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Penelope always dreaded her birthday. Every year, each day that passed building up to it seemed to indicate that this would be the year she’d actually enjoy it and, yet, the day itself was always a disappointment. After her disastrous twenty second birthday (wherein her older sisters promised to plan something and then promptly forgot only after Penelope had cleared her schedule), she had begun planning a day at home for herself rather than a party or even drinks on a night out.
No, on her birthday, she told her friends that she had plans with her family and her family that she had plans with her friends. She took the day off work to drink tea, read one of her favorite books or watch one of their movie equivalents—rotating between Emma , Breakfast at Tiffany’s , Pride and Prejudice , and Little Women each year—and, on a good year, she’d get her nails done or go to a spa for a few hours. And, critically, she didn’t remind anyone that her birthday was approaching. Else, she feared, they’d try to convince her to “do something special.”
However, the year of her twenty-seventh birthday came with one serious snag: Colin.
They’d been friends for years, and Colin lived for a big party. For his twenty ninth birthday three months earlier, they’d hired out a local bar and invited fifty of his closest friends—not to mention the whole of his family. He’d been in town visiting for a few weeks around the holidays and, despite the crowd, he’d still made plenty of time for Penelope at his party, which did not help her yearslong and completely debilitating crush on him. He had a talent for making everyone feel special, most especially herself, and he knew it, too. But Colin had what Penelope lacked: the stamina and patience for such activities.
Penelope considered herself a rather tolerant person on the whole. But her birthday and the subsequent attention brought something out in her that wasn’t pretty. She was easily set off and hard to please. Even when she set her expectations low, she ended up let down.
Which was why, when Colin asked that fateful question— do you want to do something special for your birthday? —her response had been to groan.
“I’d rather not.” She plopped herself down on the chair across from him, handing him his coffee.
He raised an eyebrow at her, taking a sip. “You always say that.”
Penelope felt the need to justify her decision. “I just don’t like to do anything on my birthday, that’s all. I know you don’t understand.” She picked at her scone, watching it slowly crumble on the plate, unable to meet his eyes. Although they were good friends, they couldn’t be more opposite when it came to socializing. She couldn’t stand the attention that accompanied “doing something special” for her birthday. All eyes were on her to perform joy and happiness during the celebration. And it was so much pressure—what if each person wasn’t having the time of their life every single minute? The experience made her so anxious that she couldn’t even enjoy her own birthday.
“I don’t relate, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand,” he replied earnestly. Penelope rolled her eyes, refocusing her attention on her scone.
“What are you going to do, then?” he prodded her again.
“Same as usual. I’ll take a couple of days off work and camp out at home. I have an appointment at the spa, but I’m not sure I’ll go.” Frankly, making and canceling plans to stay home rotting away in bed was just as satisfying a prospect as the massage for Penelope.
“Can I at least get you a birthday gift?” he asked. She considered that. She did like gifts. She just didn’t like someone watching for her reaction to the gift. But it seemed rather churlish to refuse—who wouldn’t accept a birthday gift?
“I can allow that, I suppose.” Before he could respond, she cut him off, “But,” leaning over the table to wag her finger in his face, “don’t make up some loophole to throw a party and call it a ‘gift.’ I will accept material possessions and gift certificates only.” Colin would absolutely do something like that, forcing her to have a party but casting it as a “gift.”
“I can get you something nicer than a gift certificate,” he threw back defensively.
She sat back in her chair. “All right, I’ll expect something good, then.” She pretended to eye him accusingly, but her heart wasn’t in it. She could never stay irritated with him, even if he deserved it. Despite her devastating crush, he made it so easy to feel comfortable around him that she almost forgot to be nervous.
“Trust me, I’m a great gift-giver.”
She didn’t doubt that but cocked her head skeptically anyway. “You have no idea what you’re going to get me, do you?”
“Not a clue,” he shrugged. “But I promise it’ll be good.” His face split into a grin, teasing her. “Anyway, I need to go.” He stood pulling on his jacket and grabbing his takeaway cup. “You still want to watch a movie tomorrow night?”
Penelope took a last bite of her scone and stood, too. “Sure, I’m free.”
“I’ll see you, then.” He knocked their cups together in a semi-toast, making his way out of the cafe.
***
“How’s it been living alone?” Colin asked through a mouthful of popcorn as he plopped down on her couch.
“I thought I would like it better,” Penelope responded, rifling through her box of DVDs below her television set. “But it’s actually lonely.”
“Have you thought about finding another roommate?”
“No, this is a one bedroom, and I don’t think I’d like to move aga—ah ha!” Penelope triumphantly held up the box she had been looking for.
He snorted. “I can’t believe you still have DVDs.”
Penelope moved toward him, waving the DVD box at him. “You know, you’ll be sorry when all of the streaming services cost like twenty pounds per month. You’ll wish you had more of these.” She turned back to her work, searching for another case.
“I don’t think I will.” Colin rolled his eyes.
“Don’t expect to be mooching off of me,” Penelope retorted, continuing to wield the boxes around.
“Come on, you know you’ll let me.” The mirth in his eyes reminded Penelope that she absolutely would let him mooch off of her, particularly if it meant that he’d watch them in her flat (preferably with her there as well, of course).
At the chime of his phone, he pulled it from his pocket to check the messages. Gaze still locked on the phone, he asked, “What are we watching?”
“I was thinking a romcom. Or maybe a period piece?” Penelope held up the DVD boxes so he could see the titles. “Is that okay with you?” When he didn’t react to her, she tried to peer over at his screen to get his attention, asking “Are you listening?”
Colin pressed his phone to his chest, looking up to assess the options. “Yeah, we can watch whatever you want.” He paused, a grin forming on his beautiful face. “It’s your birthday this weekend after all.”
Penelope groaned, slumping back against the side of the couch. “Not the birthday card.”
“If you’re not going to play it, someone should,” Colin responded, mock rolling his eyes at her again.
Penelope sighed and begrudgingly got up to put one of the discs in the DVD player. When she sat down on the other end of the couch, however, Colin turned in his seat to face her. “You should go.”
“What’s that?” she asked, distractedly using the remote to flip through the menu pages on the television.
“To your appointment. At the spa.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see how I feel on the day of. There’s no fee to cancel.” She liked having the flexibility to sleep in, what did he care if she actually followed through on the appointment?
“What time is it at?” he urged.
“What?”
“The appointment.”
“Late morning, I don’t remember exactly, I’d have to check my email.”
“Lunch after?”
“Probably.” She finally turned to face him. “Why do you care?”
“Just making conversation. I’m interested in your life, what’s wrong with that?” Penelope’s heart squeezed. She knew that he was joking around, not seriously interested in her day-to-day activities. But it was hard not to romanticize his seemingly keen interest.
Best to act as if it did not affect her. “Stop being so interested, it’s weird.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “All right, well, maybe I just hope that you’ll be well-rested and relaxed, then.” He gave her a wink, making her stomach twist. He was always flirting with her like that, and it was ultimately harmless, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was melting any time he did it.
“Don’t do that either.” She gave him a petulant stare, but it was immediately undone at the growing smirk on his face. Refocusing on the screen, she mumbled, “Seriously, I’ll be fine. Let’s watch the movie.”
***
Penelope woke up late the morning of her birthday to find the weather was surprisingly warm, prompting her to dig out a sundress and cardigan to wear. By the time she had her hair arranged in soft curls and a tote bag packed with her water bottle and a book, she was running late for her spa appointment.
She hustled down the stairs leading up to her flat, deciding she had better catch a taxi if she were to make it on time, despite the fact that she couldn’t afford it, especially since she was the only one paying rent of late. But if she couldn't splurge on cab fare for her birthday, when could she?
When she arrived for her appointment, a glass of champagne immediately found its way into her hand while a robe draped itself across her shoulders and slippers donned her feet.
She was quickly ushered into the private room to undress and lay out. And what followed was the most relaxing forty-five minutes she had ever spent. At the end, she shot off a text to Colin, thanking him for convincing her to attend the appointment after all.
Following a lovely little lunch at the café near the spa, where Penelope nursed a sandwich and read her book, she returned to her flat.
Before she had even set down her purse, someone rang up to the apartment, the buzzing reverberating from the callbox near the door. Assuming it was a package she’d ordered being delivered, Penelope stepped up to it, pressing the button to let the delivery person into her building.
She puttered around her kitchen, peeling her cardigan off and readying herself a glass of wine so she could cuddle up on her couch with her book. When she heard the knock at her door, she initially ignored it, figuring that the delivery person would leave it outside.
At the second knock, however, she threw her blanket off, trudging to the entrance of her flat.
Penelope swung the door open to reveal none other than Colin Bridgerton, toting an animal carrier and several rather large paper bags.
“Surprise!” he shouted. Penelope jolted back, clearing a pathway for Colin to push his way into the flat.
“What’s going on?” Penelope asked tentatively as Colin carried the last of his bags inside. “What is that?” She pointed to the carrier, which had begun to rock back and forth as whatever was inside looked to be pacing around the tiny space.
“It’s your birthday gift!” He raised his arms in celebration, although Penelope was hard pressed to find anything to cheer about, especially not knowing exactly what form this particular surprise would take. Even so, the loud meows from inside the cage gave her a sufficient hint.
She gestured at the carrier, “And what exactly did you get me? Or maybe I should be asking ‘who did you get me?’” Her question was answered with a long yowl.
“Ah, yes!” He clapped his hands together, making Penelope jump. “This,” Colin bent down, unlatching the front of the carrier, “is your special surprise!”
The smallest cat Penelope had ever seen—so small that she was shocked it had managed to make such a ruckus—strutted out of the carrier and sat on its back legs, turning its head to and fro to get a good look around the apartment.
Despite her hesitation about the situation, Penelope bent down on her knees, reaching her hand out to the cat. It stared for a moment before pushing itself up on all four legs and walking toward her, its head ducked down to sniff her fingers. Having deemed her safe, it rubbed its cheek along her hand. Warmth spread through her chest and Penelope smiled, adjusting her position so she could give the kitten a little scratch on its head, moving slowly behind its ears. It felt absolutely lovely to be so readily accepted by a notoriously fastidious animal.
“Does it have a name?” she asked, turning back to Colin.
“He doesn’t. Yet.” A grin pulled at the edge of his mouth, a dimple forming in the crescent of his cheek. Her stomach squeezed, flipping over itself. Goodness, his smile was disarming. “What are you thinking?”
She schooled her features into a cool mask, as if completely unaffected by his charming demeanor. Maybe. “For a name?” she asked a beat too late.
“Yeah.”
She hadn’t ever considered what she’d name a pet. She’d begged for a dog as a child and when her mother said no, she’d asked for a hamster, and when her mother said no to that, she tried again for a fish. She’d gotten none of them and, thus, had never had the pleasure. But she wouldn’t make a snap decision, wouldn’t pick a name that she would come to regret once it was too late to change it. “I’ll have to get to know him first, I think. Get a sense for his personality.” Penelope stroked the kitten’s ear, giving it another scratch at the base.
“You don’t rush into anything, do you?” he joked.
They sat in silence for several moments as the kitten continued to walk back and forth in front of Penelope, nuzzling his head and then the side of his body against her hand as he passed. Colin bent down beside her, reaching a hand out to get in on the action. His knees brushed against hers, sending a fizzing feeling across and up her skin.
Taking a deep breath, Penelope asked, gesturing at the bags, “What’s the rest of this stuff?”
“Oh yeah,” he jumped up, “I bought a bunch of good stuff for him.” He began rifling through the bags, pulling items out. “I have a package of litter, some wet and dry food—the cashier recommended I get both—some bowls. . .” He pushed the large paper bags around, pulling a small, blue litter box out of one. “I’m told you should have another one of these but I just got the one for now.”
“Colin.” Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to spill over and down her cheeks. Normally, she couldn’t stand to cry around him, to bare so much of herself to him. But the little black and white kitten was the nicest gift anyone had ever gotten her. It almost made her rethink her stance on birthday surprises. She sniffed, dabbing at the corners of her eyes before the tears could overflow.
Colin knelt back down in front of Penelope, pulling her shoulders in toward his chest for a slightly awkward but sweet hug. They stayed that way for a moment before he pulled away, dropping a quick kiss to the side of her head, against her hair. His hand trailed after, briefly cupping her cheek before dropping his hand to her shoulder. Penelope couldn’t keep the wide smile from her face, almost splitting it in two.
“This is the best gift anyone’s ever gotten me. Birthday or otherwise.” The moment overwhelmed her so much that it slipped out. Normally, she’d be so worried about keeping her heart out of her eyes, about making sure he couldn’t recognize her feelings for him but she couldn’t help it. It really was the nicest gift.
“I’m happy you like it.” He drew circles on her shoulder with his thumb. “How am I going to pass Eloise in the best friend rankings if I don’t get you the best gifts?” The grin graced his face again, a chuckle rumbling in his throat. His eyes, however, pinched ever so slightly before he said, sadly, “Besides, someone has to keep you company while I’m gone, right?”
She ducked out of his grip on her upper arm under the guise of unpacking the other bags, tearing her gaze away from the forlorn look on his face so he wouldn’t see the matching one on hers. “That’s really kind of you, Colin.” She didn’t like to think about how lonely she’d feel when he inevitably left for a trip again.
They spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the kitten’s various accessories. Around dinner, Colin cracked open a can of wet food for him while Penelope ordered takeaway for the two of them from a Thai restaurant a few buildings down. Penelope shouted at Colin when he pretended to feed a noodle to the kitten.
After they ate, Colin played with the kitten, tossing toys across the room and whipping a string toy around for him to chase, tiring him out until he fell asleep in the small, plush cat bed Colin had purchased for him from the pet store. As they settled in for one of Penelope’s birthday movies, she realized that it had been one of the best birthdays she’d had in a long time.