Chapter 13 #2
An hour later, the headlights of Zander’s truck lit up Penny’s cabin as they pulled into her drive.
As promised, he’d snuck them through the forest until they reentered the path with no harm done, then walked silently to Zander’s truck as Penny stuffed her hands in her pockets to keep from touching her lips where his finger had been.
They’d had a few minutes of thick silence on the way home before Zander finally broke their stalemate, sharing his opinion on what Penny charged vendors to participate in the Honey Festival.
It was just the normal, annoying kind of conversation Penny needed to recover from the slide of his fingers on her back in the forest.
“All I’m saying is”—Zander threw the truck into park—“I looked it up, and you’re charging half of what they charge vendors at the garlic thing.”
“That’s because that festival is in the claws of Jason Altman, and he is a real asshole. He doesn’t even grow garlic.”
Zander’s laugh filled the small space, and he shook his head as he looked at Penny.
“You don’t have to be Jason Altman. But when you undercharge by this much, you’re not valuing your festival, or your work.” He shut off the engine. “I did the math. Upping the fee by fifty percent would make you seven thousand more dollars, just like that.”
“Seven thousand?” Penny squeaked. That would go a long way to helping her get into the black with the festival and bring her that much closer to making a big enough payment on the loan. “But I don’t want it to be inaccessible. We have community groups there doing outreach.”
“How about one rate for community organizations and another rate for businesses?”
“That could work.” It was a fair compromise, one that left room for everyone while charging what the event was worth for vendors, who had one of their biggest sales days of the year.
“I’d have to get the word out about the change, though.
Update the paperwork and the contracts and the website… It has to happen fast.”
“I’ll handle it. I’ll just need all the files and log-ins from you.”
Before she could argue, Zander hopped out of his seat to jog around the front and open her door.
Not a date, not a date, not a date.
He rocked back on his heels. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
“You don’t have to. This isn’t a—”
“I know. But I’m going to do it anyway.”
He pressed his palm to her back again, guiding her to her small front stoop. One bulb lit up the small circle where Penny swayed toward Zander. She’d worried for days about how this night would go, but now found she wasn’t ready for it to end.
“I know this wasn’t a date.” Her words were drowned out by the wild thumping of her heart. “But if it had been, it would have been a good one.”
A smile slid across his face, slow, like honey. “Yeah, it really would have. Especially the part where I got scared shitless by a bird.”
Penny grinned. “Or when you almost got us arrested.”
His brows arched. “Arrested? No way—that kid did not have that kind of power. You clearly need more experience getting in trouble.”
“Maybe I do.” When Zander’s gaze on her narrowed, Penny tipped her head to search his dark eyes, glinting copper in the low light. “So if this was a date, what do you think would happen next?”
“Hmm.” He studied her for a minute as his tongue made a slow sweep of his lower lip. Then his hand rose between them, like it had in her bee yard. But instead of stopping just shy of her like he had that day, Zander cupped her cheek, his warm fingers spanning across her jaw.
“I think if this was a date, I’d ask if I could kiss you now.”
“And if this was a date”—she lifted to her tiptoes—“I’d say yes.”
Zander’s forehead fell against hers. “And then—”
“And then—”
And then—his mouth pressed to hers, taking each of her lips between his in turn. It was sweet, and soft, and over before she could fully register the taste of him.
They exchanged one deep breath, noses still touching.
Then Zander’s finger tightened on her jaw as his other hand slid behind her head as his mouth returned.
Still soft, but no longer sweet. Instead, it was intense, desperate.
Possessive. He teased her with his tongue, invading and retreating until Penny threaded her fingers into his hair to hold him close.
Her back hit the door as Zander leaned into her, one knee sliding between her legs. Penny pressed herself against him there, her body eager to ease the ache building all night. When his fingers dug into her skull as he took the kiss deeper, she gasped against his lips.
He whimpered when she closed her teeth around his bottom lip, then bit her back as he lifted his thigh just enough to make her groan.
For all their talk about a non-date, this kiss was entirely real. Real in a way that rearranged Penny’s cells, reminding her body how it felt to be touched, caressed, needed. Reminding her that she was more than the work she did, more than everything she kept in order all the time.
It was a dangerous reminder. One she didn’t have time for. Not with so much on the line for her this summer.
She eased her fingers out of his hair, slowing the kiss and concentrating on the solid door behind her and the steadiness of the concrete stoop beneath her feet. Zander sipped at her lips a final time before stepping back to leave a few inches between them as his arms fell to his sides.
For a moment he stared at her, blinking and breathing hard; then he took another step back. “Good night, Penny.”
She only nodded at his retreat, lips tingling. His gaze stayed trained on her as he walked backward, the tall shape of his body blending with the looming trees. Finally, he turned toward his truck.
“Zander,” she called out, her voice as shaken up as her body. “If this had been a date, that would have been a nice ending to the night.”
For a second, she didn’t know if he’d heard. He just opened his door and started to move inside.
But then he looked back her way.
“If this had been a date, Penny, the night wouldn’t be over yet. Not by a long shot.”