Chapter 12
Penny
That orgasm? Incredible.
The aftermath? Absolute hell.
Right after Miles made me come, the energy in the room shifted. One minute, he was between my thighs, looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive. The next, he was halfway to the stairs, saying he needed a shower.
No kiss. No lingering. Nothing.
It’s like something inside him snapped and made him run away.
So now I’m curled up on the couch, staring out at the snow-covered yard and trying not to overthink it.
Outside, everything looks peaceful. Snow covers the trees, the porch, and the mountains in the distance. I could probably sit here all day with a cup of hot tea, a soft blanket, and my thoughts.
Which is dangerous.
Because the longer I sit here, the more I think about Miles.
I’m watching a bunny hop through the snow when my phone starts vibrating from inside the guest room.
“Hola, Ma,” I say as soon as I press the green button.
“Penny Bean,” Mami says in a cheerful tone.
A smile slowly spreads across my face. She’s called me every variation of “bean” for as long as I can remember. It started with Little Bean, then Beanie, then Jean Bean.
“Pickle Bean” showed up during my teenage years after she decided my sour moods reminded her of pickles—which she absolutely hates.
And when I left for college, she upgraded me to Penny Bean. Apparently, it was the most mature nickname she could come up with.
I laughed so hard the first time she said it. She’s too much sometimes.
“Did you make it home safely from the mountains yesterday?”
I’m honestly surprised she didn’t call me last night. We usually text or talk every day.
“Actually, no,” I admit as I stretch out on the bed. “I ended up staying later than I intended and had to spend the night here.”
I conveniently leave out the part where my car is currently buried in the snow off the highway.
“Oh my goodness, Penélope. Thank God you know people in that town.” Her voice softens. “You need to learn to stop working so hard. Hija, you need to live more.”
I close my eyes as I hear the same speech for what feels like the thousandth time. I love her, and I know she means well, but I’m a grown woman who’s been set in her ways for far too long to suddenly change now.
“Mami, I do live my life. I just happen to enjoy my work, and yesterday I didn’t realize how late it was until—”
She cuts me off. Fully fired up now. “Until you got stuck,” she finishes for me.
“Please tell me you didn’t stay with Gio and Ruin. That poor woman is pregnant and raising toddler twins. I don’t know how she does it,” Mami adds solemnly.
A laugh bubbles up out of me before I can stop it.
Mami always claimed she loves me so much she knew she could never love another child the same way, but honestly?
Something tells me it has to do with her not having an easy pregnancy.
Every time she hears someone’s expecting, she reacts like they’ve enlisted for war.
“No, Ma. I stayed with Miles.”
Silence.
She knows all the MacAllisters by now. Gio and Ruin have been married long enough for Ruin’s family stories to fully make their rounds.
“Ma?” I ask, dying to know what she’s thinking.
“Well… I suppose there are worse places to get snowed in.”
I laugh so hard I nearly choke on my own spit.
“Ha! Esa risa te delata, picarona,” she says, laughing right along with me.
I love it when Mami switches to Spanish. It means her filter disappeared, and I’m getting the real version of her.
“What do you mean, my laugh gives me away? No, ma’am. There’s nothing to tell here.”
“Yes, yes, and I was born yesterday.”
Unfortunately, my mind chooses that exact moment to replay the way Miles ate my pussy just minutes ago, and I start laughing even harder.
“Listen, hija,” Mami says once she calms down. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a handsome man’s company, as long as both of you know what you’re doing.”
She says it so matter-of-factly that I have a hard time coming up with a denial.
“It’s nothing, Ma. He offered me a place to stay after I mentioned I didn’t want to bother Gio and Ruin.”
“Having the hots for a younger man isn’t a sin. Enjoy, mija. Not everyone gets to have a hot colágeno.”
I can see her in my head, looking at her nails while saying it. I have no idea how she comes up with all these words and terms, but I’m so glad she does. She’s hilarious.
“Okay, first of all, I do not have the hots for anyone. Second of all, what the hell is colágeno and where did you hear that? I know it wasn’t at the country club with the ladies of high society.”
“You’re right. I didn’t learn this here in Charlotte. It was your tía Marta who told me what a colágeno is.” I can practically hear her shrug through the phone. “It’s a guy that can be a lover, partner, fuck buddy. The only requirement is that he has to be younger than you.”
“Mami,” I shout into the phone. “I don’t even want to know how tía Marta knows that term. But no, that’s not who Miles is to me.”
The lie slips out way too easily.
I mean, we’ve only been together twice. It’s not like this is an ongoing thing.
“You keep telling yourself whatever you need to, mi amor. I’m going to keep praying you give that poor boy a real chance one day.”
Okay, this is getting out of hand. Mami praying for Miles?
“What do you mean? He’s not into me, Ma. We’re coworkers.”
“Coworkers can f—”
I cut her off with a gasp. “Don’t you dare to finish that sentence, Ma. You are a pure, innocent lady.”
Now it’s her turn to cackle. “Don’t make me laugh, Penny Bean. Call me when you get home safely. Okay?”
“Okay, Mami. Te amo.”
“Te amo también. Dad says hello.”
She hangs up, leaving me lighter somehow, and with some of the happiness from earlier returning.
God, I love my mom.
A car approaches outside, and through the window I spot my Bimmer coming down the long driveway. I hurry to get ready for the day.
After my shower, I throw Miles’s shirt back on and spend some time answering emails on my laptop.
By the time I finish packing my bag, a soft knock sounds at the door.
“Hey,” Miles greets me with a devilish smile.
“Hey yourself,” I say, matching it.
“I noticed you didn’t eat. Something wrong?” he asks, jerking his thumb toward the kitchen.
I frown. “I didn’t realize you left food for me. That’s so kind of you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Come on, let’s eat. I worked up an appetite digging your car out of the snow.”
And just like that, my brain throws me right back onto his couch—his mouth between my thighs, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise.
“Should I reheat this, or do you want something fresh?” he asks, two little worry lines appearing between his brows.
I walk into the kitchen, close the distance between us. A tower of pancakes sits on a plate on the counter.
“I have some fruit cut up in the fridge. And I can make eggs, if you’d like,” he adds quickly when I don’t say anything right away.
His thoughtfulness makes me weak in the knees.
“Throwing these away is such a waste. Let’s warm them up.”
His face lights up with a grin. “Go sit while I heat them up,” he says.
I’m about to protest when he plants a kiss on the top of my head. It’s such a natural and domestic gesture that it catches me completely off guard. I’ve never had something so simple feel this intimate before.
“No, I want to help,” I say, resting my hands on his waist.
His abs tense beneath my palms before he slowly relaxes. Then his arms slide around my shoulders.
“Fine. You can set up the fruit and grab some yogurt and juice. I’ll make fresh coffee and heat up the pancakes.”
His arms tighten around me for another second, and instead of feeling trapped, I melt into the closeness. He smells like soap, clean laundry, and something distinctly him. Warm. Masculine. Comforting.
Before I can say or do anything stupid—like tilt my head up and kiss him—I step away and head to the fridge.
Maybe I imagined it, but I swear his face falls a little when I put space between us.
We make breakfast—or should I say brunch—together quickly.
Miles leaves the pancakes in the microwave a little too long, so they end up chewy before turning rock hard. The fact that he picked up my car and made me food before leaving means more to me than it probably should.
I don’t want to think too deeply about what that says about me.
Miles and I are just friends.
“I thought it was going to take hours to get my car out of that snowbank,” I say as we sit down to eat. “Last night it looked really bad.”
Miles takes a long sip of coffee before answering. “I mean, yeah. There was a ton of snow around it. The plow trucks buried it pretty good.” He shrugs. “Luckily, the sun’s out, and I had a snowplow with me.”
I nod. It makes sense he had a snowplow around. Then it hits me.
“But you drove my car here. How did you take a snowplow with you?”
He closes his eyes briefly and mutters something under his breath that I can’t make out.
“I asked River to come with me.”
I stare at him.
Miles suddenly becomes very interested in shoving a huge bite of pancakes into his mouth.
“You told your brother I stayed here?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
He sighs. “Yeah, but you know River. He’s cool.”
I laugh. River MacAllister can be called many things, but cool definitely isn’t at the top of the list.
“Fine,” Miles says, clearly entertained by my reaction. “He’s a grumpy old man. But he understood why you stayed here once he saw your car.”
My eyes widen.
He laughs again.
“Nothing bad. It was just completely covered in snow. I probably should’ve taken a picture.”
My phone pings with a message.
Absent-mindedly, I pick it up.
Easton: Are you snowed in? I was wondering if we could meet up for lunch tomorrow. I can come pick you up if you don’t feel safe driving. X - Easton.
I feel the blood drain from my face.
“Everything okay?” Miles asks.
When I look at him, he seems concerned.
“Yeah, it’s just a friend.” I pop a strawberry into my mouth, stopping myself from sharing any more details.
I’ve been so wrapped up in work lately that I completely forgot about Easton—and his proposal.
I make a mental note to text him once I’m back on the road to Charlotte. It’s probably better to meet up soon rather than later and tell him I can’t help him this time.
Once we finish eating, I help Miles clean up the kitchen despite his multiple attempts to make me sit down while he handles everything.
Then I grab my stuff and say goodbye.
From the doorway.
Because I don’t trust myself to give him only a hug.
Bad Bitches of Azalea Creek — Group Chat
Penny: Happy Sunday, everyone. I thought I’d let you know before the town’s gossip mill ruins my reputation.
I love being a drama queen. And I love even more that after the girls came over to my apartment the other day, they officially added me to the group chat.
Penny: Friday night, I decided to drive home despite multiple people offering me a place to pass the storm.
Ruin: Penny! I was worried sick! What happened?
Rain: I haven’t heard a peep. Clearly I need to hire staff more committed to the town’s communications web.
Penny: After a few minutes driving on the highway, I lost control of the car and ended up in a snow bank.
Carly: What the actual fuck? You could have stayed with us.
Penny: It’s okay guys. I’m okay! That’s why I figured I’d text.
Penny: I called Miles and he picked me up. He took me to his place, made me dinner and offered me his guest room. Saturday morning he went and got my car out of the snow. I came home right away.
Ruin: Gio could have picked you up.
Penny: I love you Ruin. God knows I do. But Gio’s a dad. I wasn’t about to ask him to risk getting on the road to pick me up.
Rain: We all know you’re a stubborn bitch… what we want to know is what happened with Miles??? Just in general, no dirty details please… he’s my brother after all.
I burst out laughing at Rain’s text. No one could ever accuse that woman of being subtle.
Penny: Nothing happened.
I smile at the dancing dots on my screen. I can already imagine what they’re about to say—and honestly, they’re probably right. If we were FaceTiming right now, I’d be blushing so hard there’d be no hiding that I’m lying.
Carly: You can’t bullshit a bullshitter, dear. There’s no way you were in the same house with that man and nothing happened.
Ruin: Not even a kiss? That’s sad.
Rain: My brother has never given a rat’s ass about anyone besides our family. The fact that he went to pick you up tells me more than you’re letting on. *EyesEmoji*
Daisy: Sorry ladies, just catching up. Penny, we might not know each other well but even I know you’re not telling us everything.
Penny: I don’t understand why y’all are so hellbent on something happening.
Carly: Don’t play. I’ve noticed the way you look at him way before you two started working on the ice rink.
Well, shit.
It’s true—I’ve always thought Miles was attractive. But have I really been that obvious all this time? That’s embarrassing.
Penny: Y’all can believe me or not. I just wanted you to know that I’m home safe and sound.
Carly: Okay, okay. No need to get sassy! I can only speak for myself here, but there are times that I see you around Miles and notice a special chemistry between you two.
The jolt of excitement in my chest is the undeniable proof that I know Carly is right, even though I can’t tell them that.
Miles and I have chemistry, yes. But it doesn’t mean we’re compatible.
Rain: When are we seeing each other next? Maybe Penny will be more willing to talk after a drink or two. *WinkEmoji*
Penny: I’d love to meet up soon! I’m not sure how much you can drink, Rain. But I’m ready for whatever, especially before the holidays kick off.
Mia: Sorry for jumping in just now. I guess I’m the only one with a 24/7 job *SighEmoji* I’m definitely down for a meet up. Carly and I are spending Christmas in the DR. *ManicureEmoji*
Rain: Oh, I know! Do you want to have a cookie exchange party? Sugar and alcohol. What could go wrong? And before my perfect twin feels the need to remind me we’re pregnant, yes, there are yummy mocktails you and I can drink, Ruin. *Wink Emoji*
Ruin: *EyerollEmoji* *EyerollEmoji* But yay for the cookie exchange party! I’m happy to host if everyone is okay with that. The boys can meet here too, so they can take care of the twins.
Ruin: Thank you for letting us know you’re safe, Penny. Love you all so much!
Penny: I’ll have to ask my mom if there are any Colombian cookies I can make. Looking forward to seeing you all.
I’m glad the girls ignored my sass and started planning a meet-up instead. Their friendship means more to me than I can explain, even though I still don’t understand why grown women use that many emojis.
Then again, maybe I shouldn’t judge anyone while I’m over here still thinking about the damn good orgasm at the hands of a handsome devil.