"They really are," Penny said, smile now fixed to her face permanently so that she didn't say anything hurtful in return.
Well, shit. She'd tried to ask an innocent question, but somehow she had failed. Apparently she was going to have to pretend like they had never dated. Any time she mentioned the past, he became all closed-off and pulled away abruptly. Penelope didn't mean to do that to him, but it was hard to look at his from his perspective when she'd already moved on. "If you must," she said, her voice strained from hiding her annoyance. He could just chalk it up to the pain. "Thanks for the flowers, Percy. And the visit, even if you didn't intend to visit. They're releasing me tonight, actually, so.." She shrugged. "I suppose I'll see you at work. I foresee a lot of Russian to deal with."