Love Can Be Murder

was appealing in a base sort of way.
    He nodded toward the exit. "So how about it, Penny? Let me take your mind off...whatever."
    Penny started to shake her head no, but something took hold inside her chest that she recognized as power. Feminine satisfaction swelled in her belly, and her thighs pulsed with pleasure. It had been a long time since she'd been pursued by a man. It had been over a decade since she'd even seen a man other than Deke naked, and she suspected that B J. here would measure up...and then some. Besides, if she were very clever, maybe she'd find out something about Sheena that would help her to apply pressure when she took Deke back to court.
    She wet her lips, testing the words silently. Okay...let's go... your place or mine? She tried desperately to remember what kind of underwear she'd worn—black lace bikini, or full coverage cotton?
    "Penny!"
    Down the hall Marie motioned to her and shouted, "Come on—it's time to open the gag gifts!" then disappeared back into the room.
    Penny straightened, remorse and...relief?...bleeding through her. "I guess I'd better get back to my party."
    He tore a corner off a faded flyer and wrote something on it using a pen that was attached to the wall. "I have to take off," he said, extending the paper. "But here's my cell number. Why don't you call me when you're finished here and we'll...see what happens."
    Penny took the piece of paper but decided not to commit. He didn't press her for an answer, just inclined his head and left. She shoved the slip of paper deep into her pocket and watched him disappear into the crowd. He didn't act like a player—he wasn't scouting the bar for another score, and he didn't have an entourage. She made her way back to the party, her heart thudding with apprehension.
    Everyone was in high spirits when she returned, although she spotted Liz checking her watch a couple of times and felt guilty; her friend had probably traded a night of sophisticated entertainment to come to Mojo and have watered-down drinks at a hole-in-the-wall bar. Wendy looked equally out of place, stabbing at her glasses and checking her cell phone. Guy, too, looked restless, and Diane Davidson appeared ready to bolt at the first chance. Determined to put everyone out of their misery, Penny went to the gift table and clinked a fork against her glass to get everyone's attention. Guy turned down the music.
    Penny inhaled and cleared her throat. "Thank you so much for coming tonight and thanks to Marie for putting this together." The alcohol was pumping through her body, unhindered by food. As she looked over the motley crew that had assembled on her behalf, she suddenly felt sorry for herself, and for them for being dragged into her personal drama. Unbidden, revulsion for Deke and what he had put her through welled in her chest. Tension whipped through the room as everyone waited. Marie pressed her lips together and averted her gaze.
    In a desperate attempt to ward off tears, Penny decided to play the sarcasm card. "Most of you know the circumstances of my divorce. For those of you who don't—my husband was a lying, cheating, son of a bitch."
    Everyone erupted in laughter, relieving the tension in the room and thankfully, in her chest. "But I got the last laugh because he has to live in a pink house and I got all these presents!"
    Marie handed her a gift bag. "I asked everyone to keep the gifts anonymous."
    "Ooh, mysterious." She pulled out a box of condoms, and cheers broke out. A flush warmed her face, and B.J.'s number seemed to burn through her clothing into her skin.
    Subsequent bags and boxes revealed a ball cap and T -shirt that espoused the virtues of divorce, a roll of ex-husband toilet paper (Guy's gift, she suspected), a bottle of champagne that was speedily opened, an inflatable husband (from Liz and Wendy?), a couple of Happy Divorce chocolate bars (although she hadn't eaten chocolate in over a year), a Charm Kit to Bury the Past (probably from Hazel), and a vibrator (definitely from Marie).
    The last box, however, got the biggest laugh—an eight-inch voodoo doll dressed in a little suit. A red Hot Wheels sports car had been glued to his hand. Penny shrieked with laughter at the likeness to Deke.
    "Stick him!" someone shouted, then everyone started chanting, "Stick him! Stick him!"
    Caught up in the moment, she removed one of the black hat pins and considered sticking the doll in the crotch. At the last second, she settled for stabbing his