Page 44 of Cozy Girl Fall
His eyes darkened and he leant in to press a lingering kiss to her lips. “I thought I made what I wanted fromyou pretty clear the night of the bonfire, but by all means, I’d be happy to give you a repeat.” The words were low and hot and made her toes curl when they were coupled with the smirk on his face. “You can call me whatever you want. Honey, boyfriend, partner … I mean, I’d personally go withforever, but if you just want me as your boy toy or your boyfriend, then I guess I can live with that,” he teased.
Forever. “Maybe we should start with boyfriend and see how you do.” She tried to hide her smile and failed. “But I guess you’re right, a dinner party reallyisin order.”
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves at their feet as Ethan cupped Penny’s cheek. “I’m so completely yours, you know. Will you be mine?”
He’d asked her the same thing in a dozen different ways over the past few days; she couldn’t tell if it was romantic or a request for reassurance. Either way, she didn’t mind. The tenderness with which he said the words made a lump rise in her throat and she nodded. “Yes.”
“Good, because I really didn’t want to have to uninvite everyone to our soft-launch dinner.”
Dinner. Right. Her mind was already whirling, producing and discarding possible recipes to try. “Who else did you invite?”
“Tasha, your parents, and mine.”
Despite the fact that she’d already bumped into Ethan’s mom a few times since being back, nervousnessmade her palms tingle at the prospect of seeing her again in a more formal setting. Would his parents approve of them dating again? Did they hold her mistakes against her?
Pushing down her panic, she tried for a smile that felt wobbly. “Can’t wait.”
She met Tasha later that afternoon, having left Ethan in the capable hands of her parents to help with the festival-planning. Penny was facing an altogether bigger task: finding the perfect outfit for this dinner party.
It needed to be something mature and pretty, but also easy to move in when she was cooking. Cool enough that she wouldn’t sweat through it standing over the stove, but not so skimpy that it would look odd given the colder weather.
She was probably overthinking it a little.
“Trya lot,” Tasha griped and then smiled to show she didn’t really mind Penny’s whining. “This feels so weird, shopping with you on a Tuesday afternoon like school just got out and we need to spend the allowance burning a hole in our pocket.”
Penny laughed and then took a long drag of her iced coffee. It was cold out, but she’d been in an anxious sweat ever since Ethan had dropped the meet-the-parents …againbomb on her. “Is it still just the same places that have good stuff?”
Tasha peered in the window of the library as they walked past and waved at the brunette woman inside.“Pretty much. Though, a couple stores changed hands. Do you remember Candace?” Penny nodded, they’d gone to school with the bubbly blonde girl. “She runs Threads now and, to be honest, the stuff in there is super cute.”
Penny wasn’t sure she was ready to see more people she went to high school with, but needs must, and she followed Tasha into the store in question with only a small amount of reluctance.
The vibe inside was very boho-chic and Penny had no doubt that in the summer this store would contain alotof sequins. They didn’t recognize the girl behind the counter and Penny breathed a sigh of relief that she could focus on finding an outfit and not on small talk.
Racks of colorful clothing seemed to be organized by occasion rather than any other order she could make sense of, with matching shoes stacked atop the clothes on a small podium. They browsed idly and Tasha held up a couple tops for Penny to inspect and disregard due to the itchy-looking lace on the straps and front.
“I meant for me,” Tasha said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh. In that case, it’s cute.”
“Do you guys need any help?” The girl from the counter called and Penny shook her head at the same time that Tasha nodded.
“That would be great. We’re looking for a parental-approved outfit, but it needs to be cooking-safe.”
The girl nodded like that wasn’t a strange request in the least and tucked a strand of pink hair behind herear. “I think a dress is probably your best bet, something with short sleeves so they don’t get in the way?”
Penny headed to the carousel the girl indicated, flipping through the rack before pausing on one dress in particular that had a lovely silky texture and was a burnt orange perfect for the season. “What do you think of this?”
Tashaoohed. “I love. Do you want to try it on?”
Penny hesitated, holding the dress up against her and looking in the floor-length mirror to her left. Itwasnice. The dress complemented her hair, making the brown look richer, and her green eyes popped against the red-orange of the dress. “Should I really buy the first thing in the first place I look?”
Tasha laughed. “Well, this is Magnolia Springs, not the city, so it’s not like there’s a whole ton of choice around here anyway.”
She had a point. “OK. OK, I’ll take it.” The dress rippled in the air as Penny walked it over to the counter to pay and the girl smiled as she grabbed a bag.
“So, you’re a chef? Are you the new owner of the lot next door?”
Penny blinked. “No, I work in the city.”Worked, she mentally corrected and the girl made a noise of understanding.
