of … aloof whenever you mention him."
Great, so she didn't look normal. "Do not," she protested. And she was arguing like a seven-year-old on top of it.
"Whatever you say," Patti replied in a singsong voice that told Penny her sister wasn't buying it. She got the idea Patti thought Ryan was a better choice for her than Martin even without knowing him.
If only she could keep Martin on her mind for half as long as she thought about Ryan, maybe she wouldn't feel like such a rotten person. She dreaded turning down Martin's proposal, but once she did—and once she got through this system design with Ryan—this would all be over.
And as for the little stab of pain in her chest when she thought of things with Ryan being over … well, Penny never had been particularly skilled at the art of casual dating. So it probably stood to reason that having sex with someone would cause some odd, jarring feelings of infatuation. She guessed that was what you'd call it, and she was a tad disconcerted that it seemed to be getting steadily worse.
But a little—or even a lot—of infatuation didn't matter. It couldn't matter. Ryan had made it clear that whatever attraction he felt for her wasn't enough to make him throw away his new job, and she couldn't blame him. After all, they barely knew each other.
Penny glanced toward the bear-faced man to
Great, now the whole Ryan/Martin fiasco was distracting Penny from her job, too. Still, thank God she'd figured out the right answer to Martin's proposal before it was too late.
So it was actually good this whole thing happened, she tried to convince herself, returning the coffeepot to its place. Wanting another guy so much had made the decision about marrying Martin clearer than anything else could have. But now her entanglement with Ryan was over because of his job. Which was also good, because even after she officially broke things off with Martin, it would look awfully suspicious if she and Ryan were suddenly together, wouldn't it? And besides, he had the ridiculous idea that she was too wild for him anyway. "Ha!"
"What?" Patti looked up, clearly perplexed. Penny felt the rumpled businessman's questioning gaze, as well.
"Nothing." She shook her head lightly. She'd not meant to say that aloud, but when she thought about Ryan's accusation, it made her a little crazy inside.
After all, she'd been accused of a lot of things in her day. In elementary school, she'd been called Goody Two-Shoes; in junior high, she'd been the Teacher's Pet; and in high school, she'd not dated a lot due to her reputation as a Nice Girl. Her family and friends had always labeled her with words like dependable and hardworking, and Patti always distinguished between the two of them by calling her The Sweet One. But no one had ever, by any stretch of the imagination, called Penny Halloran wild.
On the other hand, she chided herself, you did seduce the man in a limousine. The same man with whom she had to design a computer system now. The same man she couldn't kiss anymore, or have sex with anymore, either. She shook her head in disbelief, then tossed down her rag. The whole thing still didn't quite seem real, and her confusion over it had escalated with Ryan's kisses last night.
Finishing up a few last tasks behind the bar, Penny took a look around. After asking one of the waitresses, Lisa, to refill ketchup bottles when she got a chance, she said to Patti, "I've gotta run. Ryan will be over soon."
"Oh yeah. Time for your big computer date."
Penny blinked and hoped she looked normal. "What are you talking about?" It didn't help that Lisa and Bearface down at the end of the bar were both listening, too.
"I'm not sure," Patti said, sounding irritatingly sleuthlike, "but I'm telling you, you get wide-eyed and sort of … aloof whenever you mention him."
Great, so she didn't look normal. "Do not," she protested. And she was arguing like a seven-year-old on top of it.
"Whatever you say," Patti replied in a singsong voice that told Penny her sister wasn't buying it. She got the idea Patti thought Ryan was a better choice for her than Martin even without knowing him.
If only she could keep Martin on her mind for half as long as she thought about Ryan, maybe she wouldn't feel like such a rotten person. She dreaded turning down Martin's proposal, but once she did—and once she got through this system design with Ryan—this would all be over.
And as for the little stab of pain in her chest when she thought of things with Ryan being over … well, Penny never had been particularly skilled at the art of casual dating. So it probably stood to reason that having sex with someone would cause some odd, jarring feelings of infatuation. She guessed that was what you'd call it, and she was a tad disconcerted that it seemed to be getting steadily worse.
But a little—or even a lot—of infatuation didn't matter. It couldn't matter. Ryan had made it clear that whatever attraction he felt for her wasn't enough to make him throw away his new job, and she couldn't blame him. After all, they barely knew each other.
Penny glanced toward the bear-faced man to
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