Page 51 of Love, Untangled

“Have mercy,” she mumbled.

It was only after she said the words that she realized that was something her nana would have said. Her shoulders slumped. She wasn’t well versed in seduction. Her two boyfriends had both been short-term affairs, more to rebel against her mother’s constant moving and seeming disinterest in Pen’s activities. The sex with them had been unremarkable and hurried. Her first time was the clichéd teenager event of the back seat of his car at a teen hookup spot on her eighteenth birthday. The second time was nine months ago when Pen first considered leaving her mother. The boy, Tanner, was kind, with soft brown eyes and a ready smile. Her infatuation ran deep, making her more reckless than usual.

Her mother had discovered the brief relationship and demanded Pen stop seeing the boy, telling her she needed to focus on work. Pen refused, saying she wanted more time to see if she and Tanner had a real connection.

That ended when her mother had marched Pen up to his family’s house and told his parents that Pen and Tanner were having sex. Tanner stuttered, his face flaming, while his mother moaned about him throwing away his future.

Pen’s mother had sat back in her chair, smirking with satisfaction as Pen’s first love dissolved in that room. Ashamed and horrified, Pen followed her mother from the house. They left town that night.

She never forgave her mother for the experience and began to plan her eventual departure. Pen’s first action was to get a new email address while she stopped off at a local library and connect with her nana. That day began the first of many long missives between the two, and Pen felt as if she finally had an ally, someone who loved her.

Nana hadn’t told Pen she was sick—if she had, Pen would have sped up her plans to leave her mother.

Instead, she received an email from Nana’s attorney, letting Pen know of her grandmother’s passing over the weekend. That message was followed by two more—the first letting Pen know she was Nana’s only heir, and the second with the details about where to find the keys to Nana’s house and where Nana banked.

Pen had been so busy trying to build her online Etsy store and get settled, she hadn’t made the time to find out the details about her grandmother’s financials right away. That wasn’t a good excuse though. These were tasks Pen found unfamiliar and difficult, but she had to learn to navigate them.

Just as she needed to express what she wanted in a long-term relationship. She swallowed, nerves fluttering around in her belly. Pen refused to settle for less than a man who wanted to romance her. That had been her dream for as long as she could remember: a Prince Charming who swept her off her feet and into a loving home with lots of family and laughter.

And Pen was holding out for the dream, no matter how much her body cried out for Carlo along the way.

Chapter 25

Penelope

She touched the petal of the orchid with the tips of her fingers, just as she had every day for the past couple of weeks. She loved the plant, mainly because Carlo had thought about her. She’d had few presents in her life, and she treasured this one, giving it a prized place on her kitchen counter. She liked seeing the delicate blooms each morning as she made coffee or even as she washed dishes.

“You don’t have to do those dishes,” Carlo said, sliding his arm around her waist and nuzzling his nose against her jawline.

She leaned back against him and enjoyed the warmth and strength of his chest. He smelled of apples and sunshine, a delicious combination that caused her heart to speed up and her belly to warm. She rested her head on his pec and tipped her head back to meet his gaze. It was warm and soft, filled with caring.

“Yes, I do. You made dinner. You were so patient showing me how you did it, and I appreciate the lesson and the delicious food.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to clean up all the mess,” he insisted.

“I don’t mind. Really. And anyway, this should be a partnership. If you cook, I’ll clean up.”

Carlo stared at her for a long moment, his expression flitting from confusion to pleasure. “All right. If you’re good here, then I’ll go out and check the barn, and see if I can find Alpaca Man and Lydia.”

“Sounds good.” She kissed his chin and stepped from his arms.

Pen wanted to ask if he and Cora had a similar arrangement but bringing up his deceased wife caused Pen’s stomach to tighten. While Carlo hadn’t said so directly, she got the sense that he and Cora disagreed on various aspects, maybe leading to tension between them.

Pen worried her lower lip as she rinsed the first plate before setting it in the open dishwasher. Her relationship with Carlo was her own, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t and shouldn’t take cues from his former one.

Did it?

She heaved a sigh, hating how young and inexperienced she felt. Her normal positive attitude crumbled under self-doubt. She finished the dishes and had cleaned off the counters and the table when her phone rang.

She pulled it from her pocket, frowning when she noted her mother’s number. Grimacing, she declined the call. She refused to talk to her mother. Her selfishness knew no bounds. How could the woman have stolen from her? From her nana?

Pen shoved her phone back into her pocket, anger making the motion jerky, and she fumbled with the device before managing to secure it.

After stealing first from Pen’s bank account before, and now the money Nana left for Pen, her mother had shown just how entitled and ruthless she was.

“I found Alpaca Man.” The screen door slammed behind Carlo as he returned to the kitchen. “He’s on this side of the pen while Lydia’s on the other—seems to be their normal MO. Whoa, what put that scowl on your face?” Carlo asked.

“My mom called.”

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