Page 107 of The Games We Play
Her smile hit me—wide, warm, and blooming so big it nearly knocked the air out of my lungs.
“Welcome to House de Penny,” she announced with mock grandeur. “The finest restaurant in all of Faircloud.”
I grinned and started pulling off my boots near the door. “What’s on the menu tonight, Chef?”
“Pasta!” she squealed. “Rhodes’s recipe. He was sweet enough to send it over when I asked, even though it’s apparently sacred Dunn family stuff.”
“Well,” I said, stepping into the kitchen and offering her the flowers I brought, “what can I do to earn my stay?”
Penny’s smile softened as she took the bouquet from me. She lifted it to her nose and inhaled, closing her eyes as if she were letting the scent sink in.
“They’re beautiful,” she muttered quietly. Then her expression shifted—mischievous and playful.
Tapping a finger against my chest, Penny replied, “I left the breadstick for you this time. Your turn to suffer.”
I chuckled as she moved past me, pulling the limp, sad-looking bouquet from the pitcher on the table and replacing it with the one I brought.
“Watch and learn, Hudson,” I teased, rolling up my shirt sleeves with a dramatic flair. I was already halfway to the freezer by the time she jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter, wine glass in hand.
I worked on laying out the frozen breadsticks on a tray while the pasta sauce simmered behind me, the scent filling the kitchen in warm, spicy waves.
“You’re staring, Pen,” I said, not turning but fully aware of her eyes on me.
“I know,” she replied shamelessly, her voice low and sultry. “I wasn’t trying to hide it. I like the way your muscles flex when you move.”
I smirked, placing the last breadstick on the tray before turning to look at her with a raised brow. “So it’s just my biceps you’re after, huh?”
“Well,” she said, swirling her wine and giving me a look that made my skin flush, “and the tattoos are a strong selling point.”
“Noted,” I replied, sliding the tray into the oven and setting the timer.
Penny set her wine glass down with a soft clink and hopped down from the counter, her eyes shining beneath the low light of the kitchen. The soft hum of music drifted from the speaker near the window, something acoustic and slow. Her hand lifted slightly, palm open in invitation.
“Dance with me?” she asked, her voice confident and strong.
Abso-fucking-lutely. I always looked for a reason to have her close to me.
I reached for her hand and let her pull me toward the middle of the living room. There wasn’t much space between the couch and the coffee table, but that didn’t matter when she fit against me so perfectly.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, and she curled hers around my neck, drawing me close like it was instinct. Themoment we started to sway, it hit me—muscle memory and emotion colliding in my chest.
“You remember the first time we did this?” I asked, my voice low, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
Penny’s head tilted against my shoulder. “Of course I do. You told me this was the extent of your dancing abilities, but then proved that wrong when you danced for Theo, even though I somehow missed it.”
God, I didn’t want to relive that moment again. A couple of months ago, Rhodes asked us all to cheer up Theo and unfortunately, it involved all of us dancing like idiots to “My Humps.” Penny and Aspen were supposed to be there, but luckily, they were running late. Per usual for Penny.
“I’m so glad you did,” I murmured, smiling against her hair. “That was a level of embarrassment I never plan to reach again.”
Penny chuckled against my chest, sending a vibration surging through me.
“Remember the other time when you tried to dip me halfway through the second song and nearly dropped me on the floor.”
Somehow, dancing in the comfort of this space had become our thing. There were many nights spent practicing our amateur moves to the music coming from this same worn speaker.
“Ididdrop you.”
“You did,” she agreed, pulling back just enough to look at me, her lips curved in a soft grin. “Then we ended up staying on the floor and didn’t get up until morning.”
