Page 43 of Cozy Girl Fall
“I don’t want anyone else either,” she whispered and the smile tugging at his mouth made her want to kiss him, so she did. “Are you asking to be exclusive?”
“I—I think I am, yeah. Is that OK?”
Relief swamped her and she laughed lightly. “More than OK.”
“Good,” he said, voice breathless.
“Good,” she repeated and when he leant in to kiss her, she smiled.
16
Angie Larkin was a hard ass.
Penny had suspected as much for a long time, but seeing her mom in action really drove it home. With the annual bonfire done, the next big event for Magnolia Springs was the Halloween Orchard Fest, and if Penny didn’t already know that her mom thrived on a deadline, then she might have been concerned they were taking too much on. The Orchard Fest had grown bigger every year until it had become a Magnolia Springs staple and Penny couldn’t deny that she was excited to attend for the first time in forever.
“What do you think?” Angie asked vaguely and Penny nodded her head, knowing full well her mom didn’t actually want any opinions or feedback. Penny had stopped offering them after the third time she’d been shot down that afternoon.
Most of the trees were now bare of apples, barring a few in the far corner, and her mom surveyed the land with her hands on her hips and a keen look in her eyes that Penny had seen far too many times growing up.Usually when she had tried to get out of doing her homework to hang out with Tasha.
“Ethan!” Angie called and Penny jolted, looking over her shoulder to find her …boyfriend.The word itself nearly made her smile, like an absolute goofball. Ethan approached, looking far too edible to be seen in public, and smiled at her mom. “Now, what do you think of this …” Angie launched into her whole spiel again, explaining where she wanted to set up the various stations while Ethan nodded and rumbled his praises in that deep voice of his that drove Penny wild.
Until she realized what he was saying.
She tuned back in to hear him confirming their dinner plans and her head jerked up, bouncing between Ethan’s smug face and her mom’s delighted one.
“Wait, what?”
Ethan dimpled at her from above her mom’s head and Penny narrowed her eyes. “I was just inviting your parents to the dinner party we’re hosting.”
“Right,” she said slowly and his smile widened. “When is that again?”
“Friday.”
“And who else is going to be there?”
Angie frowned at Penny as Philip walked over to join them. “Honestly, Penny. Goodness knows where you got your organizational skills from because it certainly wasn’t me.”
“What?”
“Well, it’s almost as if you know nothing about your own dinner party, honey.”
Penny glared at Ethan. “Almost as if.”
Why was he springing this on her now? By way of her parents? The question must have been written all over her face because as soon as her parents moved deeper into the trees, Ethan slung an arm over her shoulder and murmured, “Figured this way you couldn’t run off or hide me from your parents.”
“Some warning would have been nice,” she muttered and he snorted.
“The lack of warning was deliberate.” His eyes sparkled as he tugged on the ends of her new scarf, a fluffy purple number she’d bought that weekend. “But what do you say? Will you host a dinner party with me?”
“Maybe,” she conceded. “If you make it worth my while.”
“That can be arranged,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. “I thought it would be a good way to let everyone know about us, all in one go.”
She hummed and slid her body around so she could look up at him. “I like the sound of that.Us.It does mean you’re my boyfriend, right? Because in my head that’s what I’ve been calling you since the night of the bonfire.”
“Penny, are you asking me to go steady?”
She snorted. “I think we’re past that point.”
