Penelope and Cole stayed standing, watching in awkward silence as the crew cleaned up the field. She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, and Cole turned toward her suddenly.

“Thank you.”

She glanced up at him. “For?”

He lifted a shoulder. “For not making it weird. For being…understanding.”

It was on the tip of Penelope’s tongue to protest that it was no big thing—or at least that it shouldn’t be. But something on Cole’s face had her holding back. As though he’d been through this sort of interaction before, and not had it end well.

She touched her fingers just lightly to his elbow. “I’m having a really good time.”

He swallowed and glanced at her before his eyes darted back to the field.

This was a different side of Cole. One she was suddenly desperate to get to know. But it wasn’t the time. Or the place. And then Bobby was back, and the game wound down into what turned out to be a pretty impressive victory for the Mets.

The three of them filed out of their row and joined the slow, crowded procession toward the main level. Bobby chatted happily the whole time about some big party they were having at the Big House later, and how he was going to wear his new purple shirt.

They were a few feet from the exit when Cole interrupted his brother. “Hold on, Bobby, there’s something we need to do before we can leave.”

Both Penelope and Bobby looked at him.

“Look at Penelope here,” Cole said. “Does she seem like she’s missing something?”

Bobby studied her with careful precision before holding up a finger. “A hat!”

“Damn straight,” Cole said. “She’s lacking a Mets cap.”

“Says the guy wearing the Yankees hat,” Penelope said.

She meant to match his playfulness, but inside her heart was doing weird, skippy things.

How had he known? Not just that she wanted a hat but that she didn’t want to buy it for herself—by herself.

“You pick it out,” she told Bobby, once they were inside the crowded shop. “You know the Mets better than anyone.”

“Classic,” Bobby said without hesitation. “Definitely classic. Do you know your size?”

“Of course I know my hat size,” Penelope said with a mock-offended voice.

She caught Cole’s grin out of the corner of her eye. “A woman who knows her hat size, Bob. Is it any wonder we adore her?”

Her eyes flew to Cole, but he seemed unaware of what he’d just said, instead helping Bobby rifle through the disorganized mass of hats until they found her size.

She reached into her pocket for the cash she’d brought, but Cole held up a hand. “No way. The Sharpe brothers are paying for this and your dry cleaning bill.”

His eyes skimmed over her butter-splattered outfit, and Penelope didn’t think it was her imagination that his eyes lingered on certain body parts.

And it definitely wasn’t her imagination that the formerly comfortable shop had turned extremely warm.

Cole took her hat to the counter as she and Bobby debated whether it was okay that there were pink jerseys. She said no, he insisted yes.

When Cole made his way back to them, he plopped the hat on her head before curving his hands around the bill and applying gentle pressure in an attempt to get rid of the “new hat” look.

His eyes were warm as they locked on hers, and she had a pretty good feeling that if they were alone he would have kissed her.

And she had a really good feeling that she would have kissed him back.

“Penelope, you should come with us to dinner,” Bobby said, unaware of the electricity humming between her and his brother.

“Oh, I can’t,” she said. “I have to get back home so I can—”

Damn it. The only excuse she had at the ready was feed my fish, and there was no way she would give voice to that level of lame.

“Bobby’s right,” Cole said. “You should come with us. We’re just going to grab a quick burger. Nothing fancy. Bobby’s got to get home for his big party.”

“Um, well, if you’re sure I wouldn’t be—”

“We’re sure,” Bobby interrupted, leaning forward and grabbing her hand. “Come on. I’m starving.”

Penelope let Bobby drag her forward but gave one last questioning glance at Cole to make sure it was really okay.

But he obviously hadn’t expected her to turn around just then, because his expression was as open and vulnerable as she’d ever seen it.

She just wished she knew what he was feeling.

Heck, for that matter…

She wouldn’t mind knowing what she was feeling.

Chapter 18

It was an odd thing, being jealous of one’s brother. Cole wasn’t used to it.

Protective? Yes.

Adoring? Definitely.

Amused? Always. Bobby was one of the funniest people he knew.

But jealous? It wasn’t really a part of their relationship. Until now.

Cole watched as Penelope and his brother walked ahead of him, hand in hand, bickering like an old married couple over whether the regular fries or the sweet potato fries had been better at the restaurant.

The sweet potato fries had been better by a long shot, but saying so would mean agreeing with Penelope, who hadn’t once glanced back at him on the long walk to the adult care home where Bobby lived.

And yet, despite the fact that the woman he was sleeping with was barely glancing his way, Cole was fucking loving every minute of this.

He couldn’t remember a day when he’d felt this whole. Ever.

He quickened his pace to catch up with them and Penelope gave him such a genuine, happy smile that he wanted to reach for her other hand.

Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

The sky still looked like rain, but so far it had held off, and the late afternoon was unseasonably warm, making for a pleasant walk from the subway station back to Bobby’s place on the Lower East Side.

A couple minutes later, they were in front of Bobby’s group home.

Cole usually hated this part. Hated the empty feeling after Bobby went happily back to whatever he and his friends had planned for the evening, leaving Cole feeling a little hollow.

But tonight was different. Tonight, when Bobby dashed up the steps and gave one last wave before disappearing, Cole wouldn’t be left standing alone.

“It was nice to meet you, Penelope,” Bobby said.

“You too.”

“And I’m really sorry about the popcorn.”

She waved this away. “Don’t think a thing about it.”

Bobby nodded and smiled. “I’ll see you again soon?”

Cole’s heart broke a little at the sweet ignorance behind Bobby’s question, and started to save Penelope from having to answer, but she beat him to it.

“I’d like that.”

Cole glanced down at her sharply, looking for the lie behind her words, but saw only Penelope’s usual genuineness.

Bobby grinned happily and hugged a surprised Penelope before turning to Cole.

Cole hugged his brother, feeling the usual combination of love and guilt that happened whenever they said goodbye.

“I’ll see you soon, okay, Bobbo?” he said quietly.

“I know,” Bobby said, thumping Cole’s back twice and pulling back. “But now I have to go to my party.”

Cole smiled and allowed his brother to pull away. Bobby’s face was conflicted. “You can come to the party if you want, Cole. They’ll let you.”

“Nah, you go,” Cole said. “I’ve got things to do.”

“Like hang out with Penelope?”

Cole glanced down at the tiny brunette by his side. Her face was tilted up so he could see beneath the bill of her hat, and she wiggled her eyebrows playfully. She was also completely unperturbed by the butter splatters on her shirt and jeans.

“Yeah,” he heard himself say to his brother. “I’m going to hang out with Penelope.”