Page 30 of Cozy Girl Fall
Penny still hadn’t made up her mind. The whole short drive to the orchard the next day she went back and forth with herself. She could only hope Ethan wouldn’t be there today, otherwise they were about to leave ‘kinda awkward’ in the dust in favor of ‘excruciatingly uncomfortable’.
She’d have to face him eventually, she knew that. But doing so now, when she wasn’t sure what her own thoughts about all this were, only meant she’d make more of a mess of things. Plus, when it came to him, she knew she couldn’t keep up her resolve. When it came to Ethan, she was weak. There was no denying it anymore, not after the events of the previous night.
There was no sign of his truck outside the shop and she breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of hercar and grabbed her equipment for the day. It was cold again but in a way she found refreshing rather than dreaded being out in. Dew coated the grass and dotted the open gates to the orchard like little gems, glinting in the morning light, and Penny regretted wearing her sneakers, knowing they’d soak up the moisture and leave her toes cold.
Good progress was happening in the orchard with nearly half the trees harvested and still a few weeks leeway before the weather turned too much for the fruit to survive. The annual bonfire in mid-October was fast approaching, which meant the heat was on to harvest as much as possible before the Halloween Orchard Fest happening two weeks after that. Penny couldn’t believe so much time had passed since she’d been back in town. It had nearly been a month but it had flown, while at the same time making her feel like she’d never left at all.
Penny pulled on her gloves and analyzed the tree in front of her, deciding where to start first. Today’s only aim was distraction—she planned to work so hard that Ethan wouldn’t have the chance to invade her thoughts at any point during the day, or, if she exhausted herself enough, her dreams later on.
The apples were still firm and droplets of water flicked up at Penny as she pulled the fruit free and dropped it into the bucket.
By the time midday came around, she was overheating in her sweater and was more than ready for abreak. Though, admittedly, she was still no closer to a decision when it came to her next steps with Ethan or whether to tell Tasha what had happened. On the one hand, she was dying to discuss it with someone, but on the other … Well, there was a very real possibility that Tasha might murder her.
Penny grabbed her coat from atop the bucket but didn’t put it on, still sweating from the physical exertion of the morning. She turned around to grab her car keys, debating what she wanted for lunch when the skin at the back of her neck prickled.
She knew who it would be before she even turned around—which is why she didn’t.
“Hi,” she said, still looking at the tree.
“Hey. Saw you working and wondered if you wanted to grab some lunch together?”
Lunch.Like she’d fall for that again. Dinner was supposed to be just that, and yet somehow it had ended with a swift, and somewhat embarrassing, orgasm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ethan.”
Don’t look at him.She knew that if she looked at him, she’d give in to whatever he wanted. Do. Not. Look.
If Penny ever had to face Medusa, she’d be screwed.
“Fine,” he said and she turned in time to see him shrug. “Coffee, then.” A dimple appeared in his chin when he grinned and she melted.
“One coffee,” she warned. “And no funny business.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m prettysure you were the one who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, Pen.”
Her mouth dropped open as he folded his arms and raised a brow in challenge. “I didnot—”
“My car or yours?” he called over his shoulder as he walked away, flashing another grin at her obvious outrage.
“Mine,” she grumbled, following him at last. “I’d need a ladder to climb into yours.”Overcompensate, much?
Except, he wasn’t overcompensating. At all.
“I think we’ve established that I can easily lift you up, Penny.” His voice was rough and she bit her lip, not meeting his eyes as she unlocked her car. It flashed its lights cheerily as she rounded the driver’s side.
Exactly, she thought but didn’t say.Hehad been the one lifting her up into his arms and sweeping the dinnerware off the table—of course he’d been the instigator.
… Hadn’t he?
They climbed inside and she turned on the engine while he buckled his seat belt. Déjà vu hit her out of nowhere, her body flashing hot and then cold as she remembered how dangerous it could be to have Ethan Blake in the car with her looking likethat. A lot of time had been spent in cars together when they’d been teens, making out near the springs or behind the church because the lights in their parking lot had been broken.
His fingers were long and nimble, artist’s hands,sliding up the black belt to remove the kink at the top, the muscles in his forearms cording. Blond hair fell into his face when he looked down to clip in the buckle and she nearly reached to push it back.
Old habits were hard to break, but she’d really thought she’d managed to kick the addiction that was Ethan Blake in the ten years she’d been gone. She realized now that it had been easy enough to think that when she didn’t have to see him all the time. Clearly her resolve was much weaker than she’d thought.
“Are we going? Or did you lure me into your car under false pretenses?” There was that cocky smirk again and damn if it didn’t look good on him. He’d always been sure of himself as a teen, but this was somehowmore.It was the kind of confidence that said,yeah, I know you want me, even if you don’t want to admit it.
She blinked and threw the car into reverse, spinning around with ease as she pulled out of the orchard and headed in the direction of the bridge that would take them into town. “Sorry.”
It wasn’t her preference, but she didn’t want to risk stirring up any further memories by parking in her usual, quieter, spot behind the church, so instead she snagged a spot near the grocery store and decided they could walk from there to the long line of boutiques and mini eateries where the coffee shop could be found.
