“That’s awesome. My mom never taught me to cook, and I only speak English,” I say with a smirk. She laughs soft and warm. “Don’t tell her, but I think I got robbed in the mom distribution deal.”
I wink, and she swats my chest, shaking her head.
The music shifts, but Penny doesn’t miss a beat. She masterfully moves us across the floor, hips swaying, shoulders shimmying. She must know how sexy she looks—completely into it, feeling every second of the music.
“What?” she asks, a slight frown tugging at her lips.
“I’m just…” I hesitate, searching for the right word. “Impressed.”
“How so?” she presses.
“Well, you’re rich, smart, beautiful.” Her brows lift, but that little smirk on her lips tells me she already knows I think that. “You can dance, cook, speak more than one language… I don’t know. It’s impressive.”
She lets out a soft laugh and looks down at her drink. “No, not really. It just means that my upbringing was different from yours.”
Well, shit.
“I mean, I could say the same about you. You’re smart, funny, good at what you do…” she starts listing off, and because I can’t help myself, I cut her off—
“Handsome.”
Right on cue, she rolls her eyes, but the smile tugging at her lips gives her away.
“Or would you say I’m hot?” I add, and it’s not until I finally breathe out that I realize I’d been waiting for her answer.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she says, completely unfazed.
Screw that.
“What are we really doing here, Penny?”
She gives me this innocent, almost angelic look, and if I didn’t know her better, I might actually buy it. But we’ve been around each other long enough—longer now that we’re working on Xander’s ice rink—and Penny Levine doesn’t do anything without a reason.
“I asked my friend to dance,” she says, flashing a shit-eating grin.
I roll my eyes. “Of course you did.”
“Fine. I’ll be the brave one tonight.” Her tone changes—less playful, more direct—and I feel it all the way down my spine. “We’ve known each other for a while, and I’d be lying if I said I’ve never thought about you naked.”
My eyes widen, and she smiles like she didn’t just drop that little bomb.
“What? Don’t look so surprised, Miles. Can you honestly tell me you’ve never thought about me naked?”
Fuck, she’s going straight for my dick.
“You’re right,” I admit. “I can’t say I haven’t.”
“Exactly.” She shrugs like it’s nothing. “So I figured—we’re in paradise, we’ve had a few drinks… why not have some fun?”
Like she didn’t just casually offer me a night I definitely wouldn’t forget.
“Penny,” I start, because as much as I’d love to fuck her brains out, this isn’t simple. We’re going to be working together for a while, and mixing business withpleasure? That gets messy. Fast. Not to mention she’s basically family at this point.
“What?” she cuts in. “Are you scared of me getting clingy?” she asks, like she’s reading my thoughts.
“Penny, I don’t do messy,” I tell her honestly. “You’re Gio’s best friend. My sisters love you. I’m not trying to complicate things.”
“Okay, I can totally see where you’re coming from,” she says easily. “But if you want to be a real man and enjoy a night of no strings with a woman who doesn’t want anything more… meet me in the palm grove in ten minutes.”
