Page 1 of Cozy Girl Fall

It had never occurred to Penny Larkin that there might be something more embarrassing than having to return to her hometown after crashing and burning at her dream job in the city. And yet, here she was, in said hometown, being set up on a blind date by her mother.

When Penny had shown up on her parents’ doorstep out of the blue less than forty-eight hours earlier, her meagre belongings packed into a singular suitcase, her mom had just smiled and asked if Penny wanted breakfast. Clearly, her mom had been more concerned than she’d let on if this was her solution to Penny’s problems.

Being the good daughter that she was, Penny had agreed to drive into town that morning to take care of a meeting with a vendor her mom had said was giving her trouble negotiating prices.

Point one to Angie Larkin, because the man waiting in Coffee Affair was not, in fact, a vendor playing hardball. Of course, Penny didn’t immediately realize this.

Jake Hopman was two years her senior, with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye that had spelled trouble when he’d been seventeen and captain of the football team, and hadn’t dimmed one bit in the twelve years since Penny had last seen him.

There wasn’t a girl at Magnolia High who hadn’t known his name.

Being back in Magnolia Springs and seeing Jake made her feel like she was in some kind of strange time warp, because in no world would fifteen-year-old Penny have been sitting across from Jake in the town coffee shop—though that was mostly because she’d only ever had eyes for one guy in high school.

Maybe if her mom had told her this ‘meeting’ was a date, Penny might have been a little less … aggressive.

Instead, she’d stormed into the coffee shop, thumped a wad of folders on the table so hard it made the surface shake, and leant on the tabletop as she stared Hopman down.

“Jake,” she said, trying for a cool, unaffected tone even as her brain struggled to wrap itself around the idea that she was standing in front of the Jake Hopman.

She’d expected some hostility, maybe some hardball, based on what her mom had told her, so she was surprised when he stood and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders before kissing her on the cheek.

That had been the first clue that something was amiss.

Instead of seeing the move for the warning sign that it was, Penny shrugged it off and assumed Jake was just friendly. Maybe he was trying to soften her up so she’d go easy on him.

Penny narrowed her eyes but sat down in the hard metal chair Jake pulled out for her. The coffee shop was busy, absent-minded chatter in the air that put her at ease even as she speared Jake with her best don’t mess with me look which she’d perfected while working in San Francisco.

“It’s great to see you again, Penny,” he said and the corner of her mouth curled, smug that he’d broken their silence first.

“The pleasure is all yours,” she said and he frowned slightly, blinking his doe eyes slowly. A tray of coffee slid onto their table and Jake smiled at the barista, thanking her, before he gestured to the spare mug on the tray.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I just grabbed a latte. I hope that’s OK. It’s just so busy in here with the lunch crowd, so I didn’t want you to have to wait—”

Jake Hopman was rambling. That was odd. Not for the first time since returning to Magnolia Springs, Penny found herself wondering if the past week had been a bad dream, that she would wake up at any second still in her bed in the city, still employed in the restaurant where she’d worked her way up the ranks …

Hopman was waiting for a response to whatever he’d been saying while she was lost in her own thoughts, an earnest smile on his (admittedly very handsome) face. Penny sighed, reaching for the mug of coffee and taking a sip. It wasn’t as sweet as she’d have liked it, but it would do.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said eventually and Jake looked relieved. “Now, tell me, do you like preying on the elderly?”

Hopman, mid-sip, spluttered, choking on his coffee, and the man at the table behind them turned to thump Jake on the back. “W-What?”

“You can’t just raise your prices by fifty per cent and expect us not to look into it,” she insisted and Jake seemed lost for words as he tugged at the sleeve of his red sweater. Penny leant in across the table, fixing him with a glare. “I’m not going to let you take advantage of my parents.”

Jake leant back until he was half-leaning out of his seat. “Penny, I think there’s been a mistake—”

“No,” she said sharply and flipped open her folder before spinning it around for him to see.

Jake jumped at the speed of Penny’s movements, one large shoulder knocking into the passing barista and her full tray of coffee.

Penny watched with wide eyes as the whole thing tumbled toward her in slow motion.

Luckily for the shop, none of it hit the floor.

Unluckily for Penny, it gushed over her white jeans in a hot flood that made her curse. Loudly.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I just didn’t expect—with the folders—” Jake said, visibly flustered.

Around them, the coffee shop had gone completely silent as every head turned toward their table, watching the disaster that was unfolding.

Penny was desperately trying to keep her cool, taking deep, steadying breaths, determined not to make a scene so soon after returning to town.

Meanwhile, Jake was frantically grabbing napkins from the table beside them and throwing them in her direction in lieu of patting her crotch.

Unfortunately, it only succeeded in attaching wet napkins to the spreading disaster of her jeans.

“Worst date ever, I guess. I’m sorry, Penny.”

Date .

Oh God.

She was going to kill her mother.

At the mention of the D-word, she’d given up on maintaining any integrity and instead hobbled toward the door with the eyes of the entire cafe heavy on her retreating back.

She hadn’t even bothered to pick up the folder full of research she’d put together to show what the typical price of apple crates was versus the quote her mom had received.

She’d clearly been gone for too long if she’d forgotten just how much her mother loved to meddle.

“Excuse me,” Penny muttered as she pushed past a startled barista and made a beeline for the paint-faded door.

“Had to be wearing white.” She groaned as the door jingled cheerfully behind her and she emerged onto the sidewalk.

But her white jeans were cute when she paired them with her favorite mossy green sweater and knock-off Uggs, perfect for the hint of fall in the early September air.

Admittedly, they were less cute now that a brown stain covered her crotch and ran half-way down her thighs.

She’d hoped she might have hit her embarrassment quota for the day but, in true small-town style, of course she would run into one of the last people she’d want to see while covered in coffee and visibly flustered.

She couldn’t say she’d have been particularly pleased to run into anyone she knew in that moment, but Shelby Patterson was definitely one of the worst. They’d gone to high school together, and even though it had been ten years since they’d last seen each other, Penny really didn’t want to run into the popular girl from school looking anything but her best—and this definitely wasn’t Penny’s best.

The familiar blonde hair had appeared ahead of Penny as Shelby walked out of the local movie theater, head down as she focused on whatever was on her phone.

Gotta love small towns , Penny thought to herself as her eyes darted left and right, checking for anyone else she knew. If she was quick and careful, she might just be able to avoid having to actually speak to—

“Penny Larkin?” Shelby’s high-pitched drawl was unmistakable across the small square, and Penny sent a stream of curses skyward as she turned, plastering a smile onto her face. “Gosh, it really is you. What’s it been? Ten years? Figured you’d forgotten where our small town was at this point.”

“Shelby, hi! How are you?” Penny tried her hardest to sound sincere but there was no hiding the grimace behind her words.

“I’m fine … Better than you, by the looks of things,” Shelby responded with the hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips as her eyes traveled down to the enormous coffee stain covering both of Penny’s thighs.

“Yep, well, you know me, clumsy as ever!” Penny garbled her words, desperate to escape to the safety of her car. “Anyway, sorry, Shelby, I’ve gotta run but it was so good seeing you.”

“Mhmm,” Shelby barely responded, eyes already returning to her phone as she lost interest in torturing Penny any further.

What a bitch , Penny thought to herself as she hurried away, trying not to think about how uncomfortably cold her damp legs were becoming in the fall breeze.

How had Shelby even recognized Penny anyway?

They’d moved in very different circles in high school and several long years had passed since then.

Penny pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing instead on avoiding any other awkward run-ins with ghosts from her past.

Her luck held and by the time Penny reached her trusty old Volkswagen Beetle, parked just opposite the old church, her racing heart had begun to find its normal rhythm.

Luckily, she was pretty sure she had a spare grocery bag in the backseat of her Volkswagon Beetle that she could sit on to try and protect her fabric upholstery.

She knew better than most how difficult it could be to stay on your toes amid all the crap life threw at you, but she couldn’t quite believe how awful this first trip into town had been. It was just a relief that she’d made it through this latest shit show without any critical casualties.

Well, mostly , she thought, glancing balefully down at the stained white jeans as she turned the ignition in her car. She was pretty sure it was going to take multiple washes to rescue those.