Page 33 of Once Upon A Second Chance

"It's bullshit, Jesse," I say, keeping my voice steady. "You know that. Rebecca is just trying to stir things up."

"Is she?" His knuckles whiten against the Formica. "Because seems to me, where there's smoke—"

"Jesus Christ." The voice comes from behind him.

Every head turns.

The diner door slams open hard enough to make the bell jangleviolently.

Penny stands there, flushed and breathing hard like she ran the entire way here. Her workout clothes are damp with sweat, her hair escaping from its messy ponytail. She must have come straight from her morning run.

Jesse turns. "Pen—"

"Shut up, Jesse." She strides forward, shouldering past him without breaking stride.

She plants herself between me and Rebecca's table, arms crossed. "Let me guess," she says, voice dripping with disdain. "You're here to 'warn' me about Richard? How noble."

Rebecca's smirk doesn't waver. "Just thought you should know who you're dealing with."

The entire diner is riveted. Even the cook has come out from the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Oh, I know exactly who I'm dealing with." Penny's smile is razor-sharp. "A woman so desperate to be relevant, she's recycling fake scandals."

Andrew scoffs. "Fake?"

"Then prove it." Penny uncrosses her arms to gesture broadly. "Go on. Prove it. Show one text.One email. One piece of evidence that Richard was ever unfaithful."

Silence stretches.

Rebecca's perfectly manicured fingers tap against her mimosa glass. Andrew shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

"That's what I thought." Penny turns to Jesse. "You really fell for this?"

Jesse shifts his weight, scowling. "I was just—"

"Being an idiot. Again." She punches Jesse in the shoulder, grabs my hand, and pulls me toward the door. "We're leaving."

The diner erupts in whispers as we pass. I catch snippets—

"—always knew that city girl was trouble...""—Penny Morgan ain't nobody's fool...""—bet they're lying through their teeth..."

Rebecca's voice cuts through the noise as we reach the door. "This isn't over."

Penny doesn't even turn around. "Yeah, it is. I told you that before but you evidently have aserious ’listening’ problem. I’d see a doctor about that if I were you."

Outside in the parking lot, the summer heat hits like a wall. Penny rounds on me the second the door closes behind us.

"You could've defended yourself," she says, her breath still coming fast.

I run a hand through my hair. "Would it have mattered?"

I nod toward the diner windows, where Rebecca is already backpedaling, claiming she "misspoke" to a skeptical-looking Mrs. Waverly.

Penny exhales sharply, her anger fading into exhaustion. She looks down at our still-joined hands like she's just noticing them.

"No," she admits. "But I mattered."

I squeeze her fingers. "You always do."