The Blogger and the Hunk (16 page)

Apparently Celeste thought so too. She looked up from the picture of a beautiful white rose bouquet centerpiece. Her eyes seemed to bore through Penelope’s brown ones, a look of concentration on her face. She pointed her finger in Penelope’s direction. “Something’s up. You’re not yourself. What’s going on?”

Penelope raised her brows in an attempt to convince her sister nothing was wrong. “Nothing. Everything’s fine. Why do yo—”

“Uh-uh. No. You don’t get to deny anything right now.”

Penelope rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Okay, now you’re just being dramatic. Life isn’t like one of those
novelas
Mom likes to watch, you know?”

“No, I’m not. Penny, I may be younger than you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I know things haven’t been right with you, I just haven’t thought to figure it out.”

“And what, pray tell, do you think is wrong with me?”

“I don’t know. You just haven’t been the same. It’s been like this for the past few weeks. It was like something came into your life and made you feel again. And now, you’re back to being your cynical self,” Celeste explained, a confused look on her face.

Penelope merely cleared her throat and pretended to look through another bridal magazine from the big stack on the coffee table. She wasn’t in the mood to explain anything, especially to her little sister. What would she say if she knew her own sister had slept with her friend who was a well-known modern-day Casanova? What would she say if she knew Penelope was possibly in love with the asshole? No, it was better she just kept her mouth shut.

After a few more seconds of silence, Celeste went back to flipping through the pages of the magazine in her hands. “Fine, don’t confess. But don’t think this conversation is over.”

“Actually, I think it is,” Penelope replied haughtily. She let a few minutes drag by before she spoke again, trying to change the subject. “Are our beautiful parents ready to visit?”

Celeste gave her the stink eye, which warned Penelope she knew of her attempt to butter her up again with talk about the wedding. She answered anyway. “You know our parents. Always excited to see their two
princesas
!” she exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. “I think once Jack comes back from his trip, everyone will be here for the wedding.”

Penelope only heard one thing. “Jack is out of town?”

“Yeah, he went to visit his parents for the week. He was supposed to leave next week, but something came up and he switched his flight for an earlier one. I think he was bringing back a date or something. I can’t really remember what he said. Come to think of it....” Celeste kept talking, but Penelope could only think about what she had just confessed.

A date.

He was visiting his parents to bring back a date. Was she a long-distance girlfriend? Were they in a relationship?

Penelope tried hard to focus on her task, and not let herself be overcome by the tears welling up in her eyes. Everything suddenly became blurry, and the moment the front door opened to Bryan walking in, she was relieved. Now Celeste would be distracted with her future husband.

“Hey,
amor
!” Celeste exclaimed, shooting up off the couch to give Bryan a kiss on the lips.

“Hello, beautiful,” he replied, smiling down at her. Penelope busied herself with a glass of water in the kitchen. “Hey, Penelope. How are you?” he looked toward her, an easy smile on his face.

“Great, thank you,” Penelope replied as cheerfully as she could, her smile frozen.

Bryan’s brow furrowed a little as he took her in. Luckily, Celeste’s cell phone rang, which turned the attention away from Penelope, at least for the moment. Unfortunately, it was all wishful thinking. As Celeste spoke to one of her bridesmaids, Bryan made his way to the kitchen. He leaned on the counter, watching as Penelope made a show of drinking her ice water slowly. She knew the guy first as her sister’s boyfriend, and now fiancé. She knew he was a good guy who loved her sister dearly, but other than that, they never really spoke alone. And Penelope really didn’t want to start now, not when her heart was tied into knots.

“You okay?” he spoke first.

Penelope nodded, not trusting her voice.

“You sure? There’s nothing you’d like to talk about? Your sister is a smart one, but she chooses not to pay attention to your bullshit sometimes.” Bryan smirked.

Penelope’s eyes widened. “What bullshit?”

Bryan gave Penelope a pointed look. “Your nose is red and you look a little dazed. Maybe it’s because of the unshed tears in your eyes,” he explained quietly.

Penelope was a little defensive. “I thought men weren’t supposed to notice anything. I thought you guys only thought about sports, beer, and boobs all the time.”

Bryan laughed. “Why do you think your sister is so keen on marrying me? I’m one of a kind!” He smiled, but just as quickly as his smile had appeared, it faded. “But seriously, what’s going on? You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“Ugh. Now apparently everyone knows what I’m usually like. Girl issues. Nothing to worry about, Bryan.” Penelope waved the topic off, making sure he understood she wasn’t about to talk about her emotions with him.

He lifted a solitary brow. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain guy named Jack, would it?” Penelope’s head shot up, her eyes wide. “Or maybe it does.”

“How— What— what do you know exactly?”

“I don’t know any facts, only what I’ve seen. You’re head over heels for the guy, Penelope. I can tell.”

“You can’t say anything to Celeste, please,” Penelope pleaded. What was the point in denying it? Bryan had proved to be smarter than she gave him credit for.

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m not here to share anyone’s secrets. What you do, or rather who you do, is none of my business.”

Penelope’s face heated like a stovetop. “Is it that obvious?”

“Maybe not to the naked eye, but then again I’m more of the outsider looking in. Celeste never thought about it that way because she would never think you’d go for a guy like Jack. I was a little surprised myself, to tell you the truth.”

Penelope had no words. She didn’t know what to say. “I-I—”

“Look, I know we’re not really close, but we’re going to be family in a few weeks. I just want you to know that you can confide in me as a brother if you need anything. I know I’m in no position to really lecture you on anything you’re doing, but for the sole fact that you’re my fiancée’s sister, please be careful. Jack is a likeable guy and all, but he’s not really the kind of guy you should fall for. You need someone who is willing to give you love. Whatever happened between you two is none of my business, but as your brother-in-law, I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Bryan held her hands tightly between his, looking at her with sympathy. Celeste called out for him from the living room, and with one more squeeze to her hands in comfort, he walked out of the kitchen.

“It’s too late, Bryan,” Penelope whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek.

I
’m not one to care much for physical appearances, but sometimes it’s nice to wear something that makes you feel good. Clothes can definitely give you confidence or take it away. Just don’t make the mistake of choosing something to wear to impress someone else. It’s for you, so do it for yourself.

DIARY OF A WALLFLOWER: Entry 171

“Did you make up your mind? I kind of like this one on you.”

“It’s too damn short! You know what happened the last time I wore a dress this short?” Penelope was trying to pull the hem of the body-hugging dress so it wouldn’t ride up any higher on her thighs. The huge mirrors right outside the dressing rooms gave her a good view of her every angle. Unfortunately, the dress made her feel like she was enclosed in plastic. She was suffocating!

“What? I love it! Jazz was right about this one,” Stephanie explained, trying to take a picture of Penelope in the damn thing.

“Hey! Enough of that! Don’t you dare post it online!”

“You’re no fun.” Stephanie playfully pouted, but Penelope knew she was secretly saving the picture on her phone.

“Here, try these babies on,” Jasmine commanded, handing Penelope a pair of black pumps.

Penelope gave her a death glare, looking at the pumps as if they were snakes ready to attack. Jasmine didn’t wait for her to grab them, quickly dropping them on her outstretched hand. Without another choice, Penelope caught them and placed them neatly on the floor. She put one foot in, then the other, all the while praying that she wouldn’t fall and break her neck.

Jasmine let out a wolf whistle. “Look at that sexy momma right here! You go like that to the rehearsal dinner, and the guests will be talking about
you
the whole night.”

Penelope started shuffling her feet a little, trying to get used to wearing such high heels. “Why the hell would I want the guests to—” With an unlikely squeal, Penelope bumped into another body, causing her to immediately lose balance. She was waiting for the impact with the floor when she realized she was in the arms of a person. A very nice, muscular person.

Penelope blinked, trying to make out the face of her rescuer.

“Penelope?” the person holding her asked.

Her eyes made out each facial feature on the stranger until her brain caught up and realized who it was.

“Nick?”

“Penny?” the guy asked, holding her upright. “What a small world! How are you?”

Penelope smiled. “I can’t believe you’re here. I’ve been fine. Just tripping over myself like always.” She giggled nervously.

Nick helped her find her balance. “Yes, I can see you’re still the same ol’ Penny.” He smiled, his eyes skimming her body from the heels she was wearing to her face.

She blushed furiously, trying to laugh it off. “What are you doing here? I thought you moved to Boston after graduation?”

“I actually came to visit my grandma in LA.”

“That’s right!” Penelope exclaimed, unable to hide the smile on her face. “Does she still live in that house that looks like a log cabin surrounded by trees?”

Nick laughed. “She sure does. She asked for you. Well, she always asks for you whenever I talk to her.”

“That’s too sweet. I’m glad she’s doing great.”

Penelope returned his smile, remembering their friendship from college.

Then someone cleared their throat.

“Uh, Penny. Mind introducing us?” Stephanie spoke suggestively.

Penelope immediately became flustered. She’d completely forgotten her friends were sitting on the bench right there, watching the whole scene.

She cleared her throat, looking away from Nick. “Jazz, Steph, this is my college friend, Nicolas. Nick, these are my friends Jasmine and Stephanie. I met them at a writers’ convention and we’ve been friends ever since.”

“Very nice to meet you, ladies,” Nick responded, taking each girl’s hand and gently placing a kiss on their knuckles.

“Goddamn, Penny. I swear, where have you been hiding this beauty of a man?” Jasmine exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Jazz! You’re so embarrassing!” Penelope reprimanded just as Nick began to laugh.

“I’m flattered,” he replied, smiling.

There was a short moment of silence before Penelope spoke up. “Uhh, I’m gonna go change back into my clothes before I do any damage to these.” She walked back into the dressing room.

When she came out, Nick was sitting by himself on the bench.

“Where did those two go?”

“They told me they would meet up with you later. I’m grateful for it too. I want to know what you’ve been up to since college. It’s been what? Over three years since I last saw you?”

“Yeah, it has. Gosh, how time flies,” Penelope replied, taking in the sight of Nick. He looked thinner, more muscular, his coffee-brown hair clean-cut as opposed to the shoulder length he used to sport in school. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a pair of perfectly fitted jeans. Boy, had the guy changed. Despite the difference, Penelope had always thought he was attractive, even with the unruly skater look he used to embrace.

“Working at a publishing house has definitely changed you,” she confessed, giving him a friendly smile.

“And you look amazing as always, although I kind of liked the ensemble you were wearing before.” He winked in good humor. They’d never been romantically involved. Their friendship was something valuable to them both.

Penelope laughed, shaking her head. “Take a walk with me,” she suggested as they fell in step with each other.

“Were you dressing up for a hot date?” Nick asked.

Penelope laughed heartily.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” he said, confused.

“Sorry, it’s just that I don’t date. I was actually looking for something to wear to the rehearsal dinner.”

“You’re getting married? Some friend you are! Who’s the lucky bastard that beat me to the punch?”

“You’re such a dork.” Penelope chuckled. “You can change the way you look, but you’ll always be the goofy skater boy I met in college.” She smiled. “Celeste is the one getting married.”

“Well, my congratulations. She deserves all the happiness in the world. When is
your
wedding?”

Penelope let out a whistle. “It’ll be snowing in LA the day I get a marriage proposal.”

He laughed and endearingly pinched her nose. “You always had a tasteless sense of humor,” he replied, a playfully reprimanding look on his face.

“You always loved me for it,” Penelope teased, smiling cheekily. “So what about you? Still talking to that pretty TA?”

“Alyson. We tried doing the long-distance thing for about two months before we realized it just wasn’t going to work out.” He shrugged. “We parted amicably, no drama included.”

“Glad to hear it wasn’t messy.”

“I’m sure you’re happy to hear I’m single. Now you’re allowed to seduce me all you want.”

Penelope couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that bubbled out of her throat. For the past few days she had been too busy sulking to actually laugh.

She’d met Nick her first semester of college. They’d sat next to each other in British Literature 305 and had partnered up to study. They’d become best friends for the rest of their college years. After graduation, they had to resort to phone calls once Nick left for Boston to work at one of the biggest publishing houses. Their phone calls turned to texts until they were both so caught up with their own lives that things tapered off. She’d forgotten how much she missed his boyish charm and easy smile.