1. That's What Friends Are For Read Online Free PDF

and smiled. "Why should I stop now?"
    She wasn't going to let that statement go unchallenged. "Yet you could hardly wait to leave here once you finished college.''
    He was quiet for a moment. He heard the hurt in her voice and realized once again what a fine actress she truly was. Until now he had never really known that she had cared when he'd decided to go to New York. An interesting discovery, considering how he'd felt when she had blithely greeted his news three years ago by wishing him well.
    "You could have gone with me," he said finally.
    The interior of the car seemed to reverberate with sudden emotion. The silence that fell between them seemed to grow like a living thing, until Brad felt that he could almost reach out and touch it. Whatever she was feeling, it wasn't indifference. That he knew. He wished he'd had this conversation with her then, instead of now. He'd paid for his cowardice every day since.
    When she did speak, her anger surprised him. "Of course I could have gone. We could have starved together! Why would I have wanted to go to New York, Brad? I was twenty-two years old. It was time for us to grow up, accept responsibility, make something of ourselves. Playtime was over.. .at least it was for me."
    "Is that all that acting was to you, Penny? Playtime?"
    She laughed, but she didn't sound in the least amused. "Well, it certainly isn't a way to make a living."
    "I haven't done so badly at it."
    Penny felt a sudden urge to hit something, she felt so frustrated. Who was she kidding, anyway? Why didn't she just admit the truth?
    "Actually," she said, wishing her voice didn't sound quite so uneven, "the biggest reason I didn't go with you to New York was simple. You never asked me."
    There. She'd finally said it, spoken the words out loud. In doing so, she finally faced them for the first time.
    "Would you have gone?" he asked in a neutral tone.
    Who knew the answer to that at this late date? The whole point was he hadn't asked. He hadn't even acted as though he'd given such an idea a thought. And Penny had been faced with the harsh reality of their shared life. At one time Brad Crawford had been everything in the world to her while he had considered her a friend—his buddy, a pal.
    "It hardly matters at this point, does it?" she asked, staring unseeingly out the window.
    "Have you ever thought about trying to make it as an actress?" he asked.
    "Not for years. Brad. I'm content with my life."
    "You keep saying that, but I'm not sure which one of us you're trying to convince. You were always such a natural on stage, you know. You seemed to come alive. It was a beautiful thing to see." He glanced at her, but she had her head down and he couldn't see her expression. "Don't you ever miss it?"
    "Not really. I'm active with the local group... and I directed the high school play this year."
    "When you could be starring on Broadway? Penny, that's a shameful waste of your talent and you know it!"
    Once again she made no response.
    Forcing a lighter tone, Brad asked, "What does Gregory think of your acting abilities?"
    "He's never seen them," she muttered.
    "But he knows about them, surely."
    Penny rested her head against the window. "He knows I've had training in that area and assumes I minored in drama while I was getting my degree in education."
    "Why haven't you told him? Showed him your clippings and reviews?"
    She shrugged. "There's no reason to. That's just part of my past."
    Brad wondered if he was too late. Was it even his place to attempt to save her? Obviously she didn't see herself as needing saving. She had chosen not only the man, but an entire way of life, and she was within days of cementing that relationship.
    How could he let her do such a thing? Yet how could he, in good conscience, interfere if that was what she wanted?
    He loved her. He had always loved her. He would always love her. And he wanted her to be happy. For years he had hoped that her happiness would lie with him. He'd listened to both