“Stop it,” she said, swatting at him. “You’re not helping.”
“And what about poor Penny, who could have starved to death by the time you woke. I mean, I did stock the house with the basics, but the poor creature didn’t know what was what from the looks of it.”
Penny wasn’t entirely sure if she was being pitied or mocked. “Hey, I managed the coffee just fine,” she protested.
“She didn’t even know to make herself a nice cuppa tea instead of coffee with a hangover. What kind of hosting is that?”
“Wait, you stocked the place?” Penny asked, a beat behind. It was taking all her concentration to understand his accent.
“I did,” his eyes narrowed, as if waiting for an insult.
“Thank you. That was really nice of you.”
Finn turned to Bonnie, eyebrows drawn down in confusion, then motioned at Penny.
“It’s called being nice, Finn. It’s one of the reasons she’s my best friend. She’s very good at it. Unlike us.”
“I’m nice!” Finn protested.
“Sure, sure,” Bonnie patted his arm humoringly.
“She just said I was,” he pointed out.
Bonnie considered this. “All right, you have your moments,” she conceded. “You did bring chips.”
Penny took another sip of her tea and sighed blissfully. This was nice. Being here and watching these two was nice. One of the things she and Bonnie had in common was that they were both only children. They knew what that felt like. It had pulled themtogether, that feeling of wanting a sibling, wanting someone to share those kinds of experiences with. She never guessed that Bonnie had someone like that this whole time waiting for her in Ireland.
Looking up from her mug, she found them both watching her.
“What?” she asked nervously.
“What in God’s name was that happy sigh for? Can’t you see we’re trying to have an argument here?” Finn asked.
“Yes,” Penny agreed. “I can. And it’s very cute.”
She enjoyed the struggle that ensued as he tried to turn his lips down in an annoyed frown but failed and eventually let his smile win out. “You’re going to be an interesting one to have around.”
“She’s still considering leaving early,” Bonnie said conspiratorially. Giving up on the effort of sitting, she laid down, placing her head in Finn’s lap.
Snuggling deeper into her own blankets, Penny’s heart gave an envious thump. She’d love to have someone to feel that close to. And Finn’s lap looked like a very comfortable place to rest. An odd sense of loneliness swept over her as she forced herself to look away.
“We won’t let that happen now, will we?” Finn reassured her. “We’ll just have to make her fall in love with the place.”
“Exactly,” Bonnie said through a yawn. “There’s so much for her to see here. But she’d happily sit in the house and read all day if I let her.”
“Hmm,” Finn gave Penny an evaluating look. “There’s room for that as well.”
“Great, my two closest people are bookworms.” Bonnie tried tiredly for sarcasm as she stretched her legs out, making herself more comfortable. “I read books all day for a living. In my free time, I like to get out and explore.”
“Yes, you’re definitely giving off that vibe,” Finn joked softly.
“What?” Even as she asked, Bonnie’s forehead smoothed out, her eyes fluttering closed, as she gave up the struggle and let sleep take over.
Lifting a finger to her mouth, Penny indicated they should let her rest.
Gently, Finn extricated himself, propping a pillow under his cousin’s head and tucking her in more firmly. Then, he motioned for Penny to follow him out of the room. Regretfully, she heaved herself up, reluctant to leave her cocoon.
He led her away from the sunroom in silence without looking back, stopping only when he got to the library. He turned so suddenly she almost ran into him.
