Page 29 of Cozy Girl Fall

In hindsight, Penny might have gone a little overboard with her dinner plans. But, in her defense, she was really, really, nervous.

Ethan had reassured her a dozen times that his parents weren’t going to give her a hard time over mistakes that were ten years old, but Penny couldn’t help feeling like the other shoe was about to drop—on her head, no doubt.

She tugged at the hem of her rust-colored dress and then at the crossover neckline, regretting her outfit choice more with every passing second. Was it too dressy? Too short? Had she sweated through the silky material?

The soup she’d made the night before was ready to go at a moment’s notice, a fall blend of butternut squash with zucchini and peppers that only needed to be heated up. She’d picked up some crusty bread topped with pumpkin seeds that morning from the bakery that should accompany it nicely.

She’d stayed at Ethan’s last night so she could prep as much of the food in advance as possible, but despite the warm comfort of his bed and arms she couldn’t say she’d slept that well at all.

A knock at the door had her heart leaping into her throat and she stood frozen in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as Ethan walked to the door with a confidence she envied. He knew her parents loved him, so what did he have to worry about?

The door swung open and Tasha smiled, holding up a bottle of wine as she stepped over the threshold. Penny’s breath of relief caught and choked in her throat when Ethan’s parents and her own filed in after Tasha.

“You look like you could use this,” Tasha murmured, pressing the wine into Penny’s chest and snickering.

“And you could take a little less pleasure from all this,” Penny hissed and then pasted a smile on her face as she accepted a hug and kiss on the cheek from Terri and Keith. “So glad you could all make it.”

Bowing out of the huddle of people with the excuse of checking on the food, Penny took the chance to claim a steadying breath as she opened the oven to check the chicken.

She’d opted for two different mains, one a classic roast chicken with lemon and herbs, and the other a veggie option of hollowed and roasted peppers filled with couscous, tofu, and lentils.

The chicken would be ready in a half hour, which meant it was time for the peppers to go in the oven.

“Do you need any help?”

The sudden voice made Penny jump, one of the peppers nearly falling off the tray as she turned to see Terri standing in the doorway.

“Oh, no. I’m fine, but thank you.” She smiled and then hesitated. “Actually, could you get everyone around the dining table? The appetizers will be ready in a minute.”

“Of course.”

Penny turned back to the stove, stirring the soup in the pan before grabbing a clean spoon to dip in and taste. She nearly burned her tongue, which was good because it meant the soup was ready but annoying in the sense that it hurt like a bitch.

Turning off the heat, she lined up the bowls and grabbed a ladle to spoon a healthy portion into each dish before calling out to Ethan to help her carry them into the other room. The bread was already sliced and ready to go on a large serving platter that she brought in as Ethan set down the bowls.

“This smells wonderful, Penny. Ethan tells me you’re a chef?”

Penny smiled, nodding at Ethan’s dad. “Yeah, I am. I’m just home helping out Mom and Dad with the orchard for now, but I’ll be back to cooking as soon as I can.”

Keith nodded in approval. “Which culinary school did you attend?”

It felt like the whole room froze in time for a few seconds before Penny answered, voice tight. “I, uh, I didn’t. I chose to learn on the job instead.”

Her parents sent her twin looks of pride and she relaxed a miniscule amount.

“Ah. Yes. Well, how … practical.”

Penny was sure her answering smile must have looked more like a grimace and silence descended.

The clink of spoons and the crunch of the bread took over the room as they dug in and Penny discreetly checked the timer set on her phone when she was done.

The chicken and peppers had about twenty minutes left.

Clearly trying to make up for the tension her husband had created, Terri sipped her wine delicately and asked, “How did you get into the restaurant world, Penny?”

She blew out a breath, relieved that this question was a little easier to answer. “I got a job straight out of high school—”

“Yes, we remember you rushing out of town,” Keith muttered and Ethan’s silverware clanged as he dropped it, eyes wide.

“Dad,” Tasha protested and Penny shook her head.

“It’s OK. Yes, I left abruptly. I’d been applying for internships and junior roles, and after a few interviews I had a conditional offer from one restaurant in San Francisco to work under their head chef twice a week and as a pot-wash the other five days.

It was an amazing opportunity for someone with my level of experience.

” She looked directly at Keith and didn’t flinch from the suspicion in his gaze.

“I knew what I wanted, and I went after it. So I won’t apologize for that— but I could have handled things better when I left.

I’ve already apologized to Tasha and Ethan for that, but if you feel like you need an apology too—”

“That’s not necessary—” Terri said kindly at the same moment that her husband spoke up.

“I’d say so. You were gone, we were the ones who had to listen to Coldplay on repeat blasting from Ethan’s bedroom.”

“ Dad ,” Ethan growled, pink spots high on his cheeks, and Keith had the grace to look chagrined.

“That does sound like an ordeal,” Penny said, lips twitching, and was relieved when chuckles rang out, dissipating a large part of the tension in the room. “It’s understandable that you’d have reservations about me, but I’m not here to repeat my mistakes.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Keith said gruffly and Penny took a large gulp of wine in response.

“Let’s not pretend you didn’t make your fair share of mistakes when you were wooing Terri, Keith,” Angie said sharply and Penny glanced over to find her dad placing a soothing hand on her mom’s back.

Penny’s gratitude toward her mom in that moment was balanced only by her curiosity about what ‘mistakes’ she was referring to, and even though she was dying to ask for more details, she decided that now wasn’t the time .

Keith flushed red but raised his glass in acknowledgement.

Maybe this evening would be salvageable after all.

Of course, that was when the power went out.

Plunged into darkness, Penny swore colorfully and Tasha giggled in the ensuing silence. “The chicken still has ten more minutes,” she groaned and Ethan squeezed her hand from his place beside her as he turned on his phone flashlight.

“I think I’ve got some candles in here somewhere,” Ethan muttered as he stood and began rummaging through the sideboard by the light of his phone.

“Aha,” he said triumphantly a few moments later, pulling three white candles in holders and a box of matches from a drawer.

Quickly placing them along the middle of the table, he lit the candles so the room was bathed in a warm orange glow.

In different circumstances, Penny thought, it might almost be quite romantic.

“I’ll go and check the breaker, in the meantime you guys can enjoy some wine and ambience,” he added, heading toward the door.

His smile had returned, relaxed and easy.

Penny hated him just a little in that moment for being so unflappable when she couldn’t have been further from calm if she’d tried.

She gulped down the remaining wine in her glass and raised a brow at her mom when she frowned disapprovingly.

“OK,” Ethan said, walking back into the room a few minutes later with his flashlight still lit. “The bad news is that the power is out for the whole block.”

“And the good news?” Tasha asked, glancing over at Penny like she thought this might be the final blow to her sanity.

“I had a quick look and I think the chicken might be just about done.”

Penny stood and blew out a breath before straightening her spine and nodding sharply. “I’ll take a look. Hopefully it’s ready.”

Ethan followed her into the kitchen, a warm hand at her back rubbing between her shoulder blades soothingly.

He kept the flashlight on and held aloft so she could see into the oven as she prodded the chicken with her meat thermometer.

The juices ran clear and relief made her sag when the thermometer beeped to confirm the chicken was hot all the way through.

“Thank fuck.”

Ethan chuckled and she pulled the bird and peppers out of the oven and set about carving and plating up. Thankfully, she’d kept the rest of the dish relatively simple with pre-done new potatoes and flavored rice accompanying the mains.

Back at the table in the flickering candlelight, Terri hesitantly lifted her fork to her mouth. “You’re sure it’s cooked?”

“Positive,” Penny said, smiling as she popped a piece of chicken into her mouth reassuringly. The skin on the chicken could have been crispier if the power hadn’t turned off the oven, but the meat itself was tender and juicy, so she was counting it as a win in general.

They were half-way through the main course when Keith spoke up again. “So, exactly how serious is all this then?” He gestured between Penny and Ethan with his fork as everyone in the room tensed up, waiting to hear what more he would say. “Do you have a plan?

“A plan?” Ethan had both brows raised and a warning look on his face that made Penny feel light with relief. He was on her side; it would all be OK.

“Yes, you know how women sometimes have them.” He waved a hand airily as he speared a piece of chicken, oblivious to the glares he was receiving from all the women in the room. “Married in a year, kids in two, that sort of thing. Do you plan to marry?”

Penny inhaled so violently she choked and Tasha thumped her on the back from her left.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Are you trying to scare her off?”

“Scares easy, does she?” Keith laughed but nobody else joined in and he glanced around, finally sensing the displeasure coming at him from all sides.

“I just think it’s wise to think about these things, is all.

Obviously it will be difficult for you to pursue a career while you’re raising the children, Penny, but then again you’ll have us nearby to help with that sort of thing. ”

Penny didn’t know what to say. “Children?” she rasped and her dad set his silverware down delicately before pinning Ethan’s dad with a fierce look Penny wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of.

“Keith, this isn’t the fifties. My daughter’s career is just as important as your son’s.”

Penny started to smile, grateful that he was standing up for her, but then her mom chipped in.

“Besides, you think we’re not going to be involved with our own grandchildren? As if we’d let you take the lead in teaching them that kind of misogynist nonsense.”

Penny looked at Tasha with wide eyes, begging her to stop this and do something.

“Well, all right, I think that’s enough wine for everyone—”

Ethan’s dad puffed up, glaring at Philip even as his wife patted his hand in a way that was both warning and conciliatory. “I am certainly not a misogynist. My own wife is a woman.”

Unsure whether to laugh or scream at what Keith was saying, Penny stood abruptly and gathered the mostly empty plates. “Well, I’ll just go and grab the dessert,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact with anyone around the table. And then she fled to the kitchen.

Ethan followed, looking a little unsettled as they stared into the fridge together at the mini mousses she’d prepared the day before. “I’m not sure what just happened.”

“Me either.”

A beat of silence passed and then, before she could stop it, a bubble of laughter worked its way out of her.

Before she knew it, they were laughing, clutching at each other as the flashlights shook in time with their bodies.

All of a sudden, the lights came back on, jolting Penny so hard she nearly fell, Ethan’s form behind her the only thing that kept her upright.

She took a few steadying breaths, her smile still spread across her face.

“I’ll turn off the oven,” Ethan said, breathless from laughter as Penny wiped moisture from her eyes.

“I’ll get the mousse.”

All in all, the dinner party was turning out to be just as bad as she’d expected, and in some ways delightfully worse, but she wouldn’t have changed anything for the world. Not when she had Ethan working alongside her and a warmth running in her veins that only appeared when he was around.

“Shall we?” he murmured, gesturing ahead of him and she grinned when he swatted her playfully on the ass as they left the kitchen.