Page 1 of Cozy Girl Fall
1
It had never occurred to Penny Larkin that there might be something more embarrassing than having to return to her hometown after crashing and burning at her dream job in the city. And yet, here she was, in said hometown, being set up on a blind date by her mother.
When Penny had shown up on her parents’ doorstep out of the blue less than forty-eight hours earlier, her meagre belongings packed into a singular suitcase, her mom had just smiled and asked if Penny wanted breakfast. Clearly, her mom had been more concerned than she’d let on ifthiswas her solution to Penny’s problems.
Being the good daughter that she was, Penny had agreed to drive into town that morning to take care of a meeting with a vendor her mom had said was giving her trouble negotiating prices.
Point one to Angie Larkin, because the man waiting in Coffee Affair was not, in fact, a vendor playing hardball. Of course, Penny didn’t immediately realize this.
Jake Hopman was two years her senior, with a warmsmile and a twinkle in his eye that had spelled trouble when he’d been seventeen and captain of the football team, and hadn’t dimmed one bit in the twelve years since Penny had last seen him. There wasn’t a girl at Magnolia High who hadn’t known his name. Being back in Magnolia Springs and seeing Jake made her feel like she was in some kind of strange time warp, because in no world would fifteen-year-old Penny have been sitting across from Jake in the town coffee shop—though that was mostly because she’d only ever had eyes for one guy in high school.
Maybe if her mom had told her this ‘meeting’ was a date, Penny might have been a little less … aggressive.
Instead, she’d stormed into the coffee shop, thumped a wad of folders on the table so hard it made the surface shake, and leant on the tabletop as she stared Hopman down.
“Jake,” she said, trying for a cool, unaffected tone even as her brain struggled to wrap itself around the idea that she was standing in front oftheJake Hopman. She’d expected some hostility, maybe some hardball, based on what her mom had told her, so she was surprised when he stood and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders before kissing her on the cheek.
That had been the first clue that something was amiss.
Instead of seeing the move for the warning sign that it was, Penny shrugged it off and assumed Jake was just friendly. Maybe he was trying to soften her up so she’d go easy on him.
Penny narrowed her eyes but sat down in the hard metal chair Jake pulled out for her. The coffee shop was busy, absent-minded chatter in the air that put her at ease even as she speared Jake with her bestdon’t mess with melook which she’d perfected while working in San Francisco.
“It’s great to see you again, Penny,” he said and the corner of her mouth curled, smug that he’d broken their silence first.
“The pleasure is all yours,” she said and he frowned slightly, blinking his doe eyes slowly. A tray of coffee slid onto their table and Jake smiled at the barista, thanking her, before he gestured to the spare mug on the tray.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I just grabbed a latte. I hope that’s OK. It’s just so busy in here with the lunch crowd, so I didn’t want you to have to wait—”
Jake Hopman was rambling. That was odd. Not for the first time since returning to Magnolia Springs, Penny found herself wondering if the past week had been a bad dream, that she would wake up at any second still in her bed in the city, still employed in the restaurant where she’d worked her way up the ranks …
Hopman was waiting for a response to whatever he’d been saying while she was lost in her own thoughts, an earnest smile on his (admittedly very handsome) face. Penny sighed, reaching for the mug of coffee and taking a sip. It wasn’t as sweet as she’d have liked it, but it would do.
“Thanks for the coffee,” she said eventually and Jake looked relieved. “Now, tell me, do youlikepreying on the elderly?”
Hopman, mid-sip, spluttered, choking on his coffee, and the man at the table behind them turned to thump Jake on the back. “W-What?”
“You can’t just raise your prices by fifty per cent and expect us not to look into it,” she insisted and Jake seemed lost for words as he tugged at the sleeve of his red sweater. Penny leant in across the table, fixing him with a glare. “I’m not going to let you take advantage of my parents.”
Jake leant back until he was half-leaning out of his seat. “Penny, I think there’s been a mistake—”
“No,” she said sharply and flipped open her folder before spinning it around for him to see. Jake jumped at the speed of Penny’s movements, one large shoulder knocking into the passing barista and her full tray of coffee. Penny watched with wide eyes as the whole thing tumbled toward her in slow motion.
Luckily for the shop, none of it hit the floor.
Unluckily for Penny, it gushed over her white jeans in a hot flood that made her curse. Loudly.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I just didn’t expect—with the folders—” Jake said, visibly flustered.
Around them, the coffee shop had gone completely silent as every head turned toward their table, watching the disaster that was unfolding. Penny was desperately trying to keep her cool, taking deep, steadying breaths,determined not to make a scene so soon after returning to town. Meanwhile, Jake was frantically grabbing napkins from the table beside them and throwing them in her direction in lieu of patting her crotch. Unfortunately, it only succeeded in attaching wet napkins to the spreading disaster of her jeans.
“Worst date ever, I guess. I’m sorry, Penny.”
Date.
Oh God.
She was going to kill her mother.
