Tangle (Dogwood Lane 2)

I laugh. “I’m not your girl, Penn.”

“But you could be.”

“You could also wipe the lipstick off your neck from whomever you were just sucking face with before you come trying to sweet-talk me,” I say. His hand clamps his neck, his eyes going wide. “I’m just kidding. You fall for that every time.”

“I was just surprised there was lipstick on my neck since I haven’t sucked face, as you so eloquently put it, with anyone in a while,” he says.

“So two hours?” Neely jokes.

“Try since last night.”

Neely sets down her glass. “Penn, can you learn to knock? Please.”

“I’ll try. Old dog, new tricks, and all that.” He spies the pan of lasagna on the table. “Why did no one invite me for dinner?”

“Because I’ve worked with you all day,” Dane says. “I need a break.”

“That’s what my mom just told me too.” He grabs a breadstick and hops onto the counter. “So what are we talking about?”

“Trevor, I think his name is,” Neely says, keeping an eye on me. “What do you think about him, Penn?”

“I think he’s staying in town tonight,” Penn says. Half the breadstick goes into his mouth.

“He said he was going to see about getting a room at the Dogwood Inn,” I offer. I pick at a crumb on the counter and try not to let it be known I’m interested.

Neely raises a brow. “Should we read anything into you having that information?”

“Ah, Haley. Don’t break my heart,” Penn says, a hand covering the Saint Christopher’s necklace hanging from his neck.

“I didn’t think you had a heart, Penn,” I tease.

“Only for you, babe.”

Neely laughs, taking a seat at the island next to Dane. “Do you have plans to see Trevor?”

“No,” I say, ignoring Penn’s fist pump. “He just mentioned it this afternoon at the library.”

Dane holds up a hand. “Wait. He was at the library? You saw him this morning at the café, at the jobsite, and then at the library?”

“I’m jealous.” Penn shoves the rest of the breadstick into his mouth. “Not fair.”

“He was just driving by the library as I was about to leave. No big deal and not hard to do in this town,” I say, staring at the crumb from Penn’s breadstick in front of me.

While that’s all true, it sounds different out loud. It could be construed that maybe, possibly, it wasn’t a coincidence at the library. That maybe, possibly, he was looking for me.

I gulp as I look up.

My friends’ stares are heavy, their smiles—everyone except Penn’s—uncomfortable. I take a long drink of wine and look at my phone instead of dealing with them.

The home screen is locked with a picture of Mia and me at a church ice-cream social over the summer. She’s sticking her blue-tinted tongue out at the camera as I make a duck face. And just like that, my thoughts go from the church to Lorene, and back to Trevor.

“Maybe you’ll run into him again,” Neely says carefully. “Like you said, it’s not hard to do in this town.”

“It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t.”

“Damn right,” Penn says. “He’s not your type.”

“Oh, really?” I ask, turning to face him. “What’s my type, Penn?”

He looks down at his body, holding his arms out like he’s giving himself a once-over. “I’d say five-ten. Stocky build. Dark hair. Tattoos. Charming.”

“That puts you out of the running,” Neely teases.

Penn grabs another breadstick and waves it toward her. “I’ve always liked you. Until now.” He chomps off the end of the breadstick.

I take a lungful of air and let it out slowly. My insides are still buzzed with talk and thoughts of Trevor. But in a very un-Haley-like way, I’m not obsessed with it. And I didn’t text Joel again today either. It’s progress.

“You know what, Dane?” I ask. “You might be right. I might’ve tried so hard for guys to like me that I jumped into their arms.”

“I don’t recall you ever jumping into mine,” Penn says. “Just saying.”

“There’s a reason for that,” I tell him. “Maybe two. Or ten.”

“I’m here when you need me,” Penn says. “Now that we’ve settled that, I need to go. I’m meeting a girl in twenty.”

Dane starts laughing. “And you wonder why no one takes you seriously, man.”

“What?” he asks. “I would’ve called it off with her if Haley had taken me up on my offer.” He looks at me. “You’re always my first choice, babe.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And if things don’t work out and you wanna relieve some stress, you know where to find me.” He grabs another breadstick, shoots me a wink, and disappears as quickly as he showed up.

Neely laughs. “That boy is a mess.”

“Always,” Dane grumbles.

I grab my phone and shove it in my pocket. “I’m going to say good night to Mia and then head home. I need a hot bath and a notepad.”