Recap of Chapter 23: After several blissful, carefree days at Martin’s Maine cabin, cooking, playing games, and enjoying each other’s company, the three guests begrudgingly declared that they needed to get back to reality. The problem was, Penny, Matthew and Chloe were not ready to leave, and Martin was certainly not ready to be left behind.
When Penny got home, she was forced to jump right into the life she’d run from. It was two hours before opening for lunch and Jesse was beyond glad she’d returned. He declared that he’d seen her job, and she could keep it. He was somewhat kidding, of course, but being completely in charge and living above the restaurant meant never getting away from it and he was ready to relinquish the reins.
She unlocked the door of the restaurant just as he was coming down the stairs. He drew her into a big hug, twirling her around. “I thought you’d never come back!” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Welcome back, and I’ll see you later.” He ran upstairs ahead of her to quickly gather his things. With a quick check to make sure she had it all handled, he waved and dashed out the door. Then he popped his head back in, “Oh, and Gus has been a ghost since you left. He only comes out to eat and use the litter box. Good luck with that.” And he was gone, not scheduled to return until the dinner rush.
“After a few steamy text exchanges, they agreed he’d come over at closing time.”
Being busy, she didn’t have a lot of time to reflect on the days spent at her dad’s cabin, but it was never far from her mind. Glimpses would pop into her head as she went about her duties in the restaurant, especially before opening when it was just her alone in the kitchen food-prepping. Over chopping mushrooms for soup, she got a flash of Matthew early in the morning, peeking over his arm and smiling at her from his pillow; another of him scooping her up in victory when they won at Pictionary. She thought of how comforting it was seeing her dad in the kitchen pouring cups of coffee, the sun shining on his messy morning hair. And getting to know Chloe better proved that she could become an even closer friend. “You can never have too many friends,” she said out loud to the empty room.
As if right on cue, Penny’s phone buzzed. It was Chloe texting. “Is it silly for me to be missing hanging out with you already?” Penny wiped her hands and answered, “If it is, call me silly too. I miss being on holiday with you. It’s completely unreasonable for us to go cold turkey. Come by tonight and we can have a glass of wine or something.” Chloe promised she’d come. The next text was from Matthew. “I know I should be an adult and concentrate on my work, but I can’t get you off my mind. For some reason, it’s the curve of your neck that’s driving me crazy. I keep picturing you with your hair swept up, leaving your kissable neck vulnerable to my advances.” Penny sighed. There certainly were a lot of memorable advances, and not limited to her neck. This prompted a sexy highlight reel to play in her mind. She texted back quickly, her fingers flying, “I think you should come over tonight—ease my withdrawals. It just might be key to my survival.” After a few steamy text exchanges, they agreed he’d come over at closing time. “You can never have too many bootie calls, either,” she said with a sultry smile.
Penny’s staff arrived—glad to see her return to her regular duties—and the day was bustling. Inspired by her time in Maine, she made an order for crab so she could add crab cakes to the lunch specials. With diced peppers and onion, she browned them to a light crispy texture and then drizzled them with a tangy lime-ginger sauce. Topped with in-house onion rings, she served them with a side of sizzling mac ‘n’ cheese and spring greens. Her customers raved and they were out before the lunch rush was over. Penny made a mental note to put it on the menu rotation.
She was surprised to see Jesse arrive. Could it be 7 pm already? He filled her in on the highlights of what went on in her absence. There were several business-expanding requests to consider: a large order for her popular Cornish meat pasties for the weekly realtor’s association meeting; a request for catering a wedding at Evergreen Lake House—for 150 guests—and several requests to book the restaurant for a private party. Penny was thrilled. It looked like business was skyrocketing. All she needed to do was to keep her head in it and hire extra help. Good thing college kids were home for the summer. Happy news. Penny couldn’t help but smile. And, just a few hours until Matthew would arrive, fresh from the shower after a hard day’s work and ready to play. She could almost smell his cedar and bourbon body wash. Never mind using it in the shower, it should be marketed as an aphrodisiac.
Jesse spied her absent-mindedly shuffling menus at the hostess stand. “Look at you, smiling all sexy-like. You’re thinking about your man.” Penny blushed. “Oh, you’ve got it bad,” he teased. Busted, Penny shrugged.
The dinner rush came, thankfully keeping her too busy to watch the clock. Chloe took a booth at around 9 and they enjoyed a few laughs over a couple glasses of wine. She admitted that she missed Martin already. “Not very 21st century, modern, independent woman of me, I admit.” And they shared memories of the days spent cooking, playing games, and drinking whiskey on the deck overlooking the water. “Does he really live like that? Like, every day?” Penny could tell she was falling for him, and it would not be a casual fling like most of her male encounters. When Chloe left, she was dialing Martin just to hear his ‘sexy’ voice. “Say hi from me,” Penny said as she left, pleased for her dad—for both of them.
Before Penny knew it, they were shooing out the last customers at the bar and flipping the sign to CLOSED. Jesse pocketed his tips and was just leaving when Matthew arrived. “Lover boy is here!” he shouted into the room, giving Matthew a one-armed man hug as he passed. Penny wasted no time jumping into Matthew’s arms and kissing him passionately. Completely focused on each other, they went from 0-60 in mere seconds. Before uttering two words, they were scrambling up the stairs, flipping light switches on the way. Once inside the apartment, Matthew pinned her against the door, kissing her and running hungry hands along her curves. Penny melted at his touch and sighed. Suddenly, she pushed him away just far enough to pull her shirt over her head and toss it aside. In a hot pink lacy bra, she grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom, giggling and leaping onto the bed.
From his perch on top of the bookshelf, Gus watched, the tip of his tail twitching. He let out a low, perturbed meow at the frenzied couple on the bed.
