Page 25 of Someone You Deserve

She cuts me off. “No buts. You’re coming. I’ll even buy you something.”

Mortified, I say, “Oh, God. You don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense. I insist…especially because I was wondering if we could have the party at your place?” She bites her lip again, this time in anticipation of my answer.

“You want to have the party at my house?”

“If you don’t mind. It’s just that my apartment is way too small, and I refuse to ask my mother.” We both start laughing again. “I promise, it will only be for a few hours.”

Looking at the ceiling, I consider if I could make that work. I mean, I’m sure my mother would watch the kids or take them to her house for the night if I asked her to.

“Okay,” I relent. “Send me the date and I’ll make it happen.” I have a feeling I’m going to regret this later, but making decisions in the moment is what I do. It’s necessary when your life is as chaotic as mine.

Hazel claps her hands together. “Gah, thank you! It’s going to be a blast. A true girl’s night. I’ve invited Willow too!”

“Joy,” I say sarcastically, even though part of me is interested to see what kind of new toys are out there now. I’ve had the same vibrator since before Brandon died. Only recently did I actually feel like my libido has returned. It may be because I’m in my thirties now, or maybe it’s all the mental images watching Penn working around the bakery has evoked.

Yeah, I definitely need something to take the edge off.

“Don’t stress. I’ll handle everything.” Hazel glances at the clock on the wall. “Okay, I’ve got to get going. I have a full day of editing ahead and then a session at sunset tonight. It’s a surprise engagement, and I’m already crying.” She fans her face.

“You’re just a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

She shrugs. “I can’t help it. I love love.”

I smile and shake my head. “Text me later.”

“I will. Bye!” She waves as she exits the store and I sigh heavily, remembering when I was younger and had that same outlook. Just another reminder that we’re all getting older, even though sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. I’m thirty-two and most days I still feel like I’m fifteen with no idea what I’m doing with my life still.

I find Penn out back standing over a table, drilling metal legs into the bottom of the chairs. But as soon as he sees me, he stops what he’s doing, reaches into his tool bag, and hands me a Ferrero Rocher.

“You just carry these around in your tool bag now?”

“When I know I’m going to see you, yeah.” He nods toward the candy. “Go ahead. You look like you could use a little pick-me-up.”

I unwrap the chocolate and pop it in my mouth, closing my eyes and moaning at how the flavors meld together. I swear, I could survive on these little morsels of heaven alone. When I open my eyes, I find Penn staring down at me intensely. But I choose to focus back on the reason I came out here. “Thank you. That did help calm me. So, what are you doing?”

“Giving these chairs new life like we agreed.”

“But what happened to the legs that were on them?”

“I found these online for cheap and thought they give them a more feminine, romantic feel to match the new décor’s theme.” He flips the finished chair over and sets it on the ground. The dark nickel brushed legs are modern, but still have a classic feel. The wood of the chair itself is painted in the light gray we agreed on, and he sanded them after painting them to make them look a bit more rustic. I couldn’t have asked for a better realization of my vision if I’d done it myself.

“Penn, these are beautiful.” I stare at the chair in awe and then look up at him. “Thank you.”

He nods curtly. “Glad you like them.”

“No, I love them. Seriously. They’re perfect.” Circling the chair, I admire all the details. “God, I can’t wait to see it all come together. You’re—you’re making my dreams come true.”

Penn swallows roughly as I look up at him again. “Just doing my job, Astrid.”

Resting my hand on his chest, I stare up into his eyes. “I seriously don’t know what I would do without you. I hope you know that.”

A pinch in his brow forms before he sighs. “Well, good thing you won’t ever find out, huh?”

“I hope not.”

“So, you’re seriously considering going out with Dick, then?” he says, catching me off guard because why would he bring this up again?

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