Page 87 of Positively, Penelope

Matthias.His frown softened. He knew she was right. And the small bits of dancing he’d done between the time he’d waltzed with her until now proved it. His body missed it. So did his heart.

He sighed out his fight. “Only if we keep it a secret for now.”

Her entire face bloomed with her grin. “Promise.”

“And that means no one. Not even Grandfather.”

“Cross my heart.” She nodded. “Not a word.”

“And that dessert?” He leaned close, breathing in her scent, his lips close to her ear. Her breath caught. Perhaps he could woo her after all? With dancing and kindness and Iris. “It better be worth it.”

The oven timer sounded.

Penelope stumbled back from him, her cheeks glowing in a rather fetching way. As she searched his face, her palms came to rest on those rosy cheeks, and he immediately thought of Julie Andrews’s response to dancing with Captain von Trapp the first time.

Penelope cared about him. In a romantic way.

And she didn’t even know it.

The urge to laugh nearly sent him breaching the distance to her and taking her back in his arms.

“Time for the pizza,” Penelope squeaked. She turned to Iris, casting a look back to him before turning for the kitchen.

He followed the ladies and began helping Iris set out the plates and cups while Penelope retrieved the pizzas.

This simplicity was his dream. Family. A woman who not only loved him and his daughter but turned any place into a real home.

Penelope had just set the pizzas on the table when a buzzing sound broke into Gene Kelly’s singing.

“Matt, would you go ahead and slice those while I check this message?” She gestured toward the table. “I think it might be another birthday wish from home.”

He complied, taking on Iris’s massive mess of melted cheese first.

“Oh no!”

Matt looked up. Penelope studied her phone, a frown pulling at her lips. “Not again.”

Matt moved to her side. “What is it?”

“Look.” She turned her phone to show him a message from Gwynn:

Someone’s taking your ideas from the blog! How did they know about Romanov Fudge before you even posted it?????

A link showed for Emblem Studios, featuring a post called “Romanov Fudge: Tasty Treats Inspired by the Classics.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I’ve been posting fun recipes on the blog inspired by certain musicals. This one, forAnastasia, was meant to go up next week, but Emblem’s already taken it.” She stared down at her phone, shaking her head. “How?”

“You’ve told no one else?”

“I don’t even remember telling Gwynn, but I must have.” She leaned back against the counter and then her gaze shot to his. “Wait. There is another person. Someone I’ve been emailing since before I arrived here. A member of the online theater group.”

“The Skymarian Theater Troupe?”

“Yes, the one with Dani and Mark and the others. We’ve been private messaging for months. But I haven’t told her many things. Only a few.” She shrugged. “I think she’s a ‘her.’”

“What? You don’t know?”

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