Page 25 of Love, Untangled

Hattie beamed. “Among other things. The cinnamon blend is a closely-guarded secret made by our resident witch. Any idea what else she puts in there? Try it again. Drink deep.”

Penelope frowned a little as she obediently brought the cup back to her lips. She took a long swallow and grimaced, clearly not enjoying the bitter aftertaste.

“There’s a resident witch?” Pen asked, bringing the cup downward. She obviously didn’t want to drink more. Her gaze shot to Carlo, as if seeking out the validity of this statement.

He shrugged. “I don’t have a clue,” Carlo said.

“Too right, dearie. You’ve kept to yourself, barely getting out. That means you’re not up to speed on all our ways.” Hattie cackled, clearly pleased with herself. “Oh, I should have remembered! You like cream and sugar in your coffee, don’t you?”

Pen shrugged a little, blushing. “Yes. I’m more of a milk with coffee type of girl.”

“Well, just try another big sip and see if you can tease out the other spices and a hint of chocolate as well. Carlo, you too. I’m just desperate to see if you can guess it!”

Both of them sipped and Hattie clasped her hands, rocking back in delight.

Pen swallowed, this time unable to hide her grimace. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“Me either. You don’t have to drink any more, Pen.” Carlo shot a scowl at Hattie.

“No, no, of course not. That should be sufficient.”

Unease swept up Carlo’s arms. Just what was Hattie up to? He’d never heard of a proprietary spice blend before.

Wait! Yes, he had. His buddy Marvin Brewster at the bank had mentioned that he and his wife, Shiloh, were now believers in the love spice—that had been right after Marvin asked Shiloh to marry him.

Before Carlo could ask Hattie about the spice, she leaned over Pen’s loom and gushed, “Oh, you have so many talents! That tapestry is delightful. We’re old enough that we should be good at it, but these types of skills are just beyond me.” Hattie moved in closer, peering down at Pen with complete focus.

Pen was talented. People would have to be fools not to want to take classes from her. Maybe he should have offered to help her make a list. Or set up some marketing…not that Carlo knew much about either. He was going to have to learn though, now that he planned to sell a product. Meeting with Joanna from Bottles of Bliss was first on his list.

He rubbed the back of his neck, overwhelmed. How did Penelope make it look so easy?

“My mother used to spin her own wool,” Hattie said. Her fingertips skimmed the blanket on Penelope’s lap. “It wasn’t as fine as this stuff.”

“Oh, this is alpaca fur.”

“From your lovely, regal pet here?” Hattie asked, giving Alpaca Man a good scratch between his ears. He mumbled and closed his eyes, clearly loving the attention. “It’s funny how I used to fight so hard against learning a skill, and now I believe it would bring me closer to my mother.”

Pen’s fingers faltered for a moment, her cheeks leaching of that healthy pink color Carlo had come to associate with her. “Erm, yes. I guess I could see that…”

Carlo fought the urge to wrap Penelope up in his arms. She looked small, fragile—more so when her mother entered the conversation. He wondered, yet again, what had happened between them. He wished he could take away Pen’s clear discomfort. Instead, he gulped his coffee.

Birdie, another of Hattie’s crew, sauntered over toward them, joining the group. “Pen, dearie, I see you’ve brought Alpaca Man for some sun and fresh air.”

“He doesn’t care for the barn,” Pen said. She flashed her gaze up to Carlo’s, catching him staring. “Carlo’s had to bring Alpaca Man back to my place pretty much every day this week. He keeps finding new gaps in the fence to exploit.”

“But he’s been a good boy otherwise, right?” Birdie asked.

Hattie raised her eyebrow at Carlo, as if to ask him for more information.

Carlo scowled back, trying to communicate that it wasn’t any of her business. But Penelope recaptured his attention when she laughed.

The sound was sweet, pure delight. “No, he’s a real stinker. But he’s my stinker. Aren’t you, Alpaca Man?” Pen leaned in and hugged the animal. He closed his eyes, bliss exuding from his features as he snuggled even closer to Pen.

Carlo took a long gulp of his coffee, needing to wash away the taste of jealousy that lingered there.

Chapter 10

Penelope

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