The Blossoming of Penelope Featherington | A BRIDGERTON Fanfic

Chapter 11

Penelope couldn't help but stare in complete shock at the man in front of her. She didn't think that she would see Colin until tomorrow at the very least. But there he was, standing with the sun's light surrounding the rims of his figure like a hero from a scene from a novel.

"I didn't expect you to be here," Colin said. Penelope's brows furrowed at that, considering how this was her most usual spot in the park. Had she had power within the ton, she'd have claimed the spot hers and have her name engraved on it, too. "Well, I was hoping you would be..." he corrected himself almost nonchalantly but when he raised his eyes to meet hers, she felt herself catch her breath.

"I-" She didn't know what to say. There was something quite warm in his gaze that she felt bare and hot despite the spring breeze. She couldn't remember if Colin had ever looked at her that way or if it had simply been too long. "Uhm..." she tried to clear her throat and shift her eyes from his, but was instead nonplussed by the tanned and toned chest that was almost peeking through his thin and unbuttoned shirt. She was amazed that he wasn't being followed by a flock of beguiled, young ladies and scandalized mamas. She dug her nails into her palm in an attempt to clear her head- she didn't want her school girl attraction to resurface so suddenly just with an appearance of his shadow. "I-I guess I'm where you hoped I would be, then."

When she looked back at his face, she saw his lips had curved into an amused smile. "The thing was..." He smoothly sat down beside her, a few inches apart. "For some reason I was hoping to have seen you earlier." He was now at the same eye level as she was and although there was a smirk on his face, there was some seriousness reflected in his eyes.

"You mean at Number Fi-" Penelope bit her lip. "Why?"

"I wonder..." His gaze dropped from her eyes but immediately went back and shrugged. "I mean I would think you would be excited to get your hands on some new, Mediterranean books, which I must say my valet had quite a lot to say about during our lengthy travels."

"And here I was thinking it was all out of the goodness of your generous heart," Penelope said, wide-eyed. "If I knew you would be using them against me, I wouldn't have never asked for them." She raised an eyebrow pointedly causing Colin to scoff at her remark. "And how do you even know that I knew of your arrival, Sir?"

"With Hyacinth and Eloise's strong connections to some particular Featherington sisters, how can I not?" Colin sighed as if the matter simply cannot be helped.

Penelope couldn't help but let out a giggle at his response to her acting. "Oh please, Colin," she shook her head. The novelty- well, the surprise had finally worn off and it was as if he had never left with how easy their conversation was going. Expect Colin to bring anyone at ease, Penelope thought. "I knew you and your family could use a private reunion. I'm sure I have taken enough of your time before your departure, I needn't steal anymore on your arrival."

"I've always thought of 'enough' as a subjective term." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke so off-handedly that Penelope almost wanted to brush it off. Almost.

She bit her lip, hoping that she could use the slight chill in the air as an excuse for her reddened cheeks. "My, my, have you gotten cheekier since I have last seen you, Colin? Or had Greece transformed you- or rather, brought it out of you?"

"And you don't think yourself a factor for my so-called 'cheekiness'?" He leaned in closer to her face, as if daring her to prove him right. Penelope kept herself from drawing back and showing a sign of vulnerability from having his face so closely to hers. The sun didn't help by hitting his profile so beautifully that his green eyes shone somewhere between a peridot and a green diamond. They were too bright to stare at but too alluring to look away from.