No Vacancy (The Aveline Series Book 2)

Chapter 61

DARCY

DARCY: I had sex with Penn.

PEYTON: YOU WHAT?

DARCY: I had sex with Penn.

PEYTON: Okay, yes, I read that. I don’t remember that being part of Operation AA. Wasn’t that the opposite of the plan?

DARCY: No. I mean, yes, it was, but forget about that. Operation AA is off, and this is serious. I had sex with Penn!!

PEYTON: Was it good? Because I just think he would be a complete animal in bed.

DARCY: PEYTON!

Penn askedme to meet him at the dock past town square at Hickory Creek for dinner. When I arrived, he was sitting on the dock on a blanket with a picnic basket next to him, along with a charcuterie board of cheese and fruit.

“A picnic, huh?” I said as I stepped onto it.

He looked up and patted a spot next to him. “Yeah, I figured since we didn’t share the first basket, maybe we could have a do over.”

I sat down next to him, and he began pulling items from the basket. “I went to the bakery today and asked Tuck what I should put in here. He gave me some ideas, so if you don’t like it, it’s pretty much his fault.”

I watched as he took out two beautifully wrapped sandwiches and a couple of mini pies. “This looks great. Thank you.” I took one of the sandwiches. “Did Tuck tell you about the first time he heard of a charcuterie board?” I picked up a grape and popped it into my mouth.

“He did not,” Penn said, handing me a sandwich.

“The owner of Green Gables Inn was named Evelyn. This was like, early 2000’s. Tuck had brought Lettie over there—they had just met—and Evelyn had a big cutting board in her hand. Lettie thought it was for paddling.” I giggled, remembering them telling me the story. “But it was just Evelyn having heard about charcuterie boards and wanting to try it.”

Penn chuckled. “Is Evelyn still around? I haven’t seen her at the inn.”

“No, Evelyn passed. It was Millie’s grandmother.” I took a bite of my sandwich. “She was a sweetheart, though. She was the one who put up the Lover’s Lane wall.”

“Is that the one in the dining room with all the names?”

I nodded. “Yep. It’s where everyone in Aveline confesses their love for each other.”

Penn raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never looked...Is your name on there?”

I laughed, holding my hand over my mouth as I chewed. “Ugh, unfortunately, yes. High school, you know? But I crossed them all out, so technically, not anymore. I love it, though. Green Gables. I can’t stay at those big chain hotels when I go places. I choose a bed and breakfast whenever I can because it’s just so much better.”

A flicker of something flashed in Penn’s eyes that I couldn’t read. “You know, I really like this town,” he said, and I watched his face for any sign of teasing or joking. But there was none.

“You’re not even lying when you say that, are you?” I replied.

He laughed. “No, not at all. But I do have something to tell you. And then I have something to ask you.” Penn was picking at his fingers slightly, his eyes darting from me to his hands, back to me, and I wondered why he was nervous and why the sight of him like that made me feel on edge.

What did he have to tell me? What was he going to ask me? Oh, God, he wasn’t going to propose was he?

No, that would be ridiculous. Why did I even go there?

I threw my incredulous thoughts as far away from the surface of my brain as I could and simply said, “Okay.”

My heart was racing, and I was trying everything in my power to remain calm and collected. I didn’t want him to see that I was feeling anxious, that he could make me feel this way.

Penn breathed in. “Okay, first, I don’t want to buy your father’s hardware store.”

I eyed him skeptically. “Isn’t that the whole reason you are here?”

His eyes focused on mine, and he nodded. “It was,” he paused before continuing, “but now things have changed.”

“How so?” I asked.

Penn ran his hands through his hair and rested them on the back of his neck. “You really can’t figure that out?”

I gulped, using humor to hide my discomfort. “It’s Noreen, isn’t it?”

Penn laughed heartily and threw a grape at me.