AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s cool,” I say, cutting him off. “And I’m not permanently pissed off either. Yeah, I work hard and expect others to do the same, but I’m not pissed off.”
“But when we first met,” he says.
“I was pissed because I thought you were after Penny,” I explain.
“But you guys weren’t even together then, were you?”
“No, but it didn’t mean I wanted anyone else to go after her,” I say, realizing how stupid that sounds. “But enough about me, what do you wanna do about this girl of yours?”
“She’s not mine,” he mumbles. “And she won’t even talk to me anymore.”
We start walking again, making our way to the cider house. “Well, I guess you’re gonna have to turn on the charm to try and win her back, aren’t you?”
Dylan groans. “Fuck, that’s exactly what I need to know how to do.”
I laugh, shaking my head at how pathetic he is, even knowing I was hardly much better.
I spend the rest of the day at the cider house, stringing up fairy lights, rearranging furniture and getting the bar stocked for the opening. By the time I’m done, it’s late and I wander back over to the winery, hoping to catch Pen so we can head home together.
She’s in the middle of cleaning up when I walk into the tasting room, her back to me as she hangs the clean wine glasses in the overhead rack.
“Hey, baby,” I whisper, slipping my arms around her waist.
She jumps in surprise, making me laugh as she turns her face to mine. “Hi,” she says.
I lean in and give her a hard kiss, the faintest taste of wine on her lips.
Pen’s face is flushed when I pull back and I can’t resist kissing her again, loving that I can affect her like this. “What can I do to help?” I ask, finally letting her go.
She waves me away. “I’m good, I’m nearly done,” she says. “I can just meet you at home if you want.”
“Don’t be silly,” I say, my hand on her hip. “Let me help and then we can both head home, maybe take a long hot bath together,” I add.
“Sure, sounds good,” Pen says, turning away.
Given Pen’s love of our bathroom, her reaction to my suggestion feels a little off. “Hey, you okay?” I ask.
She looks at me quickly. “Yeah, just a long day. Tired.”
“So let me help,” I reply, gently squeezing her hip.
“Okay,” she says, exhaling. “You wanna mop the floor for me?”
We spend the next thirty minutes cleaning the tasting room. We don’t talk much more and I try to ignore the weird vibe that suddenly seems to have come between us.
When everything is done, I hold my hand out to Pen, smiling when she slips hers into mine and we walk out to my truck. We spend the short drive home in silence and when we walk inside, she heads straight to the kitchen.
I follow her in, watching as she opens the wine fridge and grabs a bottle of chardonnay. Holding it up to me, she silently asks if I want a glass. I nod, somehow feeling like I’m going to need one.
She pours us both a glass, sliding one toward me. I take it, lifting to tap against hers, but she stalls out, not lifting hers.
“Penny, what’s going on?” I ask, moving around to where she’s standing.
She exhales before taking a large sip of wine. I watch her, searching her face for any sign of what it is that’s bothering her right now.
“That old couple came into the tasting room again today.”
I smile. “Oh, they finally hit on you? ‘Cause I’m happy to let them know I don’t share—”
