Free A Vow to Love by Sherryl Woods

for the next thirty minutes, you're all I've got. Start talking."
    Giving in to the inevitable, Penny gave her the short version of her history with Sam and the reason for his presence outside.
    Didi looked more and more intrigued. "I think that's sweet," she finally pronounced.
    "What? That he made me a target for a gang of hoodlums?"
    "No, of course not. I think it's sweet that he's looking out for you." She peered out the window. "He must get awfully tired of just standing around out there. I'm going to invite him to join us for dessert."
    She slipped out of the booth and disappeared before Penny could mutter a vehement protest, much less remind her that neither of them ever ate dessert. Suddenly, however, she was stuck with a powerful yearning for something decadent, chocolate, and at least three thousand calories. Maybe that would get her mind off the man who was about to join them.
    It didn't surprise her that Didi came back with Sam in tow. She'd never met anyone who could stand up to her. Most men, enchanted by her bubbling personality and long, shapely legs, didn't even want to. Though she was nearing forty, Didi admitted to no more than thirty-five and she had a string of suitors that a college homecoming queen would envy. Sam seemed faintly bewildered at having been reeled in. Penny almost felt sorry for him.
    "I understand you're becoming a familiar figure on campus," Penny told him drily. "I hope you're more discreet at the rest of your undercover work."
    "Actually, you're something of a special case."
    "You probably want this Tank person to know you're always watching," Didi guessed.
    Sam regarded her as if she'd just given the correct answer for the twenty-five-thousand-dollar top prize on a game show. Penny felt vaguely disgruntled by their almost instantaneous rapport. Sam never looked at her like that. He generally looked as if he wanted to throttle her.
    "Don't you have some official police business you should be doing?" Penny inquired.
    "Actually my current case and this special surveillance have dovetailed rather nicely," he informed her cheerfully.
    "All roads lead back to Tank, so to speak."
    "Exactly," he said.
    He said it so distractedly that Penny wondered exactly where under the table Didi's hand had wandered. She glowered at the pair of them. She knew one sure way to get Sam's attention. "How'd he slip away from you yesterday?" she asked sweetly.
    Sam's head snapped around at that. "What are you talking about?"
    "I had dinner at Rosie's last night. Tank was outside when I left."
    Sam's jaw clenched. "Did he come anywhere near you?"
    "If he had, do you think I would be sitting here calmly? I'd probably be skewering you with a fork for getting me into this mess."
    "Why didn't you call me?"
    "I didn't need you."
    "You could have. You should never have left that restaurant alone." He smacked his fist on the table in obvious exasperation. "Damm it, Penny, when will you get it through your head that this isn't a game?"
    Their gazes clashed.
    "And when will you get it through your thick skull that I am not some five-year-old who needs somebody to babysit her?" she shot right back.
    "Maybe when you stop acting like one," he countered irritably.
    "My, my, my," Didi murmured. "This is better than The Young and the Restless. "
    "Who asked you?" Penny muttered.
    "I guess I'm going to have to call in reinforcements," he told her, his expression resigned.
    "Should I be on the lookout for Jake and Ryan? I'm sure they'd love to hear about this new wrinkle in our family feud." She enjoyed the dull red that crept into his face at the mention of his police colleagues.
    "I was thinking of Jason."
    So much for the upper hand, she thought dismally. She regarded him with genuine dismay. "Oh, no. Leave Jason out of this. It's only one short leap from him to Grandfather."
    "It is, isn't it?" Sam agreed, suddenly looking rather pleased with himself.
    "I thought we agreed that Grandfather shouldn't know anything about