One Penny: A Marked Heart Novel (3 page)

Four

Bending over the kitchen counter Penny inhaled the delightful scent of her freshly baked cherry pecan muffin as the butter melted on top of it. The smell was just as invigorating as the four cups of coffee she'd already had since she woke at five this morning. As the oven timer echoed throughout the kitchen, she took a quick bite before slipping her hands into a set of oven mitts.

After pulling out her second batch of muffins and setting them on the cooling rack, Penny looked up to see Charlotte standing in the kitchen scowling at her.

"What on earth are you doing?" she questioned, clearly still half asleep.

"Baking muffins!" Penny cheered before offering, "Want some?"

"It is six-thirty in the morning..."

"So, you don't want any muffins?"

Charlotte let out a slight huff before saying, "Well, I'm up now."

Smiling wide, Penny grabbed a plate and set two muffins on it before handing it to Charlotte.

Penny waited for Charlotte to finish her muffins before deciding to let her in on her plans.

"Would you like to know why I'm in such a good mood?"

"You're always in a good mood."

Trying again, Penny asked, "Would you like to know why I'm extra happy today?"

Smiling, Charlotte replied, "Sure."

"I've decided not to have sex anymore."

Practically choking on her cup of coffee, Charlotte questioned, "And that makes you happy?"

"Well, no, but I'm happy with my decision."

"And now you're going to dedicate your life to baking muffins?" Charlotte teased.

Rolling her eyes, Penny laughed, "The muffins are for our new neighbor."

Charlotte started to nod then snapped, "Wait! What?"

"I'm going to make friends with him."

Narrowing her eyes at Penny, Charlotte said, "I thought you were giving up sex..."

"Oh, I am. I've never been friends with a guy before we had sex so I thought Seth moving in next door will be the perfect opportunity to try it out."

"You want to make friends with someone who won't speak to you and practically runs away every time he sees you?"

"Unhunh," Penny replied, taking four muffins, setting them on a plate and walking towards the front door.

As Penny set the plate of muffins on the little table next to the door, Charlotte asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to watch for him to come out so I can give him his muffins."

There was a hint of sarcasm in Charlotte's voice as she warned, "You know, there's a fine line between friendly and stalker."

Penny shot her an absurd look before staring out of the peephole.

~

Of course Seth was running late for work, it had been one disaster after another since Friday afternoon. Now here it is, Monday morning he was late for work because his phone died in the middle of the night. Then to make matters worse, he had to change his suit after spilling coffee all over himself in a rush to get ready. Finally, he grabbed his briefcase and hurried out the door.

The moment he stepped onto the balcony, he froze. Penny was standing right in front of him with a plate of muffins in her hand.

"Good Morning!" she cheered, blocking his only exit.

Seth stared at her wondering why she was standing there.

Holding the plate out to him, she informed, "I baked you some muffins."

Shaking his head at her, Seth thought 'who does that?' as he waited for her to get the hint and move out of the way.

Persistent with the muffins she shared, "They're cherry pecan."

"I... a... I'm running late," he finally forced out.

Pursing her lips into a smile, she assured, "No problem, you can take them to go," as she revealed a small paper sack from under the plate.

Seth watched her place the muffins in the paper sack thinking 'she is crazy'.

He carefully took the bag from her as she encouraged, "Have a nice day."

The second she stepped to the side he raced down the stairs.

Making it to his car he quickly hopped in and locked the doors. Taking a moment to catch his breath before he started the engine, he set his briefcase in the passenger seat and set the bag of muffins on top of it. He was starving and they smelled great but there was no way he was going to eat Crazy Penny Muffins. Because seriously, who does that?

~

Skipping into Legacy Ink, Penny felt good about how her morning went. It may not have been great but it was a start, and went better than she had expected.

Kieran stepped out of the back. Giving Penny a head nod, he continued to his station in the corner of the shop. Penny watched him as he turned on the lamp and sat down to work on the back piece design he was trying to finish. Liv walked in from the back marched over to him and she stopped in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Conversation's over Liv," he stated without looking up at her.

"Why? Because you say so?" she snapped at him.

Kieran set his pencil down and looked up at her answering, "Yes."

"Oh! Hell! No!"

Kieran picked his pencil back up, looked down at his drawing and said, "Get outta my shop Liv."

Without being able to help it, Penny gasped. She couldn't believe he said that to her.

"Screw you and your shop," Liv blurted before storming off to the back.

Penny heard the back door slam shut.

Kieran placed his forehead in his hands, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"That was mean," Penny griped.

Without looking up, he asked, "You wanna get out too?"

Shrugging her shoulder at him, she asked, "Do I still get paid?"

Wheeling his chair back, he gave a laugh while shaking his head.

"She wants to have a kid."

Penny's eyes lit up as she cheered, "Really?"

Standing up, Kieran walked to the other side of the room, "I said no."

Instantly disappointed, Penny asked, "Why?"

"Because, one minute she's talking about babies and in the next getting her nipples pierced."

Pressing her wrists against her chest, she muttered, "Ouch," before saying, "So?"

Shaking his head at himself, he replied, "That's not why..."

Penny walked behind the counter, set her elbows down and rested her chin in her palms asking, "What's wrong with you?"

Crossing his arms against his chest, Kieran shared, "I been thinkin' a lot about my legacy."

"Wouldn't it make sense to have a kid then?"

Without answering her, he asked, "You think I was wrong for marking Braden?"

"Yea, I do."

Nodding, Kieran's jaw tightened as he shared, "Every man in our family that's had their heart marked. They found the one, had their heart drawn out, and got the mark. All of 'em stayed together." Rubbing his hand against the Celtic heart tattooed on the left side of his chest with Liv written above it, he continued, "Every damn one."

Seeing the distress in his eyes, Penny tried to make him feel better saying, "Well maybe Braden's was cursed to begin with because your drawer used one she already had instead of making a new one."

"I can't blame your mom for something I did."

"I wish you hadn't put a lily on his chest but Braden's grown, Kieran. A dumbass, but a grown one and he showed up to get it and you gave it to him."

Shaking his head with a deep scowl, Kieran replied, "That's 'cause he didn't know."

"I think he did, deep down. For whatever reason, no matter what she did to him, he held onto it. I mean, he'd carried it around in his wallet for years."

With a serious expression, Kieran questioned, "You ever do something you think isn't that big of a deal and then find out later it could be the worst mistake you've ever made?"

Shrugging at him, Penny shook her head.

"Never mind... Start getting ready, I'm booked for the rest of the day."

Penny gave him a sweet smile before heading over set up his table.

Five

After looking out of his peephole, Seth cautiously opened his apartment door. Apparently it had been muffin week next door. Starting with cherry pecan Monday, the rest of the week had consisted of blueberry, chocolate chip, cranberry almond and mixed berry. His stomach growled as he thought about his hand delivered breakfast over the past week. It hadn't mattered how determined he was not to eat them, half way to work Monday he'd caved in. After taking a bite of the first one, he couldn't stop himself. He'd finished all four before he pulled into the JPT Financial parking lot.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Penny got the hint and was standing there with the muffins already in a to-go bag. He wasn't sure exactly why she kept giving him muffins but by Friday, he'd smiled back at her and said 'Thanks'. Which was kinda nice, he guessed, but today was Saturday and although he was going for a run, he had nowhere to quickly run off to. If she was there, waiting for him to come out of his apartment, he'd have to talk to her. Just the thought gave him chest pains.

~

Penny sat at her kitchen table trying to figure out what to bake for Seth next. The muffins were a hit. Okay well, maybe not. The whole point of giving them to him on a plate was so he would return the plate and she could spark up a conversation with him. After the first two days, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to get chatty. The most he'd said to her was 'Thanks' but he'd sort of smiled when he said it. Maybe he was more of a cinnamon roll type of guy.

Charlotte walked into the kitchen as Penny looked in her book of family recipes.

"Thinking up new ways to stalk the neighbor?"

Laughing Penny replied, "I'm thinking cinnamon rolls..."

"Sounds delicious."

Flipping the recipe book upside down on the table, to hold her spot, she sighed, "I just don't understand it."

"What?" Charlotte asked as she sat down at the table across from Penny.

"I would be excited if someone were baking for me every morning."

"Look, I'm loving the benefits of your stalkery but tasty treats aside, how would you feel if some weird guy was waiting outside your door every morning?"

"But I'm not some weird guy, I'm freakin' awesome and I want us to be friends!" Penny replied getting overly excited out of frustration.

Charlotte stood up with a laugh before saying, "You are awesome. Maybe he's not into baked goods. If the cinnamon rolls don't work, try lingerie."

"Oh ha-ha."

"I bet if he walked out and saw you in your underwear, y'all would be best friends in no time."

"You're not helping," Penny griped.

"Sorry, I forgot you're on the no sex wagon."

Penny giggled at Charlotte's term 'no sex wagon' as she stood up and walked to the living room.

Charlotte followed behind Penny before heading towards the door as she sat down on the couch.

"I'm going to Auggie's I'll see you tomorrow."

Nodding, Penny said, "Okay, see you tomorrow.

As Charlotte left the apartment, Penny looked around. She was happy for her brother and friend but it was a little lonely at the apartment all by herself and in just a few months, she would be living there all alone.

Reaching over to the coffee table, Penny picked up her cell phone and scrolled through her playlist. She needed something to lift her spirits. Swiping past love songs and her 80's rap albums she found just the song. 'Shake it off' by Taylor Swift. Hopping up off of the couch, Penny opened the curtains and front window, allowing fresh air and sunshine to fill the room. She slid her cell phone into the speaker dock against the wall and turned the volume up. Setting the song on loop, that's what she was going to do. She was going to shake it off.

~

Swiping his entry card as he jogged back through the security gate that surrounded the apartment complex, Seth admitted the walking path that surrounded the complex was definitely a bonus to living there. It was much better than going to the gym. The humidity was low and the fresh air and sunshine made for a great run. Dashing up the steps to his apartment, he felt relaxed and refreshed.

When Seth reached the balcony, he stopped. His neighbor's window was open wide giving him a direct view of Penny in her living room. Dancing? She was bouncing around, swinging her arms and her long auburn hair was everywhere. He moved to the side a little just in case she turned around. At first he found it hard not to laugh then as he watched her he found himself simply smiling.

He wasn't thinking about how wrong spying on her through the window was until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Pulling his earbuds out of his ears, he quickly turned around.

"Happy Saturday, Lurker!" Liv greeted.

Stumbling back, he couldn't reply. At that moment, Seth wanted to die. Even when Liv winked at him before letting herself into Penny's apartment.

Fumbling for his keys felt like an eternity. When he finally made it in, Seth locked the door and leaned against it. Liv had caught him peeping on Penny. Seth's stomach churned as his head throbbed. He really was a lurker... And he was going to be sick.

~

Skipping over to the speaker dock, Penny paused the music on her cell phone. Happy to have the company, Liv was better than any song. Penny had lots of friends, some close and some she just kind of knew but Liv was right there at the top in being one of her favorite people.

Although Liv had married in, Penny always felt like they were closer than any of her cousins. They were sort of in the same boat when it came to the family. Except for the fact that while most of Penny's family disapproved of her life choices, they just plain disapproved of Liv. As far as the older members of her family were concerned, especially Penny's mom Sarah, the men in the family could pretty much do whatever they wanted. They were boys. But God forbid if one of the girls step out of line.

Liv was laughing as she made her way to the couch.

"Don't let me stop you from shakin' that big ol' Irish bootie."

Penny laughed back before correcting, "My bootie's not big but it is very Irish."

"Neighbor boy Lurker seemed to enjoy it," she shared.

Practically jumping on top of Liv, Penny hopped onto the couch.

"He was watching me? How? Was he smiling? Did it look like he was going to knock on the door and say hi? Or did he seem..."

"Whoa there! Somethin' going on with you and Lurker?"

Penny slid back and leaned her head against the back couch cushions, saying, "I'm trying to make friends with him."

Slapping her hands together, Liv blurted, "Ha!" before saying, "You are something else, Penny."

"I baked him muffins all last week and the most I got was a 'Thanks' but..."

Liv's eyes grew wide at Penny as she interrupted her questioning, "You did what now?"

With an eye roll as she sighed, Penny explained, "I was trying to be friendly so we could be friends. I baked muffins every morning last week and when he came out to go to work I gave them to him."

"A...."

"Stop looking at me like that!"

Taking a deep breath, Liv shared, "I'm sorry but no one does that. Unless, they're trying to poison someone."

Sitting up straight, Penny gasped, "Oh my gosh!" before asking, "Do you think I should go tell him they're not poisoned?"

Laughing Liv said, "No!"

"Why are you laughing? I don't want him to start thinking I'm crazy! I was going to do cinnamon rolls this week."

Shaking her head at Penny, Liv replied, "You are so sweet and silly. Everyone should get to have you in their life, but he may not want to be friends."

"He wants to be friends, I know it. It's just he doesn't know it yet."

"Just promise you'll stop before you start baking cookies with his face on them."

Penny nodded with a smile. Maybe wooing someone into friendship with baked goods wasn't a common thing but maybe if people did things like that more often, everyone would be happier.