“I’m sorry.” Penny shrugged. “I must have that kind of face.”
Rachael waved her off, but Drew was riveted. What was going on?
He stood up. “I’ll give you a moment with the contract, Ms. Hayes. Shout if you need anything.”
Drew led Penny out to where Logan waited at the edge of Britta’s desk, hands on the edge, watching her take a message. “I’m sorry about this,” he said in a low voice. “I know it’s supposed to be your day off, but I’m scheduled in meetings all day. It didn’t seem fair to leave Logan with Britta for that long.”
Penny laughed. “Of course not. A full day in the office for that boy? We’ll be far better off at the playground. And I get it. Sometimes business isn’t the most flexible. It seems that way from the outside, but that’s not always the case.”
This was, in fact, something Drew often thought about the logistics business. It seemed like one big flexibility game—so many moving pieces—but when you got down to the details, there wasn’t a lot of room for error. Everything was more tightly coordinated than most people realized. “That’s some real business insight,” he said. “You sound like one of my higher-ups at Preston.”
“Oh, I—” Penny shook her head. “Just something I’ve read about. It’s an idea that applies to pretty much everything, I’d think.” She stepped toward Britta’s desk and bent down next to Logan. “Hey, buddy. You want to head to the playground?”
“No,” Logan said. “Home. I want to go home.”
“Let’s do it.”
She just…rolled with it. Drew had the sense that if they passed a playground on the way back to the house, Logan would change his mind, and Penny would go along with it. Drew didn’t have to worry. He didn’t have to worry.
The moment she’d walked through the door, things got easier.
She’d be there for the weekend, too.
The weekend he’d just booked for the concert.
Crap.
With Logan at his house for the weekend, there was no way he could still go.
Unless…
The words came out of his mouth before the thought was fully formed. “Do you have plans for the weekend?”
Penny’s brown eyes swung to his face, eyebrows raised. “Just my…regular nanny schedule.” A quizzical smile flashed across her face.
“How would you like to spend the weekend in New York City with me and Logan?”
She blinked. “I didn’t know you were planning a trip.”
“I bought concert tickets this morning. And then Susan got sick and brought Logan in, and now…” He shrugged. “I’ve already got the jet lined up.”
Penny’s face brightened. “The jet?”
“I thought I’d take the private jet to New York tomorrow for the concert tomorrow night. I was going to cancel when the weekend plans changed, but now…” Now that I see how easy it is to rely on you, I don’t see any obstacle. For any of us. “Now I’m thinking it might be more fun if we all go. And the tickets won’t go to waste.”
“Who’s playing?”
“Carver Row.”
“You bought concert tickets for Carver Row’s concert tomorrow just this morning? That’s a little ambitious, don’t you think?”
Not with you by my side.
He pushed the thought away and focused on the excitement in her eyes instead. “I think it’ll be fun. Are you in?”
Penny only hesitated for an instant. “I’m in.”
“Oh, before you go.” Drew opened his desk drawer and pulled out three velvet boxes. He had taken a wild guess at Penny’s ring size and sent out a personal shopper with very specific instructions earlier in the morning. If they were going to play these parts, they needed all the appropriate props. Nobody would ever believe that Drew Preston had married a woman without even a ring.
“What’s all that?”
“If you’re going to be my wife, you need an engagement ring.” He opened the first box, and Penny’s eyes flew open wide. “And a wedding ring. And something else, just to go with it.” The third box contained a necklace with a single teardrop diamond on a platinum chain.
“This is too much,” she breathed.
“This is just enough,” he countered, taking her hand in his and slipping the rings on one by one. The fit, to his immense relief, was perfect.
They both looked down at her hand, admiring the way the diamonds sparkled in the light.
“Yep,” Penny nodded. “I’m so in.”
5
Spontaneous decisions didn’t usually turn out to be good ones.
The thought nagged at Drew as they pulled up to the plane waiting on the tarmac, Logan bouncing in his car seat. What had he been thinking, bringing Logan to a concert? Bringing his brother Archer? Bringing Penny? It wasn’t like air travel was a walk in the park for a three-year-old, even on a private jet.
But Penny hopped out the moment the car had pulled to a stop, reaching back in to unbuckle Logan from the seat. “Lost in thought, Mr. Preston?” She winked at him. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”
He couldn’t help smiling back at her big smile. She’d tried to play it cool on the ride over, but he could feel the excitement coming off her in waves.
They boarded the plane, Mike coming along behind with their luggage. Archer came last, his phone in his hand. “I’ve got a couple calls before we take off,” he said, disappearing into the bedroom in the back of the plane. His brother had agreed to come on the last-minute jaunt without a moment’s hesitation.
“Wow,” Penny said softly as Logan hurtled through the space and jumped onto the sofa toward the middle of the plane. “This is nice.”
“Is this your first time on a private jet?”
Penny looked to the side, her eyelashes fluttering down. “I’ve been on one other. It wasn’t this nice, though.” She pressed her lips together. “Okay. Where should we set up camp?”
“I think Logan’s already chosen our seats for us.”
“Let’s do this.” She straightened her back, hiked her enormous bag up on her shoulder, and went back to the sofa to sit next to Logan.
Drew shouldn’t have bothered packing things for Logan, because Penny had it handled. The bag was filled with enough toys to last them for an international flight, much less the six hours to New York, and as the minutes ticked by, he found himself more and more relaxed. After an hour, Archer came out from the bedroom and sat down in one of the seats next to him. Logan dozed on the sofa, and Penny listened to music on her phone. At least, that’s what he thought she was doing.
“She’s good with him,” Archer said. “How do you like her?”
“I like her,” he answered, not wanting to give too much away. “She’s bailing me out.”
“Yeah? Was it that bad with Uncle Sam?” Archer signaled to the flight attendant, who came out and took his request for a Coke.
“No, not at all. A little chaotic, but not bad. It’s the deal with Jack Holloway.”
“She’s helping you with that? I can’t believe you’d let her.”