one of my restoration contacts to come in and clean up the old range in the cellar. He’s actually quite excited about it. Says they don’t come to light very often.”
“Guess not,” Kurt said, looking down at her, his grey eyes teasing. “Guess most people would have thrown that old thing out years ago.”
Penny tapped his arm good-naturedly. “It’s going to look lovely. Wait and see.”
“Uhuh. Just don’t blame me if the place is crawling with spiders.”
* * * *
Penny gave a shudder and laughed. Some of Kurt’s tension left him. It had pained him sorely to see her so unhappy. And it pained him even more that she had waited so long before trusting him enough to tell him about her mother. What did she think? That he would laugh in her face and say, Megan Rose’s daughter? An ordinary girl like you? No way.
If anyone had told Kurt that ordinary was exactly how he’d thought of Penny the first time he’d seen her, he would have been incredulous. In the weeks that passed since then, he’d totally forgotten there had once been a moment when he’d thought Penny ordinary to the point of plainness.
Penny lifted her head when they reached the bottom of the stairs and gave him one of her wide, delightful smiles, and in Kurt’s eyes, everything about her just then was adorable. He reached a hand toward her.
“Come and take a walk in the park with me before you go,” he said on a sudden impulse. “I still need to stop by the stables. You could come, too.”
Penny’s eyes lit up, and he could have sworn she was about to say yes. Then something must have occurred to her. The light died from her eyes, and the guarded look returned.
“That would be nice but…” She hesitated, stumbling over the next words. She was so poor at dissembling, Kurt would have laughed if he hadn’t felt such a wave of disappointment. “I need to get back. I haven’t spent much time with my granddad this weekend.”
Kurt regarded her without speaking for a moment. He knew there was something not quite right, something that Penny was holding back from him, but he couldn’t place what it was. He thought about pressing the point, trying to get her to open up, but the shuttered look had come over her face again, and he merely nodded, resigned.
“Okay. So I’ll be back to look at your accounts next Saturday.”
Next Saturday sounded like an awfully long time not to see each other. Kurt and Penny looked at each other, the same thought going through their heads simultaneously, but neither of them speaking it aloud. Kurt was the first to move.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Time you were at home.”
* * * *
Kurt clicked open the profile which linked to the dating agency’s site. Sara was a dance teacher living in London. She had two cats, enjoyed going to the movies and theatre, and was a surfer in her spare time. The accompanying photo showed a laughing, sporty woman who seemed perfectly pleasant. All the women who’d got in touch with him seemed perfectly pleasant. There was nothing wrong with them, so what the hell was wrong with him? Why did he think they all had something missing? When he tried to capture what that thing was—tried to put it into words—somehow he just couldn’t figure it out. He had tried several dates already, but nothing came of any of them. Maybe it was time to try a different agency. Maybe that was the problem.
He sighed and clicked off the screen. He knew deep down another agency couldn’t do any better. It was his approach that was wrong. There were millions of women in London. Really, how hard could it be?
He was about to leave his desk when Tehmeena’s question popped into his head again, and he stared at the blank computer screen. Why don’t you ask her out? The words had been going round and round in his subconscious ever since Tehmeena had first thrown him the question with her mischievous smile. The trouble was, every time he thought of Penny he saw… He stopped. Saw what? No
“Guess not,” Kurt said, looking down at her, his grey eyes teasing. “Guess most people would have thrown that old thing out years ago.”
Penny tapped his arm good-naturedly. “It’s going to look lovely. Wait and see.”
“Uhuh. Just don’t blame me if the place is crawling with spiders.”
* * * *
Penny gave a shudder and laughed. Some of Kurt’s tension left him. It had pained him sorely to see her so unhappy. And it pained him even more that she had waited so long before trusting him enough to tell him about her mother. What did she think? That he would laugh in her face and say, Megan Rose’s daughter? An ordinary girl like you? No way.
If anyone had told Kurt that ordinary was exactly how he’d thought of Penny the first time he’d seen her, he would have been incredulous. In the weeks that passed since then, he’d totally forgotten there had once been a moment when he’d thought Penny ordinary to the point of plainness.
Penny lifted her head when they reached the bottom of the stairs and gave him one of her wide, delightful smiles, and in Kurt’s eyes, everything about her just then was adorable. He reached a hand toward her.
“Come and take a walk in the park with me before you go,” he said on a sudden impulse. “I still need to stop by the stables. You could come, too.”
Penny’s eyes lit up, and he could have sworn she was about to say yes. Then something must have occurred to her. The light died from her eyes, and the guarded look returned.
“That would be nice but…” She hesitated, stumbling over the next words. She was so poor at dissembling, Kurt would have laughed if he hadn’t felt such a wave of disappointment. “I need to get back. I haven’t spent much time with my granddad this weekend.”
Kurt regarded her without speaking for a moment. He knew there was something not quite right, something that Penny was holding back from him, but he couldn’t place what it was. He thought about pressing the point, trying to get her to open up, but the shuttered look had come over her face again, and he merely nodded, resigned.
“Okay. So I’ll be back to look at your accounts next Saturday.”
Next Saturday sounded like an awfully long time not to see each other. Kurt and Penny looked at each other, the same thought going through their heads simultaneously, but neither of them speaking it aloud. Kurt was the first to move.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Time you were at home.”
* * * *
Kurt clicked open the profile which linked to the dating agency’s site. Sara was a dance teacher living in London. She had two cats, enjoyed going to the movies and theatre, and was a surfer in her spare time. The accompanying photo showed a laughing, sporty woman who seemed perfectly pleasant. All the women who’d got in touch with him seemed perfectly pleasant. There was nothing wrong with them, so what the hell was wrong with him? Why did he think they all had something missing? When he tried to capture what that thing was—tried to put it into words—somehow he just couldn’t figure it out. He had tried several dates already, but nothing came of any of them. Maybe it was time to try a different agency. Maybe that was the problem.
He sighed and clicked off the screen. He knew deep down another agency couldn’t do any better. It was his approach that was wrong. There were millions of women in London. Really, how hard could it be?
He was about to leave his desk when Tehmeena’s question popped into his head again, and he stared at the blank computer screen. Why don’t you ask her out? The words had been going round and round in his subconscious ever since Tehmeena had first thrown him the question with her mischievous smile. The trouble was, every time he thought of Penny he saw… He stopped. Saw what? No
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