Chapter 4

Cece let out a groan before slamming the phone down in its cradle.  “The nerve of some people,” she grumbled under her breath.  When a chuckle sounded behind her, she threw a glare over her shoulder.  “Shut it.”

“What did they do this time?” he asked, before biting his lip to keep from laughing again.

If it weren’t for the fact that said lip was adorable, she would have walked closer to show him how well she had perfected her slap since grade school.  “They wanted to substitute some animal, which they would not tell me what animal it was, for steak.  Who does that?”

“Abby said she didn’t care if you made changes to her menu.”

Cece shook her head at Paul.  “Just like a man,” she mumbled under her breath.  “When Abby says she doesn’t care, it actually means that we better find exactly what she wants or she’ll go postal on us.”

“There isn’t even going to be that many people there.”

“Which makes it even more important that we get them exactly what they want.”

Paul shook his head at her with a small smile on his lips, lips she was staring at a little too often for her liking.  Suddenly, he stopped, and Cece could practically see the light bulb go off above his head.  “I know someone who cooks.”

“Really?  That’s all you have?  I know someone who cooks too; she’s my mom.  Do you have any other brilliant ideas?”

She knew that the expression on her face was one of exasperation, but it didn’t seem to deter him from his thoughts.  “That’s not what I meant.  I know a chef.  You know that new restaurant that cooks Italian?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked, practically drooling on the spot.  “That place as the best food around here.  Too bad it’s so damned expensive.  Wait!” she shouted, making him jump in surprise.  “You know the chef?”

He nodded happily, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fancy device she never would have thought to get.  It wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t afford it, because she could.  It was more along the lines that she broke her phone almost every month. 

“Hey,” he said into the phone.  “How are you?”  A small intimate smile formed on his face, making her eyebrows rise in question.  He took one look at her before turning his back on her to continue the call.  “Really?” he drawled.  “Maybe I can help you with that.”  Cece cleared her throat, making him groan.  “Shit, I mean.  I can’t right now; I was actually calling for a favor.”  He paused, nodding his head along with whatever the person on the other end was saying.  “Yeah, we can meet.  To be honest, it would be easier to go over what I need in person.”  He turned towards Cece with a smile on his face.  Pulling the phone away from his face, he sent her a pleading expression.  “Do you care if we meet here?  It would be easier since—”

“I don’t care,” she snapped.

He frowned at her as if he were unaware of why she was snarling at him.  Hell, maybe he didn’t know.  She wasn’t even sure if she knew herself.

“Good,” he mumbled before bringing the phone back up to his ear.  “Here’s the address.”  He rambled off a couple of numbers and her street name before ending the call.  “She’ll be here in a couple of minutes.”

Cece stepped around him, intent of making her a cup of coffee before the man standing in her kitchen drove her insane.  “Do you think next time you could plan your dates on your own time?”

“Date?” he echoed.

Not turning towards him, she rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, date.  Don’t think I’m stupid Paul.  I could hear it in your voice.  Really?” she imitated, making her voice low and husky.  “Maybe I can help you with that.”

He had the nerve to laugh at her again, but this time instead of the small chuckles, he gasped for breath as laughter escaped him.  Glancing over her shoulder, she found him clutching his side with his head thrown back in obvious mirth.  “You're jealous,” he gasped between laughs.

As childlike as it was, she stomped her foot before pulling out one of coffees.  “I am, and never will be jealous of anyone you choose to spend your time with.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said with another bout of laughter. 

She turned towards him, ready to yell at him once more when the doorbell rang.  Her eyes narrowed at him, letting him know that this was far from over.  He saluted her in his sarcastic way, making her roll her eyes in reaction.  Throwing her coffee to the counter, she marched towards the door, ready to tell the floozy standing on the other side that her and Paul would have to pick another day for their date.

Gripping the door handle, she yanked it open and frowned at the young woman on the other side.  The woman frowned back, her perfect eyebrows arching down in confusion.  “Is Paul here?” she asked, her dark eyes echoing the unease she was feeling.

Cece opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, a hand slapped over it.  “I’m right here,” Paul answered from behind her.  “Come on in.”

The woman sidestepped Cece before sending a brilliant, loving smile towards Paul.  “You need my help?”

He smiled back just as equally bright and loving.  “Yeah,” he mumbled, before dropping his hand from Cece’s mouth to stand by the woman.  He threw an arm around her shoulder, looking as if he was no stranger to touching her.  “This is Cece.”

The woman held out her hand with a smile.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Penelope.”

“You look nothing like a pig,” Cece blurted, before snapping a hand over her own mouth.  It didn’t matter if the woman had dated Paul; she had no right to be rude.

Penelope laughed.  “Yeah, our parents wanted to keep the ‘P’ in our names, but couldn’t think of one that didn’t sound like Paul’s.  Believe me, I wish they would have started with a different letter.”

“Your parents?” Cece asked, motioning towards the two of them.

Paul nodded, a smirk on his face.  “Cece, I’d like for you to meet my sister.”

“Nice to meet you,” she growled, keeping her eyes on Paul.  “He never told me he had a sister.”