Page 25 of Cozy Girl Fall
“How does that prove—”
“Well, I can’t recommend just anyone to Nicky.” One hand slid into the pocket of his jeans as he observed her, the wind playing in his hair. “So let’s discuss this over dinner, where you can demonstrate yourtalents.”
Despite the fact that she’d handed him the word, he managed to make it sound dirty, the teasing tone of his voice only adding to the innuendo.
“My place, at seven?”
“Tonight?” she squeaked and then bit her lip. “I—”
“Great. Looking forward to it.”
How had this gotten so out of hand so quickly? She decided it was better to cut her losses and retreat before he managed to get her to agree to anything else.
This is not a date.She nodded to herself in the mirror, pretending like she couldn’t see the spots of high colorin her cheeks or the bitten-puffiness of her lips as she smoothed her hair for the umpteenth time.It’s just dinner. Platonic. It’s not a date.
And yet, she’d changed her outfit three times and got all the way to the front door before realizing she looked ridiculous in her flirty summer dress. Firstly, it was freezing outside, what with the cold snap arriving sooner than expected and sticking around, but also the frills on the long bell sleeves were bound to be a hazard in the kitchen.
This time when she approached the door, it was in her favorite pants—bootcut green corduroy—a plain, dark tee, and her comfiest boots.
… And her mom was waiting for her.
Angie narrowed her eyes as she took in Penny’s outfit. “I thought you were going on a date?”
“No,” Penny said sharply. “It’s just dinner. That I’m cooking. For a friend. Kind of like an interview.”
“Hm.” Angie looked unconvinced. “I heard you were seeing Ethan.”
What?“From who?” God, if her mom knew then that meant everyone did, or would soon enough. Tasha was going to kill her.Play it cool, Pen.“I mean, yes. It’s dinner with Ethan, but only because it’s his friend who runs the restaurant in New York and he wanted to make sure I wasn’t all talk before recommending me.”
“New York.” Angie raised her brows, like this was news to her. “Well, good luck on your not-a-date.”
Penny’s phone buzzed and she cursed when she sawthe time. Great, she was already eating her words when it came to beingpunctual. “I have to go. I’ll see you later.”
“Make good decisions!” Angie called, the words half smothered by the closing of the door. Penny rushed to her car and pulled out of the drive so quickly she was surprised there wasn’t a cloud of dust left in her wake.
She’d gone back and forth over what to make for Ethan. It needed to be something that wasn’t too complicated, but was still impressive, and vegetarian because apparently Ethan didn’t eat meat any more—she could thank her internet stalking for that helpful tidbit.
Her phone rang and she answered it with her car, assuming it would be Ethan wondering where she was. Instead, Tasha’s voice came from the speakers.
“What are you doing right now?” There was suspicion in Tasha’s voice and Penny sighed. There was no point in lying to her.
“I’m driving to Ethan’s,” she said and then blew out a breath. “He’s making me cook him dinner before he’ll recommend me to Nicky. The restaurant guy.”
“Right. Nicky,” Tasha replied and Penny was relieved that there didn’t seem to be any anger in her voice. “But that’s good; I’d heard you were on a date with my brother and I thought,that can’t be right because I specifically asked her not to mess around with him.”
Penny’s laugh sounded too high-pitched even as herdad’s words came back to haunt her.WasTasha being unfair? Either way, now didn’t seem like the right time to question it. “Yep. No date here. Just dinner. With a friend. Like an interview,” she repeated what she’d told her mom and hoped it sounded less bogus the second time around. “Platonic,” she added.
“What’re you making?”
“A cauliflower and chickpea curry with rice.” Tasha hummed her approval and Penny cut her off before she could say anything more. “I’m nearly at his place I think, so I’ve got to go.”
“Good luck,” Tasha said and it managed to sound like a threat as Penny hit the button on her steering wheel that would end the call.
Ethan lived fairly close to Penny’s parents, at the south end of town, but still over the bridge where the river split the residential area. She pulled up to the curb and turned off her engine, sitting there for a second to just breathe and regain her composure after Tash’s phone call.
The neighborhood was nice, quaint, with actual white picket fences separating immaculate lawns from the sidewalk and small houses that looked like modern cottages but went back far enough to be one-story mansions. Whatever Penny had been picturing when it came to Ethan Blake’s house, this wasn’t it. It was just so …grown-up.
Of course, that realization had her mind jumping back to the husky tone of Ethan’s voice when he’dstepped in close and told her they weren’t dumb kids any more—and he was right. So why did being around him make her feel like she was still seventeen and nervous to lose her virginity to the only boy she’d ever loved?
