Page 59 of Recipe for Temptation (Madewood Brothers 4)

Oh, hell, no. “How is that possible? We made great time.”

“And we got the selfie,” Cole interjected. By the look of shock on his face, he couldn’t believe it, either.

She’d felt the win, deep in her bones.

“Dave and Beth still had a better time, even when I subtracted the ten minutes,” her father explained.

“But—”

Dave jumped up and hugged his father with one arm and his wife with the other.

“But we got the selfie,” Penn mumbled under her breath.

Her father handed Dave and Beth the trophy.

Penn couldn’t believe it.

She’d wasted Cole’s time. She’d taken him away from the thing he loved the most. She’d even tried to show her family who she’d become.

It had all been for nothing. All of it.

“You need to be faster next time.” Dave’s winning grin made her sick. “Even with a ringer, you can’t beat me, Pennie.”

His phone beeped again, and he immediately took his phone out of his pocket and hid it under the table.

When he looked at the text, a funny look settled on his face. He’d been so happy all week that she’d almost forgotten what he looked like when sadness took over.

He blew out a heavy breath and stood. “I’ve got to go.” He took off through the dining room, with no explanation.

“Cole?” She called after him, but he didn’t turn around. Didn’t stop.

She moved her chair out of the way to follow him, but she halted when her father’s stern voice broke the silence of the table. “Not so fast, young lady.”

Something had to be wrong. He wouldn’t just leave like this. She had to go to him. She had to be there for him. She owed him that much, considering she’d practically placed the noose around his neck when her father had confronted him before dinner.

“We’re having a family dinner, Pennelope. Sit. Down.”

All week Cole had stood by her side, and with one conversation, she’d knocked down all the progress they’d made in their relationship.

He’d walked away, because she’d given him no indication that she needed him.

But she did need him.

With a heavy sigh, she sunk into her chair and faced her family.

If there was ever a chance that this thing between her and Cole could blossom into something more, she’d just completely ruined it.

Chapter Fourteen

Cole ran on the treadmill, music blasting in his ears from his earbuds. He’d had to get out of that restaurant.

He wanted to punch something. To punch until his knuckles were bloody and bruised—a perfect match for his soul.

They had lost. After all the ridicule and torment from her brothers, he couldn’t even deliver a stupid, fucking plastic trophy. It was the reason he’d shown up on this island in the first place. And if he couldn’t do that, what made him think he could make the Boys and Girls Club a success?

It had been easy to agree to keep his fling with Penn under wraps. Whatever her reasons for keeping things a secret, he had his own. But the moment her father had accused him of being a bad influence, something had shifted. He’d realized he might want more than what they’d agreed to.

He had been hoping for a declaration, for some indication that she felt the same way. He was willing to support and defend her to the ends of the earth, but she still didn’t trust him enough to have his back. To fight for him. To fight for herself.

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