Chapter 3 - Broom Fell…
Penelope yanked the scrunchie band out of her hair and watched her curls tumble down her shoulders in an unruly mess. She ran her hands through the springy strands a few times, trying her best to tame them into some sort of a presentable style before letting out a frustrated groan and giving up.
"What are you even doing?" she muttered to herself in annoyance.
Gathering her hair up once more, she took the scrunchie and bound her red curls into a high ponytail. Some shorter tendrils fell out framing her face and she pushed them back behind her ears, out of the way.
She looked at herself critically in the mirror and pursed her lips at what she saw. It would have to do. She didn't want to appear as though she'd made too much of an effort. She looked casual, didn't she? Laid back. Absolutely fine for sorting out boxes of decorations. Just a boring old jumper and leggings.
Nothing that would make Colin suddenly wake up and realise what he'd been missing all these years.
In truth, she didn't think she owned any piece of clothing by which that miracle might happen.
Turning away, she took a couple of steps towards the bathroom door then paused for a moment and spun back around.
A little lip gloss wouldn't hurt though, would it?
She quickly put some on and added a touch of mascara – because lip gloss would look odd on its own, right?
Finally happy…well, satisfied at least, she left her bathroom and headed downstairs to wait for her visitors to arrive.
Colin had already messaged her that he and Eloise were on their way with coffees and treats as promised.
She gave Pye his food then busied herself around the house. Plumping the cushions on her couch, getting some plates out for breakfast, slightly adjusting ornaments on the mantlepiece, back to plumping cushions again.
She was full of nervous anticipation. It was same every time she first saw Colin after he'd been away. Anytime she saw him really, if she were completely honest with herself.
The doorbell rung and even though she was expecting it, she still jumped a little. She hurried to the door, flung it open wide and there he stood, carrying a cup holder of coffees, in all his gorgeous, smiling glory.
"Hi," she greeted with a grin.
His gaze flicked down her body then back up again to meet her eyes, smile growing wider.
"Hi," he replied.
They simply stared at each other, the moment stretching out slightly longer than could be considered normal until Eloise popped her head between them, tired of being ignored.
"Hello! Shall we eat? I'm starving," she said, holding up a paper bag in front of Penelope's face.
The red head blinked as she focussed on her friend and then quickly gathered her wits enough to nod. "Oh, yes, of course. Come on in."
She stepped back so that they could walk past her, then closed the door and followed them into the kitchen. Colin placed the coffee's down on the small dining table then shrugged out of his coat and placed it on the back of a chair. Eloise, on the other hand, was far too hungry to do anything other than grab a plate and start unpacking the pastries.
There were a lot.
Colin must have noticed her incredulous expression because he gave her a sheepish look and shrugged.
"I'm a growing lad," he joked, patting his stomach.
Her gaze was drawn to the gesture and then it slowly drifted up. The white t-shirt he wore pulled slightly over his broad chest and showed off his toned arms and tanned skin to perfection.
By the time she reached his face, he was sporting a soft smile and a slightly questioning look. Belatedly she realised that he'd been expecting some kind of quip back, but for the life of her, she couldn't think of anything – except how she really wanted to run her hands all over his chest, preferably under his top. She wondered, briefly, if she should just tell him that. Blow up their friendship and see what pieces were left to sift through.
She didn't though. Of course she didn't. Years of her mother's criticisms of her looks and weight automatically coming to fore, she opted for self-depreciation instead. It also helped to remind herself that she'd never, in a million years, be able capture the romantic affection of a man like Colin Bridgerton.
"I don't know where you put it all," she finally commented with a shake of her head, "You're lucky, I only have to look at a pastry and I put on ten pounds. Takes me an extra half an hour down the gym for weeks to work it all off."
It was meant as a joke but it apparently fell flat with the Bridgerton siblings. She should have realised that they'd always stick up for her – even if it was against herself.
"Penelope! Stop it," Eloise immediately objected, sounding aghast.
The red head gave an awkward little laugh and went to move past Colin, but he reached out and gently took hold of her hand, stopping her. She stared up at him in surprise and saw that he was frowning.
"El is right, Pen. I wish you wouldn't say such things about yourself," he admonished lightly. He ran an appreciative glance down her body then met her gaze again. "I think you look great - beautiful, in fact."
Oh.
As before, when he'd texted the same, she wasn't quite sure how to react to his compliment. He was just being his usual kind self of course, but, God, her heart couldn't help but react to the tender smile he was now giving her.
"When you two have quite finished mooning at each other, there's food here that still needs to be eaten," Eloise announced loudly, breaking into the moment.
Colin's mouth tightened at his sister's comment and he shot her an annoyed look. "We're not mooning," he muttered grumpily as he reluctantly let go of Penelope's hand.
Eloise let out a derisive snort and looked about to say something else but catching the warning glance he gave her, she grabbed another croissant instead.
Christ. The last thing he needed was his sister sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted. He was still trying to gauge Penelope's reaction after he called her beautiful. She'd seemed okay with it, hadn't she? She certainly hadn't looked at him as if he'd grown another head or something, so that was a good sign at least.
He picked up the plate of pastries and offered them to Penelope. She chose a chocolate twist then gave him a quick smile and a nod of thanks.
He smiled back then placed one of the coffees in front of her as well, earning another appreciative grin that warmed his insides. Taking a chocolate twist for himself as well, he popped off the lid of his own coffee to allow the hot drink to cool a little and sat down opposite her at the small table.
"So, have you got everything you want for the party?" Eloise asked as she munched her way through her second croissant.
"Pretty much, I think. I just want to get everything out and see where to put it or if I need anything else," Penelope replied before biting into her own pastry. "God, where did you get this? It's so good."
"New place just opened up near me called Danbury's. We should go and sit in one day. The cakes look amazing," Elosie told her.
Penelope nodded and took another bite then let out a low groan of appreciation.
Feeling his body respond to the sound, Colin automatically glanced over at her then did a double take when he saw a little dab of chocolate sitting at the corner of her mouth.
"Babes, you've got a little something there," said Eloise, gesturing to her own face.
Penelope mumbled a thanks and Colin watched in fascination as she opened her mouth slightly and ran her tongue along her full, pink bottom lip and into the corner to lick off the sauce.
Unconsciously, his own lips pressed together as his mind flew back to Christmas day, ten months earlier. Bridgerton House. Penelope had come over to spend the evening with his family as she did every year. Drinks had flowed, good cheer was had and then it'd been their turn to fetch more beer and wine from the kitchen.
They'd been laughing about something together as they'd headed towards the kitchen when he'd spotted some mistletoe hanging over the door and had stopped underneath. She'd given him a puzzled look and he'd gestured above them with a grin.
It had become a tradition between them over the years. A quick kiss on the cheek, then carry on.
It had been different this time though.
Many months before, Colin had come to the realisation that somewhere along the line, what he felt for Penelope wasn't merely friendship any longer. Maybe it never had been. Maybe he'd just been too stupidly blind to see it.
So, when Penelope had started to move, he'd reached up and cupped her cheek instead, searching her face for permission. Her eyes and widened slightly and then she'd given him the merest of nods before he leaned down to touch his lips to hers.
That first kiss had been for the mistletoe, but the second kiss…the second had been for them.
Slow and tender and absolutely mind blowing, it had merely confirmed what he'd already known deep down. That he was head over heels in love with his friend and he was never going to kiss anyone other than Penelope Featherington ever again.
It had been a shock then, that just as the kiss had begun to deepen, Eloise had yelled out from the lounge, asking what was taking them so long and Penelope had pulled away from him almost immediately.
She'd been completely flustered and had quickly grabbed a couple of bottles of wine from the kitchen before walking past him back to the rest of his family. And she'd done it all without meeting his gaze once.
Fearing he had ruined things between them completely, he'd soon realised that it was, in fact, worse. She'd simply refused to acknowledge anything had happened at all and he'd, reluctantly, been forced to do the same.
It hadn't been long after that that she'd started seeing Debling proving, in his mind, that he was alone in his feelings. And, so, he'd concocted the idea for another book and left. Better that, then stay and watch her with someone else.
"Did I get it all?"
Colin blinked as Penelope's voice brought him back to the present with a slight jolt. The silence stretched out and when he finally managed to drag his gaze from her mouth, he realised it was because she was looking at him.
He swallowed heavily, his own tongue darting out to moisten his suddenly dry lips as he sought to come up with a coherent response.
"Uh-huh."
Then, as the embarrassment of being caught staring at her suddenly washed over him, he reached out and grabbed his coffee and took a long drink.
Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot hot!
Eyes watering and mouth on fire, his face reddened as he gamely swallowed the burning liquid down before launching into a coughing fit and slapping a hand over his mouth.
Bloody hell.
"I'll get you some water," Penelope told him urgently.
She hurried over to the sink and Colin felt a sharp kick to his shin. He gave his sister an angry look and desperately tried to catch his breath, the added pain not helping.
'You prat,' she mouthed at him with an unsympathetic grin and shake of her head.
"Here, drink this."
A glass of water was thrust in front of his face and he sputtered a couple more times before taking it and having a long swig.
"Thanks," he finally managed to rasp.
"Do you want some more?" she asked when he finished the glass.
He managed a smile and shook his head.
"No, I'm good," he assured her, his voice still a little croaky.
She stared at him in concern a moment more then patted him on the arm and went and sat back down.
It was a nothing touch, but his skin still tingled pleasantly in the aftermath all the same. And as much as his tongue now felt too big in his mouth and he was pretty certain he wouldn't be able to taste anything for the next decade, at least the whole incident had calmed his momentary ardour.
Turning his attention to his breakfast, he forced down the twist and even a croissant. It was painful, but he was starving. Resolutely ignoring the amused glances his sister kept giving him, he sipped gingerly at his coffee and smiled reassuringly at Penelope whenever she sent him a sympathetic look.
He was relieved when they finally all finished eating and he helped clear everything away ready to get started on sorting out the decorations.
Penelope had various boxes of stuff she'd bought in her spare room. She had some older bits in her loft and some delicate pieces that she'd placed in her utility room next to the kitchen.
"I think I may have got a bit carried away," Penelope declared sometime later as she surveyed the boxes piled up in her kitchen.
"Yeah, it's safe to say that you don't need to buy anything else," Eloise agreed eyeing everything in disbelief. She picked up a witch's broom and then another one. "How many of these have you got exactly?"
"Thirty," she muttered, looking mortified.
"Thirty," Eloise echoed incredulously.
"I only wanted three but I accidentally added a zero," she admitted with a grimace, "and then I was too embarrassed to send them all back."
Colin let out a huff of laughter which in turn set off the other two at the ridiculousness of it.
"I'm sure we can think of something to with them," he said, twirling one around in his hand. "Maybe hang a few in the garden and out the front."
Penelope nodded in agreement then glanced at her watch.
"Tea break first, though, I think."
"I'll make it," Colin offered as he was nearest to the kettle.
And, quite frankly, he needed something to distract him after the last hour and a half he'd just had. Shifting a few boxes shouldn't be that difficult, but with Penelope it had proved torturous.
Every time she'd bent over, whether it be to pick up a box or check what was in it, he'd been blessed with a sight that he'd found increasingly hard to look away from. It was either her perfectly rounded backside in black leggings that clung lovingly to every curve of her shapely legs, or it was a tantalising view of her amazing breasts that were modestly covered by a light blue v-neck jumper and really brought out the colour of her eyes. And don't even get him started on the way her curls had bounced around with every movement. That high ponytail she was sporting might be practical for her, but it was sexy as hell for him.
He flicked the switch on then busied himself getting mugs out of the cupboard and dropped a teabag in each one as he waited for the kettle to boil. Leaning against the sink, he pulled out his phone and started checking through his messages as a loud clacking noise sounded to his left. He looked up just as a large black cat jumped up onto the kitchen side next to him and simply stared.
Colin had always found it slightly unnerving whenever Pye had done that over Facetime but now, to bear the full force of those emerald, green eyes boring into him in the flesh, it was quite…intimidating.
"How many times have I told you? Not on the kitchen counter, Pye," Penelope scolded lightly as she walked over and picked him up. "He's a little devil," she added, putting him down on the floor.
Colin could quite well believe it. There was something very disconcerting about that animal that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He watched the cat saunter off and jump onto one of the boxes then sit down and begin to groom himself.
The kettle boiled, drawing his attention away and he put his phone down on the counter before making them all a tea.
"Shall we sit in the lounge?" Eloise suggested, looking around at the chaos in the kitchen.
"I'll get the biscuit tin," Penelope decided much to Colin's delight.
They headed into the other room and Eloise made a beeline for the lone armchair, leaving the settee for Penelope and Colin. They sat down next to each other and it was then that Colin noticed that Pye had followed behind them.
The cat eyed him for a moment and Colin tensed. Recalling Benedict's words the night before, he slowly moved his hand to cover his groin, not at all liking the way Pye continued to stare at him.
Not that he believed in any of the nonsense his siblings had filled his head with, of course – but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Just in case.
"He can take a little while to warm up to people," Penelope told him ruefully.
Colin nodded. "I've heard," he muttered wryly.
Eloise gave a snort of laughter and he shot her a withering glance before jolting suddenly, spilling some of his tea, as Pye jumped unexpectedly onto his lap.
No claws. No scratching. No mice from what he could see and definitely no bodily functions. Just a low purr and then he settled down like he'd known him for years.
After a moment Colin relaxed and began to stroke the cat's soft fur. The purring intensified. This was good. Pye liked him it seemed. Not like those other men, which only went to prove that all that talk was complete rubbish because if that cat had any weird superpowers, he would've known Colin's true feelings and decimated him on the spot.
He glanced over at his sister with a smug smile and wasn't completely surprised to see her looking disappointed. She'd been expecting something spectacular to happen to him, he was sure.
"Looks like the old Bridgerton charm has worked again," Penelope commented from his side snippily.
Now that surprised him. He turned his head and looked at her curiously. From her tone, she seemed…annoyed? Fed up? Pissed off?
That was odd.
It hit him then that his brother and sister had likely filled Penelope's head with all that crap about Pye, much like they had him.
And she was unhappy.
Huh.
Unhappy because Pye had sat on him? Unhappy because Pye hadn't gouged his eyes out – or worse?
Unhappy…dare he hope, because she thought it meant that he wasn't interested in her?
A slow smile spread across his face as he continued to look at her and noticed the faintly accusing glances she kept giving her cat.
Could this be the sign he'd been looking for? The something that indicated she wasn't as unaffected by him as she seemed to let on?
And if so, didn't it follow that, perhaps, their kiss at Christmas had meant something to her as well?
And not, as he'd supposed, been something that she'd wished had never happened because she didn't see him as anything other than a friend? Or that he'd come uncomfortably close to stepping over a line that she'd never wanted to cross?
He felt Pye move and watched as the feline stood and arched his back. Stretching out his front paws, his claws came out momentarily but retracted quickly and then he jumped off and walked away.
Colin looked back at Penelope and saw a brief flicker of hope that had lighted her eyes fade away, once more, to disappointment.
His smile widened. He couldn't help it. He was right. He was almost certain of it.
She suddenly leaned forward and grabbed the biscuit tin from the table then took the lid off and shoved it under his nose.
"Biscuit?" she snapped, not quite meeting his eye.
Oh, yeah, he was so right.
"You know me, Pen, I never say no," he uttered glibly and picked out a custard cream.
"Yeah, so people tell me," she muttered under her breath, causing him to bite back a laugh.
She offered the tin to Eloise, who shook her head.
"I'm going to pop outside for a quick ciggie and give Phillip a call."
She got up and gave a Colin a brief meaningful glance before smiling nonchalantly at her friend then left them alone.
Silence descended and Penelope glanced over at Colin before taking a large gulp of her tea and standing up abruptly herself.
"I'd better get the last bits from the utility room," she announced and quickly turned away.
Colin put his tea down on the table and immediately stood as well.
"I'll help you," he offered, following after her.
"No need, I can manage," she rebuffed lightly, not breaking her stride.
"But you said that there were some bits higher up that you couldn't reach without a stool," he reminded her. "I can get those for you."
She had? Penelope paused to put her mug down on the kitchen side and groaned internally. She had said that, damn it.
She turned to look at him and forced a smile.
"Fine."
The pleased grin he gave her back made her heart skip and she cursed whatever powers that be that she was destined to love this man who didn't love her back. The least they could have done was make him a complete arsehole or something. Maybe then she'd be glad that he wasn't interested and be able to finally get on with her life.
She headed to the utility room and moved a few of the many witch's brooms that littered the place, from the doorway. Propping them up out of the way against the wall nearby, they then went in.
From his vantage point atop a nearby box, Pyewacket watched the door click shut behind the two humans and jumped down. He sauntered over to the brooms and eyed first them and then the door in contemplation.
He had an idea…
Inside the room, Penelope glanced around until she spied what she was looking for.
"There's a couple of tubs up on the top shelf that I need…oh!"
She turned around and came face to face with his chest. Drawing in a sharp breath at his nearness, she tilted her head back and found him gazing down at her with a soft smile. She exhaled slowly, her heart picking up speed in her chest. The last time they'd been this close was at Christmas. He'd been looking at her the same way then as well.
Right before they'd…
"Which ones?"
She blinked.
"What?"
Colin gestured to the shelf with his thumb.
"Which ones do you want me to get down?"
She blinked again and it was enough for her to look away and take a step back from him.
"Oh, uh, those two on the right," she replied and moved to the side to let him go past.
She watched as he reached up, his arms flexing as he grabbed the first tub and lowered it carefully to the floor. When he reached up for the second one, her gaze roamed lower over his broad chest and down to where his t-shirt rode up a little, giving her a glimpse of his tanned stomach. From there it was only natural that her eyes carried on southwards. His waist was surprisingly trim and his backside looked…really, really good in those jeans.
"Pen?"
"Hmmm?" she answered distractedly. When he didn't say anything, she looked up and found him grinning unabashedly at her before slowly turning and placing the second tub on top of the first.
"I asked if this was everything?"
It wasn't. There was one more tub on another shelf. But, she could feel her face beginning to warm with the knowledge that he'd caught her staring blatantly at his arse and all she wanted to do was make her escape with what little dignity she had left.
Unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case when a loud crash followed by several bangs on the door startled them both.
"What was that?" Penelope gasped. She hurried over to the door and tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She tried it again. Then again and after the fourth try she let out a frustrated cry. "I can't get it open."
"Let me have a go," Colin offered as he walked over and grabbed hold of the handle.
"Colin, I'm more than capable of opening a stupid door," she groused, irately.
He rattled it a couple of times and gave it a tug and although the handle did move slightly, he had no better luck than Penelope.
"It's stuck."
Penelope crossed her arms and gave him a withering look.
"Really? I would never have guessed."
He turned to look at her and grinned.
"Good job I'm here then, isn't it?" he joked with a chuckle.
She felt her own mirth begin to rise in response and soon laughed as well.
"I'm guessing that crash is whatever is blocking the door," she commented with a sigh. Then an idea struck and she went to get her phone out of her pocket, but realised she didn't have any in her leggings. "Have you got your phone? You could call Eloise and let her know what's happened."
Colin nodded and felt around in his back pocket only to come up empty. He let out a groan.
"I've left it on the kitchen side," he muttered apologetically. "Don't worry, she can't be that much longer."
"She called Phillip, she could be hours," Penelope declared wryly.
Colin turned and leaned back against the door with a sigh. He looked at her for a moment then gave a little nod as if deciding upon something.
"Looks like we'll have to wait then. So, what do you want to do?"
"Do?" she repeated with a frown. She walked into the middle of the small room and gestured about her. "Not sure there's much we can do in here."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged.
"Oh, I don't know about that," he countered as he glanced around the room. There was a sink at the back and shelves lining the walls on each side. Organised as ever, on the left there were tubs that were used for storage and on the right were non perishable's that she'd likely bought in bulk. Taking everything in, his gaze landed on her again. "We could sort through the decorations or grab a snack or even…talk?"
The last held a hint of a question that suggested he wanted to do that more than anything else. She couldn't imagine why though. They'd been chatting all morning.
"Talk?" she echoed in bewilderment. "About what?"
Again, he shrugged, then pushed himself away from the door and walked slowly towards her. He stopped short a little distance away and pushed his hands even further down into his pockets in what felt, to her, like a nervous gesture.
"The weather? The price of eggs?" He took a small step forward, his lips pulling up into an uncertain smile as he added hopefully, "Us?"
Penelope stared back at him, eyes wide. Internally she shook her head. No. Don't go there. Whatever it is he wants to say, you won't want to hear it. So what if he'd made it sound like he meant something more? He didn't, she knew that. Clearly, she'd overstepped somehow and he was going to give her one of his God awful speeches where he reminded her yet again of what great 'friends' they were.
The weather. That was safe. For the love of God, choose the weather, her mind begged.
"Us?" She burst out, unable to stop herself. "There is no 'us', Colin."
Oh, for heaven's sake…
"Of course there is, Pen," he rebuked with a light scoff, looking at her as if she were quite mad. "One way or another, it's always been us."
The way he said it with such ease, such certainty had her mouth dropping open in shock.
"What?" she breathed, trying to grasp what he was saying.
He stared at her a moment, his gaze tender, then pulled his hands from his pockets and took hold of hers in a light grip.
"Pen, we've never talked about what happened last Christmas."
"Because nothing did happen last Christmas," she dismissed.
She really didn't want to go there. Not now. Not ever.
"We both know that's not true," he insisted, much to her chagrin. "That kiss…"
"Was just because we were under the mistletoe," she interjected quickly, feeling the need to shut the whole conversation down.
It didn't work.
"Maybe the first one was, but…"
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she cut him off again rather desperately. If he wasn't going to leave it, then she might as well own it and then they could both just move on. "I'm sorry, Colin, I didn't mean to kiss you again. I know I put you on the spot and you can blame it on the drink or me not having been kissed in while, but the truth is that I liked it and I wasn't thinking and, of course, you're so nice that you just went with it and I should really be thanking you because I know it didn't mean anything to you…"
She trailed off and looked down. Her cheeks were burning. She'd just heartily embarrassed the both of them and he must be mortified at her rambling. She felt him give her hands a light squeeze, demanding her attention. Reluctantly, she looked up, but instead of seeing any discomfort at her admission, he looked like he'd just won the lottery.
"The best kiss of my life and you want to thank me? I should be thanking you."
Penelope wasn't quite sure that she'd heard him right.
"You…I…what?"
He moved a little closer and opened his mouth to speak but it wasn't his voice that rang out.
"Penelope?"
Colin tensed and closed his eyes in dismay. Of course his sister would interrupt right at that moment.
"Colin?" Eloise called louder this time, "Where are you?"
"In here!" Penelope shouted. His eyes shot open as he felt her pull her hands from his hold and then watched her walk swiftly over to the door. She banged on it a couple of times so that her friend knew for certain where they were. "Something seems to have blocked the door and we can't get out."
"I'll say," Eloise chuckled. "A couple of the brooms have fallen and somehow got themselves wedged around the door handle. Hold on. Pye, shoo! I said shoo!"
Colin stood and stared at Penelope in frustrated silence. She hadn't been able to get away from him quick enough. Again. He just wished he knew why. Had he scared her off with what he'd said? Did she just need some time? After all, he hadn't seen what was right in front of him for years, so maybe she didn't yet either. He winced slightly. He had just blindsided the poor woman, what did he expect? An admission of everlasting love or something?
"Pen?"
She turned at her name and looked at him. He couldn't quite read her expression and he felt his stomach drop at that notion. The sound of the door rattling as Eloise worked to get the brooms free echoed around the room and suddenly Penelope took a step towards him.
"Colin, I…" she began tentatively.
A cry of triumph from outside stopped her as the door swung open and Eloise stepped in grinning widely at them both.
"You're free!"
Colin shot her an exasperated look, feeling so aggrieved at the interruption that he almost shouted at her to go back out and block up the door again.
Penelope sported a similarly irritated expression, but she covered it far better than him as she turned to her friend with a small smile.
"Thanks, El."
Eloise glanced between the two of them belatedly becoming aware of the tension that seemed to buzz in the air around them.
"Yeah, thanks," Colin muttered brusquely as he turned around and picked up the two tubs of decorations.
When he turned back, Penelope had gone, leaving him alone with his sister.
"Sorry," she muttered quietly as he walked past her.
Colin merely nodded in response and headed out into the kitchen where he put the tubs down with the others. He stared at her across the room and saw that she wasn't avoiding his gaze at least, thank God.
"Right, let's crack on and get this stuff up," Eloise suddenly declared behind him, her voice far too bright. "Where do you want us to start?"
The red head looked at the chaos that was her kitchen and let out a sigh.
"I think just grab a tub and go from there."
They did as she suggested and Colin spent the next couple of hours being charm personified. He chatted, cracked jokes and if he brushed her arm once or twice, it was purely a coincidence. As was any lingering touch of her hand when he took a decoration from her that she wanted placed somewhere out of her reach.
By the time they'd finished, the place looked ready for Halloween and the party in a couple of days.
And, to Colin's relief, Penelope seemed to be at ease with him once more.
"We have to go," Eloise said regretfully as she checked her watch. "Got dinner with mum."
"Why don't you come with us?" Colin asked, eager for an excuse to spend more time with her.
"Oh, no, I don't want to intrude," she refused lightly.
"You wouldn't be," Eloise assured her. "You know mum always loves to see you."
"Of course she does," Colin agreed, giving her a bright smile.
Penelope resolutely shook her head and his smile faded.
"No, thank you, but I'm sure she's looking forward to having some quality time with you after being away for so long," she countered softly. "And I have a few last edits to do before my final submission tomorrow."
Colin felt a pang of disappointment, but didn't push. They needed to talk, he knew that, but he could wait. He'd been waiting for months now, so a little while longer wouldn't hurt.
Not too much anyway.
They got their coats and Penelope walked them to the door. Eloise gave her a quick hug and told her they'd 'speak soon' then headed off to her car.
When she turned to him, Colin hesitated a moment, unsure whether he should hug her too. Thankfully, she took the decision from him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He immediately brought his arms around her in a tight embrace and sighed when she relaxed against him.
This felt good. Right.
"Thanks for all your help," she murmured into his chest.
"Anytime," he replied and then the moment was over as she pulled away. He took a step back then reached into his coat inside pocket and pulled out a small, plainly wrapped packet. He offered it to her with a smile. "I almost forgot, this is for you."
Penelope looked surprised. She took the gift and clutched it to her chest with a pleased smile.
"Oh! Thank you. You shouldn't have."
"Yes, I should," he replied, then stepped closer again and took hold of her free hand.
He heard her draw in a sharp breath and when she gazed up at him, there was an uncertain, but hopeful look in her eyes as he leaned down into her space. Her tongue darted out and ran along her full, bottom lip, briefly drawing his gaze and then his eyes met hers once more.
He wanted to kiss her. Badly. But this wasn't the time. Not yet. They needed to be on the same page and he didn't think she was quite there. He didn't want there to be any misunderstandings between them if…when they got together. And they would be, he was sure of it. Just as soon as she realised her feelings for him, as he had for her.
"Pen, I want you to know that you were wrong," he finally uttered, shaking his head slightly.
She looked at him in confusion.
"Wrong? About what?"
"Our kiss," he clarified, "You were wrong because it did mean something to me. It does. It always will."
Her lips formed an 'O' at his words, but no noise came out as she simply stared back at him, her beautiful eyes wide.
His mouth quirked up into a gentle smile and, holding her gaze, he raised her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss upon the back. He straightened up and ran his thumb over her knuckles in a tender caress then let her go. Walking backwards a couple of steps, he raised his hand to wave goodbye then turned and joined his sister in the car.
From his vantage point under a bush, Pyewacket watched the interaction between Penelope and Colin with a sense of satisfaction.
True, his plan of knocking the brooms down hadn't quite gone to plan. Eloise had come back in sooner than he'd expected, unfortunately.
Humans always had been an unpredictable bunch.
Still, it wasn't all for nothing it seemed. Not by the way Penelope was still standing in her doorway and staring after the car that had left minutes ago.
Unexpectedly, she was the one that needed the most work. He had thought it would be the other way around. It felt oddly good to know that he could still be surprised after all these years.
He sauntered forward and rubbed against her legs with a meow. It was enough to break her out of her trance and she looked down. He mewed again and she smiled.
"Time for dinner, is it?" she asked indulgently. "Come on then."
She turned and went inside and he followed behind.
He still had a couple of days left yet. It was cutting it fine and he had thought that today would be more fruitful than it had been, but he wasn't worried. This wasn't his first time and it certainly wasn't going to be his last. He still had decades of penance left to do before Danbury would finally allow him to rest.
That's what happened when you cheated on a witch.
And now he was cursed to bring lovers together, not rip them apart.
And by All Hallow's Eve that's exactly what Penelope and Colin would be.
Together.