Switching on the shower, she stepped under the warm jets and washed away the last of her doubts. This was it, a new day. And soon Christmas would be over, and they would face the new year together, side by side. All she had to do was figure out how their lives fit together. Because one thing she was certain of was that she would have to move to Bear Creek. There was no way she could ask Charlie to move away from Sally and Lilly.
And if she asked him, he would move. He would follow her anywhere, together forever.
Drying herself with a towel, she dressed in black slacks and a flattering blouse, which she topped off with a berry red cardigan. It was a festive touch, but not too much for breakfast. She dragged a comb through her wet hair and then sat down to dry it. Leaving her hair loose around her shoulders, she applied minimum makeup, picked up her purse and went downstairs with her coat under her arm.
As soon as she’d eaten breakfast, she planned on calling her parents before taking a drive into Bear Creek, where she hoped to find some Christmas gifts for Lilly and Sally. And of course, Charlie. Although she had no idea what to buy them.
Taking the stairs, since there were already a couple of people waiting for the elevator, she ran down to the ground floor and headed for the dining room. On entering, she looked around for Felicity and Harvey, but they weren’t down yet, or had arrived earlier and already left.
Breakfast on her own. She looked for a table. There was one by the window and she headed across the dining room. Penny had long ago gotten over the stigma of sitting alone. Even after her experience with Laurence, she’d traveled alone on vacations and to conferences where she’d eaten breakfast and dinner by herself. Yet this morning she felt her aloneness keenly. She missed Charlie. She missed his warmth and his smile.
“Can I get you coffee or tea?” the waiter asked.
“Coffee, please.” She smiled brightly as he went to fetch her coffee, and when he returned, she sat for several moments looking out of the window and enjoying the aromatic coffee before going to help herself to food.
As she returned to her table, she stopped in her tracks. Someone was sitting at her table. Maybe they thought it was empty...
“What the hell,” she murmured under her breath.
Head up high, she made her way to her table and put her plate of food down, barely able to contain her anger. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“Oh, is that for me? You are a good wife.” Laurence looked up at her and grinned before pulling her plate of food toward him.
“Unless you want a fork in your hand, you’ll put that back.” Penny sat down in her seat and glared at Laurence.
“That’s no way to talk to your husband,” Laurence said in an injured tone.
“Ex-husband,” Penny reminded him.
“Do you miss me?” he asked, his soft brown eyes like melted chocolate. She wished she could say she didn’t know what she’d seen in him, but that would be a lie. He was still one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen. Which made her hate him more.
“Miss you? You used me. You didn’t care one bit how much you hurt me.” Penny glared at him as he picked up a piece of bacon from her plate. “Put. That. Back.”
His eyes widened at her firm tone. “Has Lady Penelope Granger finally grown a backbone?”
“I always had a backbone. Just because I fell for you does not make me weak or stupid.” Her hand closed around a fork on the table and she held it ready to stab him. “Give it back.”
“Have it. You need a few more pounds on your thighs.” He cocked his head to one side. “I think you actually lost some weight. Was that because I broke your heart?”
Penny took a deep breath and refused to be goaded by him. “What do you want? I presume that’s why you are here since you never do anything unless there’s something in it for you.”
“Meow, since when were you so catty?” He leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment. Penny fought to stop the color rising in her cheeks. To preoccupy herself, she sipped her coffee and broke a croissant into pieces and began to eat it, ignoring the man in front of her.
Working her way through her breakfast, she considered calling the waiter and asking for Laurence to be removed. But maybe that’s what he wanted, a scene. She didn’t want to add any juicier tidbits to the article he had sold. She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly. Was that what this was about? Had he brought a camera crew to take pictures of them, or even film them eating together?
“You should have paid me off when you got the chance, you know.” His words took her by surprise. He wouldn’t say that if he was being filmed.
“Paid you off? Why? You were a dirty rat who married me for my money. You don’t deserve anything,” Penny spat back at him.
“So you’re happy for your family name to be dragged through the mud? Because there will be mud. Lots of deep, wallowing mud.” He sighed as if taking pity on her. “But since it’s Christmas, I’ve come to make you an offer. If you pay me enough money, this will all go away.”
“There’s the lying, scheming man I married.” Penny was strangely relieved to hear his attempt to extort money from her.
“I’m not joking. Marrying you cost me money. I intend to make a profit one way or another.” He leaned forward, trying to intimidate her. “Maybe I should release the sex tape of us. I bet Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t want their fancy friends to see their daughter...”
“Stop it.” She lowered her voice as people looked in their direction. “You do what you have to do. And I’ll do what I have to do.”
Laurence narrowed his eyes. “And what do you have to do?” He looked nervous.
“Do you have something to hide, Laurence?” She sensed him tense. “A skeleton in the closet you’d rather no one found? Or maybe you have a body buried in the garden?”
Laurence tried to laugh it off, but she’d hit a nerve and she intended to keep hitting it, over and over again. “You can’t take me on and win, Penny. I’m an expert at manipulation. And you are purely amateur.” He stood up abruptly. “I’ll make sure they use a hideous photograph of you in the article.”
With that, he walked away, out of the dining room, but not out of her life.
No such luck. But as she watched Laurence walk away, Charlie entered the dining room.
Penny raised her hand and waved to Charlie as he scanned the dining room looking for her. He smiled, and her stomach flipped over, her heart rate increasing as he walked toward her.
“Morning.” Charlie came to the table, leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” He made her feel beautiful, while Laurence made her feel small and ugly.
“What’s wrong?” He placed his hand on the back of her chair.
“Sit down and I’ll explain.” She glanced toward the door, but Laurence had gone.
Charlie took the seat Laurence had vacated. But as he sat down, he lifted his head and sniffed the air. “Someone was here.”
“Yes.” She frowned. “Can you tell that by smelling the air? I mean there are lots of people in the dining room.”
“A male. Competition. I’m a primal beast.” He smiled at her with concern. “So what happened, did some guy try to make a move on you? I could run him down and rip his head off.”
“Laurence is here.” It hardly seemed real as she said the words.
“Laurence. He was here. At this table.” Charlie half rose from the table, but she reached for his hand and urged him to sit back down.
“I don’t want him to come between us.” Penny took hold of Charlie’s hand. “I don’t want the darkness that’s inside Laurence to leech out into our relationship.”
She wished she’d never met Laurence, she certainly wished she’d never married him. But she had to face up to and deal with her mistakes.
“He can’t touch us. He can’t touch the love we have for each other.” Charlie lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Lady Penelope Granger, you an
d I have the purest kind of love. Don’t ever forget it and don’t ever doubt it.”
“Do you want to share my breakfast?” she asked, pushing the plate toward him.
Charlie picked up a piece of croissant and popped it into his mouth. “This is good. And a lion is always hungry.”
“And the food is for guests only.” Julius appeared behind Charlie. “Can I join you?”
“Sure?” Charlie moved across a seat, unfazed by his remark about food only being for the guests. “Morning, Julius.”
“How are things, Charlie?” Julius looked around and lifted his hand, and a waiter appeared immediately. “Could you bring two more cups of coffee and a selection of food from the buffet, please, Tim?”
Tim nodded. “Coming right up.”
“We can’t plan a war on an empty stomach, can we?” Julius set a folder down on the table. “I have been busy.”
“Is this about Laurence?” Penny asked, her heart racing. Julius was in a very good mood, so whatever he had must be good.
“It is. Catherine and I sat up most of the night gathering the information. I also have my team trawling through his social media accounts now that we have this new information.” He glanced up at Penny. “Laurence is a serial womanizer.”
Penny rubbed her hand over her eyes. “How do you know? My dad hired a PI to crawl through his past and couldn’t find anything.”
“That’s because he changed his name.” Julius slid a piece of paper across the table to her. “Before he was Laurence Levine, he was Paul Taylor. Married twice, divorced twice.”
“How come this wasn’t picked up by the PI?” Charlie asked.
“Because he was clever, really clever. He took the name of a man who is lying in a coma in Reamington. When he took the identity, he took over the man’s life almost. He put the real Laurence Levine’s old address down as his own, he inserted himself into the man’s life. So on the surface, it looks like he really is Laurence Levine who is a pro bono lawyer.” Julius stopped talking as Tim approached with coffee and the food Julius had ordered. “Thanks, Tim.”
“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can get you, sir?” Tim asked politely.
“No, thank you. Help yourself, Charlie.” Julius offered the plate of food to Charlie to share, and then turned back to the papers in front of him. “We’re going to keep digging. I think this is just the tip of the Laurence Levine iceberg.”
“You mean he’s done this before?” Penny asked.
“We’re not sure. Paul Taylor might be an alias, too. But he doesn’t just make his money from marriages. He also is a serial blackmailer. He has affairs with married women and then tries to extort money from them to keep things quiet.” Julius pushed another piece of paper across the table. “This is likely why he changed his name from Paul Taylor. He sold the story to a paper. And then ended up in the hospital with a broken arm and several broken ribs.”
“Somebody’s husband didn’t like their story in the papers.” Charlie picked up the piece of paper and took a good look at Laurence, or Paul, or whatever his name was.
“He got a good beating, so he changed his name and started fresh.” Julius picked up a croissant and bit into it. “I can’t say I blame whoever did it.”
“But it’s not how we’re going to deal with him,” Penny said firmly. “I want the world to know what kind of man he is. If we add all this information into the article, too, then it should be enough to warn other women.”
“Are you sure?” Charlie asked. “There is enough information here for you to use against him to shut him up. You wouldn’t have to be in the press.”
Penny nodded as she looked at the information Julius had presented them. “But that leaves him able to prey on others. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I’ve gone through.” She took a deep breath and let it out through her pursed lips, trying to fight the rising tide of nerves within her. “I want to do this. I want to put an end to him.”
“Good. In that case, you have an appointment at Bear Creek News. They would like to run the story for you. Then they’ll allow the nationals to run it, too. If you are sure.” Julius took a card from his pocket and handed it to Penny.
“Sasha Jakes. This is who I need to speak to?” Penny asked nervously.
“Yes, I’ve known Sasha for years. And I trust her.” Julius ate more of his croissant, while Charlie finished up the bacon.
“If you trust them, Julius, then we trust them.” Charlie drank his coffee and then stood up. “If you’re ready, we should go.”
Penny nodded, staring at the card in her hand. It would be so easy to keep her name out of this. She could hand over the information Julius had given her and add some of the details of her own experience anonymously. But seeing her face, a real person, in the article would mean so much more. How had her mom described the article Laurence planned to sell? A human interest story.
“I’m ready. It’s time Laurence, or Paul, or whoever he really is got what was coming to him.” Penny pulled on her coat and waited for Charlie to join her.
“This is one Christmas gift Laurence will wish he could return,” Charlie said as he slipped his hand into hers and they left the hotel together.
Penny was glad he was by her side. But she was strong enough to do this alone now. Seeing Laurence again had given her the strength and conviction to put an end to this chapter of her life once and for all. So that she could begin again with Charlie.
Chapter Eighteen – Charlie
“Do you know how privileged I feel to have such a brave woman as my mate?” Charlie asked as he parked the truck in the parking lot outside of Bear Creek News. The local paper had been here for years, but Charlie had never visited the offices until now.
“Thank you.” Penny breathed in and out, trying to calm her nerves. “But I don’t feel brave. I feel as if I want to run away and hide in a cave in the mountains.”
Charlie took hold of her hand and kissed it. “We can do that afterward if you want.”
She laughed. “Do you have a den or something up in the mountains?”
“I don’t. But I know a few caves we could use if that’s what you want.” He gave her his come-to-bed eyes but wasn’t sure if he pulled it off. He was not much practiced in the seduction of women. Since Lilly entered his life, he’d dealt with the responsibilities of being a parent, even if the child was not his own and the mother was not his partner in life.
“I think a nice warm bed in a hotel room will be just fine.” She leaned across and kissed his mouth. “We could make a den out of the covers and make love for the rest of the day. Or the rest of the week.”
“I like the sound of that.” He kissed her back, his arms encircling her waist, pulling her close.
“I should go inside.” She put her hand on the door handle and then turned back to face him. “Are you sure you don’t mind me doing this alone? I could have driven myself here.”
“No. Not at all. And I have some last-minute shopping to do in town. I’m meeting Lilly and Sally for some retail therapy. They’re getting a ride into town with one of our neighbors.” He opened his door and jumped out of the truck. “But I’ll walk you to the door if that’s okay?”
“I’d like that.” She waited for him to come around to her side and then she slid out of the seat, right into his arms where she lingered as if she was scared to let him go. “Whatever happens, this is real, isn’t it?”
“The most real thing in the world.” He cupped her face in his hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “You can do this.”
She didn’t need him to ask if she was sure. He understood she had to do this as a catharsis. A way to rid herself of Laurence once and for all.
“I can.” Penny reached into the truck and grabbed her purse and the folder of information Julius had given her. Then she linked arms with him, and they walked toward the newspaper offices.
The building was old, the stonework the same as other buildings from the original town of Bear Creek
that had stood here for centuries. But the lobby area was made of glass set in timber frames and gave the place a welcoming, modern sense. As if it was trying to expel the reputation some newspaper journalists had of being seedy dirt diggers.
“I can go alone from here.” She kissed his cheek quickly and then turned to walk away, entering the building and heading for the stairs leading up to the offices above.
“Text me when you are nearly done and I’ll come and meet you,” he called.
“I will.” She gave him one last wave as she disappeared from view.
She was gone. He was alone.
Maybe we should go and hunt down Laurence and rake our claws across his chest as a reminder not to hurt people, his lion suggested dryly.
Tempting, Charlie admitted. But Penny doesn’t want us using any force so I think we might have to amuse ourselves in other ways.
Pity, his lion sighed.
What they did need to do was buy Penny a gift. Although, he had no idea what, since he didn’t know what she liked. And she had enough money to buy just about anything her heart desired.
Except for the one thing you can give her. Love. His lion was right, but that didn’t help when it came to gift buying.
He really needed some inspiration and set off along the street toward the main street. He’d arranged to meet Lilly and Sally outside the bakery, but he was running a little early. Checking his watch, he crossed the street and ducked down an alleyway that led to the end of the main street. From there he could kill a few minutes while looking in the various stores.
Nothing jumped out at him and said buy me. Nothing until he paused in front of the jewelry store. A ring.
Was it too soon?
It’s never too soon to give your mate a ring, his lion told him enthusiastically.
“Charlie!” Sally’s voice rang out from across the street and he turned around and waved.
“You’re early, too.” He watched as Sally and Lilly crossed the street and joined him at the jewelry store.
“Rings?” Lilly asked with a knowing expression.
The Lion Loves a Lady Page 12
