The deeply slumbering lovers were awakened very briefly when Carol Channing came mooching around in the middle of the night, looking for a place to sleep. Cameron was the first to awaken to find C-Chan gently patting his face. He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, amber eyes wide, pupils huge, looking humorously surprised.

Cam jumped, pulling the blanket up over himself.

His movements caused Penny to roll over and blink sleepily, asking, "What? Whatsamatter?" She saw her black and white cat. "Oh, hi, Carol." She licked her lips and smiled at her cat and her prince, preparing to go back to sleep.

"What do you want, moggie?" Cam asked the curious cat.

"She's just looking for the best place to sleep," Penny explained. "She's used to sleeping between people."

"Well, she can't sleep between us," Cam said, scooting closer to Penny. "There's no room, as I want to sleep as close to you as I possibly can." He snuggled, nuzzling his girl's neck comfortably as he drifted off.

"Oi! That hurts, you!" he complained as C-Chan proceeded to walk all over both of them, complaining loudly as she looked for a soft, warm place to curl up. She finally settled on a spot between the couple's legs and settled down for a wash and sleep.

She was still there when Cam woke up in the morning, and Cameron, who loved animals but had never known the joy of owning one, was tickled to pieces.

"C-Chan," he called softly. "Moggie?" He nudged her with his foot. She lifted her head and blinked milky eyes at him, but rose obligingly and mountaineered carefully across the bedclothes to where he had sat up and waited for her. She remembered him as a friendly person of kind hands and gentle pats.

"Meow," she said, getting her purring engine going as she kneaded his lap and stretched this way and that for maximum petting pleasure.

"Wow, aren't you a beauty," Cameron praised, scratching her under her chin and giving her long strokes along her back. "A spectacular and superior specimen in every way, like your mum."

C-Chan turned up her engine as her purring got louder, agreeing that she was indeed marvelous in wonderful in every way.

This was how Penny found them when she opened her eyes, and it made her smile. "Look at this two way love fest," she remarked sitting up herself and leaning in so she, too, could pet her cat. Cam felt the wonderful, soft, warm flesh of her breast press into his side and nearly swooned.

Wow.

He slipped an arm around her and leaned over to press a kiss into her temple. "Good morning, Penguin," he murmured. "Hope you slept well?"

"Yeah, I did," she answered with a nod and a smile, her voice lovely and scratchy with sleep. "The best sleep I've had in months, if not years, actually." She lunged into Cameron, pressing her front into his hard chest, so she could wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his neck. "Thanks for that."

"Hey, watch it, you're displacing the cat!" Cam chastised with a laugh as C-Chan wobbled around, trying to keep her balance.

"Fuck the cat, she'll survive," Penny said unfeelingly, sponging a row of kisses down Cameron's chest while making comfortable moaning noises.

"Oh, poor C-Chan," Cameron commiserated with a laugh as he stroked Penny's hair back from her forehead and kept going down her beautiful back.

"So Cam?"

"Mm?"

"I don't know about morning after etiquette and all that, but I'm so hungry if I don't get some food in me really soon I'm going to eat this bed and everything in it."

Cameron let loose a huge laugh as he continued to stroke her back. "Yes, I agree," he said with a nod. "And, other than the few leftovers from last night, I don't think we have any food in the house, so what do you say we throw some clothes on and go grab some brunch or something, okay?"

"Yes, please, and thank you," Penny responded.

Half an hour later they were walking in to Tribeca Poet's, one of their favorite places for brunch, and due to the fact that it wasn't yet ten AM, they got a shady table outside right away. It didn't hurt that it was a hangout for Broadway theatre people, and Penny was considered an A list celebrity, due to her starring in two hits in a row. Throw in the fact that the owner had been a close personal friend of Prince Cameron's father, and they were guaranteed a table pretty much whenever they walked in the door.

"You want a Bloody Mary? Or champagne? A mimosa?" Cameron asked as he perused the menu.

"Yes. And yes."

"Ooh, the eggs Benedict sounds good, doesn't it? Or the lox with capers? Or how about the lingonberry waffles?"

"Yes, yes. And yes."

"Oh, they have omelets with fresh Morels, doesn't that sound lovely?"

"Yes."

"Or we could just go classic English and go sausage and egg," Cam mused.

"Yes."

He looked up at Penny with a smile. "Your skin is glowing, your eyes are dazzling, and your smile is melting my heart from across the table." He shook his head. "How did I not notice all these things the day we met?"

Penny stared at Cam, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to stave off tears.

"What?" Cameron stared at her. "Too romantic for brunch? Too early?"

"No, it's just--I was expecting some kind of joke about my appetite, how much food I can put away or whatever, why I'm such a lumberjack," Penny sniffed, placing her hands in her lap and looking down.

"Oh, for crying out loud--" Cam laid his hand on the table, encouraging Penny to put her hand in his.

"You can't do that, love," he admonished, his voice soft. "You can't--" he broke off as their coffee arrived. "You can't wait for me to hurt and wound you every time you make yourself vulnerable, all right?" he continued as soon as their server left. He squeezed her hand. "Because I'm not going to. I'm not him, and I'm not going to."

Penny nodded and released his hand so she could add cream to her coffee.

"Just like I don't sit around and wait for you to impugn my intellect and lifestyle every time I give you the opportunity, do I?" Cam looked into her eyes. "You used to do it every chance you got. But not so much anymore. So thank you for that."

"Did I?" Penny was apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Cameron. "That was really small of me, really judgmental and horrible, and I'm sorry."

Their server came back to take their orders, and between them they ordered four entrees and mimosas, with probably more drinks to follow.

"When's our call today?" Cameron asked Penny as they dug into their food.

"Um, one o'clock?" she responded, mouth full.

"So we have plenty of time?"

Penny nodded.

"So let's just eat and eat, and walk to rehearsal, yeah?"

Another nod, along with a smile.

Just as they were ordering their second mimosas, the hostess with the coffee pot came to the table with a business card which she handed to Cameron.

"Brian Handler Management" the card read, along with a Midtown address. Underneath the address, it said, "Representing actors in films and television, New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris"

"That gentleman over there wanted me to give this to you," she explained.

They turned to look at the man in question. He was in his mid-thirties, wearing a very expensive suit, dark hair slicked back, anthracite eyes with eyelashes almost as long as Penny's. He was sitting with a woman with dark, absolutely straight hair and miles of gorgeous legs. She was his female equivalent, and both had that hungry, New York look, as if they were searching for the Next Big Thing.

Cam looked at the card, the man and the woman and sighed. He wasn't about call out across the restaurant, so he merely lifted the card, mouthed, "Thank you," at the man, and set the card on the table.

He turned back to Penny to continue his conversation, but the man was apparently having none of it. He saw something he liked and wasn't about to let it go.

A shadow fell across their table, and Cam and Penny looked up to see Brian Handler standing next to their table, hand held out, smiling.

"Hello, sorry to interrupt your brunch," he began, pulling up a chair and sitting down. He had a slight Bronx accent, a bit of narrowing to his vowels. "I wasn't sure you understood why I sent my card over. I'd like to represent you, get some headshots taken of you, maybe put you in some movies get you famous, how's that sound? You've got a hell of a face, though I'm sure you've heard that before." To Penny he said not a word.

"Yes, well, I assumed as much," Cameron answered, taking a sip of coffee and wiping his mouth with his napkin. "However, I already have representation, so how about if I keep your card so I can contact you if my situation changes, all right? Mr. Handler?"

"Right, of course, my manners, so sorry! I'm Brian Handler," the man said, holding out his hand. "And you are?"

"Cameron Aldobrandeschi," Cam said with a little sigh. "And this is my friend, Penelope Patrick." He gestured across the table.

Brian shook with Penny. "Hey, how you doing?" He turned back to Cameron. "That's quite a handle. You wouldn't have a problem changing that, would you? And would you mind me asking who represents you?"

"Eloise Chamberlaine," Cam responded, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Oh, right, I've heard of her," Brian said. "But she does mainly theatre, doesn't she?"

"Yes, that's my focus," Cam answered, and for the first time a bit of a bite could be heard in his voice. Penny reached out and took his hand.

Brian looked at their clasped hands, as if unable to understand why. They surely couldn't be a couple, his gaze said.

"But come on, buddy, everyone wants to be in motion pictures if they can, am I right?" Brian reached forward and nudged Cam's shoulder. "And your face is wasted on a stage, if you don't mind my saying so. You need to be on the big screen, my man. Girls and their moms, maybe even their grandmas would buy tickets to watch you, I'm not kidding."

Cam looked at his shoulder where Brian had nudged him.

"Well, that may or may not be true, but theatre is where my interest lies, so that's what I'm pursuing."

"In the meantime, though, you could be pulling in the big bucks modeling, do you know that? True, you're a little old, but you could be doing commercials and print work, it's not all runway."

Cameron was silent, he had too much breeding and good manners to tell this boor where to get off.

Penny, however, didn't.

"Sir?"

Brian turned to Penny, as if surprised she was still sitting with them. "This man has already left an extremely lucrative modeling career behind, and if you weren't just a hack at your job, you'd know that he was one of the highest paid models in Europe when he gave it up to pursue a career in theatre, which is his first love. In fact, he did quite a lot of print work in New York City as well, so you should at least know his face. Why don't you?" Penny shook her head. "You must not do any research at all, or your team doesn't." She nodded at the woman he'd been sitting with at the other table. "Whatever, none of my concern. Anyway, he has an agent, and a manager, his career is doing just fine, as is mine, not that you asked, so we have no need of you whatsoever, so could you please leave? We didn't actually ask you to join us in the first place, or did you not notice that?"

Brian gave Penny a glare, then turned back to Cameron. "You're making a huge mistake, dude, I could open a lot of doors for you, I'm telling you. You could be doing so much better."

He turned back to Penny, making a point of looking her up and down. "And dude? If this is what you're banging, I'll say it again, man to man this time, you're punching way below your pay grade, and you could be doing so much better. With your looks, you should be dating that Emma Ratajkowski chick or Kylie Jenner or whatever. But if you want to be a chronic underachiever in both your professional and personal life, I guess there's not much I can do for you."

Cameron was out of his chair and had Brian by the lapels of his jacket in less than two seconds. His reflexes were wicked fast.

Penny was up like a shot and had Cam by the biceps, whispering in his ear. "Cam, no, please, he's so not worth this, please. Don't dirty your hands touching him. Please?"

The manager of the restaurant was hovering, wringing a cloth nervously.

Cam slowly lowered the bigger man to the ground and went to speak to the man, who listened for a moment, nodded, and approached the other man, who was straightening his clothes and looking affronted.

"I want the police called and charges pressed for assault against that man, Cameron whatever the fuck," he said in a large voice, pointing to Cameron, who had his arm around Penny.

"You may do as you wish, but first, please collect your things, and leave our premises," the manager, Aldo, said to him. "We will pack up your food and send it out front if you'd care to wait. In addition, you're no longer welcome at Tribeca Poet's again. I hope I make myself clear."

Aldo turned to Cam and Penny, and gestured to their chairs, which he pulled out for them. Once they'd taken their seats, he oversaw their table service himself.

"Miss Penelope, may I get you anything else? No? Prince Cameron? More coffee?"

Brian Handler of Brian Handler Management looked at his girlfriend.

Prince Cameron?

They left the restaurant, never to return.

"I'm sorry, Penguin, that was awful, and so uncalled for."

"I don't mind, I know what people think when they see us together."

"Just as long as you understand that I don't think it. Ever."

Penny looked at Cam, head tilted, smiling. "I didn't used to understand it, but I'm starting to."

Cam kissed Penny's hand. "Good. Good."