Page 14 of Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore

Fuck. Did she say yes to him? Is that what this is all about? Are they announcing it right now? And what does “fake boyfriend” even mean? Is she going to kiss him?

My jaw tightens as do my fists, and I nearly warp the tin holding the cookies.

“Is that Monty out there?” someone asks as a group of talking heads turns to stare at me.

“Why is he just standing there?” another one squawks.

“Did he actually lock Penny in his bedroom?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, I think, my thoughts echoed by Penny, who I hear grumble a similar sentiment.

I watch as she heads toward the door, confusion marring those gorgeous golden eyes, leaving them hauntingly dark for just a moment before she pulls the door open with a sigh.

“What are you doing here?” she asks in a low voice.

I glance over her head as she addresses me; there are at least fifteen women, and Eli, staring in our direction.

I lift up the thermos and tin of cookies in offering. “Vovo sent me over with these.”

In a pair of jean overalls and a burgundy short-sleeve top, Penny looks adorable. But the expression on her face says she’s less than impressed.

“Also, I wanted to apologize,” I add.

“Good boy!” one of the women calls. “You should apologize for locking her in your room.”

“And stealing her bra!” someone else says.

I frown before leaning around Penny. “I didn’t steal anyone’s bra.”

“But you admit you locked her in your room?” Rayna McGovern—my high school English teacher—asks. “I expected more from you, young man.”

“I didn’t—”

Before I can finish my sentence, Penny spins around to face the group. Her long auburn locks fly out behind her, sending a breeze of cinnamon and vanilla my way. My tongue waters and I have to actively hold myself back from stepping closer and inhaling that sweet decadent scent.

“He didn’t lock me in his room. Or steal my bra! My God, you ladies are ridiculous!”

“Great, then can he come in?” Eli calls. “I could use another man here.”

Penny glances back toward me with a wary expression. If not for the damn text, I’d give her the stuff, make a quick apology, and go home. But there is no way I’m leaving before I find out what’s going on with Eli. What does “fake boyfriend” even mean? “Sure, I’ll stay, if that’s okay with you,” I say to Penny.

“Of course it’s okay with her,” Rosie says. “Babs here was just telling us about her surprise for Penny. You definitely won’t want to miss this.”

“Surprise, huh?” I murmur, low enough so that only Penny can hear.

When she meets my gaze again, I see those eyes, which were filled with fire only moments ago, now tinged with resignation. “Fine. Come in. What’s one more person added to my humiliation?”

Shrugging, I step past Penny, waiting as she turns the lock on the door, and then trail behind her toward the center of the store and a semicircle of chairs. Movable shelves have been pushed back to create space, and I spy a table in the corner covered in baked goods. I march toward it to add my offering.

Before I have the chance to set the tin down, Penny snatches it from my hand. “Are these your vovo’s pastéis?”

There’s something about the way Penny says the word pastéis that makes my pulse race. It could be her perfect accent—which sounds as if she has spent time getting it just right. Or it could just be that the word is uttered from her lips, which right now are so close I can smell the sugar she’s indulged in tonight. Either way, my pants feel tighter and my heart more restless.

I swallow back a gulp. This is bad.

Penny is my friend. Penny has always been my friend. The sweet girl who lived around the block and always had her head in a book. The one I trusted to read my first book. And yeah, the one I wanted to kiss and never did. Is she really going to date Eli Davis?

“Monty?” Penny implores, and only then do I realize that I haven’t answered her question.