Chapter 5
Monty
If I thought leaving New York, my home for the past ten years, would have been the most memorable thing about today, I was wrong.
Because it’s freckled ivory skin. Pink nipples. Peach lips. Copper as if it’s been set on fire, vibrant and angry.
Fuck, Penelope Darling is more beautiful than I remembered.
I cough out an incredulous laugh as I stare out at the harbor, a beer in hand, and picture Penny as she ran out of this house an hour ago, jumping into a car as if she were Thelma on the run.
While I know she was embarrassed—not that she had reason to be because, God, I’ll be replaying the way she looked for a long fucking time—I wish she hadn’t run. I’ve missed Penny.
When I visited town briefly in the spring, I was surprised by how my heart lit up the second I saw her.
With most people, I spent a few minutes catching up, conversation powered by nostalgia, but then we ran out of things to talk about.
A decade apart does that to people; shared memories only carry you so far.
But that wasn’t the case with Penny. It was like our friendship picked right back up where we left off.
And months later, the texts, the easy banter, her—well, she’s become the best part of my day.
“Dinner’s ready,” my father calls from the porch, snapping me out of my Penny-fueled reverie.
Inside, I help Vovo carry platters into the dining room, which has been set for a formal sit-down meal. My eyes immediately stray to the chair my mother used to occupy. And then to my grandfather’s.
“I miss him, too,” Vovo says from beside me, her thick accent stronger with emotion.
I wrap an arm around her and press a kiss to the top of her head.
She looks up at me and I watch as a spark flashes in her green eyes. “So you saw Penny earlier?”
I chuckle and shake my head. I saw a hell of a lot more of Penny than ever before, that’s for sure. “You should have warned me she was upstairs.”
I give my grandmother a hard look but she bats me away, heading back toward the kitchen, and I follow behind.
“Does she stop by regularly?”
Vovo hums and points to another platter, which I grab, though I don’t head back to the dining room right away.
“Yes. She stops by every few weeks and we have tea and desserts.” She nods toward another dish, which is covered in one of her cloth napkins, white with hand-stitched roses in the corners. “Though she left without having any. You should take them to her after dinner.”
“I didn’t know she was there…” I rush to explain.
“Still, you apologize.” Then in a sterner tone she adds, “With pastries.”
***
An hour later I’m handed a tin of pastries and a thermos of what is apparently Penny’s favorite tea, along with instructions to hand-deliver them to her shop with an apology.
I’d feel worse about the situation had it not been for the way the woman took my breath away. My brain short-circuited the second I saw her eyes and then, well, her gorgeous tits.
A man is only so strong when it comes to someone like Penny. Fuck, those curves of hers might kill me.
I’m almost at our front door when I spot the Bonfire And Bliss Bookstore canvas tote on the entry table—Penny must have left it behind in her rush. Grabbing the bag, along with the treats, I head outside.
The crickets chirp out a symphony as I step onto the front porch and suck in a lungful of fresh air. Though the days are still sticky, the nights are starting to cool down.
An owl takes me by surprise as it hoots. I’m certainly not in the city anymore.
If it wasn’t for my full hands, I’d walk into town. It’s only a half mile and the path from our house to downtown runs right alongside the harbor. With the crescent moon low in the sky, there is plenty of light.
Instead, I open up my father’s car with borrowed keys, placing the tin in the passenger seat and the thermos in the cupholder to get on my way. It’s only then that I realize I should probably warn Penny before I come. She might not even be there.
I pull out my phone and see I have a message from her. Shit, it’s from hours ago. She was probably freaking out and then I went and didn’t respond because, well, I forgot about my phone. Hell, I forgot just about everything after finding her practically naked in my bedroom.
Penny: Just to keep you up to date with my latest humiliation, not only are the liberty ladies keenly aware of my singledom, Eli Davis, yes former NHL PLAYER Eli Davis, just offered to be my fake boyfriend.
My brows furrow. What the fuck does that even mean? And did she say yes? Does she want to date Eli Davis?
I drop my phone, needing answers to these questions straightaway. It only takes me a few minutes before I’m rounding on Maple Lane, which is lit up like a firefly from the old bronzed kerosene streetlamps and glittering storefronts. There’s a stream of women marching toward Penny’s store.
What’s going on there?
When I find parking, I grab everything and head up the street, intrigued by the growing din of chatter the closer I get to Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore.
Just before I reach the door, a loud mooing sound has me jumping back in surprise. I glance around—sure someone is pranking me—but don’t register a soul. Maybe it was an owl again?
Damn, I really am a city boy. This small-town life is going to take some getting used to.
Before heading inside, I take a moment to breathe and really take in Penny’s shop.
From the outside, I can see she’s already decorated it for her favorite season: fall.
Cranberry shelves with burnt-orange trim line the walls and a crushed-velvet navy armchair is pushed up against the window beside a golden table decorated with a small stack of books.
Edison bulbs hang from a central bronzed chandelier, emitting a golden glow.
As I look closer, I realize that the colors of her bookshelves mimic the ones found in a bonfire: deep cranberry that melts into a brighter, copper orange.
I smile, wondering if Penny has the same warm memories of nights by the bonfire as me. I make for the door and register the beautifully crafted wooden Closed sign on the glass, though I can see the place is lit up and packed with people. All women and one man.
Eli Davis.
Fuck. Did she say yes to him? Is that what this is all about? Are they announcing it right now? And what does “fake boyfriend” even mean? Is she going to kiss him?
My jaw tightens as do my fists, and I nearly warp the tin holding the cookies.
“Is that Monty out there?” someone asks as a group of talking heads turns to stare at me.
“Why is he just standing there?” another one squawks.
“Did he actually lock Penny in his bedroom?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake, I think, my thoughts echoed by Penny, who I hear grumble a similar sentiment.
I watch as she heads toward the door, confusion marring those gorgeous golden eyes, leaving them hauntingly dark for just a moment before she pulls the door open with a sigh.
“What are you doing here?” she asks in a low voice.
I glance over her head as she addresses me; there are at least fifteen women, and Eli, staring in our direction.
I lift up the thermos and tin of cookies in offering. “Vovo sent me over with these.”
In a pair of jean overalls and a burgundy short-sleeve top, Penny looks adorable. But the expression on her face says she’s less than impressed.
“Also, I wanted to apologize,” I add.
“Good boy!” one of the women calls. “You should apologize for locking her in your room.”
“And stealing her bra!” someone else says.
I frown before leaning around Penny. “I didn’t steal anyone’s bra.”
“But you admit you locked her in your room?” Rayna McGovern—my high school English teacher—asks. “I expected more from you, young man.”
“I didn’t—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Penny spins around to face the group. Her long auburn locks fly out behind her, sending a breeze of cinnamon and vanilla my way. My tongue waters and I have to actively hold myself back from stepping closer and inhaling that sweet decadent scent.
“He didn’t lock me in his room. Or steal my bra! My God, you ladies are ridiculous!”
“Great, then can he come in?” Eli calls. “I could use another man here.”
Penny glances back toward me with a wary expression.
If not for the damn text, I’d give her the stuff, make a quick apology, and go home.
But there is no way I’m leaving before I find out what’s going on with Eli.
What does “fake boyfriend” even mean? “Sure, I’ll stay, if that’s okay with you,” I say to Penny.
“Of course it’s okay with her,” Rosie says. “Babs here was just telling us about her surprise for Penny. You definitely won’t want to miss this.”
“Surprise, huh?” I murmur, low enough so that only Penny can hear.
When she meets my gaze again, I see those eyes, which were filled with fire only moments ago, now tinged with resignation. “Fine. Come in. What’s one more person added to my humiliation?”
Shrugging, I step past Penny, waiting as she turns the lock on the door, and then trail behind her toward the center of the store and a semicircle of chairs.
Movable shelves have been pushed back to create space, and I spy a table in the corner covered in baked goods. I march toward it to add my offering.
Before I have the chance to set the tin down, Penny snatches it from my hand. “Are these your vovo’s pastéis?”
There’s something about the way Penny says the word pastéis that makes my pulse race.
It could be her perfect accent—which sounds as if she has spent time getting it just right.
Or it could just be that the word is uttered from her lips, which right now are so close I can smell the sugar she’s indulged in tonight.
Either way, my pants feel tighter and my heart more restless.
I swallow back a gulp. This is bad.
Penny is my friend. Penny has always been my friend. The sweet girl who lived around the block and always had her head in a book. The one I trusted to read my first book. And yeah, the one I wanted to kiss and never did. Is she really going to date Eli Davis?
“Monty?” Penny implores, and only then do I realize that I haven’t answered her question.
“Um, yes. They are the pastéis.”
She pulls them tight to her chest. “I’ll just put them away, then.”
Penny disappears behind the cash register and, though I like that she’s saving the pastéis for herself, I don’t like the distance she’s put between us.
Especially when I feel an arm wrap around me and pull me from my musings. “Heard you were moving back,” Eli says, wearing one of his easy grins. “How are you liking being home?”
“Where’d you hear that? I just got in a few hours ago.”
Eli drops his arm and reaches for a cookie from the table. “Town chat.” He takes a bite of the cookie and groans. “Tally made these. Snickerdoodles with chocolate chips. Best thing here tonight.”
“Oh yes!” Rosie chirps, appearing out of nowhere. “Give me your phone.” She holds out her hand, her red nails almost matching her hair and lipstick. “I’ll add you now. So you don’t miss any gossip.”
“Add me to what?” I ask as I hand over my phone. I’m not sure why I do it, but Rosie has always had this ability to get people to do what she wants. Tiny firecracker that she is.
“The town chat,” Eli repeats, his words slightly clearer now that he’s swallowed. “You’ll love it.”
I’m pretty sure Penny’s mentioned it before. Though, I didn’t picture Eli in the chat. Is that how they ended up so close? Is that why he offered to be her fake boyfriend? Does he like her? Does she like him?
Rosie hands my phone back and I take a moment to stare down at it. The group she just added me to is being renamed every few seconds.
“Just ignore that,” Rosie calls over her shoulder. “It’ll be called the Hope Harbor Happy Chat for good as of tomorrow. I always get my way.”
I watch as she sits beside Tally, who shakes her head at her friend and offers a wave in my direction.
I never really spent time with Penny’s sister.
She was younger than us and always seemed more interested in boys than books.
Though apparently she now makes an amazing cookie and my dad told me she opened up her own bakery a few months ago.
“All right, everyone, settle down,” Rayna singsongs. “Book club is about to begin.”
I turn to Babs, who is getting to her feet, holding a wobbling blue— Wait, is that a— “I have the penis tonight. Which means I’m in charge!”
Yup. It’s a dildo with three heads, all of them flapping around as she shakes it in front of her like a fan.
“I hate my life,” Penny mutters as she sinks down in the chair on the other side of her sister.
“Take back the penis,” Tally coaches her. “It’s your bookstore. You deserve the penises.”
“Penny does deserve all the penises,” Babs adds as Penny covers her now fire-engine-red cheeks.
“And that’s why tonight I have a surprise.
I brought my friend Viola, who believes that we need to remove the bad juju from our lives before we can move on and have the best sex ever.
I did it and I’m telling you, Darren and I—”
“Barbara.” My head snaps in the direction of Penny’s mom, Gail.
Penny was always exceptionally close to her mother and she also looks so much like her.
Though Gail has aged, I’m sure even more over the past year since she lost her husband, there’s still something similar about them.
A kindness, maybe. Though she doesn’t seem too happy right now.
I try to hold back a laugh at her stern face.
“I’m only trying to say Penny deserves to have good sex. And she’s not right now.” Babs shakes the dildo as if it is a magic wand. “But tonight, we’re going to change that.”
What in the fuck have I walked into?