Page 58 of Offsides Attraction

“Hey, P the Pen,” Harper’s chipper voice greeted her, but Penny didn’t respond. “Too soon?” she asked.

“Yes.” Penny had sent Harper and Maggie pictures of the whiteboard and Harper had nicknamed her P the Pen.

“What’s up but give me the highlights ’cause I’m on deadline.”

“Bash wants me to call him.” Penny hadn’t mentioned the proposal to her sisters. She’d kept the details of their breakup private, preferring not to share her shame and humiliation. That she’d believed he’d loved her, too.

“Do you want to?”

“If I knew that, would I be calling you?”

Harper chuckled. “No, I suppose not. Is there a downside?”

“Relapsing.” Getting my hopes up.

“Maybe, but maybe not. Maybe talking to him will help. You’ve had time apart and you might see things more objectively.”

“I don’t know Harper,” Penny sighed, looking at the card.

“I don’t know either, but I know that what you’re doing isn’t working for you. I’ve never seen you bent out of shape over a guy, and I’m tired of seeing you suffer. So, I say pull on your big girl panties and call him.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t think, do. Call me after.” Harper hung up, assuming Penny would comply, because her royal highness had decreed it.

She looked around the disorganized office, which mirrored the mess in her apartment. Penny couldn’t keep on like this. Her magic was hit or miss and even when it hit, it took more energy than it should have. Penny was a better witch, a better woman, than this. She was tired of being Penny the Pathetic. She wanted to be Penny the Powerful again, and it seemed like the only thing standing in her way was a conversation with an irritating, challenging man.

Chapter 25

“Call from Penny,” the villa’s high-tech communication system announced. Bash froze. He’d arrogantly thought she’d take a few days before calling him back, as if she’d need time to compose herself. As if she was hurting as much as he was. “Call from Penny,” the disembodied voice repeated.

“Answer it,” he barked as he washed his hands. He could finish his dinner prep later, assuming he hadn’t lost his appetite. “Thanks for calling me,” he said when the call connected, channeling his inner CEO but failing.

“You didn’t need to send flowers. A call or text would have worked.” Her crisp voice was a balm to his soul.

“Lucas said you’ve been getting lots of snow, and I thought you might like them.” He leaned against the counter, crossing one foot over the other, hoping the casual pose would send a message to his brain to calm down.

“I do, thank you, but I hope we’re past talking about the weather.”

“How are you?” Please be miserable.

She chuckled. “Good and you?”

“Great. Shoulder’s getting better every day,” he lied, hating that she sounded happy and poised. “How is everyone?”

“Everyone is fine. Elspeth, Nanna, and Grandad are in Arizona for another week. Cal is in Scotland trailing behind our uncle at the distillery. Lucas is keeping busy at Thistlestone and working on the space next door, and Maggie seems to be enjoying her baking boot camp, but she’s tired of sleeping on her friend’s couch. And you probably know all of that already. For a self-proclaimed hater of small talk, you’re sure clinging to it now. Can we move off it?”

“So, I don’t need to start at ground zero?”

“I think we’re past that, don’t you?” The sadness in her voice hit him harder than a three-hundred-pound defensive lineman.

“Penny, I’m so—”

“Your card mentioned a proposition,” she interrupted his apology, and it stung. “What do you want?”

Another chance, he thought, but he said, “To hire you, as a consultant. You can work remote, and you don’t need to come to New York unless you wanted to—”

“I’m not sure I have the time.”

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