Buchanan: Delicious Part 53

There had to be. Naomi was actually squirming in her seat. Penny had never seen her act this way about a guy.

"Are you in love with him?" she asked, trying not to sound too incredulous.

"What? No. Of course not." Naomi wrinkled her nose. "It's not like that at all."

"Then what?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." She sighed. "We don't even have s.e.x anymore." She reached for her can of soda. "We're friends, which is strange."

Penny didn't know what to think. "When you say you're not having s.e.x, you mean..."

Naomi shrugged. "No s.e.x. Honestly, I can't imagine us ever doing it again. We don't...we...talk."

"Talking is good."

"No, it's not. This isn't natural. Friends with a man. Oh, please."

Penny did her best to keep from smiling. "So you're having a relations.h.i.+p. That's great."

"No, it's odd. This is nothing romantic and yet I care about him. I don't want to care about anyone."

"You care about me."

Her friend smiled. "Yes, I do, but girl love is different. Caring about a guy..."

Her voice trailed off as sadness filled her eyes. She looked at Penny. "I might have to leave."

Penny had a feeling she didn't just mean that evening. Panic and pain gripped her. She needed Naomi and she would miss her horribly if she went away.

"Want to tell me why?"

Her friend smiled. "Thanks for not instantly saying I can't."

"I want to, but I'm holding back."

Naomi reached for another chip. "I have family back in Ohio. Parents. A couple of brothers and sisters. A husband." She chewed then swallowed. "Actually, I'm not sure about the husband. He might have divorced me. I've been gone a long time."

Penny blinked. "I don't know what to say. You never mentioned anyone."

"I didn't just hatch."

Penny had always figured there had to be someone. But a whole family? A husband?

"Something happened," Naomi continued. "I don't want to get into it, but I did something bad and I couldn't live with myself. Or them. So I left. I just drove and I ended up here. I met you a few weeks later."

Penny felt her heart breaking. She didn't want to lose her friend. "If you think you have to go back, it's fine."

Naomi scowled at her. "You're going to be brave, aren't you? Dammit, I hate that. I don't want to leave, but I think it's time. I have to go mend some fences. I think I'm still in love with him. Talk about insane."

Penny nodded because if she spoke, she would start to cry.

"I wouldn't just leave you," Naomi said. "I'd make sure there were some people in place. To help with the baby and at the restaurant."

"I'll be fine," Penny said. "Don't worry about me."

Naomi gone! It wasn't possible. Who else would she talk to in the middle of the night when she'd just watched a sad movie and couldn't stop crying? Who else would understand the need to never eat blue M& M's on even days of the month? Who else would coach her through delivery and stay with her for the first couple of weeks after the baby was born?

Naomi swore and got to her feet.

"What?" Penny asked.

"You're crying."

Penny sniffed. "It doesn't mean anything. I'm hormonal."

She stood and her friend walked around the table. They held on to each other.

"You're the best friend I've ever had," Naomi whispered. "I won't ever forget that."

"Me, either."

Naomi sighed. "See. This is why love sucks. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't care if I had to leave."

"If you didn't love me after all we've been through, I'd throw a meat cleaver at your head."

DANI GLARED at Cal. "I can't believe you never told me you had a daughter. All this time." Her gaze narrowed. "Walker and Reid know, don't they? You guys always stick together."

Cal put his arm around Dani as they walked from the parking lot on the University of Was.h.i.+ngton campus. "I didn't know they knew, if that makes you feel any better. I thought it was a secret."

"Oh, right. I swear, it's like living in a soap opera. I keep expecting to hear the smooth-voiced guy murmuring in the background. 'While Dani is unaware of her brother's illegitimate child, Lindsey has dealt with cancer. Of course Dani is an idiot for marrying a jerk like Hugh. More after the commercial break.' It really p.i.s.ses me off."

"The guy?"

"No. You. What other secrets are there?"

He could think of only one really big one and he wasn't going there today. Dani had enough to deal with.

"Like I said, I didn't know Reid and Walker had heard me fighting with Gloria about Lindsey back when I was in high school. I didn't deliberately keep the information from you."

"But you didn't tell me when you found out the guys knew."

"You had stuff on your mind."

She sighed. "I'm all grown up, Cal. You can stop trying to protect me from the world."

"Sorry, that's part of the job description."

She linked her arm through his and leaned against him. "You're a good big brother."