Penelope knew that everyone thought that she was in love with Derek. That all he had to do was crook his finger and she would fall into his bed. They were wrong. Sure, she found him attractive, who wouldn't? But she was not carrying a torch and she certainly was not in love. They were friends, best friends, but that's all.
The first time they met, Penelope was amused. She'd met his type before - very good looking, very charming. Women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him. She did her job in her usual spectacular way and he was impressed. He kept flirting, she flirted back. It was fun, and it made her job more interesting.
They became closer in time. They found that they liked many of the same movies, books and TV shows. But they weren't exactly alike, and it was fun to introduce each other to new things. They could talk for hours, about everything, anything and nothing.
Through the years, they learned all about each other. As tragedies happened, they turned to each other. Through the revelation of Buford, through Battle, through Foyet, they were each other's rock. They were also there for each other during the good times, like when Penelope met Kevin. Or when Morgan met . . . whomever.
As her platonic love grew, Penelope realized why she never fell for Derek. She couldn't love someone who didn't love himself. Derek thought that he was not worthy of love.
She knew that he deliberately avoided real relationships. He used his job as an excuse not to get close to anyone so that he could never be told that he was not loved. Her heart ached for this amazing man who thought that his only value was in the things he did, not who he was.
She knew that he thought that she liked him because he was good looking and charismatic. He wouldn't understand that she liked him because he remembered her likes and dislikes, paid attention to her moods, was always ready to talk or listen, and treated her like the most important treasure that he could protect.
She was his solace, but he didn't understand that he was hers, too.