A Vow to Love by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

mean nine years ago? For goodness' sake, girl, can't you forget about that? That was my fault, more than his. I pushed him because I could see how much it meant to you."
    "You're probably right about that," she agreed readily, even though he'd probably hoped she'd let him off the hook.
    "I thought you'd be good for each other," he said defensively. "Still do, for that matter."
    "You wouldn't feel that way if you'd seen us last night."
    This time her grandfather was the one who sighed heavily. "Okay, what went wrong this time?" he asked. He sounded defeated, but she knew better than to believe he'd given up.
    Penny described the way she'd mistaken Sam for some maniac. Her grandfather chuckled with unmistakable glee as she told the story. By the time she'd finished, she was able to put aside the odd mix of outrage and embarrassment and laugh with him. "Okay, so in retrospect it was pretty amusing, but I don't think he saw it that way. I humiliated him in front of his colleagues."
    "Trust me," Brandon said, "Sam doesn't humiliate too easily. He grew up with a hide like an elephant. He had to."
    Penny wasn't so sure. She recalled that tiny spark of dismay in his eyes as his two fellow officers had listened to her scrambling to explain what had happened. Contrary to the image he liked to project, she was beginning to suspect Sam just might be a decent kind of guy. The mistake he'd made years ago had been in trying to please his surrogate grandfather rather than thinking of her feelings. Even that kiss hadn't been a crime. In some ways, the discovery was incredibly disconcerting, fueling the ridiculous attraction she'd always felt and sworn she was over.
    She'd probably just imagined that hint of sensitivity, anyway, she told herself sternly. Just as quickly, she countered with the reminder that he had hung out with her the night before. She wasn't sure exactly why he'd insisted on dinner, especially since it had been abundantly clear that he'd have preferred to be almost anywhere else on earth. It was possible that once again he had only done it to please her grandfather. Or maybe he'd intended to satisfy some smidgen of guilt over his own behavior. Less likely, but certainly possible, was that he had recognized her unfamiliar desire for companionship in a new place. At any rate, Sam had been there for her.
    "If you're that worried about it, you could call and apologize again," her grandfather said, apparently interpreting her silence as unspoken concern for Sam's feelings. "Send the man some flowers. That'll catch him off guard."
    Penny could just imagine the gossip at the police station if a dozen roses turned up on Sam Roberts's desk. The idea held a certain appeal, but she squashed it. She recognized a sneaky tactic when she saw one. Her grandfather was just trying to manipulate another meeting. A dozen roses would leave Sam duty-bound to call.
    "When hell freezes over," she muttered. "If anybody apologizes to the man, it ought to be you."
    Her grandfather huffed indignantly. Then he said, "Okay, so maybe I will."
    Something in his tone warned her she should have let well enough alone.

    Penny knew for certain just how big her mistake had been when the phone rang the following day, right when she was in the middle of a critical experiment in the lab.
    "Penny, it's Sam."
    "Yes," she murmured distractedly, her gaze still locked on what she was seeing through the microscope lens.
    "How about dinner?"
    That got her attention. "Dinner? You and me? Why? We've done that."
    "You have to eat. I have to eat. We might as well do it together," he retorted, his tone losing any last hint of graciousness.
    "Granddad," she said with a sigh.
    He chuckled at her ready recognition of the source of the invitation. "Okay, he's at it again. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go along with him for one night, would it?"
    "You don't just go along with Brandon. The man is capable of steamrolling over the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
    "True. But you and I, we're