Once a month, when the mess got to the point of nearly unmanageable, Penelope forced herself to clean her apartment. It was an ordeal that involved good music, comfy clothes, and obscene amounts of caffeine. This month, Penelope's mind had been otherwise preoccupied, what with the encounters with John, Nigel, and don't even get her started on the third man, Marcus Anderson.
She had met him at the gym, and unlike the other two, Marcus was undoubtedly gorgeous. Which made sense when his very first words to her were, "I'm a model, you know." Now normally, she might have flirted back, because how could she not picture the 6'3 hunk throwing her around in bed like she weighed nothing. But, with the way things were going for her lately, she was hyper aware of everyone she met, and Marcus's constant flexing was giving her the creeps.
Colin was always at the forefront of it all though. He was what kept her up at night. He was what made her question everything she believed about the world. He was what made her want to go against her vows to never love again. Finally, Penelope realized that cleaning may be the only thing to get Colin and the article and their stupid conversation off her mind.
An hour later, as she was rummaging through her closet and emptying out her purse from Felicity's wedding, she found the tokens. Three shining silver coins and one bloody poker chip. Suddenly, something dawned on Penelope. While she may no longer believe in love, at least for herself, there was still a small part of her, the shell of her childhood that never stopped believing in magic. And in her frantic state, that was the only explanation for the strange series of events that had been happening since she returned from Italy. Or maybe she was sleep deprived and going mad. Distracting herself from the mess again, Penelope made the choice to call Felicity.
"Penny?" Felicity asked, giggling as Guiseppe whispered something to her in the background. She heard her sister hush him and turn back to the phone. "Is everything okay?" She asked.
Why had she called during her sister's honeymoon? This was so selfish. "Nevermind. I'm sorry for bothering you, Lissy. Love you."
"Wait, Penny, hold on. What's going on?"
"Nothing," she answered instantly, trying to keep her voice neutral.
Felicity scoffed on the other side. "I know you, Penelope. You wouldn't call unless it was important. What's going on?"
"Look, can you...Guiseppe, I know you're listening."
Guiseppe chuckled. "Hi, Penny!"
"Can you not relay any of this to Colin, please? I know you two are friends." There was a pause and Penelope was certain she heard the couple whispering about her until Guiseppe gave his word not to repeat whatever she had to say. "Good. So, this might sound crazy, but do you believe in magic?"
"What kind of magic?" Felicity and her husband asked in unison.
Penelope couldn't help but smile briefly at them. "Like...a magic fountain?"
"Penny?" Guiseppe asked. She hesitantly answered for him to continue. "When you were in Rome, did you throw a coin in La Fontana dell'Amore?"
"Not exactly," she mumbled.
Penelope cringed at the memory of what she had actually done, which she now soberly considered was not a normal human response to having their feelings hurt by a man they just met, and was likely even illegal.
"Tell us what happened," Felicity said calmly.
Penelope took a deep breath. "So...long story short, Colin and I kind of hit it off at your wedding."
"Oh we saw," the newly wedded couple replied once again in unison, sounding annoyingly amused and sure of themselves.
She grumbled. "Yes, yes, anyway, that was before I saw him kissing some blonde outside by the fountain," she explained.
"Cressida," Guiseppe deduced.
Penelope nodded even though she knew they couldn't see her. "So I was sort of upset...and I may have...stolensomecoinsfromthefountainandnowthesethreeguyswontstopchasingmearoundthecityandcolinthinkshesinlovewithmeandidontknowwhattodo."
She took another deep breath, hoping her sister understood enough that she wouldn't have to explain it again.
"Did you get any of that, love?" Guiseppe whispered to Felicity.
Felicity hummed a reply, and Penelope thanked the close bond that they shared growing up. "She stole coins from the fountain, and now Colin and three other guys are under her spell," she whispered back, filling him in. "Penny, you know the story behind that fountain, right?"
"Sort of," Penelope responded, fiddling the four tokens in her hand.
"Then you know you have to return the coins to the fountain to break the spell."
"What?!" She exclaimed. "I don't have the time or the money to take a trip to Rome at the moment, Lissy. There has to be some other way."
"Guiseppe, do you know another way?" Felicity asked.
"I think there is, but I cannot remember. Penny, can we call you back?" He asked suddenly, and she wasn't sure if it was so they could find her some answers or to finish whatever it was she had interrupted. Frankly, she'd like to retain an untainted image of her baby sister and remain ignorant.
"Sure," she chirped, already panicking over what the hell she was going to do, especially since she needed to finish that already, which meant she had to stop avoiding Colin.
"Don't panic, Penny. We'll figure this out," her sister assured her. "Love you!"
The phone call ended and Penelope stared down at her screen, then her other hand where the poker chip sat, then the screen again. Finally, she gathered up the courage to dial his number. "Colin?"
"Pen!" He exclaimed, sounding delighted and slightly out of breath. She really didn't want to know why. "I thought you said that weren't going to call."
"I can email if you'd prefer," she stated dryly.
"No! I mean, no, this is good. I was really hoping you'd call. Actually, I wanted to call you, but I worried you might block me."
"I thought about it," she tried to joke, and smiled when Colin chuckled at her.
"I'd have deserved it too. I crossed a line the other night. You told me you wanted to keep things professional, and I broke the boundaries you set. I'm really sorry, Pen, if I made you uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention."
Penelope sighed. This poor guy was jumping through hoops just to please her, and he didn't even realize it was all against his will. She'd have to tell him eventually. This couldn't go on, especially once the article was finished. Not now though. Selfishly, she'd like to hold on a little longer to the idea that someone like Colin Bridgerton could actually be interested in someone like her. Maybe that made her a horrible person, but she didn't care. It's not like she was going to pursue him. She'd still gently turn down his advances, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the attention he gave, right?
"Colin, you don't have to apologize. You were just trying to forge a connection, weren't you? That's what you said made you fall in love with travel."
"Yeah, I suppose," he answered, sounding unsure of himself.
"Could we meet up again? Over coffee tomorrow maybe? Just the two of us this time. No siblings. As much as I adored meeting them, they were-"
"Obnoxious."
"I was going to say meddlesome, but sure. They were really nice though. I'm sure the rest of your family is just as lovely."
"Oh, you'll meet them soon, I'm sure. It won't take long before word spreads like wildfire between them. And once my Mum finds out I'm seeing someone new, she'll-" Colin cut himself off, and she swears she could hear him blushing. "S-sorry, that's not what I meant," he stammered. "I just mean that my family tends to get very involved in my private life, even when I beg them not to," he finished nervously.
"Colin?" She asked teasingly. "Coffee?"
"Coffee!" He shouted, as if suddenly remembering why she called. "Yes, absolutely, it's a date! I mean, not a date, but you know..." He rambled adorably.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Colin," Penelope said, cursing the fluttering feeling that rose in her chest. She couldn't afford another heartbreak. She just couldn't.
