Playing at Forever Read Online Free PDF

lucky—dinner too?”  
    “If I’m lucky?”   Penny laughed, shaking her head.  “Aren’t you supposed to be trying to make me forgive you ?” 
    “I’ll throw in some dessert too.” 
    “That sounds like you’re planning out an entire day for me.”  She stopped, looking up at him. 
    “You know, I think you might be right.  It does kind of seem that way.”  Penny raised an eyebrow. 
    “Some of us have to work, Tommy.  I know it’s probably a foreign concept to you, but—”
    “We’ll be dining at The Seaside, of course.  I wouldn’t even think to give my patronage to some other local business.”  Penny couldn’t help but smile.  Tommy reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.  “What do you say?”
    “I say we’ll start with lunch.  And if that goes well, we’ll see what happens from there.” 
    Because as much as she might have wanted to accept Tommy’s proposal for spending the day together, she couldn’t help but worry it might be a mistake. 
    She’d learned well enough by now not to get her hopes up.
     
    Lunch seemed to take an eternity to arrive.  Penelope spent the morning as she usually did—smiling at customers, helping around the kitchen, playing hostess.  And every time the door opened, she found herself looking up expectantly.
    And every time it wasn’t Tommy, she would curse herself. 
    It was silly, she knew, the sudden joy she felt just knowing that he was here.  And it wasn’t just that he was here , he was here for her .  That was the part she just couldn’t get over. 
    Tommy had always had a way of making Penny feel special.  He could have had his pick of just about any girl in high school, and for whatever reason, he’d chosen her.  That’s not to say that he hadn’t dated—of course he had, so had she.  But she had always taken comfort in knowing that Tommy always held her above the rest. 
    The same had always been true for her as well, though she had never made a point of telling him that. 
    The door opened once more and Penny turned, this time her eyes coming to rest on Gina and Kevin, returning from lunch.  She clenched her jaw as the younger woman met her eyes from across the room, her arm wrapped around Penny’s soon-to-be ex-husband.  Staking her claim.
    Penny turned her eyes away and crossed the room, pasting a faux smile on her face as she struck up a conversation with two of her regulars who had just finished their meal and were about to leave.  She made sure to inquire about their grandkids, as they had recently left to return home from their summer vacation. 
    When they finally left, Penny turned to clearing the table to keep herself busy. 
    “I know working is a foreign concept to me and all, but isn’t there someone else who should be doing this?”  Penny nearly jumped out of her skin, so surprised by his voice.  She brought her hand to her chest, as if to try and calm her heart down—a futile attempt, she realized, as she turned to find Tommy standing there with his perfect smile and her heart fluttered rapidly once more. 
    “I believe in extending a hand to the little people, Tommy.  A concept you could use a little bit of familiarization with, I say.”  She raised an eyebrow at him as she turned to make her way toward the kitchen.  Tommy followed closely behind. 
    “Hey, I donate to charity—”
    “Oh right, it’s remembering the little people that you seem to have a problem with.  My mistake.”   She knew she shouldn’t be so harsh, but she really couldn’t help herself from taking a few digs here and there.  She had to remind him that things between them were not okay, even if she felt the opposite. 
    “I came back, Pen,”   his voice was very quiet and as she set the dishes on the counter, she risked a glance over her shoulder.  His expression was solemn, his forehead creased with sadness.  And, like so many times before, her heart went out to him. 
    “Well, we might as well eat