Veiled

Part 5

Chapter 5

A smile curled on his lips as Cece spat her words at him.  It was true, he had never told her about his sister, but why would he?  Cece and Paul never got along; they never talked to one another until now.  Plus, how couldn’t Cece see the resemblance?  Everyone he had ever met said his sister looked like a female version of him with her dark hair and eyes. 

“He does that sometimes,” Penelope mumbled under her breath as she fidgeted under Paul’s arm.

He knew that his sister was uncomfortable.  Hell, she probably thought Cece was another one of his women.  When would his little sister learn that he was done with that?  He was tired of having a superficial relationship with a person he didn’t even like. 

“Cece is Abby’s maid of honor,” he explained.  When Penelope visually relaxed with a smile, Paul had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

She stepped out from underneath his arm and hugged Cece tightly.  “I’m so happy I finally got to meet you.  Abby talks about you all the time when she comes in to have lunch with me.”  Penelope dropped her arms and looked up at Cece.  “One thing she did not exaggerate about was our height.”  She looked back at Paul with a smile.  “He’s always liked tall women.”

“Penelope,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

His sister raised her hands in surrender.  “Am I not allowed to say that you also like blondes?”

For the first time since she had scolded him, Cece let out a laugh.  “Wow.  I think I’m really going to like you, Penelope.”  She wiped at the bottom of her eyes as if erasing invisible tears.  “Come on.  We’ll talk in the kitchen.  I’m sure you both have somewhere else you need to be.”

Penelope turned towards him with a wince.  “I actually do.  If you don’t mind, I’ll make this visit quick.  They need me at the restaurant as soon as I can make it.”

“That’s fine,” Paul said.  “I have to—”

“Go nowhere!” Penelope shouted, making both Paul and Cece jump.  She smiled apologetically at her brother before widening her eyes in silent communication.  “You don’t have anything to do tonight do you?”

He frowned at her before understanding dawned.  She was trying to give him an opportunity with Cece.  “I have nothing to do tonight,” he mumbled, unsure as to why he said the words to begin with.

“Good.”  She turned once more, facing Cece.  “You don’t have anything to do tonight either, do you?”

“Actually—”

“Awesome,” Penelope interrupted.  “We can have our small little meeting about the food at Abby’s wedding.  Then, I’ll treat the two of you to a dinner from my restaurant.”

Cece shook her head.  “I can’t let you mess with your reservations for us.  I know how long it takes some of those people to book a reservation.”

“You won’t be.  I’ll have it ordered to your house.  It’s something we only do for family.”

With those words, Penelope walked off.  His eyes followed his sister.  “Does she even know where your kitchen is?”

“I have no idea,” Cece mumbled, sounding a little shell-shocked.

Looking towards her, he let a smile curl onto his lips.  “She has that effect on plenty of people.  It’s funny because her husband is the opposite.  He runs the business aspect of their restaurant while Penelope handles the cooking.  I’ve never seen a man as laid back as him, but for some reason, he loves my sister to death.”

“Where does she get it from?” she asked.  “It definitely can’t be from you.”

Knowing her words were a joke, he laughed.  “My mom is the exact same way.  So, I guess you can say Penelope gets her personality from my mom.”

“And your dad?”

“Left us when I was four.”  Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he motioned towards the kitchen.  “Come on.  Let’s get this over with before she has a Vegas style buffet cooked up for the wedding.”

Cece stared at him for a little longer, making him feel uncomfortable.  Not being able to take it any longer, he started to walk passed her.  Her fingers skimmed his hand as he walked by.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He kept walking but smiled over his shoulder.  “Don’t be,” he answered with a shrug.  “I got over it a long time ago.”

The look she sent him wasn’t filled with pity as he expected.  Instead, he saw understanding clear in her eyes.  Right then, he knew that she saw through the lie everyone else bought.  She knew that the fact that his father had left them still bothered him.  The way she could see through him was unnerving.

“If you say so,” she mumbled.  Shaking her head, a smile pulled up one side of her mouth.  “Let’s get this over with.  I’m actually looking forward to having some of your sister’s amazing food.”

“Me too,” he answered automatically.  Deep down, he knew that it wasn’t the food he was looking forward to; it was the company that came with the meal.