Page 17 of Cozy Girl Fall

If Penny hadn’t cooked last night’s dinner herself, she might have been worried that the flips in her stomach were from food poisoning—that, and the constant nausea.

Unfortunately, the real cause stood less than three feet away with his back to her as he pulled down apples at a rate that was impressive, bordering on super-human.

“Hey.”

The muscles in Ethan’s back tensed and relaxed beneath his flannel shirt in the time it took her to blink. “Hey.”

Silence flowed between them, heavier than usual and filled with all the things he’d said—and everything she hadn’t.

“So you’re done hiding from me then?” He turned and she steeled herself for the reproachment she was certain she’d find on his face, only to be shocked when she instead found only soft amusement. “I have to say, you scaled that tree pretty fast.”

“I was very motivated.”

He laughed and some of her tension leaked away as the sound spread out around them, catching in the branches of the trees. “What can I do for you, Penny? Unless you’ve changed your mind about—”

“I haven’t changed my mind,” she said quickly, not wanting to hear him say the words again as she clasped her gloved hands tightly together and fidgeted with the leaves on the ground with her boots. “I … Well, actually I was hoping for a favor.”

His brows lifted and his cocky smirk grew as he leant on the side of the ladder like he had all the time in the world. “Oh?”

“Tasha mentioned you had a friend in New York that runs a restaurant and that maybe you could put in a good word for me.”

“Yeah, she might have mentioned that to me.”

Her breath left her in a rush of relief. “Oh, that’s great.”

“What word do you want me to use?”

She stilled, unsure, and he prowled forward with purpose, stopping just a few breaths away from her.

His jeans were wet around the hem from the dewy grass and the long sleeves of his blue flannel shirt and white Henley were pushed up, revealing his tanned and toned forearms, and goddamn she just couldn’t stop her eyes from lingering on them as he looked at her.

“Infuriating?” His eyes flashed and she held her breath when he reached up to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Beautiful?”

“Um,” she said, her voice cracking and making her wince. “I was thinking more like ‘talented’ or ‘punctual’.”

His lips twitched as he scrubbed a hand over the slight stubble on his jaw. “Are you?”

“Am I what?”

His lips twitched as he raised one eyebrow at her. “Talented and punctual.”

“I—Y-yes.”

“Then prove it.” He backed away, smile widening as he took in her flustered state. “Have dinner with me.” He lifted a hand before she could protest. “A platonic dinner, if it makes you feel better.”

“How does that prove—”

“Well, I can’t recommend just anyone to Nicky.” One hand slid into the pocket of his jeans as he observed her, the wind playing in his hair. “So let’s discuss this over dinner, where you can demonstrate your talents .”

Despite the fact that she’d handed him the word, he managed to make it sound dirty, the teasing tone of his voice only adding to the innuendo.

“My place, at seven?”

“Tonight?” she squeaked and then bit her lip. “I—”

“Great. Looking forward to it.”

How had this gotten so out of hand so quickly? She decided it was better to cut her losses and retreat before he managed to get her to agree to anything else.

This is not a date. She nodded to herself in the mirror, pretending like she couldn’t see the spots of high color in her cheeks or the bitten-puffiness of her lips as she smoothed her hair for the umpteenth time. It’s just dinner. Platonic. It’s not a date.

And yet, she’d changed her outfit three times and got all the way to the front door before realizing she looked ridiculous in her flirty summer dress.

Firstly, it was freezing outside, what with the cold snap arriving sooner than expected and sticking around, but also the frills on the long bell sleeves were bound to be a hazard in the kitchen.

This time when she approached the door, it was in her favorite pants—bootcut green corduroy—a plain, dark tee, and her comfiest boots.

… And her mom was waiting for her.

Angie narrowed her eyes as she took in Penny’s outfit. “I thought you were going on a date?”

“No,” Penny said sharply. “It’s just dinner. That I’m cooking. For a friend. Kind of like an interview.”

“Hm.” Angie looked unconvinced. “I heard you were seeing Ethan.”

What? “From who?” God, if her mom knew then that meant everyone did, or would soon enough.

Tasha was going to kill her. Play it cool, Pen.

“I mean, yes. It’s dinner with Ethan, but only because it’s his friend who runs the restaurant in New York and he wanted to make sure I wasn’t all talk before recommending me. ”

“New York.” Angie raised her brows, like this was news to her. “Well, good luck on your not-a-date.”

Penny’s phone buzzed and she cursed when she saw the time. Great, she was already eating her words when it came to being punctual . “I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

“Make good decisions!” Angie called, the words half smothered by the closing of the door. Penny rushed to her car and pulled out of the drive so quickly she was surprised there wasn’t a cloud of dust left in her wake.

She’d gone back and forth over what to make for Ethan. It needed to be something that wasn’t too complicated, but was still impressive, and vegetarian because apparently Ethan didn’t eat meat any more—she could thank her internet stalking for that helpful tidbit.

Her phone rang and she answered it with her car, assuming it would be Ethan wondering where she was. Instead, Tasha’s voice came from the speakers.

“What are you doing right now?” There was suspicion in Tasha’s voice and Penny sighed. There was no point in lying to her.

“I’m driving to Ethan’s,” she said and then blew out a breath. “He’s making me cook him dinner before he’ll recommend me to Nicky. The restaurant guy.”

“Right. Nicky,” Tasha replied and Penny was relieved that there didn’t seem to be any anger in her voice. “But that’s good; I’d heard you were on a date with my brother and I thought, that can’t be right because I specifically asked her not to mess around with him .”

Penny’s laugh sounded too high-pitched even as her dad’s words came back to haunt her.

Was Tasha being unfair? Either way, now didn’t seem like the right time to question it.

“Yep. No date here. Just dinner. With a friend. Like an interview,” she repeated what she’d told her mom and hoped it sounded less bogus the second time around. “Platonic,” she added.

“What’re you making?”

“A cauliflower and chickpea curry with rice.” Tasha hummed her approval and Penny cut her off before she could say anything more. “I’m nearly at his place I think, so I’ve got to go.”

“Good luck,” Tasha said and it managed to sound like a threat as Penny hit the button on her steering wheel that would end the call.

Ethan lived fairly close to Penny’s parents, at the south end of town, but still over the bridge where the river split the residential area. She pulled up to the curb and turned off her engine, sitting there for a second to just breathe and regain her composure after Tash’s phone call.

The neighborhood was nice, quaint, with actual white picket fences separating immaculate lawns from the sidewalk and small houses that looked like modern cottages but went back far enough to be one-story mansions.

Whatever Penny had been picturing when it came to Ethan Blake’s house, this wasn’t it. It was just so … grown-up.

Of course, that realization had her mind jumping back to the husky tone of Ethan’s voice when he’d stepped in close and told her they weren’t dumb kids any more—and he was right.

So why did being around him make her feel like she was still seventeen and nervous to lose her virginity to the only boy she’d ever loved?

Before she knew it, she’d been sitting in the car for five minutes in silence while her thoughts raced, but she knew it was time to get out when the curtains in the house across the street started twitching in curiosity.

The last thing she needed was to be hauled out of the neighborhood for loitering.

The slam of the car door seemed too loud in the night air, the rushing of the river in the distance the only sound beyond the faint noise of television sets in the nearby houses.

This was clearly a family-centric area and it made her wonder why Ethan had bought a place here.

Had Shelby lived here with him? Had this been the place he’d thought they’d raise their children?

Her stomach dropped and she licked her dry lips, wishing she could forget even thinking about it.

She snagged her bag of groceries from the trunk and tried her best to push away all thoughts of Ethan and Shelby and their hypothetical children. It was none of her business who he did or didn’t have kids with, especially because this isn’t a date.

The front door opened so quickly it made her freeze in place as relief made Ethan’s eyes widen and his smile grow bigger.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said lamely and then held up her bag of groceries for him to inspect.

“If the food is good, then I’ll leave it out of my report for Nicky,” he teased, stepping back so she could pass over the threshold and into his home.

It smelled like sandalwood inside, with high ceilings and warm lighting that made the place feel cozy in spite of the large space.

“I’ll show you to the kitchen.”

She followed him silently, taking in this space that was all Ethan’s; she was surprised to find she liked it.

The finishings looked like real oak and there was just the right combination of cream walls versus pops of color in the soft furnishings—a purple throw on the sofa, a collage of photographs on the wall in the hallway.

Part of her wondered if this was Shelby’s doing—but it seemed too …

sedate for any home she imagined Shelby decorating.