Power Drilled (Roommates, #8)(12)

As for Hunter, well, his expression showed more than curiosity. It showed interest. And that interest was probably more because Penny was stunning, not because of her pronouncement.

Though I wouldn’t put it past Hunter to say something really crass about what we could offer her instead. That thought made me speak up. “What do you mean?”

The creamy skin of her face flushed. I’d seen that happen a lot during the art class when she was sketching me. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say her blush began when I took off my robe and didn’t go away until class ended.

Now, she was alternating between staring down at her hands and taking quick peeks at the three of us. At first, those glances were the normal kind we always got. Three identical men weren’t that common of a sight. But now, it seemed that her nerves were about something else. Not that I knew her that well, but I knew more about her than my brothers did.

She took a deep breath, and I tried to give her an encouraging look, but she was staring at her hands again. “I, um, have a thing.”

That statement wasn’t as enlightening as one might hope, plus it still gave Hunter an opportunity to say something dirty. Not that he needed much of an opening for that kind of talk.

“What kind of thing,” I asked patiently. Unlike my buddy Carl, I wasn’t much of a teacher. But I could be patient when I had to be.

“A wedding,” she said, still not looking at us. “My cousin’s getting married, and, well, I need someone to go with me.”

Reid was astonished. “You want one of us to take you to your cousin’s wedding? In lieu of five thousand dollars?” He shook his head, trying to process that. “A date with one of us isn’t worth five grand.”

“Speak for yourself,” Hunter growled. There was no doubt he’d give Penny a whole lot of bang for her buck—in a very literal sense.

“No, I—it’s not just the wedding. There are a bunch of things next week. The rehearsal dinner. A dance. A brunch.” She tapered off. “My whole family’s going to be there.”

She said something else, but I didn’t catch it. Judging by the expressions on Reid and Hunter’s faces, they hadn’t either. “What was that last part?”

She looked out into the yard, which wasn’t much to look at. A crew was coming in next week to give it a makeover while we worked on the house.

“I said, my ex is going to be there.”

“That sucks,” Hunter said.

I agreed. “He’s not the groom, is he?”

“No, thank goodness. We, um, broke up, and he’s dating my cousin now.” She stared at her slender fingers and spoke even more softly. “Well, he started dating my cousin and then we broke up.”

“Ouch,” Reid said, proving that he sometimes listened even when people weren’t talking about facts and figures.

“I’m sorry about the breakup.” The urge to reach over and put my hand on hers was strong, but even though we’d talked for an hour in the dark in her car the other night, I sensed she wouldn’t welcome that.

At least not yet.

She shrugged, trying to look like it didn’t hurt, and I was momentarily distracted by the way her dark, silky hair glided across her shoulder. “Guess he liked Tanya better.”

Unless this Tanya was the biggest supermodel in the universe, that dude was insane. Penny was absolutely gorgeous. A bit on the shy and mousy side, but I had a feeling her asshole ex was responsible for a good part of that.

“Tanya’s your cousin?” Hunter asked.

“Yes.” The pain in Penny’s voice was evident. “She’s the bride’s younger sister. We’re both bridesmaids, so I won’t be able to get away from them.”

“That sounds like hell on earth,” I commented.

She nodded in agreement.

“So why do you want to go?” There didn’t seem to be any reason for it as far as I could see.

“Because it’s family.”

“Sounds like a good reason to stay away,” Hunter said, as if his childhood had been straight out of a Dickens novel.

“Says the man who works with his brothers,” I commented.

Hunter flashed his trademark crooked grin, and I saw Penny’s eyes widen. “That’s because you guys let me break shit with a sledgehammer.”

Reid cut to the chase. “We’d like to help you, Penny, but we’ve got our work cut out for us with this renovation. The Ten-Day Turnover is about as intense as it gets. None of us can take that much time away from the project or we won’t meet the deadline.”

“But we’d still like you to take videos for us under the original payment terms, and we’ll make sure you can slip away when you need to,” I added. Reid caught my eye, and though he didn’t look happy, he nodded. “And I’m sure we can find the time for one of us to take you to the actual wedding.”

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed. “Especially if there’s an open bar.”

Penny ignored him as she looked at me. It was the first time I’d clearly seen her intense, dark, flashing eyes since the night of the art class. She seemed torn, but at the very least, she’d have a date to the wedding. That had to count for something, right?

“Thank you,” she said at last. “I appreciate that. But… my family is expecting my boyfriend to come to all of the events.”