A Little, A Lot

Chapter 1

ONE

january

PENELOPE

You know what I love about January first? It’s a fresh start, a new beginning. Your year ahead is like a block of clay, simply waiting for you to mold it. The power to be anything, do anything, is in your hands.

You know what I hate about January second? How difficult it is to maintain that motivation and drive from day one.

“You cannot bail on me, Penelope Elizabeth Adams! It’s only day two!” my best friend Chloe hollers at me over the phone– and I know I’m really in trouble when she uses my middle name.

“I can barely feel my legs from whatever you made me do yesterday.” I groan, stretching out on my bed. “Besides, rest days are important.” I’ve definitely read that. Somewhere. Probably.

“Not on day two!” Chloe growls.

The disappointment in her voice makes me feel bad, but not so bad that I’m willing to relent.

My legs are sore from yesterday, and I have work later today.

My job as associate manager at Ever After Books, the only romance book store in the tri-state area, has me on my feet all day.

And after the holiday season? I’ll be climbing the ladder in our stockroom countless times, tucking away all the overstock that didn’t sell over the season.

“Let's be real, Chlo,” I sigh, “maybe I'm meant to always be the bigger friend. But hey, I've come to terms with it.” I force a laugh, attempting to lighten the mood, though deep down, my self-deprecating humor masks how I truly feel.

Every year starts off the same for me, with resolutions to finally shed those extra pounds (about fifty of them) and boost my self-esteem.

But no matter what I do, the weight always seems to stick around and I quickly run out of whatever motivation got me started in the first place.

Feeling better about myself seems like an impossible goal, so I never make any real progress.

“Pen, please,” Chloe begs. “I signed us up for—”

“Oh absolutely not.” I sit upright in bed in alarm. “The next words out of your mouth better not be—”

“An easy class.” She stresses the word but that means nothing to me.

Getting me to sign up for the gym was a feat in itself.

I’m more of an introvert, I hate group activities, and I loathe trying to keep up with excessively fit people.

Honestly, it’s a wonder Chloe has stayed my friend since freshman year of high school.

She’s still maintained the physique she earned on the varsity volleyball team whereas I have just grown… let’s just say rounder and well-fed.

“I wouldn’t associate the word ‘easy’ with anything that happens at the gym.

” Rolling over in my bed, I snuggle up to my senior rescue dog, Carl.

He’s a big gray lump of love and slobber; I adopted him two years ago when the shelter said he kept getting overlooked for the younger puppies.

While his breed is unknown, his heart is 100% gold.

“Besides, I need to take Carl for a walk. That will be my workout for today.”

“Carl walks slower than my eighty-year-old grandma,” Chloe huffs.

“A walk is a walk, no matter how slow!”

“Pen—”

“Chloe, I love you. You know that I love you. And I know you have my best interests at heart. But please, for the love of god, never sign me up for a class again.” Silence on the other end indicates her annoyance, but Chloe never stays mad long— she says the energy it takes to be annoyed or angry is far more exhausting than being positive and moving on.

“I promise you, I will go back to the gym tomorrow. Today, I just…”

“Okay.” Chloe sounds resigned. “No more classes.”

“I’m sure you are going to love it. I hope you do.” I force enthusiasm into my tone.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Have fun at work later today.”

“Ugh. Sometimes I think the slow period after the holidays is worse than the rush.” Next to me, Carl rolls onto his back, paws waving in the air— the international dog request for belly rubs, which I happily oblige.

“You’re not closing the store by yourself, are you?” Concern laces my friend’s tone and I can’t help but shudder, recalling the recent incidents in shops along the main downtown area over the holiday season.

Prairie Ridge is a small suburb just outside of Chicago.

With a few main streets housing the majority of shops and restaurants, it’s a bit weak calling it “downtown,” but that’s what we call it.

Not that it’s small enough where I know everyone who lives here, but the town is situated just off a main highway.

We often get visitors stopping in on their way to or from the city.

Over the holidays, a few groups of rougher individuals stopped into some shops and gave employees a difficult time, sometimes even vandalizing the property before speeding off in cars that no one recognized.

Thankfully, they never popped into the bookstore, but Gloria, the owner and my boss, made sure shifts were scheduled so no one was ever alone in the evenings.

“I’m not sure.” Blatantly lying to my best friend feels icky, but I don’t want her to stress.

Now that the holidays have passed and the downtown shops are quiet again, Gloria has us back on typical schedules.

I’m closing the store alone tonight, but I’d rather chance this small lie than have Chloe worry about me.

“Look, I have to get my ass up and take Carl for a walk.”

I can practically hear her roll her eyes. “Deflection. Fine. I’ll stop by tonight to make sure you’re okay.”

“You don’t need to do that!”

“Tough shit. I’ll talk to you later, babe. Give Carl kisses for me.” Chloe disconnects before I can protest further.

Glancing at my watch, I realize that I only have a few hours until I have to head out for work. Snuggling in closer to Carl, I whisper, “Do you want to go for a walk, big boy?”

Carl tilts his head, yawns, and proceeds to roll over on his side with a huff.

“Is that a no?”

He sneezes in response.

“I don’t blame you, pup. Let’s take a nap before work, huh?” My promise to Chloe to get in some cardio vanishes as I wrap my arm around Carl— the big spoon to his small spoon.

At three pm, I stroll through the front door of Ever After, the bells above the door tinkling as I walk in.

January in the Midwest is bitterly cold and it's a struggle to bundle up before heading out into the icy winds.

Due to my tendency to overheat easily, there's something unsettling about trying to keep warm during a polar vortex winter.

Looking across the shop, I can barely see Gloria behind the register over the counter full of stacks of books. Her long hair is wrapped tightly in a bun atop her head, a mix of black and gray.

“Ah, the dreaded overstock mountains!” I joke, making my way to the back of the store where a door leads to a small break room and onto the back storage room.

“Seriously,” Gloria grumbles. I can’t help but laugh. Gloria is one of my mom’s good friends, and it’s that connection that got me the job here. My mom is now retired and living in a community in Florida— she constantly tells me how thankful she is for Gloria “keeping an eye on me.”

I enter the security code and push the door open as the lock releases.

The break room is compact, featuring just a small table with two chairs, a counter with a sink, an old microwave, and a single stack of square lockers in the corner.

We don't need much space since only five of us work here, and there are never more than two people working at a time.

Lockers aren’t assigned, but I slapped some stickers on one I’ve unofficially claimed as mine.

Stickers like “thick thighs, bookish vibes” and “good girls read naughty books.” Shoving my puffer jacket and purse into the locker, I shut it as the door to the storage room swings open, catching me off guard.

A man charges in and, for a moment, I fear I might be hallucinating.

His gaze lands on me as he comes to an abrupt stop, giving me a moment to look him over.

He’s tall, well over six feet, with wavy brown hair reaching his ears.

He’s wearing a dark short-sleeve shirt that showcases lean, yet sculpted, arms covered in tattoos, and a faded pair of jeans that don’t hide the fact he’s fit all over.

“Uh, what the fuck?” the words tumble out of my mouth before I can truly process the situation . The man raises his hands, as if defending himself, and I tear out of the break room, through the store to where Gloria is stacking books.

“Holy fuck! Gloria!” While it was a short sprint, I’m out of breath and heaving. Sweat has been beading on my forehead since I struggled into my jacket earlier and now it’s significantly worse.

She gives me an awkward grin. “Language, Penny. We have customers.” Releasing an exasperated sigh, I choose to ignore the fact that she used my dreaded childhood nickname.

“Gloria, there’s a man... in… the break room!” The breaths are still coming out short, so I lean against the counter and place a hand over my heart, urging it to chill the hell out.

“Okay.”

Wait, what?

Glancing up, I see the man walk casually through the store toward us, arms crossed with a scowl on his perfectly chiseled jaw. Okay, okay, he may have startled me but I’m still a straight woman— I can’t help acknowledging he’s also sexy as hell.

“Oh, so you’ve seen my nephew, Dominic?”

My heart skips a beat and I feel lightheaded.

This is Dominic? The same boy I used to play with every summer when his family visited Gloria's house? Now that she’s pointed it out, I can see the resemblance, especially with his wavy hair.

Gloria was known for her legendary summer parties.

When her extended family would stay with her for a few weeks each summer the parties were always wild and lively.

From what I remember, Dominic is about the same age as me, but we haven't seen each other in at least fifteen years. Recalling the last time we saw each other when we were thirteen has me blushing at the thought. I had just gotten braces and was convinced that my new troll-like appearance was permanent. But Dominic spent the whole party trying to persuade me that the braces were fine and I still looked like a normal teenage girl. I wouldn’t stop complaining until he finally kissed me.

It was my first kiss. When I asked him why he did it, he said it was to shut me up— then he ran away.

There was one time, one summer, when I asked him if he liked me.

“A little,” he mumbled back. I had narrowed my gaze at him, hands on my hips, head tilted before he coughed and said, “A lot.”

I haven’t thought of that summer in ages. Just remembering the way his ears turned bright red as he admitted to liking me has my heart beating faster. Okay, it was rather coerced… but still.

“You’re jumpy as shit,” Dominic grumbles in my direction. God, that soft hint of his southern accent sends shivers down my spine. Growing up, I used to think it was the dreamiest accent and now? Hearing him speak with his deep, gravely man voice? I’m more than a little turned on.

I can’t stop staring at him. He’s transformed into a stunningly sexy man and I… glancing down at my gray sweater-dress and boots, I feel boring, basic, and far from where I physically wish I could be. Damn, I hate this feeling.

Determined not to spiral in his presence, I muster up a response, “Well it’s not exactly like we have any other men working here.” Unable to help myself, I cross my arms over my chest, parroting his pose. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Dominic’s gaze wanders up and down my frame before he mutters, “Clearly.”

The blush on my face deepens as the familiar heat of insecurity blankets me. Great, so it’s confirmed, he’s aware that I’ve spent the last fifteen years getting progressively less hot. Meanwhile he’s thriving and probably modeling for book covers in his spare time.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I turn toward Gloria. “And what exactly is your nephew doing here?”

“Oh, he’s in town for a while. Taking care of some personal matters,” Gloria says, giving Dominic a pointed look.

Hearing this, his body tenses up and his jaw tightens.

“So I offered him a job here. With all those young hooligans causing trouble at the local shops, it would be wise to have a man around the store. Especially on the evenings when we’re open late. ”

Wait, so my childhood crush and first kiss, Dominic, is now my coworker at our romance bookstore? The butterflies in my stomach are flipping and doing somersaults. There's no way this is happening.