Page 3 of Penny & Royce

She opened her desk drawer but paused before tossing the legal pad inside. With a huff, she tore her list free, then dropped the pad into the drawer. After folding the list and slipping it into her purse, she rose to her feet.

A glance out the window confirmed the mystery man was no longer standing across the street.

The strangest flicker of disappointment moved through her.

Oh well. He wasn’t the kind of man she needed in her life.

What she needed was to find someone who could make her heart race with one piercing look but also make her laugh again.

Yeah. Totally easy.

Penny arrivedat the country club in fitted jeans and a blouse. Most of her clothes were business style, and she didn’t think a pencil skirt was the best idea. She’d only been here once before, and she hadn’t stayed long. Her cousins liked to spend their free weekends here, and that was about all Penny knew.

She couldn’t decide if she hoped they were here tonight or if she hoped she wouldn’t bump into anyone she knew.

At least that was the case before she stepped over the threshold and collided with a tall, firm body.

The man wore a jean jacket, a cowboy hat, Wranglers, and boots. When she lifted her gaze, an apology already on her lips, she sucked in a breath.

“Aiden! What are you doing here?”

One side of his mouth quirked upward. “If it isn’t Little Klein. Bring it in.”

He opened his arms, and Penny let him pull her into a hug.

This felt… nice.

She hadn’t had a good hug in a long time. And there was something comforting about the way Aiden held her. It wasn’t intimate. They’d had their share of run-ins at the hospital where he worked with Mathew, and he knew better than to think he had a chance with her.

Penny wasn’t interested in breaking up any friendships. Especially not her brother Mathew’s.

She pulled back and swatted at him with a laugh. “You look good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything but scrubs.”

Two dimples appeared in his cheeks as his smile broadened. “Careful, sweetheart. You’re going to make me blush.”

She snorted. “You’re such a flirt, you know that?”

He draped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t tell your brother. He might get on my case about it.”

Penny laughed. “I think he knows.”

She was going to point out that Aiden didn’t have the best track record with men in this town due to his flirty ways, but the strangest sensation caught her off guard.

Like someone was watching her.

The hair on the back of her neck lifted, and she glanced around the crowded dance floor.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Aiden conceded. “That’s why he told me to stay away from his sister.”

She glanced up at him. “Huh?”

Aiden tapped her lightly on the nose. “What do you say, sweetheart? Want to make your brother angry?”

Penny scoffed. “I’m not the one who’ll end up with a broken nose.”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Mathew’s a decent doctor. He can set it right, and if I get a kiss out of the deal, then it might be worth it.”

She laughed again and pressed her palm against his chest. “Nice try, lover boy.”