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She glanced at me, still tapping away. “Writing it down. How else will I remember it later?”
“You’ll forget it that quickly?”
“There are a lot of voices up here.” She tapped two fingers to her temple. “The new ones have to be written down.”
I had no idea what I was supposed to say to that.
Pen grinned, ignoring what I was sure was a very confused expression on my face if I looked the way I felt. “This village might be small, but they’re the ones with the wildest stories. Haven’t you ever watched Midsomer Murders?”
“That was a fictional place,” I said, looking at her.
“For the love of God, why are you in this conversation?”
I motioned to them. “You’re standing right there.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re invited, Maximillian.”
Ellie’s lips twitched.
“Max,” I ground out.
“Maximillian.” Pen grinned. “Pompous name for a pompous title.”
Ellie cleared her throat, glancing at me. “Well, if you have anything else I can slip into a story, feel free to share. Inspiration can be hard to come by sometimes.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty.” My cousin’s eyes glittered with mischief. “I work here six days a week. I hear alot.”
Ellie dug into her bag and pulled out a few cards. “It’s not my number, but if you email me, I’ll give you my number.” She handed one over.
Penny took it, laughing, then showed it to me. “This is the kind of awkward chat up line you’d use.”
“I don’t use chat up lines,” I said dryly.
Ellie’s eyes widened. “It’s not a chat up line. I’m not—I mean.” She swallowed. “My brother’s gay. I’m not.”
Pen smirked. “Damn it, there you go breaking my heart.”
“Penny,” I warned her.
She laughed, putting Ellie’s card in her back pocket. “I didn’t take it that way. And I’m not, either. Actually, my brother’s also gay, and if I came out, my mother would have a heart attack at not getting any grandkids. I’m as straight as a ruler.”
I finished my beer. “Don’t they make bendy rulers?”
“Will you shutup?” Pen threw a towel at me.
I laughed.
“Such a dick,” she muttered, looking at Ellie. “Don’t worry, I’m much nicer than he is.”
Ellie put thirty pounds on the bar and slid it over to Pen, eyeing me with a wry twist of her lips and a quirk of her left eyebrow. “That’s not exactly hard, is it?”
I was about to remind her who’d climbed a ten-foot-tall stack of hay bales to fetch her cat this morning, but she spun on her heel and walked towards the door, leaving me staring after her.
Fuck.
That woman was gorgeous.
Irritating, but gorgeous.
