No Vacancy (The Aveline Series Book 2)

Chapter 49

DARCY

I pickedPenn up at exactly five o’clock, and when we arrived at my parents’ house, I simply walked inside and held the door open for him. There was an instant aroma of pot roast with vegetables and bread in the oven. The bread was no doubt a homemade loaf from The Baking Tin that my mom would inevitably try to pass as her own to our guest, as she had done countless times before. My mouth was watering at the thought of it.

“Mama! We’re here!” I hollered as we took off our shoes at the door.

My mom came from the kitchen, an oven mitt in her hand and her apron tied around her waist. “Hey, Darcy! Your father will be right down. There’s a surprise for you as well.” She turned to Penn. “Oh my heavens, you are so handsome. Darcy, why didn’t you tell me just how gorgeous this boy is!”

“Mom, you literally saw him at the town meeting . . . ”

My mom ignored me as she walked over to Penn and pulled him in for a tight embrace. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

“You as well, Mrs. Miller. I brought these for you.” Penn handed my mother a bouquet of flowers, and I rolled my eyes. I had already expressed in the car the fact that he would be the guy to bring flowers to dinner at someone’s parents’ house.

“Oh, my,” she said, taking the bouquet and smelling them. “Delightful. Thank you.” She turned to me. “He’s a keeper, Darce. Let’s plan the weddin’ right now!” She giggled excitedly. “I’m just kiddin’. Come on in here.”

She waved us on to the dining room, and I shrugged to Penn in an apologetic way. When I stepped in front of him, I smiled from ear to ear, knowing she was going to make this completely miserable for him. I walked in and noticed our long table—the one that had been sitting in that spot in that room for all my life—was set for not only four people but five.

“Mom? Why are there five?” I called to her. “Is someone else coming?”

Immediately after saying that, I was lifted off my feet in a bear hug from behind. “That would be for me.”

I screamed. I screamed so loudly that I was pretty sure the entire town of Aveline could hear me. The arms that had grabbed me let me go, and I turned around quickly. Towering over me was my brother.

“Beau!” I squealed, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“So I could surprise you.” Beau paused, staring at Penn. “But it looks like you have a surprise yourself.”

I grabbed my brother’s arm. “Penn, this is my brother, Beau. Beau, this is my, well, this is just Penn.”

Penn held out his hand, and Beau took it in his. “Nice to meet you, just Penn. Darcy’s told me a lot about you.”

I hadn’t told Beau one thing about Penn.

Beau looked from Penn to me skeptically. “O-whay is-way ee-hay?” Who is he?

It took me a minute to understand. It had been a while since Beau and I had spoken in Pig Latin, but it was something we did often as kids.

“Ust-jay ollow-fay y-may ead-lay.” Just follow my lead.

“Pig Latin, huh?” Penn said, smiling, and I felt my cheeks blazing red. Do not tell me Penn knew Pig Latin. No one had ever been able to decipher what Beau and I were saying, and they merely chalked it up as a “twin thing.”

“You speak it?” I asked, hoping he didn’t.

“No, but I recognized the sound. I could probably figure it out, though. If you wrote it down and gave me a while. Takes me an hour just to decode one sentence.”

I would not be doing that, and luckily, we were saved from having to explain ourselves when our dad came down the stairs just as our mother was bringing in the roast.

Let the games begin.