When Penny arrived home she put her book bag away and changed into her cleaning clothes. She had to clean the top floor bedrooms and this would be the last chance that she had to do them. She was on a stepladder wiping down the window frames when Celeste came strolling into the room running her fingers across some of the furniture in the process.
"I'm going to go have my hair done and when I return we'll go over everything for the party one last time since I'll be out for most of tomorrow." She didn't wait for an answer as she turned and left the room.
Penny's hands hurt, her back ached, and she was tired. She sat down wearily on the stepladder and wondered when her life had gone from good to bad. One thing she was certain of was that there was no way that she could work for Celeste and she would have to tell Dr. Evers.
Sam, she thought his name on a sigh. She had been so angry at Jason when he had kissed her and she was sure she would have done much more than just slap him if Sam hadn't of stopped her. She felt the tears start as she rubbed her aching hands. It had felt so good to be held in his arms, even if he had been only holding her back.
But, even long after Jason had left, he had continued to hold her and had even tightened his grip. She hadn't fought him and she knew she should have, but it had felt so good to feel him pressed against her. When he had let her go she had felt like howling.
What had he meant when he had asked her to be patient and forgiving for just a little bit longer? She was convinced that he had washed his hands of her, that he no longer had an interest in her, but his words implied that he did still have an interest.
She was so confused and lonely.
"Why are you crying?"
Penny's head jerked up at the sound of Sam's voice. He had removed his jacket and he leaned against the wall by the door with his arms folded across his chest.
"My hands hurt." She cleared her throat as she told the lie. Her hands did hurt but so did her heart.
Sam walked over to her and took her hands in his looking at them. "What have you been doing?" He rubbed them as he looked up where she was still perched on the stepladder.
"I've been cleaning?" She motioned to the bucket of water and the cleaning caddy on the top of the ladder.
He nodded. "I'm sorry about that. I thought it best to let Celeste take over and I know it hasn't been easy on you." He picked up her hand and placed a soft kiss on the palm.
Penny quickly pulled it away making a fist to hold the kiss in place. "Why did you do that?" she asked as a little spark of anger flared at his sudden change in attitude.
"Because I wanted to, I also want to kiss you but I'm afraid to, especially after what you did to Jason."
"I didn't want Jason to kiss me," she said, realizing that it was the wrong thing to say, she probably should have said that it was a good idea that he didn't try.
"So you want me to kiss you?" She watched his eyes darken as they fell to her lips.
"No." She pushed past him as she jumped off the ladder, "I have a lot to do so if you don't mind..."
"I do mind." He walked to the window on the other side of the small room and looked down at the street below. "I have something to say and when I'm done, if you want, you can go back to your cleaning." The warmth left his voice as he said the words.
"You're confusing me Sam, first you like me then you don't, then you kiss me, then you want to marry me and you kiss me again, then you tell me it was a mistake and you treat me as if I'm barely even around for three weeks. Now you're here, and you're warm one minute and cold the next." Penny dropped heavily onto the bed bouncing as she hit it. "I really don't think I can take much more of you or Celeste." She bit back a sob.
"I can't take much more of her either but I have to." He turned around to look at her, his gaze taking in her hair and her face, "You're so lovely Penny, inside and out, and I'm sorry this has all happened the way it has, but there is a reason that I've acted the way I have."
"Celeste." The word was bitter.
"Yes, and for the record asking you to marry me was never a mistake. I still very much want you to say yes, but not until you understand the mess that I'm in and what I might have to do to get out of it."
Penny felt her heart soar as her eyes met his and could only read sincerity in them. "You're the only person who has ever thought that I was lovely or beautiful."
"I doubt that, I'm sure there are plenty that find you so, they've just never told you." He joined her on the bed, sitting next to her and taking her hands in his again.
"I was played by Celeste, it pains me to say it but it's true. I should have known better, but she played it all so masterfully that I couldn't find the flaw."
"What are you talking about?"
"I thought you had already left the hospital that day I took you to meet Colten and Kate. I didn't have an emergency and I didn't forget about you." He stood up again, putting his hands in his pockets as he began to pace. "I saw Celeste talking to you and Kate after lunch, and when she rejoined me later she said that you had told her that you had found a ride home, that someone named Jason would be taking you. She proceeded to tell me that you told her that Jason was in your study group and that he was happy to do it. At first I didn't believe her, even though I wondered how she knew about Jason and your study group, but when I went back to Colt's room and you weren't there I had my doubts. Then when Kate asked me if I knew about the change in plans I figured she must have been telling the truth."
"Jason texted me about the next meeting time for our study group and she was reading over my shoulder." She grimaced. "She must have overheard me tell Kate that I was going to wait in the waiting room."
Sam knelt in front of her, "I was afraid that I had scared you, and that you didn't know how to handle the situation so you had decided not to wait for me. When you arrived home later that night and you waved from the door I figured that it was Jason who had dropped you off ."
"It was Kate who dropped me off that night. I went to wait in the waiting room on Colt's floor, I didn't want to intrude longer than necessary, that was the change in plan. She saw me as she was leaving and offered me a ride home." Penny said, watching him as closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.
Penny continued, "I thought you had changed your mind and that you and Celeste had made up at lunch, but I still didn't understand why you had left me sitting there for so long." She saw him flinch at the thought, "I didn't think it was like you, not to honor you offer of a ride home, or at least find me another and Kate thought the same thing. When I got home and saw you standing in the kitchen," she shrugged, "I didn't know what to think."
"I was jealous Penny."
Penny looked at him shocked. "Why would you be jealous?"
"I was jealous because I want you, and I thought that if you had really changed your mind then that was your choice and I had to respect that. I didn't like it or understand it, but I had to respect it."
"I hadn't even made up my mind yet," Penny insisted, her heart beating a little faster at his admission that he wanted her.
"I realize that now, but as I've said, I was jealous. This learning to feel again is a hard business." He put his hand under her chin, "It's hard for me to trust. I can reason in one part of my brain that you are not like Celeste, that if you had a change of heart you would have told me instead of leaving without a word, but the other part of me thinks that you don't care about me one way or the other. That's how it was with Celeste."
"She didn't care?"
"No, she saw my name, my money, and my future. I was a good catch and not bad looking. I was so busy trying to make a career that she could do anything she liked without me being any the wiser. She's a very talented liar. I think she believes her own lies which is why she can be so convincing."
"Towards the end I knew what she was up to with the affairs. I also knew she had a gambling habit, and she ran through quite a large amount of my money to support it, but by the time I figured it all out it felt pointless to fight. She is very cunning and would have made such a scandal that I wouldn't have been able to live or work in this city again. So, I was willing to continue on in a loveless marriage and guard my money more carefully. Celeste was a good hostess and people liked her, plus her family name meant a lot in Savannah."
"Her mistake was having an affair with the director of the hospital. It was well documented by his wife, and it allowed for me to finally file for a divorce without being cast as the villain."
"How long ago was that?" Penny asked softly.
"It's been eight years. Thankfully those who know or remember don't talk about it, at least not around me.
"How long were you married?"
He rose and moved to look out the window. "About five years. I was young and foolish and she was charming and beautiful. There were also other aspects of our marriage that were very fulfilling, at least on my end. She made sure that I knew that it wasn't the case for her, which was why she had to look elsewhere for...companionship."
Penny snorted, she seriously doubted that, especially if he kissed as well back then as he did now. Sam turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow and she couldn't help the blush.
"I love the way you blush." He smiled at her as he turned to lean against the sill and watched her blush some more.
"What about the last eight years?"
"What about them?" She knew he was teasing her, trying to make her blush more.
"I doubt you've been celibate!"
"No, I'm not a monk." He smiled again when she made a growling noise in frustration. "It amazes me how you can present such a calm and serene façade to the world when there is such a sexy little spitfire underneath."
She stood-up finally fed-up and moved towards the door. "Fine, don't answer," she said, secretly pleased that he thought she was sexy. She had never wanted any other man to think that, but she wanted Sam to.
She felt his hand on her arm, stopping her. "There have been a few...friends over the years, but nothing constant and nothing serious."
"Robin?" She hated to ask it but she had to.
"It gives me hope that you might be a little jealous too."
Penny didn't say anything as she stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"No, not Robin. I've never had a personal relationship with anyone from the hospital." He watched her as she let that sink in, their eyes locked.
"Why Sam? Why is she still here?"
Sam pulled her close placing one hand in the small of her back as he held her against him. His other hand landed on her neck. "Regan is coming this evening, I have to tell her why as well since it involves her. Can you wait until then?"
"Yes," she whispered as his thumb traced her collar bone.
"Can I kiss you now Penny, or will you slap me?"
"I won't slap you Sam, I like it when you kiss me." Her gaze fell to his lips just before they claimed her own in a heart stopping kiss. How could Celeste think this man was anything but awesome? When he deepened the kiss she couldn't help the little whimper that escaped. She didn't want just a kiss, she wanted all of him.
He eventually broke the kiss and held her close as they both tried to catch their breath. "Good, but for the record I still would have kissed you even if you had said you were going to slap me. It would have been worth it."
Penny laughed a joyful laugh before his lips claimed hers once more.