“I owe you an apology. The things I said about you when I saw you with Sasha…”
George placed a finger below her chin and raised her gaze to his. “It hurt, I’m not going to lie. But I get it. I portrayed Geo long enough for you to believe it when it looked like the jerk was making another appearance. If you’re willing to trust me from here on out, I say we leave that behind us and only look ahead.”
“Well, I’m sorry for what I said about you,” she admitted. “You aren’t any of the things I said you were.”
Geo leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. It was enough of a response for Penny.
“What about them?” Penny asked, tilting her head toward the bowling alley. Her sisters were just on the other side of the lockers, probably staring in their direction, waiting to see what happened.
“I have a feeling this is an all-or-nothing sort of deal, the Coyne sisters, right?”
Penny nodded with a slight smile.
“I’m in, Penny. All in.”
Penny’s smile grew. She’d come to the bowling event to get advice, but now, the situation was clear, and her heart was telling her everything she needed to know.
“I love you, too, George,” she whispered. “And we may not have gotten here in a traditional way, but somehow, all the dating led me to you.”
George pressed his forehead against Penny’s cheek. “It’s the spark in your eyes that I fell for, the very first moment I saw you at Speed Dating. You’ve captivated me ever since.”
Penny thought about how she’d been attracted to the man with the broad shoulders from all the way across the room. It had ended up being Geo, a man she thought she hated but now had come to adore beyond her wildest dreams.
“Think you could get a second shot at the cover article?” he asked, pulling her cheek against his.
Penny pulled back, questions evident in her eyes.
“Now that you have a happy ending, will they let you take a stab at the cover?”
Penny smiled. “Who cares?” She threw her arms around him and kissed him the way she had when she’d first discovered him at Dark Dating.
When Geo backed up, he was breathless. Their noses were still touching as he spoke again. “So what’s on the dating itinerary now?”
Penny laughed, trying to shake the shock from her body. “Bowling,” she said. “And this.” She grabbed his hands, pulled him to his feet, and threw herself into his arms. His words in the article had been beautiful, but nothing felt the same as his embrace. She fit herself against him and kissed him with every ounce of emotion she had pent up inside from the last few weeks.
When a man walked by to use the restroom and whistled in their direction, Penny pulled back. “I think we should put a ‘to be continued’ on this.”
“We have all the time in the world.” George winked as she laced her fingers between his and led him back to the bowling alley.
Penny’s sisters were still standing near their lane, their whispers louder than they should have been. As Penny and George approached, they turned and surveyed the scene.
“Wait, are boys allowed now? Isn’t that against the rules?” Q was nothing if not a rule-follower.
“We never made any rules, and if he’s okay with Penny, he’s okay by us, right?” Nic voiced her opinion.
Penny squeezed George’s fingers. “He’s okay by me.” Penny gave him a tender look as he leaned down and kissed her right there in the middle of the bowling alley.
“Get your own lane!” Di called behind them as they parted.
Penny giggled. She never would have dreamed a dating itinerary would get her anywhere near love. It turned out she could have had it long before if she’d just seen through Geo to George sooner. But none of that mattered now. She had what she wanted in every way and she was never letting go. She squeezed George’s hand with her fingers. Except when it was her turn to bowl…
Epilogue
My Happily Ever After
By Penny Coyne
It’s been a few weeks since I completed The Dating Itinerary, and you might remember I went on lots of different dates in lots of different ways. What started with Speed Dating moved into Matchmaking and ended with Dark Dating and so on. Through it all, I was faced with a challenge—find a man and create a happily ever after ending.
It seemed as though I failed in that task. My last article said as much. But apparently, I spoke too soon. There was one constant throughout all of my dates, and that was the one and only George “Geo” Monais.
Mr. Monais and I formerly worked together and formed a friendship at that time. When we both went for the same job promotion, that friendship was pushed to the wayside, and then George left for his own freelance opportunities. When we ran into each other at the Speed Dating event and our paths kept crossing throughout the dating itinerary, you could say we formed an alliance.
I can admit that the road ahead of us throughout our various dating paths were bumpy. That’s to be expected when you are meant to be with one particular person and yet keep dating others in front of that person. George and I didn’t see what we had before us until much later in the process. If you’ve read his final article, you know he saw me as his needle in the haystack. I am proud to announce that he didn’t give up on finding me, and now, I don’t plan to jump back into that haystack ever again.
George turned down a huge job in New York so he could stay here and pursue things with me. I’m not going to let that opportunity go to waste. But I’m happy to report that while you won’t be seeing George Monais on your TV screen, he has secured a syndication deal and will be writing advice to both men and women on how to date safely and how to treat one another. You can send your questions to him through any of the outlets where his articles appear.
If you go back and read some of our articles throughout this dating debacle, you will notice that we were both very adamant about safety and how to date in a manner that leaves everyone taking the safest possible paths. Not everyone has had luck in the dating world, and some have even suffered in relationships they thought were right for them. To support women and children in this community, contact Her Heart. They’re always taking donations and are in constant need of toiletries, non-perishable food items, and volunteers.
Dating is the road to love, whether you like it or not. Stay safe no matter which avenue you choose, and don’t forget to look at the people closest to you. You might just recognize love somewhere you never expected to find it.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to the Entangled team that has put such time and effort into making this creation what it is today. I would be remiss not to mention my mom who, when I ran into a crunch trying to “do it all” including editing this book, she jumped right in and took my girls for a few days so I could get it done. Thanks to my husband who is always supportive of what I do.
About the Author
Brooke Williams is a radio producer/freelance writer/author. She works feverishly during school hours so once the bell rings, she can spend all of her time with her two daughters, ages 11 and 7. Brooke wrote her first book in kindergarten, but hopes her more recent foray into romantic comedy is a much better effort. When she isn’t writing for clients, working at her part-time radio job, putting away load after load of laundry, or playing UNO with her girls, Brooke enjoys reading, long walks, baking, and falling asleep on the couch by nine at the latest.
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