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worried about exclusive memberships.”
    He chuckled. “Do you like it?”
    She grinned. “No.”
    One corner of his well-cut mouth turned up. “Sounds like you need a reassessment of what you want to do.”
    “Definitely. We don’t know what the next week or the next year has in store. Makes it a little hard to plan.”
    “Agreed. Maybe we need to look at life differently.” His gaze intensified. “Now is all we have.”
    Panic stirred in her stomach. “We have to survive this, Ian.”
    “We will.” His voice was firm and self-assured. He tilted his head to the side, curiosity plain on his face. “Your father said something once about a boyfriend.” Penny knew she must have looked surprised that he’d heard, because he continued. “A year after you went to San Diego, you father mentioned that he wished you were back here.”
    More amazement came over her. “You’re kidding me?”
    “No. I could see he cared.”
    She twisted hair around her index finger. “I can’t believe it. He never mentioned anything to me. He never asked me about my love life. He was talking to you about me?”
    “Not really. It was more grumbling when he didn’t think people could hear him. After a while he didn’t say anything more.” Concern filled his voice. “Did something bad happen with this boyfriend?”
    His gentleness disarmed her, and suddenly she couldn’t tell him fast enough. “Yes.”
    Realization, though she hadn’t explained yet, filled his eyes. “Tell me.”
    She wavered, uncertain. She didn’t speak often of what happened, preferring to think of more positive things in her life and what she was grateful for each and every day. At the same time, she also experienced a connection with Ian that hadn’t faded in the years since she’d last seen him. It hit her in the gut right then, a feeling she hadn’t comprehended until this moment. She trusted him. With her life if it came to that.
    “Frank was…I met him through a coworker, Sally. She is his sister. He worked in construction; a foreman. He seemed like an amazing guy. We had a few dates over a two-month period and at first he was fun. But then I started to feel strange around him. He was possessive and not in a good way. He accused me of flirting with other men, and I’m not a flirt. Nothing he said at first was overt, but he nibbled away at things.”
    “Such as?”
    “I realized he was trying to isolate me from my other friends. Trying to keep my world small.”
    “What an ass,” he said, his gaze hard.
    “That’s when I broke up with him.”
    He leaned closer, his gaze unwavering. “That wasn’t the end of it, was it?”
    Fear edged into her thoughts, making her throat tight and her muscles clench a little. When she didn’t answer right away, he turned fully toward her, his eyes intent. She could refuse to tell him the whole sordid story, but getting it off her chest felt right.
    She took a long swig of water. “He seemed to take the breakup better than I expected. He didn’t even protest. I was relieved and a couple of weeks went by before anything else happened. I thought that was the end of it. Even his sister said she understood. She didn’t.”
    His eyebrows lifted. “She didn’t?”
    Penny twirled the water bottle between both hands, emotions rising until she thought she’d choke on them. “She said the breakup had to be my fault. That I was the one causing trouble in his life.” She placed the water bottle on the floor and stared at it. “I worked in the same cubicle with her so it sucked. We ignored each other. One night I found roses on my doorstep with a card from him. He apologized for everything and said he wanted to get back together.”
    “You didn’t.” It wasn’t a question, but a stern hope in his voice that she hadn’t made that mistake.
    “I didn’t. As you know, a controlling nature isn’t something I like in a man.”
    He smiled for a half second. “Right.”
    “I threw the flowers away. A month