Wouldn't You Like to Know?

Four

Four

Colin Bridgerton stared into the face of the only woman that had ever stood him up. When they were teenagers, he had asked her to prom. But so many people had made fun of him for it he had lied and said that his mother had made him. Penelope hadn't been well liked in high school. She never talked to anyone, and wasn't a size zero. Although personally, Colin had always been a fan of her curves.

He remembered one year, when they were sophomores, Penelope had been ballsy enough to dress up in that classic, Playboy Bunny costume. It had been Halloween. A black one with her red hair pinned up. Everyone else had pointed and made fun of her. But Colin hadn't been able to get the image of her in that black, little body suit with the bunny ears out of his head. She had filled it well, and she had been nearly spilling out of it.

When people had started pointing and taking pictures mocking her, Colin had taken her away from the party and they had snuck out to the football field and gotten drunk together. He remembered almost kissing her. But something had stopped him. He had been a coward then. He was not a coward now.

He had received the good news that Lulu Rochester was going to sign off on him buying the rights to her book, Wallflowers. The one that reminded him so much of him and Penelope. He wanted to make a good first impression, and when his agent gave him Lulu Rochester's address, he decided to deliver the papers to her himself so he could introduce himself.

Lulu lived in a brownstone in Greenwich, one of those places that was pre-war. Although which war, Colin had never really been sure. He walked up the steps and knocked to the door. "Hello, is this Lulu Rochester's home?"

There was no answer, but he heard a crash from inside. Along with something that seemed like someone was swearing. A female voice that sounded strangely familiar.

"FUCK!" he heard a woman shout. Another crash.

"Miss Rochester?" he called again.

"GIVE ME ONE MOMENT!"

More crashing, and stumbling and then----finally----the door swung open. He stared, shocked to see the last person that he expected to see standing there. "Penelope?"

Penelope's eyes widened when she saw him. "Colin?"

"Penelope!" He pulled her into a hug. She smelled of coffee, as if she'd drank it recently, and that strawberry Bath & Body works spray she had always loved when they were younger. It had been so fucking long since he had smelled that smell.

Penelope awkwardly hugged him. "C-c-colin, it's so good to see you. What are you doing here?"

He pulled away from her. "I could ask you the same question. I'm here to deliver some papers to Lulu Rochester. Did I get the wrong address?"

Penelope opened her mouth as if she was about to say something. He thought about what Eloise said, how Pen had been the person behind the Whistledown Blast in high school. That she had been spilling the secrets of the kids of the rich and famous when they were teenagers seemed outrageous.

Penelope smiled too much, was always nice, and barely said a word. But as he looked at her, he realized she was hiding something again. "Pen, are you alright?"

Penelope blinked. Her blue eyes were filled with worry.

Colin couldn't help but smirk. The book he liked had been written by the girl he'd been in love with for years. He should have known. Everything about Wallflowers reminded him of Pen when he had first read it. But he couldn't let her know. He didn't want to embarrass her. He could play along with whatever ruse she was playing.

Maybe she was doing it because she didn't want her family to know she wrote sexy material. Colin didn't know, and he wasn't going to spoil her secret. But he did plan on having some fun with her.

Penelope coughed. "I'm f-f-fine. Sorry. It's not every day a long, lost childhood friend who is also a famous actor shows up on your brownstone stoop. Hi. Why don't you come on in?"

"Thanks. Fuck Pen, it's good to see you."

Penelope blushed bright red, and moved out of the way for him to come in. "You got taller. Also, you stopped using the Axe body spray finally. The Old Spice is nice. More manly."

Colin chuckled and followed her inside. He took a moment to look at where she had been living for the past couple of years. She had painted the entryway a light pink. The staircase handrailing had fairy lights that wrapped around the handrail.

There was a white wall that had been painted with ivy, and stars. Colin smiled. Everything about it felt very Penelope. Dreamy and romantic. That had always been her. Penelope turned to look at him.

"Look, I know it's not the Upper East Side, but it's my little hobbit hole and I like it." She paused, her face flushed after speaking.

He laughed at her indignation. "I'm not mocking. I'm only admiring. This is quite the place. What are you doing for work these days?"

She stared at him for a long moment. He could see her mind working as she struggled on whether or not to tell him the truth. "I'm an assistant for a writer. She writes those---um---smutty romance novels. Lulu Rochester."

"Oh," Colin ran a hand through his hair and gestured to the yellow envelope he had in his other. "That's interesting, because I actually came here to drop off some paperwork for her. Did I get the wrong address?"

Penelope shook her head. "No. I get her mail. She's very private. Right now, she's on vacation. Researching another book."

"Interesting. Very interesting." He handed her the paperwork. "So, I take it you're the one that I give this to then?"