In for a Penny Read online

  “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry,” Penny said, giving Scott an incredulous look.

  “Don’t be. It’s not often someone believes that strongly not only in someone else’s expertise but also in the personality of that person. I’m looking forward to getting to know you to see if the woman behind the business lives up to all the hype.”

  Penny inhaled a deep breath, that incredulous look turning grateful, as she sat up taller, lifted her chin, and said, “I assure you, I do.”

  Now, there was the Penny he knew and loved.

  Penny launched into a detailed explanation of how she’d learned to make ice cream as a child and had made it for all her friends and classmates. “When I was ten, my parents paid for my first booth at a community parade so I could sell my ice cream. That was the year I began making special flavors and sundaes based on people’s moods…”

  Penny had told Scott those stories, and still he was as captivated by her as Alyssa appeared to be. Over dinner, Penny talked about how Luscious Licks had come to be after her father had passed away almost four years ago and her mother had allowed her and Finlay to use the life insurance money to open their businesses.

  Much later, as they left the restaurant, Alyssa said, “I’m impressed with your personalized approach and your passion for your business, and I am thrilled that Scott persevered. Penny, you are exactly the type of person we want at our festival. You can look forward to an invitation to exhibit at next year’s festival.”

  Penny gasped, and her hand flew over her heart. “Really? Oh my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much!”

  She turned that elated smile on Scott, and he wished he could take her into his arms and spin her around and tell the world how proud of her he was. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”

  “I am curious about something,” Alyssa said with a serious expression. “Scott reached out to me after talking with Ace and Maisy, my relatives who own Mr. B’s microbrewery in Peaceful Harbor. I made a few calls, and I understand that you know several of my cousins from the Harbor and from Pleasant Hill, Maryland. Jillian said you make her wonderful sundaes after she has bad dates, and Tempest said she brings her little boy, Philip, to see you all the time, and you make sundaes for him on the spot. Since it’s clear that you did your homework on the festival, Penny, I’m sure you realized that I was related to your friends. Why didn’t you use your connections to reach out to me?”

  “Because I didn’t think that was fair,” Penny said earnestly. “I wanted to be accepted on merit.”

  “I can assure you that no one gets accepted into our festival on anything other than merit. But use your connections, Penny. In this busy world we live in, it’s hard to stand out among crowds. The more friends and colleagues we have, the better.” Alyssa shifted her attention to Scott and said, “You were right, Scott. Paper does not do Penny justice. Thank you for bringing her to my attention.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, and then they said their goodbyes. After Alyssa had driven away, Penny let out a squeal and leaped into Scott’s arms, exclaiming, “I love y—that you did this for me! Thank you!”

  His chest constricted as he spun her around. She had stumbled over those three special words a lot lately. As he pressed his lips to hers, he knew he’d been a fool to think kissing on a Ferris wheel could keep this extraordinary woman who had so much love to give she overflowed with it by his side forever.

  Chapter Three

  “DO YOU KNOW that this is one of my magical flavors?” Penny asked a towheaded boy Wednesday midmorning as she handed him a single scoop of rainbow sherbet in one of the kiddie-sized chocolate-dipped gingerbread cones that Josie made for the shop each week. Penny loved giving kids a little something extra, and after checking with the boy’s mother, she’d put chunks of chocolate and gold flakes in the bottom of his cone.

  He shook his head and licked his sherbet.

  Penny crouched before him and said, “When you get to the bottom of your cone, if you find chocolate or gold, it means you’re going to have good luck for a whole month. If you find both, you’ll have good luck forever.”

  His eyes widened. “I hope I find them!”

  “I hope you do, too,” Penny said, sharing a smile with the little boy’s mother and with Finlay, who had stopped by to show Penny the frilly pink dress she’d bought for her four-month-old daughter, Tallulah, to wear to Bones and Sarah’s wedding.

  Penny rang up the customer’s purchase, and as she handed the boy’s mother her change, she said, “Enjoy your afternoon.” After they left, Penny wiped down the counter, watching Finlay lean into the stroller, talking softly to Tallulah.

  “Thank you again for the rattle, Pen. Lulu loves it.” Finlay shook the mermaid rattle Penny and Scott had bought for Tallulah at Echo Beach.

  Usually being at the shop or hanging out with her sister brightened any mood Penny might be in. But it had been three days since she and Scott had had dinner with Quincy and Roni, and Penny hadn’t been able to shake the green-eyed monster that had been perched on her shoulder ever since. She hated feeling jealous when Scott was an amazing boyfriend. But if he couldn’t even say he loved her, then where did that leave them?

  “I’m glad.” Penny set down her rag and tried to push away her thoughts as she went to join them at the table, focusing instead on how fantastic her weekend had been. She’d raved to Finlay when she’d first come in about what Scott had done for her, just as she had to Quincy and Roni on Sunday. They were all as elated as Penny was. “I still can’t get over Scott reaching out to Alyssa. He’s such a private guy. He doesn’t even like to ask for help, much less ask for favors.”

  “But he loves you, Pen, and love does crazy things, as we know by the fact that my husband told Kennedy she could name Lulu. Not that I mind. I adore her name.” Finlay was married to Bullet Whiskey.

  “Bullet also lets Kennedy put bows in his hair,” Penny said with a laugh. Kennedy was Quincy’s precocious five-year-old sister-turned-niece.

  Kennedy and her three-year-old brother, Lincoln, were Quincy’s much younger siblings. Their mother was a drug addict. She’d overdosed a few years ago, and their older brother, Truman, and his wife, Gemma, were raising Kennedy and Lincoln as their own children.

  “Remember Halloween two years ago? All the guys wore cheerleading costumes because Kennedy asked them to so she could be a football player. All those hairy legs!” Finlay laughed so hard Tallulah startled and whimpered. “I’m sorry, baby girl. Come to Mama.”

  “Let me hold her,” Penny said, nudging Finlay out of the way and lifting Tallulah into her arms. Tallulah was beautiful, with a mop of Bullet’s thick dark hair and Finlay’s blue eyes.

  Penny nuzzled the baby’s cheek, inhaling her sweet powdery scent as she took her seat across from Finlay. “Saturday was the most romantic day of my life, and not just because Scott went to such amazing lengths to hook me up with Alyssa Braden. Everything about it was wonderful.”

  Finlay leaned on the table, her blond hair framing her pretty face. “You say that every weekend.”

  “I know, but it’s true. I love being with Scott. It doesn’t matter if we’re on the boat, making dinner, or just sitting together doing nothing more than holding hands.” She tickled Tallulah’s belly, lighting up her pretty blue eyes. “I love his voice and the way he laughs.” She wiggled the baby’s foot, earning a sweet smile. “I love that he makes special time for his nieces and nephews, like I do for you, Lulu. Today he’s taking Lila to the bookstore for story hour, and I know he’s going to watch over her like a hawk. That’s another thing I love about him. He’s protective of the kids, of his sisters, and of me, which I know is nothing compared to how protective your hubby is of our little Lulu, but still.” Finlay’s husband, Bullet, was a tough biker and ex–Special Forces. He was also the most protective father she’d ever met. He’d carry that baby twenty-four-seven if he didn’t have to work.

  “Poor Lu is never going to be allowed to date. Red and I are already planning a
n intervention for when she’s a teenager.” Red Whiskey was Finlay’s mother-in-law.

  “Good luck getting the chastity belt off. Bullet will probably have Scotty weld it on. Right, Lulu?” She wiggled the baby’s foot again. “Daddy is not going to let you have any fun.”

  Finlay laughed and ate her ice cream. After a few minutes, she said, “How was dinner with Quincy and Roni?”

  “Fun, as always. We grilled out and sat around the fire pit talking. They’re so supportive of each other. You should have heard Quincy raving about how good Roni’s upcoming dance production is going to be.” Roni taught dance at a studio in town, and she’d just started her own contemporary dance solo production company. Her first production was taking place later that summer. “I couldn’t be happier for them. Or more jealous.”

  Finlay’s brow furrowed. “Jealous? Of what?”

  “Their five-year plan.”

  “Oh,” Finlay said empathetically. “I guess that means you and Scott aren’t any closer to saying I love you or moving in together?”

  “Don’t you think I would have called you and told you if we were?”

  The door to the shop opened, and as if his ears were burning, Scott walked in with Lila in his arms. Penny’s pulse quickened the way it did every time she saw him. She pushed to her feet with Tallulah in her arms and said, “Hi. I didn’t expect to see you two before story time.”

  “I couldn’t come into town and not stop by for a little sugar.” Scott leaned in for a kiss and said, “My favorite flavor.”

  “You guys are too cute,” Finlay said.

  Scott winked at Penny, setting butterflies loose in her belly, and said, “She makes us cute.”

  “Lulu!” Lila reached for Tallulah, her little lips puckered. Penny stepped closer so Lila could kiss her cousin, and Lila exclaimed, “Kiss you!”

  “You know I want super-special Lila kisses!” Penny said as Lila kissed her.

  “Ice ceam?” Lila asked.

  “You bet, Li.” Scott set Lila down and took Tallulah from Penny, stealing another kiss in the process. He snuggled the baby and said, “How’s our pretty girl?” as he sat down at the table with Finlay.

  Penny took Lila’s hand. “Let’s go pick a flavor.” Before my ovaries explode.

  As she helped Lila choose a flavor, she heard Finlay say, “I hear you achieved boyfriend-of-the-year status last weekend.”

  Scott chuckled. “All I did was make a connection. Penny did the rest.” He looked at her as she scooped ice cream and said, “I knew nobody could resist her charms.”

  How could she have been jealous of anyone else’s relationship when she had the perfect man?

  Penny must have asked herself that a dozen times as they chatted with Finlay and Lila ate her ice cream. Scott wiped Lila’s spills and made her laugh and still fit in a few kisses and sexy glances for Penny.

  When they got up to leave, Penny walked them to the door, and Scott said, “Want to go for a walk on the beach tonight?”

  “Yes, that sounds wonderful.”

  Scott pressed his lips to hers, holding Lila’s hand, and Lila made kissing noises at Penny.

  Penny knelt to kiss her and said, “Have fun at story hour.”

  Lila nodded. “See Unca Kinsy.”

  “That’s right, baby. We’re going to see Uncle Quincy.” Scott ruffled Lila’s hair, then set a loving gaze on Penny and said, “Meet you here after work for our walk?”

  “Sounds good.” Penny locked the door behind them and hung up the sign that read THE ELVES ARE MAKING ICE CREAM. BACK IN 30 MINUTES and stalked behind the counter.

  “You’re closing?” Finlay asked as she began nursing Tallulah.

  Penny scooped several types of ice cream into an enormous container and said, “I’m making an I Suck sundae.” She piled on M&M’s, chocolate flakes, granola, gummy bears, strawberries, smothered them in whipped cream, and flopped down at the table with Finlay. “Did you see how great he was with Lu and Lila? How much he adores me?” She sighed heavily. “I hate myself so much right now.”

  “Why?”

  Penny shoveled ice cream into her mouth. “So many reasons.”

  “How about you start with one or two?”

  “Well, for starters, we’ve been together for seven months, which feels like a long time because we’re in so deep. But it’s only seven months, Fin, not years, and he’s been through so much. I don’t want to pressure him, and I hate that I compare our relationship to anyone else’s. But it’s hard not to when all of our friends end up living together, engaged, or married in the blink of an eye. Bullet proposed to you after a month—”

  “Thirty-five days,” Finlay said.

  “Seriously? Like those five days make a difference? Jace proposed to Dixie after what? Two weeks? Even Quincy and Roni moved in together fast. Love happens fast, and it did for us, too. But usually people fall so desperately in love they want more time with the other person.”

  “You and Scott are together every minute you’re not working,” Finlay pointed out.

  “I know that. I’m not asking for more. I just…” Her stomach lurched. She pushed her sundae away. “I can’t eat this. Every time I think about what our future looks like, it makes me feel like I’m going to barf.”

  “Know what else does that?” Finlay asked with a tease in her eyes. “Pregnancy.”

  “Please. You just want someone else to share in your sleepless nights. I’m on birth control, remember?”

  “Mom got pregnant twice on birth control,” Finlay reminded her. “You felt sick last week when we had lunch.”

  “We were talking about this then, too.”

  “True, but you two have sex all the time.”

  “Would you stop?” Penny laughed.

  “Oh my gosh, Penny. You felt sick a few weeks ago when we all had dinner at Whiskey Bro’s. Remember? You and Scott left early. How long have you been feeling sick?”

  As Penny thought about the past few weeks, she realized she had felt nauseous a number of times. “Now you have me worried.”

  “I could be wrong. Take a pregnancy test. You’ll know in five minutes if you’re pregnant or just stressed.”

  “God, that’s all I need. I can’t even think about that possibility. I keep asking myself if Scott and I could just go on like this forever.”

  “Living together but not really living together?”

  “Yeah. It sure feels like we could most of the time. I swear I fall deeper in love with him every day, with every touch, every kiss, and every conversation. Even the hard ones. When he came in here, I got butterflies. But if we just go on like this, will I look back on my life and wish we’d had children? Do you think our love is big enough to fill those empty places?”

  Finlay brushed her hand over Tallulah’s head and said, “You shouldn’t ask a new mom that, because this little girl is everything to us.”

  “I know. I get that. I love him so much, I wish I didn’t want children. I never even thought about having a family in any serious way until Scott and I got together. You’ve seen him with kids. He’s as natural with them as we are.”

  “He’s amazing with children, Pen. But that doesn’t mean he should have his own if he really doesn’t want them.”

  “I know. I think he does want kids, but he’s scared. And people change their minds all the time. Look at Tru. He was fresh out of prison. He wasn’t looking for a wife and two kids.” She sighed, feeling like she was grasping at straws, and said, “Do you think I’m hoping for too much? I don’t need a five-year plan. I just want a smidgen of hope that one day Scott will want more with me. I don’t even care if our plan takes ten years, as long as I know he wants to eventually get there and that he’s willing to work on it together.”

  “I don’t think you’re hoping for too much, but have you talked to him about all of this?” Finlay asked.

  “We’ve talked about what we want plenty of times. He knows I want kids, and I know he doesn’t want them. I feel guilty
for even feeling this way. It’s not fair of me to ask for more when I knew what I was getting into at the beginning of our relationship.”

  “Yes, but you didn’t count on falling in love, and you probably thought if you both fell, he’d change his mind. That’s only natural, Penny. I never thought Bullet would want to be monogamous, much less married with a baby.”

  “I know. I don’t want to change Scott. I love who he is. I just want more of a future together. I want to live in the same place and know that one day we can have our own Lulu.” As she said the words, she realized her mistake, and her stomach sank. “Oh my God, Fin. Trying to change Scott’s mind about what he wants is trying to change him. I’ve turned into one of those awful girls who thinks it’s okay to try to change her boyfriend, and I didn’t even realize it.”

  PENNY SPENT THE next two days in a state of confusion, struggling with the guilt of wanting more of a future with Scott and mired down with worry over Finlay’s pregnancy comments, which all made her even more nauseous. As bad as the days were, when evening rolled in and she was in Scott’s loving arms, all her worries about the future fell away because their present was so wonderful. They laughed and loved and were so good together she tried her hardest to bury those other thoughts. But when morning came, her worries pressed in again, she felt sick, and on the heels of the nausea were Finlay’s comments.

  By Friday afternoon she couldn’t stand it any longer. They were going to the rehearsal dinner in a few hours, but how could she think about anything in the future if she didn’t know where she stood in the present? She closed the shop half an hour early and bought a darn pregnancy test. She couldn’t imagine why the box had three tests in it. It seemed like overkill. Wouldn’t two be enough? Did people really need tie breakers?