“I’m sure.”
“Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
She sauntered off with an exaggerated sway to her hips just as the hostess returned with a bag of food, shooting a disapproving glance toward the server. “Here you go. I put a menu in there for you, so you can call ahead next time. That way, you won’t have to wait.”
“Thanks for that.”
“You’ve probably already figured out that we’re the only restaurant in town, so I imagine we’ll be seeing more of each other. You have a good day now.”
Jaxson paid for his food and was on his way. He’d barely made it half a block when a Volkswagen convertible beeped and pulled over to the curb in front of him. The woman behind the wheel was the same one who’d been popping up in his thoughts all day. Penny. In a baby-blue convertible bug. It was so perfectly her.
“Jaxson! Hey, I was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Hop in, and I’ll tell you.”
Ride in that thing?
He shook his head and kept walking. “No, thanks.”
“Please. I need to talk to you.”
“So, talk.”
She made a feminine sound of frustration that was actually kind of cute and cruised along beside him at a snail’s pace. Several cars beeped and cut around her. She responded with friendly smiles and waves. Of course she did. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of traffic along the main street.
“My mother wants you to come to dinner.”
Her mother? What the hell?
Clearly, his earlier behavior hadn’t put her off, as he’d hoped.
He lifted the bag of takeout and shook it. “Got it covered.”
“Not tonight. Tomorrow.”
Sunday dinner with Penny Hoffmeier and her family? Alarm bells sounded, and red flags popped up all over the place.
“No.”
She made another sound of frustration, this one louder than the last, and then took off, probably exceeding the posted twenty-five mile per hour speed limit. He thought that was the end of it, but once again, he underestimated her. When he reached the next intersection, Penny had parked along the curb and was leaning against the passenger door, arms crossed and looking adorably pissed off.
Well, as close to looking pissed off as someone like her could be.
He attempted to step around her, but she kept putting herself in his way.
“What is your problem?” he asked, exasperated.
“You, apparently,” she muttered under her breath. “Listen, I’m not crazy about it either, okay? But do us both a favor and just come to dinner.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Because he didn’t want to. Because she was obviously trouble. Because he had better things to do.
What he said was, “I’m busy.”
“Yeah, I heard. Skulking around the library.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. Had she been following him again?
“Everyone knows everyone’s business in this town,” she said, as if reading his mind. “Especially strangers who look like walking storm clouds in black leather.”
Walking storm clouds?
“You’re looking for someone, aren’t you? Who?” she asked.
He scowled at her.
She huffed. “Fine, don’t tell me. It’s not like I even care,” she said unconvincingly. “But I will warn you. If you don’t accept my mother’s invitation, there will be consequences.”
He almost laughed at that. “What consequences?”
“If you don’t come, my mother will come to you.”
Then, he did laugh, certain she was joking, but Penny didn’t laugh back. “You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack,” she said somberly. “Don’t think you can avoid her either. When my mother sets her mind to something, she makes it happen. And for some unfathomable reason, she wants to meet and feed you. So ... please.”
Something like desperation flashed in her eyes, making him think she wasn’t exaggerating. Despite himself, for some inexplicable reason, he wanted to see her smile again. And maybe, just maybe, Penny’s mother might be able to provide some of the answers he was looking for.
“How long have you lived here?” he asked. “Your family, I mean.”
She seemed surprised by the question. “A hundred years at least, both sides. Why?”
More than long enough to have the information he sought. Sometimes, one had to concede a battle in order to achieve the bigger objective.
He sighed heavily and nodded. “Fine. What time and where?”
Her eyes brightened. “Really? I thought that would be a lot harder. Wait. Are you just saying you’ll come to get rid of me?”
“Does that happen often?”
Her cheeks turned red, and her lips parted. Apparently, it had happened at least once. Hell, it had almost happened earlier that morning.
He repeated, slower this time, “What time and where?”
“Sunday dinner is at one. I’ll pick you up at twelve forty-five.”
He looked at the baby-blue bug. Hard pass. “Just give me the address.”
She huffed. “Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Sorry. Give me your phone, please.”
The woman was certifiably insane, and yet, he found himself extracting his phone from his pocket, unlocking it, and handing it over to her, curious to see what she would do next. She bit her lip and tapped the screen a few times, then handed it back to him.
“I put my number in there and texted myself so I can reply with the address.”
“You couldn’t just tell me?”
“This way, you have my number in case you need anything.”
He grunted. If he did need something, he wouldn’t be calling her.
“Promise you’ll come?”
Jesus, are we in elementary school or something?
“I’ll be there.”
He walked around the back of her car and made it across the street before she called out, “Just so you know, if you’re not, I’ll come looking for you, and I will find you.”
He didn’t turn around, but this time, he did smile.
Chapter Nine
Penny
Penny pulled away from the curb and proceeded down the side street until she came to the next corner, feeling ... well, she wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling. Anticipation? Fear? A combination of the two?
She wanted to see him again, and yet she was afraid of what might happen when she did. She likened it to a roller coaster—inching to the top, knowing there was something on the other side that was going to completely steal her breath away.
Which, of course, was silly. Especially since she’d never actually ridden a real roller coaster. But she’d heard stories.
There was something about Jaxson Adams that disrupted her circuits. She didn’t know what to make of him or how to process the weird sense of ... energy, electricity, charge ... she’d experienced when she was around him. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt.
After waking from her nap, she’d convinced herself her imagination had been playing tricks on her. Rationalized that it was her mind’s way of dealing with the lack of sleep and the adrenaline rush that had come from almost running the guy over.