Page 51 of Persuading Penny
“So, what is he going to do today?”
I glanced back at him. His brow cocked, he seemed pleased with the bit of gossip he was about to share with her.
“I hear he bought a ring...one hell of a rock...and he wants to propose...today...after these scenes...”
“No!”she said, shocked.
The same word jammed in my throat. No. Surely he was mistaken. He had to be mistaken.
I looked around me again, the need to get away now urgent. I was about to break down. I knew the tears were right there, impossible to hold back.
I ran to the door of the restaurant, quickly found the sign indicating the ladies room and ran to it.
Once inside, in my private little stall, I burst into tears; hot tears that burned. My throat tightened to the point of pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.
“Oh, my God,” I mouthed, the words an inaudible whisper.
I pulled tissues from the dispenser by the toilet and loudly blew my nose.
Calm yourself. For Pete’s sake, calm yourself.
But it was useless, I sobbed and wept and cried just like I had when I’d lost him the first time. But I wasn’t losing him again, I told myself. I never had him. From the moment he saw me, he made it clear that whatever we’d had a decade ago was long dead.
A fresh wave of tears poured down my cheeks.
“Penny?”Keely said. “Is that you?”
I bit down on my tears and remained silent.
“Penny?”
Her footsteps brought her to my stall door.
“Are you all right in there?”
I nodded as more tears streaked my cheeks.
She tried the door. “Penny, please open the door.”
“I’m all right,” I finally managed to whisper.
“No. Clearly, you’re not. Please open the door.”
I set my hand on the hook that kept the door locked. How could I face her? I was a mess.
“Penny, my dear,” she said, her voice stern and uncompromising. “If you don’t open this door in the next seconds, I am going to slither under this door and come to you. Now, I wearing my favorite off white pants and I would hate to dirty them on this bathroom floor, but if that’s what I have to do, I will.”
I unlocked the door and pushed it open a crack. She quickly pulled the door wide open. The instant she saw my face; she pulled me into her arms and the tears that’d been streaming down my face now drenched her shirt.
“Oh, my God, Penny. What is going on?”
I couldn’t answer. I just cried.
Grasping my shoulders, she pulled back to look at me, gently pushing my damp hair out of my face. “Penny, what happened? Did anyone hurt you?”
Sort of.
“Tell me. If someone hurt you, I’ll fire them on the spot.”
