“See?” She looks over her shoulder at Kate, smiling brightly.
Watching Penelope is fascinating. I now know she can’t actually see Kate, yet she looks almost right at her. “Friends help friends, Kate.”
“Fine,” Kate huffs. She looks at me, and I can see it pains her to be nice. “We’ll take you up on that offer if it’s not too much trouble.”
We stare at each other for a moment, and then there it is, that stubborn tilt to her chin. As if she’s daring me to… I’m not even sure what.
Tell her I was just joking, and I’m not going to do it?
Actually take them home?
“No trouble at all,” I grin, unable to look away. “Never when it comes to you.”
Color creeps into her cheeks, turning them rosy. Her throat bobs as she swallows; looking away, she nibbles at her lower lip. “Well… thanks.”
Walking around Penelope, I come toe to toe with her sister. I tuck my finger under her chin and lift it, so she looks at me. “I mean it, Katherine.”
She lets her lip pop, color rushing into the flesh. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Chapter Thirteen
KATHERINE
“Sorry for the wait,” Emmett says as he slides into his seat. Once we piled into his truck, he told us he had to make a stop at a store to grab some stuff for his dad.
We waited patiently—well, Penny waited as I gave her a piece of my mind—for Emmett and one of the workers to load the back of the truck with bags of God knows what. And all the while, as I was reprimanding Penny for asking Emmett to drive us, I couldn’t help but watch him as he worked. The way his biceps flexed every time he grabbed one of the bags and threw it over his shoulder. Seriously, how does a guy in high school look like that?
Thankfully, Penny couldn’t see me staring at him, but Emmett could. At one point, he caught me ogling him, and one of those grins of his appeared on his lips.
So. Not. Fair.
“No worries, you’re doing us a favor,” Penny says with a smile.
It’s surreal the way he has her wrapped around his finger, and she couldn’t even get the full effect of his charm.
Emmett starts the truck and checks the rearview mirror before pulling out on the road.
“So, Emmett, how do you know Kate?” Penny asks as soon as we’re on our way.
“Oh, she ran over me,” Emmett says so matter of factly that I almost believe him too.
“She what?” Penny shrieks, her wide eyes turning toward me.
“Yup.” Emmett nods his head, dead serious. “It’s true. She ran me over the first day of school.”
I roll my eyes. “It was an accident. He turned around just when I was leaving the administrative office. And it was me who ended up on my ass, so I don’t know who ran over whom,” I point out for the umpteenth time. “Take a right turn here.”
He gives me a quick glance, a grin flashing on his lips, before moving his attention back to the road. “It’s not my fault that I’m all ripped, and your plan backfired.”
I guess there is something to say about manual labor. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud.
“Ripped? What are you, a bodybuilder?”
“Nope, darlin’,” Emmett drawls, his accent thickening. “Just a good ol’ footballer.”
Another grin. A shiver runs down my spine, goosebumps rising on my skin. That grin should be forbidden by law. As if he can read my mind, Emmett chuckles quietly.
“You play football?” Penny asks. Of course, that would get her attention.
“Sure do, Little Adams.”
“Apparently, football equals religion around these parts,” I mutter, unable to resist poking him, if only a little. But neither of them cares as they continue their conversation, ignoring me.
“What position do you play?”
“Linebacker.”
Her brows furrow. “Are you any good?”
This time Emmett full-on laughs. “You can say that, yeah, I guess.”
He makes the turn onto our street. Just a little bit more, and we’ll be home, and Emmett will be gone. No more sexy grins and little taunts.
My eyes fall down to his mouth.
I’ll wait for you to kiss me first.
The words I couldn’t get out of my mind all night long ring in my mind once again. I hoped I’d get more time to compose myself, but of course, he had to be the one to find us stranded with bags of groceries to carry back home and our aunt MIA.
Get a grip, Kate!
“You guess?” Penny frowns. “That doesn’t really sound convincing.”
“Penny,” I hiss quietly, elbowing her in the gut. The only thing it does is upset Henry, who gives me an unamused look.
“No, it’s fine,” Emmett reassures me.
“This is us.” I point at the house.
The driveway is empty, so Emmett pulls in and kills the engine. Taking his cap off his head, he rubs the back of his neck before putting it back down.
“Have you ever been?”
“What?” I ask, my hand already on the door handle.
“To a football game?” He looks at Penny, and I realize the question was aimed at her. “Have you ever been?”
“Oh.” Penny shrugs. “No real point in going since I can’t actually see?”
“Maybe, but maybe not. Football is so much more than just watching an actual game.”
Penny tilts her head to the side. “Like what?”
“Smell of grass.” Penny furrows her nose in disgust, making Emmett laugh. I have to admit he has a nice laugh—loud and cheerful, it pulls you in, making you want to join in on the fun. “Okay, but there’s also the crowd. The way they cheer you on to victory. Yelling, trash talk, stomping feet.”
“Okay, I guess that does make sense.”
“You should come.”
“What?”
“No, really, the football season has just started, and we’ll be playing every Friday. You should come.” Emmett looks up, his eyes meeting mine. “Both of you.”
The intensity of his gaze has chills running down my spine.
Stop it, Kate.
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it,” he urges.
Nibbling on my lip, I nod once, not ready to give him an answer. Instead, I turn to my sister. “Ready to go?”
“Sure.”
I hop out of the car and watch as Penny slowly does the same with the help of Henry. My heart is in my throat as she almost misses the step but manages to find her footing at the very last moment.
“Do you need help with the groceries?” Penny asks, rubbing softly between Henry’s ears.
“I’m good,” I assure her just as Emmett chimes in too.
“I’ll help her carry the things inside, don’t you worry about a thing, Little Adams.”
“You know I’m not actually that little, right?”
“Of course, but you’re Kate’s little sister, hence you’re Little Adams.”
Penelope tilts her head to the side, thinking about it for a moment.
“Okay.” Penny nods, her grip on Henry’s harness tightening. “I’ll prepare us some sweet tea. You like sweet tea, right?”