Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 135539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
“Hey!” she says in greeting when I get to her.
My duffel hits the ground. I step between her legs, wrap my arms around her, and nuzzle the curve of her neck.
“Hey.” She smells so good. Sugar, spice, and everything nice.
It’s clear I surprised Pen with the hug. Her hands hover around me for a moment before she rests them on my shoulders. I almost sigh. An actual fucking sigh of contentment. As it is, I draw in another deep breath and let the feel of her sink into my bones.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her neck. Would she flinch if I kissed it?
Pen huffs out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know. I was just . . . nowhere near your neighborhood.”
The response filters through my contentment, and I lift my head. The bridge of her nose and the crests of her cheeks are flushed. I cup the side of her face to feel all that silken warmth. She’s so delicately small boned, my hand nearly engulfs her. I want to touch her all the time. And once I start, I find it difficult to stop.
Smiling softly, I run my thumb along her cheek. “That was a movie quote, wasn’t it?”
Pen blinks for a second. “It was.”
She sounds both impressed and happy at the catch. When she moves to speak, I cut in.
“Wait, don’t tell me. I know this. We watched it once for movie night.”
The corners of her eyes crinkle. “You . . . you remember that?”
“Uh-huh.” I remember everything. I close my eyes to concentrate. “Bunch of people living in a Seattle apartment building . . . Coffee and flannel. There’s a guy who wants to make a super commuter train and mentally converses with basketball stars to prevent orgasm—”
“Figures you’d remember that.”
My eyes pop open in triumph. “Singles! Right?”
Pen beams, sunset in her hair, eyes like stars. “You got it!”
“I’m so fucking happy to see you, Penny.” It comes out without forethought. But I’m not sorry. It’s the absolute truth.
Even so, she frowns a little in shock. “You called me Penny.”
Not what I thought she would address. “Everyone in my family calls you Penny.”
“You never did.” It’s not delivered as an accusation, more an observation.
And what can I say to that? I didn’t want to call you what everyone else did; I was already too much in the background of your world.
Her gaze darts over my face, waiting for an answer, starting to wonder. I slide my fingers into the satiny mass of her hair. “I saw you sitting here, so pretty and shiny like a new penny.”
“You’re making me blush,” she murmurs, averting her eyes.
“I know. It’s cute.” I brush a kiss over the tip of her nose. And she blushes some more.
Pen leans back with a stern look. “I hate blushing. Damn my pale skin.”
I can only grin. “Aside from me being extremely glad to see you, what are you really doing here? Is everything okay?”
“The girls and I went shopping today. We finished with hair appointments—”
“They got their hair done?”
There’s a pause, in which she gives me a long, bland look. And I know I’ve stepped in it. Badly. I glance at her hair. It’s shorter, isn’t it?
“You got your hair done,” I amend, regrouping.
“Yes. Doesn’t matter.”
Yes, it fucking does.
“I didn’t notice before because—” I only saw you “—the wind.” I make a swirling motion with my free hand. I’m still cupping her head, and she hasn’t pulled away. So I’m staying put.
Now that I have a chance, I truly look at her. Her hair is definitely shorter, better framing her heart-shaped face, which makes her eyes look bigger. She’s wearing a pale yellow sundress that hugs her breasts like a lover and emphasizes the smallness of her waist. The skirt puddles between her parted thighs to reveal the pale caps of her knees. The dark brown cowboy boots she has on are well-worn and clearly well loved.
She catches me looking at them. “They were Pegs’s. I found them in the mudroom.”
“They look good.” Sexy as hell, in all honesty. “You look fantastic.”
“Anyway,” she says with a small hitch of breath. “When you texted that you’d be leaving soon, the girls dropped me off. I thought here I am getting fixed up to play the part, I might as well greet you after practice like a smitten fiancée.”
And here I thought nothing would deflate my mood. I fight a grimace. She doesn’t need to see that. But my act doesn’t appear to fool her.
Pen wraps her hand around my wrist. Dark eyes search mine. “I’m glad to see you too, August.” The mix of utter sincerity and mild surprise in her voice has me tipping my forehead to hers. I want to kiss her. I want it so badly my hands tremble.
She breathes quick and light, as though she’s as affected as I am. “I’ve been wanting to tell you about my day.”