Page 36 of Offsides Attraction

“You mean another one,” Maggie said, joining them. “You’ve got some frosting on the corner of your mouth, and I’m missing a carrot cupcake.”

“Maggie, would you like a piece?” Bash asked as he carefully cut each pie into six pieces.

“Did you make them?”

“I did.”

“Then I would love a piece, thank you.” It didn’t surprise Penny that he was meticulous as he served her sister, but it did when he asked if she also wanted a slice of the French silk pie Elspeth had brought. “I’ll sneak a few bites from Lucas’s piece.”

“Not really sneaking if you tell me, but sure, I’ll share,” Lucas said as Bash added a slice of each pie on his plate.

“This way you’ll have room for cupcakes, too,” Maggie said, and Lucas followed her out of the kitchen, looking like he’d happily follow her off a cliff. Penny busied herself with rehanging the kitchen towels on the oven’s handle and straightening the various odds and ends Nanna had on the counter while keeping a close eye on the dessert line. She needed to apologize to Bash, but she wouldn’t do it in front of an audience. He seemed comfortable talking and serving everyone. He was good with people, but she didn’t know how to convince him of that.

“What would you like?” he asked her as her parents walked away.

“I’d like to turn back time and not equate your lateness with rudeness. You were helping someone, and that’s a great reason to be late. And just now? You served everyone before yourself. That’s not what a rude person does. I apologize and I was wrong.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I hadn’t intended to serve everyone, but Barbara thrust the pie server into my hand, and I didn’t have a choice.”

“Some men have greatness thrust on them, but you got the pie server.”

“Something like that.” He pointed back and forth between the pies, and Penny pointed to the pumpkin. Her preference was French silk, but she wanted to make amends. Eating crow and eating his pie would be the same thing. “Did you get everything set up?”

“The store looks great. I just have the ceiling decorations to do.”

“What are those?” Bash asked, and she told him about the oversized glittery snowflakes and the colorful ornaments they hung from the ceiling. “After the holidays, the ornaments come down, but the snowflakes stay up until the end of February.”

“Wait until I’m back.”

“What?”

“I’ll hang the ceiling stuff. I’m taller and ladders can be dangerous,” he said. He’s joking, right?

“I’ve been doing it for years.”

“That’s no excuse to be stupid. Three hundred people die each year from falling off a ladder and most of them from a height of less than ten feet.” Of all the ridiculous things to come out of his mouth over the last few months, this took the cake. How dare he tell her what she could and couldn’t do? And if his lordship thought she was going to obey, he was delusional, too. Her store. Her decorations. Her rules.

Before she could start her verbal assault, he stepped closer and put his finger on her lips. “Do you really want to argue with me and make me worry when we’re leaving for an away game tomorrow? It’s an important game, and I need my full concentration. I know how upset you’ll be with yourself if we lose because my concentration was shot.” His warm breath fanned across her face.

“That sounds like blackmail.”

“No, facts. If I know you’re on the ladder, I’ll worry. And you’ll feel guilty about causing me emotional anguish, and then you’ll beat yourself up about it. Staying off the ladder is the best thing for both of us.”

“And I think the best thing is for both of us to join the others.” Penny wouldn’t agree to his silly demand or argue about something he had no say in. It was sweet that he was concerned about her safety, but she didn’t need his protection. They were kind-of-sort-of dating, but that didn’t give him the right to pull out his caveman card. And the way he’d manipulated her empathy against her was worse than this Me Tarzan. You Jane routine. The nerve!

She stabbed at her pie, disappointed to find it palatable. Why does he bring out the shrew in me? Does my inability to read Bash allow him to have a clear view of me? Does my witchiness mask my bitchiness from others? Penny stewed on this as she sipped her whiskey, frowning and moving it toward Grandad. It was too smoky for her, but she knew he’d finish it.

“I’m going to leave now. If you leave before Cal, maybe you could stop at the house on your way home? Give me a kiss for good luck?” Penny heard the yearning in his question. She was still peeved over his ladder demand and how well he knew her, but she wasn’t mad enough to stay away. They were temporary, with an end-of-season expiration date, and she needed to get her fill of him before their time was up.

She shrugged, not wanting to appear too eager. “I guess. Since you’ll be gone for a few days. Leave the side door unlocked.”

Chapter 17

Penny slipped inside the house and draped her coat on the kitchen chair. Bash moved toward her, tight and stiff. The endless sacks had taken their toll and he no longer walked with the confident, loose gait he’d strolled into town with.

“How bad is it?” she asked as he neared.

“I’ll manage.” He shrugged.

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