Trouble (Dogwood Lane #3)(30)

Chuckling, I rest my hand on the top of the steering wheel. “You’re gonna love it, Mia.”

“I’m so excited. Dad said we almost weren’t able to go, but you did a job so we could. So thanks, Penn. You are the best.”

“Of course. I couldn’t let my buddy get her vacation canceled, could I?”

“No,” she says with a giggle. “Neely wants to say hi.”

“Hi, Penn,” Dane’s fiancée calls out.

“What’s up?”

“Can you go make sure we closed the garage door? Dane swears he did, but I think it’s open,” she says.

Dane sighs. “It’s closed.”

As they debate the status of the garage door, I spy Meredith pulling up. She gets out of her cream-colored Range Rover with a white dog tucked under her arm. By the skirt she’s wearing, she’s not planning on doing any manual labor today.

She pauses on the doorstep and looks over at me, then sends a small wave my way. I wave back and contemplate throwing the truck in reverse and getting the hell out of Dodge.

It’s Mia’s voice that stops me.

“We’re stopping to pee. Talk to you later, Penn,” she says. “Thank you again. You are my favoritest person in the world.”

“You’re welcome. See ya, Mia.”

The phone snaps off speakerphone.

“You’ll check the door?” Dane asks. “Humor my girl, will ya?”

“I expect a raise for all this, just so you know,” I joke. “And your brother better be here today, or I’m going after his pansy ass.”

Dane laughs. A dinging sound rings through the phone before a series of car doors slam shut.

“I talked to him a bit ago. Not sure if Matt’s coming or not, but I brought it up. That’s all I can do,” he says.

“I’m just saying—if the roles were reversed and I was quote-unquote ‘injured’ like Matt, you’d have my balls if I didn’t show up.”

“It’s because I can count on you,” Dane says.

I laugh as I flip off my engine and then climb out of my truck. “I don’t know if I’m more insulted that you’re lying or that you’re pandering to me.”

“I am pandering to you a little bit, but you aren’t completely unreliable. You did show up this morning.”

The early-morning air that I thought I’d be spending with a fishing pole winds through the parking lot. The sun is bright but not hot, the air warm but not humid. It’s a perfect day . . . and I’m spending it here. With Meredith.

Fuck my life.

A truck revs up and coasts in beside mine. Matt gives me the biggest, fakest smile ever before he hops out.

“Dane, I gotta go,” I say.

“Is that Matt?” he asks.

“Yup.”

He sighs. “Good. I feel better, then.”

“You just said I was reliable,” I point out. “Make up your mind.”

Dane laughs as Mia shouts something in the background. “Okay, I’m going. Don’t forget to check the garage door, please. And thank you. All jokes aside, I appreciate this, Penn.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Goodbye.”

I end the call and shove the phone in my pocket as Matt comes around the front of his truck.

“You feeling better this morning, princess?” I tease.

He scoffs. “That’s a better question for you. Did you wake up and wonder if you were living in some kind of twilight zone when you realized you actually got shut down last night?” He grins happily. “That might be in my top ten best nights of all time.”

I don’t fire a comeback his way. Instead, I kick at my front tire and let my mind float back to Avery.

When I went to bed last night, I figured I’d wake up and feel different about her. Not as . . . interested. Less curious. Something. I certainly didn’t think I’d find myself wanting to see her again.

I’m Penn Etling, for fuck’s sake.

But here I am, Penn Etling. Trying to scramble to see Avery again without looking desperate.

“Anything remarkable happen after I left?” he asks.

“Nah.”

“Did you at least get her number?”

I consider telling him I did.

“You didn’t, did you?” Matt’s face fills with humor. “She held out. Good for her.”

“She wants me,” I say.

“Eh, I think maybe she doesn’t, actually.”

“Yes. She does. I can tell. She’s just fucking with me, that’s all. Making me work for it.”

Making me woo her.

I take off my hat and scratch the top of my head. I did woo her. I’m sure of it. But maybe I need to woo her harder—and not the way that sounds when I say it in my head. Sadly.

I sigh and look at Matt. “How do you . . . How do I say it? How do you . . .”

I pace a circle. Slamming my hat back on my head, I try to think of a word other than woo. I’d never live that down.

“I want to win her over,” I say. “And she wants to be won over. I just have to, I don’t know, show her I want to win her over, I guess. Does that make any sense?”

Matt stands in front of me with a smile on his face.

“What?” I ask.