Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Penny and Del sat at Penny’s breakfast table, sharing coffee.
As he stirred cream into his serving, Del took a deep breath. “I don’t want to rush you, Penny. We’ve only had a few weeks together since we’ve reconnected, but I want there to be an ‘us.’”
Penny’s eyes filled with tears. “Are you sure about this, Del? I mean, being with you feels right, but also really fast.”
Del bristled. “Are you kidding? This has been the slowest developing relationship in my life. You’re the reason I returned to Maine, despite what I told you about missing the salt air. You’re my unfinished business.” He took her hands in his. “I want you and Dixie in my life, in my house. I get mighty lonely there every night after you leave. If you think your mom will be scandalized by you spending nights there, say the word, and we’ll just speed up the wedding date. Having a wedding on Valentine’s Day will make it one of my favorite holidays again.”
Gasping, Penny removed her hands from his and placed one on her chest. “Whoa! Wedding talk…already?” Admittedly, she had been thinking along the same lines, but Del giving voice to her innermost thoughts made her stomach flip.
Del gave her a lazy grin. “Or we could do a Justice of the Peace thing and forget a formal wedding. Your choice. I’ve been in love with you my whole life, Penny. I took a while to figure out why every woman I met didn’t make me happy. Now I know the reason—because they weren’t you.”
Penny placed her hand over her heart again in an attempt to calm its fierce pounding. “I just don’t want to rush into anything, Del. My track record with men and with weddings hasn’t been the best. Especially this time of year.” She stood and paced around the little table. “Oh, that’s sugar coating the obvious. I’m terrible at relationships. So, I’d rather go slowly with this. I’m not even sure yet what I really want to be when I grow up. Do I want to be an owner of a card shop, or do I want to be a singer/songwriter?”
Del took her into his arms, forming a cocoon of warmth around her. “I don’t see why you can’t do both. I’ll make appearances at your store each season, as long as Baxter wants my cards, so that’ll help your sales. But I also want to be the one you’re with when you win song of the year at the CMAs. We’ll have a great time together, and I can’t wait.”
Her mind shot off in twenty different directions. Del supported her songwriting career, not for personal gain, but because it made her happy. Yes, this signified a great start to a relationship, but she’d been down that road before, twice. Penny’s stomach fluttered at this quick change of her circumstances. Her body still shot off sparks from their evening together, adding to the chaos raging through her. She needed some space, some time to regain her sensibility.
Yet each time she attempted to put some distance between them at the table, Del’s arms wrapped around her, and she snuggled closer. So she started to take down her defenses. This was Del. Not Ricky, not Max. She finally had found a good one. Penny melted into his body and rolled from his side into his lap, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. Breakfast should have been difficult to eat and drink in such a state, but instead, Penny experienced pure bliss. She finally finished her meal wearing a huge smile.
****
The smile still lit her face as she made her way to The Treasure Chest, even though she wanted to keep her magical night with Del secret for just a bit longer. Today was Sunday, and even though the store didn’t open until noon, Abbey and Penny had a lot of merchandise to restock for the last mad rush before Christmas. They were scheduled to meet at the store at nine o’clock and start loading the shelves with new merchandise.
She picked up some coffee on her morning walk and now juggled two large cups of Sang Freud’s most popular roasted coffee, with their signature blue stripe around the rim in one hand, while she put the key in the back door lock. The cold Maine air nipped at her nose, but even though the weather had become more seasonal, Penny’s mood didn’t dampen. Nor did she erase her smile.
However, her hopes to beat Abbey to the store were dashed. Her sister already had let herself in. If Penny’d been paying attention instead of daydreaming, she would have seen Abbey’s minivan in the parking lot. From the sound of things, Abbey had company. Too late to turn around and leave or to scan the parking lot for another familiar car in order to figure out to whom Abbey was talking, Penny shoved open the door with her foot and let herself in.
Abbey and their mother both stared with questions in their eyes.
Ah, nuts. Penny’s good mood vaporized. From their stance, Penny could tell a showdown was about to happen. She always hated fessing up to Abbey, but to do so in front of their mother was an embarrassment she could do without. Her throat constricted as she faced her audience. The scene was high noon in the O-K Corral.
Her mother didn’t even give her time to take a breath before she launched. “There you are, finally, Penny, Maybe you can clear up something. I’ve been telling Abbey you and your little dog have been spending quite a bit of your evening hours at a quaint house down the street from our place. And Abbey swears she knows nothing.”
Penny’s chest expanded as she took a breath and glanced at her mother. Why did the image of a firing squad come to mind? “That’s right, Mom. Abbey’s as much in the dark as you are. Or maybe more so, since you at least witnessed my car in Del’s driveway.” She took another breath and stepped closer. “Okay, you found me out. Del asked me to help him get his furniture settled in his new house, and I’ve been lending a hand in the evenings.”
Abbey stood, taking one of the cups from her shaking hands. “Why have you led me to believe you and he hadn’t seen each other since the signing here at the store? Only bumping into him at the Christmas caroling and one bowling get-together? Except for last night when Sandra hijacked him, you’ve not said a word about spending time together.”
Planning what she’d say, she stalled. Penny took off her coat, and wrapped her now-cold hands around her hot coffee. She had never hid anything from Abbey before. Her mother, yes, but not Abbey. She took a sip of coffee before raising her gaze to her tormenters. “I didn’t want to say anything yet, since the relationship’s so new and delicate. So many road blocks existed—first Sandra crashing in here and then Ricky calling out of the blue. Anything could have tripped us up, and I didn’t want either of you to get your hopes up.”
Her mother tapped a foot on the carpet. “So, exactly where do things stand now with you and Del?”
Penny chewed on her lower lip for a second. Her well-kissed lower lip. The smile returned to her face. “I’d say, Mom, you’d better get used to my car being in Del’s driveway, since I plan to be there a lot. Del’s already said if you’d be offended by my car and me spending the nights at his house, we could hurry up with the wedding.” Bracing herself, she turned to her sister and swallowed past the lump in her throat. “And Abbey, we can change the names of the nutcrackers back to Hans and Gunther. I plan on seeing a lot of Del Madison in my future. I am no longer flying solo.” She spread her arms wide. “And, I once again love Christmas.”