Unexpected Curves

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at [Link]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/M
Fandom: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Relationship: Anthony Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, Colin Bridgerton &
Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton & Penelope Featherington
Character: Anthony Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Siena
Rosso, Colin Bridgerton, Marina Thompson, Benedict Bridgerton,
Daphne Bridgerton, Simon Basset, Gregory Bridgerton, Violet
Bridgerton, Hyacinth Bridgerton
Additional Tags: Strong Penelope Featherington, Protective Anthony Bridgerton
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-08-24 Updated: 2022-10-23 Chapters: 14/? Words:
14075

Unexpected Curves
by ynnej2198

Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of Monica
and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their subsequent secret
relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find common ground at Colin’s
wedding to Marina and realize that there is more to each other than meets the eye?

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich billionaire
CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with Eloise. Anthony
has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with Marina and completely
unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then DO
NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then enjoy.

Notes

I still adore my #polin, but #penthony has become my crack ship. I may need some serious
help.

See the end of the work for more notes

 Chapter 1

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Penelope swallowed upon hearing the words that she’d both longed for and dreaded in equal
measure.

She’d been in love with Colin Bridgerton, her best friend’s older brother, for as long as she’d
known him. While logically she knew that he’d be unlikely to ever return her feelings, Pen’s
rebellious heart held out a tiny shred of hope that one day, maybe, she would be the one at the altar
looking into his eyes as the minister said those words. But, instead, he had fallen in love with her
cousin and was up there staring happily into her eyes as they were pronounced husband and wife.

Penelope closed her eyes and stifled a groan as Colin leaned in to kiss his bride, just as she did
every time they kissed in her presence. She counted to five in her head and then opened her eyes.
The happy couple had separated from their liplock and were now facing the crowd of guests with
big smiles on their faces. Penelope darted her eyes to the left and right and confirmed that no one
sitting near her had noticed her reaction. She let out the breath she’d been nervously holding and
returned her attention to the wedding party only to find that Colin’s older brother Anthony was
staring at her as his brother Benedict, Colin’s best man, congratulated their sibling with a hearty
handshake and pat on the back. Penelope’s breath hitched in shock at the attention and she
wondered if he’d seen her reaction to the kiss. When she leveled a stare right back at him in an
attempt to gauge what he’d witnessed and he smirked back at her, Penelope knew he had.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

The moment Penelope could, she bolted from her seat and made her way to the cocktail hour on
the patio next to the garden where the ceremony had taken place. The wedding party, including a
reluctant Eloise, who didn’t much like Marina but agreed to stand up for her at Colin’s request,
were busy taking photographs, so Pen knew she’d have some time alone to compose herself before
facing Colin at the reception. Pen knew that he’d be sure to take the time to seek her out today
since she was the one who introduced them.

Pen took a sip of her champagne and laughed mirthlessly at that. When Marina had come to New
York from Miami for a conference, she stayed with Pen and Eloise. Colin, who frequented their
apartment, was instantly smitten. And, the rest, they say, is history. Of all the women he could
fall in love with, why did it have to be her cousin? Pen could have handled some stranger who she
could be nice to in proximity and then hate from afar. But she was related to Marina and
considered them friends, so she could never hate her, shun her, or wish her ill.
Twenty minutes later, Pen was scrolling on her phone while nursing her second glass of
champagne when she felt someone sidle up next to her. She didn’t pay them any mind because
there were a ridiculously small amount of cocktail tables for the large number of guests. She
already had successfully ignored her way through inane chatter with a bevy of distant Bridgerton
relatives, business associates, and friends. However, when she saw a signet-ring adorned hand
reach over and block her view of the screen, Pen was forced to look up - right into the eyes of
Anthony Bridgerton - as he asked, “So, how long have you been in love with my brother?”

Pen was sure she had a deer-in-the- headlights look as she processed his question. She’d managed
to hide her feelings for Colin successfully from all of his siblings for years, so being put on the
spot to explain them to the absolute last person she expected was off-putting. Her shock, though,
eventually gave way to anger. Who the hell was he to call her out on her feelings? They’d barely
spoken two words to each other in all the years she’d been friends with Eloise. He didn’t know
her. He certainly didn’t care about her. So, Pen figured turnabout's fair play and made a show of
lifting her elbows off the table, straightening her body, and craning her neck around the crowd in
search of the one woman she knew wasn’t there as she retorted with, “Where’s Sienna?”

Pen couldn’t miss the stricken look that crossed Anthony’s face at the question, but he covered it
quickly. He then raised his whiskey in a mock toast and replied, “Touché, Miss Featherington.”

She took a deep breath, feeling guilty about prodding him over his very public breakup with the
pop superstar, and replied, “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

A corner of his mouth curved into a smile as he responded, “I suppose I deserved that for sticking
my nose where it clearly doesn’t belong.”

Pen smiled. “If you promise to keep your nose out of my business, I will do the same.” Pen
reached out her free hand to his and held it there, open. “Deal?”

He chuckled as he slid his hand into hers and shook it, “Deal,” he replied.
 Chapter 2
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

As soon as his hand met her’s, Anthony felt a bolt of electricity shoot through his arm and into his
body. He assumed she felt it, too, because her cheeky smile disappeared and Penelope pulled her
hand out of his quickly. She brought it up to her copper hair, which was in a loose bun at the nape
of her neck, and tucked an errant strand behind her ear and then turned away from him slightly.
Anthony observed pink tinge her cheeks as she brought her champagne glass to her lips for what he
considered to be more of a gulp than a sip.

Anthony brushed his hand against his tux and cleared his throat before leaning his elbow on the
table, which conveniently put him closer to eye level with Penelope. She’d always been his little
sister’s best friend. He’d never really thought about her twice, having been so consumed with his
tumultuous relationship with Sienna. But, today, Anthony had looked at her. First by accident, as
he spied her in the crowd of guests reacting peculiarly to Colin and Marina’s first kiss, and then
purposefully, now, as he took in the sight of her as a woman. If he had to guess, he assumed
Penelope was a size twelve, but she wore it well. Her blouse was black and white silk that
wrapped around her curves nicely. The deep vee in the neckline showcased her cleavage without
being too revealing, and the ties of the wrap belt cinched her waist at the perfect spot. The blouse
flowed about six inches below the wrap to cover the top of her pencil skirt that highlighted her
assets perfectly. Stiletto strappy sandals and simple jewelry completed the look.

Penelope was the exact opposite of his former fiance, who had been brunette, tall, and thin.
Sienna, as a pop star, always flaunted her body to the point that her outfits often vacillated between
risque and, dare he say, trashy. Anthony knew she had a public brand to uphold and that, naturally,
sex sold; but, he also didn’t relish every other man in the world seeing what he should arguably
only have been privileged to view in private.
Anthony knew from a conversation he’d overheard between Penelope and Eloise once by accident,
that Pen was self-conscious about her body; but, looking at her tonight, he determined she had no
reason to be. Penelope had curves that many men (himself included, it seemed) would happily die
to get their hands on.

When Anthony didn’t leave as she seemingly expected, Penelope turned to him, empty glass in
hand, and asked, “Don’t you have pictures to take or something?”

“Nope. They did all of us first so that they could focus on the bride and groom for the rest of the
session.”

Her face fell. “Oh.”

“But they should be done soon and then we can get the party started,” he elaborated as he finished
the last of his whiskey and sat the glass on the table with a thud.

Pen snorted at his answer.

“What?” he asked.

“I just didn’t take you for a wedding reception fan, that’s all.”

“Oh, I’m not. But the sooner it starts, the sooner I can leave.”

Penelope plucked a glass of full champagne off the tray of a passing waiter, held it up to him, and
said, “Amen to that,” before downing the whole thing.
 Chapter 3
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Colin’s wedding reception takes an unexpected turn.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Fortunately, once dinner was over, Anthony was released from the bulk of his duties as a
groomsman. Since Benedict was Colin’s best man, he would be tasked with helping their brother
through the rest of the inane wedding reception traditions, leaving Anthony free to make a beeline
for the open bar.

He’d just taken the last sip of his fourth whiskey when he noticed that Marina and Colin had
cornered Penelope near the buffet table, which was now laid out with an assortment of desserts and
other munchies for the guests to partake in as the formal reception wound down and the party lit
up. She’d been holding a particularly delicious-looking eclair in one hand and yet another glass of
champagne in another. How many had she drank tonight? He saw her down two at the cocktail
hour and he was sure she’d had at least one or two more at dinner. Anthony hadn’t been
purposefully watching her, she’d just happened to be sitting in his line of sight with her two sisters
and mother. (Given what Anthony had learned about her family, he would be driven to drink, too,
if he had to sit with them.) So, maybe she was on drink number five or six?

From the way Eloise talked, Penelope was a lightweight when it came to alcohol. If loose lips sink
ships, then it was entirely possible that Pen was on the way to sinking herself in front of his brother
and new wife, given the amount of alcohol he believed she’d consumed. He didn’t consider
himself particularly gallant, but he was a gentleman and she looked like a lady needing saving,
especially when Marina pulled her in for an unexpected hug.

Anthony strode up behind Colin and patted him on the shoulder, “Brother. Great party.” Colin
turned to face him with a bright smile and then pulled him in for a hug of his own. When Colin
released him with a “Thanks,” Anthony nodded at Marina. “Mrs. Bridgerton. Congratulations.
My brother is a lucky man.” While Marina beamed at him as she possessively grasped Colin’s
arm, Anthony glanced at Penelope, who had flinced upon his address of Marina as Mrs.
Bridgerton. “Pen,” he asked, “Care to dance?”

Pen looked shocked at his request, but nodded. She gulped the rest of her drink and sat it on the
table, stuffed what was left of the eclair in her mouth, and then put her hand out for him to take. He
wrapped his fingers around hers and led her out to the floor. When he turned around to face her for
the slow dance, he noticed she was still chewing, “Thanks for not letting my hard-earned money go
to waste there,” he joked. “I’m sure I’m paying out the ass for those things. Are they any good?”

When she was done chewing, Pen swallowed. She rolled her eyes into the back of her head and
answered, “Orgasmic.” He was so dumbfounded by her answer that he nearly stopped moving.
“Best eclair I’ve ever eaten,” Pen added with a sly smile and a wink.

Anthony broke out in a laugh. How had he never known her to be this saucy? It seemed she has
both a body and intellect that he found attractive. Feeling at ease, but well-matched he joked,
“Then you clearly need to get out more because you haven’t been visiting the right bakeries.”

Pen batted her eyelashes and moved closer to him. “If you know of any good ones, let me know.
Because all the ones I visit never seem to…” She looked down between their bodies and back up
again. “Measure up.”

If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Pen was hitting on him. She wasn’t, was she? But, on the
off-chance she was, he pulled her tightly against his body, leaving no doubt in her mind that he
would indeed measure up in comparison with her past “eclairs”. They stayed like that, flush
against each other as they swayed to the ballad the band was playing for a few moments before he
leaned down and whispered, “That’s a damn shame. A woman like you deserves nothing but the
best eclairs that money can buy.”

Penelope’s breathing pattern had sped up at his loaded comment, so Anthony chanced sliding the
hand that was on the small of her back downward until it came to rest comfortably on her behind
without being obvious. When he gave it a little squeeze, Penelope’s breath hitched and she ground
her hips against his. Then she took the hand that was around his waist over his tux jacket
downward and back up again underneath it to lay at the waistband of his trousers. She used one
index finger to trace the top of his belt from the center of his back along his side to the front where
the buckle held it together. Penelope rested her finger there a moment before she moved it
downward ever so slightly and then tilted her head up and whispered, “Well then maybe you
should buy me some.”

This time, it was Anthony’s breath that hitched. He pulled his head back slightly to look down at
her. Though the lighting was dim on the dance floor, her eyes were heavy-lidded, her cheeks were
flushed, and she was biting on her bottom lip. Anthony sensed desire in her expression, but he
needed to be sure before they went any further that she wasn’t drunk. So, he asked, “How many
drinks have you had tonight, Pen?”

She let out a breathy, but quiet laugh and answered, “Five,” in a clear, even tone. Pen then
removed her hand from his pants and brought it up to his chest. As she smoothed his tux jacket of
invisible lint, she smiled wickedly. “And what about you, Mr. Bridgerton?”

“Four,” he responded honestly, though he was only slightly buzzed from them. Anthony held his
liquor quite well. It was a skill he’d honed over many years of upper crust cocktail parties, benefit
galas, and happy hours.

“Good to know,” was all she managed to get out before his sister Eloise interrupted them by quite
literally splitting them apart with her hands.

“Pen. Save me,” she plead. “Marina is about to throw the bouquet.” Eloise pulled on her arm and
added, “Come to the restroom with me.”

Pen resisted the movement and grasped Eloise’s upper arm as she attempted to free herself from his
sister’s grasp. “You’re a bridesmaid, El. You can’t hide. They’ll look for you and then they’ll
pull me up, too, for helping you. It’s probably easier just to stay here and deal.”

“But it’s so humiliating,” she whined. “I am happily single. I don’t want or need a man to
complete me.”

“Neither do I. But, on the off chance I do catch the bouquet, maybe I’ll get lucky and someone hot
will catch the garter.” Anthony suppressed a groan when Pen eyed him as she said the word lucky.

Eloise pondered Pen’s statement. “Well, Colin does have some hot friends. His buddy, Theo, is
still here. Oh, and Phil, too.”
“Well, maybe they’ll catch it. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

“No… I guess not.” But then Eloise looked at him. “But what if one of my doofus brothers
catches the garter?” she asked with a shudder.

“Then I’ll be your second. You can always give the bouquet to me and I’ll take one for Team
PenEloise.”

Eloise scrunched her nose. “Really?”

Pen shrugged. “Sure. Greg’s really filled out since he turned 21, Ben’s always been swoon-
worthy, and this one…” Pen opined as she pointed to him, “is passably attractive.”

Anthony couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at that. Passably attractive? Sure, Anthony didn’t have
Gregory’s washboard abs anymore, Benedict’s effortless swagger, or even Colin’s charm, but he
was the OG male Bridgerton heir. Even if he was pushing 40, he was nothing to sneeze at.
Otherwise, why would he have been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive last year?

Before he could defend himself, the band brought the house lights up and announced they were
doing the bouquet and garter tosses, so the three of them stepped to the side of the dance floor as
Colin and Marina went to the center.

After Ben brought a chair for Marina to sit in, she made a big show of slowly pulling her gown to
her knees so that his brother could get his head underneath to slide it down her leg with his teeth.
While his mother took pictures and the rest of the crowd hooted and hollered, Anthony rolled his
eyes, Pen hid her face in Eloise’s shoulder, and Eloise groaned.

As Pen predicted, Eloise and the other bridesmaids, who were all single, were the first ones called
to the stage. Then Frannie and Hyacinth. Pen and her sister Prudence were rounded up next as
Marina’s unmarried relatives, followed by all the other female guests over 18. Anthony bit back a
smile as he realized that the only woman happy to be up there was Prudence, who was bouncing
from foot to foot excitedly. The rest of them had taken a giant step back from her so that she was
standing in front and well-positioned to take the victory.

Colin and Marina spoke for a moment before Colin took the mic and charmed the women (except
his sisters) to step back onto the playing field.
 When Marina finally threw the tossing bouquet, it landed right at Penelope’s feet. She was going
to allow Prudence to pick it up, but she was distracted by Gregory and his friends laughing at the
bar. So, Pen rolled her eyes, huffed, and bent down to pick it up before posing for pictures with
the couple.

As she and Eloise walked back to where Anthony was standing, she licked her lips and raked her
eyes over him again just as she did while they were dancing. When she brought the bouquet up in
front of her and twirled it in her hand, allowing the petals to brush her breasts, Anthony
swallowed.

She was throwing down the gauntlet. Was he going to pick it up?

Chapter End Notes

I’ve been sitting on this for a while. I’m about 2/3 done with the story and wanted to
be further before posting, but life happened.

Hope you enjoy

 Chapter 4
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Anthony rises to the challenge

Pen stood on the sideline of the dance floor and watched with baited breath as the single gentlemen
took their places. She wasn’t naive. She knew that some of Colin’s attractive (and shallow) single
friends would opt out of diving for the garter because she’d caught the bouquet. Some would try
out of obligation, some because Colin asked them to, and some because they were too drunk to
care. Pen wasn’t exactly sure where Anthony fell on that spectrum between wanting to catch it and
feeling obligated to try.

While she wasn’t drunk, the champagne had loosened her up enough to let more of her personality
shine through with Colin’s older brother. Pen found that she enjoyed bantering with him during
cocktail hour and even felt a spark of something when they shook hands. It knocked her so off-
kilter that she pulled away quickly.

She thought that maybe he’d felt it, too, when he lingered with her until they went in to dinner.
Pen’s gaze had been drawn to Anthony throughout the affair in an effort to figure out whether she’d
been imaging the attraction she felt. If Colin Bridgerton had been out of her league, than his older
brother was light years out of it. There was simply no way a man like him would remotely be
attracted to someone like her.
And by someone like her , Pen meant overweight. Sienna Rosso, Anthony’s former fiancé, was
brunette, tall, and skinny. They’d been together for nearly ten years and were a legitimate celebrity
power couple until she cheated on him with one of her band members and he kicked her out of his
life completely. It was, by all accounts, a spectacle.

But then Pen caught him staring at her as she tried in vain not to stare at him and wondered: What
if? She wasn’t looking for love and she assumed neither was he, so maybe they could have some
fun together.

After he gallantly rescued her from her surprise conversation with her beloved and his new wife,
Pen found the courage to flirt with him in earnest. Judging by his physical state when he pulled her
close, Pen concluded that their attraction wasn’t one-sided. But then Eloise had screwed it all up
by interrupting them before she could figure out where they were headed.

Pen knew that Anthony Bridgerton was competitive, so she’d given him a challenge. He could
either watch someone else slip the garter onto her leg or he could do it himself. Pen knew that
Greg and Ben would give it an honest try because she was their sister’s best friend and they
wouldn’t want to embarrass her. Theo and Phil would, too, as the former was her best friend in
college and her current editor, and the latter was Marina’s ex-boyfriend’s brother who Pen had a
friendly relationship with. She wouldn’t be left out in the cold as no one picked it up, but Pen
really wanted that someone to be Anthony.

Colin stood in the center of the dance floor twirling the garter around his index finger and looking
between his best female friend (her) and the group of men. Once he decided on his target, he
turned around and threw it - right toward Phil, who Colin had been trying in vain to set her up with
for ages. Fortunately, Anthony was right beside him and easily reached up to catch it before Phil
could.

When Colin turned back around and saw who caught it, a slight frown appeared on his face, but he
masked it quickly as he went to hug his brother and whisper something in his ear. Pen observed
Anthony raise a brow at whatever Colin said before Marina came over to collect her.

Since Pen was wearing a pencil skirt, Anthony wouldn’t be able to slide the garter on with his teeth
as the crowd had hoped for. But he’d be able to use his hands. When he kneeled on one knee in
front of her, he used those hands to delicately guide the garter, which was Bridgeton Blue, around
her strappy heel and then slowly up her leg, much to the merry laughter of the crowd that had
gathered. However, once he reached the hemline of her skirt, he looked up at her for permission to
continue. To their audience, it was permission for something very different than it was for the two
of them, as Pen couldn’t miss the heat blazing in his eyes as he looked at her. As soon as she
nodded, he slipped the garter underneath her skirt and inched it up her thigh, taking his time to
massage it with his fingertips as he went.
He bit back a smirk when she fought the urge to close her legs and white-knuckled the chair
cushion with her free hand. Her breaths became shallow as his hands continued to inch upward
even though they’d left the garter behind in her mid-thigh. When one of his fingertips brushed her
panties at her core, she had to clench her jaw to stop herself from moaning. He chuckled then,
softly, as he extricated his hands from under her skirt, stood, and held a hand out to her so she could
stand, too, for the requisite pictures.

Before Colin and Marina reached them, Anthony pulled her close, leaned in, and whispered, “No
more drinks,” in her ear. She nodded, but then made a show of giggling for their audience as if
whatever he’d said was funny. Fortunately, Anthony understood what she was doing, backed
away, and broke into a grin, which drew applause and a few cat calls.

After that, Pen was pulled into dancing with the Bridgerton sisters for a few songs, fell into
conversation with Violet who wanted confirmation that her son had been the perfect gentleman
when us hand was up her skirt, and danced a slow dance with Theo, who spent the entire time
talking about the edits for her Ladi Whistledown manuscript.

When she went back to her table to take a sip of her water, she saw her phone light up with a text
message from an unknown number.

Unknown: The staff is boxing up a dozen eclairs to send to your room for your midnight snack.

Pen lifted her head from the screen and looked around the crowd. Sure enough, there was Anthony
over by the dessert table with an eclair in one hand and his phone in the other. When he saw her
looking at him, he raised the eclair in a toast and then bit into it. Pen shook her head and chuckled
as she wrote back: A dozen in one night, huh? That’s ambitious.

Pen smiled as she watched Anthony read the text message as he took another bite of the eclair.
When he was done, he leveled her with a look of unadulterated lust that made her understand
exactly why he’d been named Sexiest Man Alive last year. He returned his attention to his phone,
typed something, and then looked back at her as her phone dinged.

Unknown: Not in the least.

Pen sat down in her chair, lest her knees give out from the thought of Anthony Bridgerton giving
her twelve orgasms in one night. As she was thinking about how to respond, another message
came in.
Unknown: You’d better head up and check to make sure they got to your room safely.

Pen chanced looking up at him and saw that he had disappeared from the spot where he had been
and was now engaged in conversation with Simon Bassett, his best friend, and his sister Daphne.

So Pen opened the app for the hotel and took a screenshot of her mobile key. Before she could stop
herself, she texted it to him.

She expected him to look at the message, but he didn’t. Instead he continued talking as if he hadn’t
received one. So Pen stood up, gathered her belongings, and worked her way around the room to
say goodnight to her family, Eloise, and the happy couple.

Eloise was shocked she was going to bed so early, as she expected Pen would join her, Frannie, and
Hy at the bar later for a midnight snack. Pen had intended to go, but her plans had changed so she
claimed that she’d drank too much and needed to sleep it off before their breakfast tomorrow. El
eyed her suspiciously, as she knew Pen rarely got shit-faced on champagne, but then gave her the
okay to ditch them after Pen added that dinner with her mother and sisters had been exhausting.
Pen was going to say goodbye to Colin and Marina, but they were engaged in conversation with
some of their guests and she didn’t want to interrupt, so she just slipped out.

When Pen entered her room, she saw that the eclairs had indeed been delivered, as well as some
strawberries and cream, a dozen roses, and a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne.

Pen smiled, thinking of all the creative ways she and Anthony could put the goodies to use, as she
kicked off her strappy sandals, untied and shrugged out of the wrap blouse she had on over her
black camisole, and let the bun out of her hair.

As she threaded her fingers through her tresses, she heard the door open and close behind her and a
gravelly voice say, “I can see you started without me.”

Pen turned around to find Anthony standing there sans his tux jacket and tie, both of which were
slung haphazardly over his arm. He was in the process of unbuttoning the top buttons of his white
dress shirt and was looking at her hungrily as he took in the sight of her in her form-fitting camisole
and skirt.

When Pen smiled, untucked the camisole from her skirt, and pulled it over her head, Anthony
dropped the jacket and tie on the floor, closed the distance between them in two strides, and
captured her lips in a searing kiss.
 Chapter 5
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

The morning after

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Pen!” Colin exclaimed jovially as Pen walked into the hotel restaurant the next morning for
brunch with the Bridgerton family before everyone parted ways. Colin and Marina would be
leaving for their honeymoon later today, Ben and his girlfriend, Sophie, would be returning to Los
Angeles, and Frannie back to Boston where she was attending graduate school. Pen and Eloise
would return to their apartment in New York City while Anthony and the rest of the brood headed
back to the Bridgerton Estate in the Hamptons along with Simon and Daphne, who lived closeby.

“Hey, Colin,” Pen replied amiably, returning the bear hug he’d jumped up to give her. “How are
you?”

He pulled away and smiled. “Good.” Then, “No. Scratch that. I’m great.”

Pen smiled, happy that he was so happy, as he was her dearest friend after all. “I’m glad.”

“Here. Come sit next to me,” Colin directed as he led her to an empty seat on his side of the table.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you at all this weekend.”

Pen laughed. “Well, that tends to happen when you’re getting married. Or so I hear. Everything
and everyone becomes a blur in all the activity.”

Colin stuffed a muffin into his mouth and nodded. When he was done chewing, he asked, “So,
where did you disappear to? Marina and I stopped by the bar last night, but you weren’t there with
El like I thought you would be.”

Pen fought the blush she knew was spreading on her cheeks and took a sip of the water the waiter
had placed in front of her, “I was tired and went back to my room to rest. Mother was exhausting.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Colin replied with a cringe. “Seating was limited and Marina thought
you’d be better off with family than strangers.”

“It’s okay. Now I won’t have to see them again until the holidays. Besides, I had Theo and Phil as
buffers, so it wasn’t so bad.”

Any further conversation they were going to have was cut off by Anthony walking up to the table.
He was dressed this morning in dark jeans, a blue polo shirt, and a khaki sport coat that looked
exceptionally good on him. “Hello, Family.”

“Anthony, dear,” his mother cut in, “Where have you been?”

He bent down to kiss her on the cheek and said, “Sorry, I’m late mom. Had some business to take
care of.”

Pen noticed that this earned him a confused glance from Simon, who was COO at their company,
but Anthony paid no attention to it as he casually slid into the empty seat next to her, and put him
across from Simon and by his mother, who was at the head of the table. “Pen. Good morning,” he
said smoothly. “How was your night?”

“Uneventful,” she stated flatly as she unrolled her silverware and placed her napkin on her lap over
her flowered sundress. “Yours?”
“Positively boring,” he responded in the same tone before pouring himself a cup of coffee from the
carafe that was sitting on the table.

“It mustn’t have been that boring given you didn’t actually get back to your room until after
dawn,” Gregory chimed in teasingly as he chewed his biscuit.

In response, Hyacinth swatted him in the stomach.

“What?” he asked. “He didn’t.”

“You weren’t supposed to say anything. Now we’ll never find out who he hooked-up with.”

This got Colin’s attention. “You hooked-up with someone at my wedding reception?” Then he
dropped his muffin and laid his head in his hands and groaned. When he looked up again, he
turned his head to Anthony and asked, “Who do Marina and I have to take off our Christmas card
list now because you couldn’t keep it in your pants?”

Pen twisted her napkin in her lap as Anthony cooly responded, “No one you need to worry about,
little brother.” He casually poured sugar in his coffee and added, “Plus, it’s not like you send out
your Christmas cards anyway.” Then Anthony elbowed her. “Right, Pen?”

Pen snorted because everyone knew she sent out Colin’s cards for him. “That’s one job I’m more
than happy to foist off on the new Mrs. Bridgerton,” she replied with a chuckle, surprised that
calling Marina Mrs. Bridgerton didn’t hurt as much as she expected it would.

In response, Marina made a pffting noise and rolled her eyes. “Well, then I guess no one is getting
cards.”

The entire table laughed at that and conversation went back to normal. She observed the extended
Bridgerton family happily while she sipped her orange juice until her order of belgian waffles with
strawberries and whipped cream arrived. As she said, “Yum,” to herself and began to cut the
waffles to dig into them, she saw Anthony raise a brow at her. She replied with a shrug as she
popped a topping-laden waffle in her mouth. Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream
were here favorite cheat day meal. Her decision to eat them had nothing to do with last night. No.
Not at all.
When Colin tried to pull the plate toward him so he could steal some of her food, which he always
did, she dropped her silverware, grabbed the plate, and replied, “ Don’t even think about it, ” with a
low, feral growl. Her friend gaped in shock, but lifted his hands up in surrender. He went back to
chatting with his wife, but not before shooting her a sad, affronted look over her denial of
sustenance.

Anthony laughed and leaned closer to her. “Few people have been able to refuse Colin Bridgerton
food and get away with it.”

Pen picked up her silverware and started digging back in to her delicious meal. “Yes, well, my
food is off the menu now. He can steal from Marina,” she replied softly between bites.

“I don’t think half a grapefruit, a protein bar, and a green smoothie are really his cup of tea,”
Anthony mused conspiratorially as he looked down the table and spied what was left of Marina’s
breakfast.

Pen smirked, but didn’t say anything. She promised herself she would no longer disparage their
relationship now that they were married despite the fact that she knew Marina was completely
wrong for him and they’d probably only last a year.

Pen, lost in her thoughts, was shocked when Anthony stole a slice of waffle off her plate and
popped it into his mouth. “Hey,” Pen hush yelled. “That’s mine.”

“But sharing is caring, Pen. You wouldn’t deny me a slice of heaven, would you?” he replied in
the smooth, sexy, low tone he knew melted her to butter after last night.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Here,” Pen acquiesced as she picked up some waffle on her fork and
shoved it into his open mouth.

This drew them shocked glances from Violet, Simon, Daphne, and Eloise who were all sitting
nearby. “What?” Pen asked, unable to take the stares.

“Anthony hates strawberries,” Violet responded. “Or, at least he used to.”

In response, Anthony wiped his mouth with his napkin and said, “I’ve recently developed quite the
appetite for them. Can’t get enough, actually.”
 “Then why don’t you just order your own plate?” Eloise asked. “And leave Pen’s alone.”

“But, dear sister, where’s the fun in that?”

Chapter End Notes

I don’t know if Anthony hates strawberries. Just go with it for the story.
 Chapter 6
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Simon knows Anthony too well

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“So, you and Penelope. I gotta admit that I didn’t see that one coming,” Simon stated as he sipped
his beer on the patio outside the club house by the golf course. They’d managed to squeeze in a
round before they had to head to the jet to go home.

“You’re crazy,” Anthony replied as he darted his eyes around the nearby tables to make sure no
one they knew was around.

Simon leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest, and lifted a brow. “Am I?”

Anthony sighed. There was no way he could fool his best friend of decades, so he gave in. “What
gave it away?”

Simon leaned forward again and began ticking off the fingers of his one hand with the index finger
of the other. “First, you sat next to her, which you have never willingly done in the ten years
we’ve known her. Second, you leaned in and whispered to her, again, which you’ve never done in
all of the ten years we’ve known her. Third, you looked like you were going to have an stroke
when she started eating those waffles and licking her lips after each bite. Fourth, you stole her food
and you never steal food except from someone you’re involved with. And, fifth, you hate
strawberries. Like legit hate them. Unless they are on a naked woman with whipped cream. Or,
apparently, the waffles of said formerly naked woman.”

Anthony threw his napkin at his best friend. “I hate you, you know. Of all the men my sister
could have married, why you?”

“Because you’re not the only one adept at licking whipped cream off a naked woman.”

Anthony shuddered and considered throwing his beer bottle, too. “Ew. Stop. Please. I beg you. I
don’t need or want to know the details of my sister’s sex life.”

Simon guffawed at Anthony’s discomfort.

“Are you done yet?” he ground out as he hoped to God that none of his other sisters married any of
his friends.

Simon made a show of calming himself down and then asked, “So…”

“She asked me where Sienna was.”

Anthony took pleasure in seeing Simon gape like a fish. “She what?”

“I noticed she reacted strangely to Colin and Marina’s first kiss, so I asked her why. Instead of
answering, Pen responded with the question about Sienna.”

Simon pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand and then replied, “So you thought the
appropriate thing to do after finding out she’s been in love with your brother for ten years was to
fuck her?”

Anthony sighed and shrugged. “Okay. Probably not the smartest thing to do,” he admitted, to
Simon’s relief. “But Colin is married and clearly doesn’t return her feelings. Nothing was ever
going to happen between them. And she intrigued me.”

“Because she asked about Sienna?” Simon’s forehead was crinkled in confusion.

“Because she asked about Sienna and then proceeded to hit on me while we were dancing.”

“Penelope Featherington hit on you?” Simon asked incredulously. Until last night, the idea of Pen
hitting on him would have been preposterous to him, too. When Anthony didn’t laugh, Simon
sobered. “Seriously?”

Anthony nodded and then relayed the story of the eclair banter they had.

“Wow. I never knew she had that in her.”

“Me neither.” And he hadn’t. Mostly because he’d never taken the time to get to know her the
way Colin and Eloise had.

“So, that’s why you caught the garter, isn’t it? Because I expected you to stand in the back corner
and glower like you did at my wedding.”

“She dared me to. I don’t think she believed I’d feel her up in public.”

Simon snickered. “Well then she clearly doesn’t know you.” After ten years with Sienna, Anthony
become a master at it considering he rarely got his pop star girlfriend alone.

“Well, she does now.”

Simon raised a brow. “So, is it going to happen again?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it. She kicked me out of her room at dawn so that I could
get back to mine before my family noticed I was gone and asked questions.”
 “Which turned out to be a futile endeavor…”

“How the hell did Greg and Hyacinth know I wasn’t there?”

“You know that Greg works out at the ass crack of dawn every morning. He must have told Hy he
saw you. That, or Hyacinth was sneaking Gareth out of her room at the same time.”

“What?!”

“Oh, come on, Anthony. They’ve been dating for months. Surely you know your baby sister is no
longer a virgin?”

Anthony swiped his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes. “No.” Then he shuddered again. “I
just… Ugh…” His sisters and sex were two things he never liked to think about. Ever.

“Are you going to talk to her?”

“I don’t think I’ll get her alone again between now and when we leave.”

“Or you could call her.”

“Maybe…” was all he said.

Chapter End Notes

Love me some Simon/Anthony banter!

 Chapter 7
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Life goes on for Penelope, but not in the way she expectes.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Anthony never called her after their night together, but, if Pen was honest with herself, she didn’t
mind. Hooking-up with Colin’s older brother had been a huge mistake and Pen was glad she’d
have time to let the dust settle before having to see him again at Thanksgiving. While he’d given
her literally the best sex of her life, that’s all it was and all it ever could be. He was clearly still
smarting from losing Sienna and she was in love with his brother.

However, as Pen went back to her life in New York City, she wondered if it was really love she’d
felt for Colin all those years. What if it was just infatuation? While Pen felt butterflies when she
was with him and relished his bear hugs and teasing touches, he’d never made her feel the way
Anthony did with just a handshake. Or, was she just in lust with Anthony and in love with Colin?

As she continued working on her latest manuscript for her next Ladi Whistedown wallflower series
historical romance, Pen pondered her love life - and decided to just swear off men altogether.
Colin was never going to be an option. Neither was Anthony for different reasons. And the New
York City dating pool was infested with piranhas she had no interest in interacting with.
So, for two months after Colin’s wedding, she focused on herself. She worked and she played.
She wrote and she went to the gym (which wasn’t so bad after all). Pen hung out with Eloise and
made new friends when she took cooking, drawing, and photography classes at night.

She was living life perfectly fine until she ran into Anthony Bridgerton at her publisher’s
anniversary gala and her decision to swear off men altogether cracked under the weight of his
heated stare.

They’d had sex again that night in his limo as his driver drove them back to her place.

When he dropped her off, he walked her in like a gentleman and said how nice it was to have run
into her so unexpectedly, visited with his sister for a quarter hour, and then left with a wave and a
smile to head back to the heliport to take him back to the Bridgerton Estate in the Hamptons.

Three weeks after that, Eloise had to go out of town overnight with the public relations firm she
worked for, so Pen texted Anthony, who was still listed as Unknown in her contacts, that she was
alone.

He took her against the wall when he arrived at lunchtime.

Then again on the kitchen island after dinner.

And once more on the floor in front of the couch as The Tonight Show played in the background.

When Sienna’s voice broke their haze of passion as she sang her new single and announced her
engagement to Fyfe, the latest rap sensation, Anthony reached for the remote and turned off the
television without even lifting his head from where it was comfortably located between her thighs.

He stayed with her that night, but only until dawn because he had to head to the office to change his
suit before his eight a.m. meeting.

When Eloise came back that afternoon, she was none the wiser.

Another three weeks later, Colin and Marina returned from their extended honeymoon in Greece
and Violet had a family dinner to celebrate.

Pen arrived with Eloise and Anthony immediately asked to see her in his study. He was
considering having her ghostwrite a book for him on sustainable investing, you see, and he wanted
to pick her brain about how to go about that.

The moment they were inside with the door locked behind him, Pen pushed him down on the
couch, straddled him, made him promise not to mess up her hair, and rode him like a stallion until
they found their release.

When they returned to the group, Colin paused in his story about Greece to invite her to sit next to
him while Anthony collapsed with a groan into an armchair across the room (as he offen did when
Colin discussed his travels). No one was suspicious of their absence, it seemed, except Simon,
who raised his brow at Anthony when he noticed the wrinkled state of his polo shirt.

A week after that, Anthony signed a lease on a new penthouse in the City. He told Violet and his
siblings it was so that he could be closer to work when he was doing deals that kept him there late.
But it was really so that he and Pen could fuck on every flat surface available without fear of being
interrupted.

Which they did. Often.

So, Pen restated her goal from swearing off men to swearing off relationships, but not mind-
blowing sex.

At her insistance, she and Anthony never discussed what the sex meant and he seemed more than
happy to oblige her.

They were not dating. They were not a couple. They were not exclusive. They just, well, were.

If she had to define it, she’d say they were friends with benefits.

There was no way she could screw his brains out repeatedly and not get to know him, at least a
little bit.
 She learned he hated strawberries except when he ate them off her body.

She learned that the Rolodex he only took off to shower was from his father.

She learned that he was devastated by Sienna’s betrayal.

She learned that he was smarter than most other people she knew, especially in business.

She learned that he was actually quite good-humored when he was relaxed.

And she learned that he would, one day, make an excellent husband the right woman.

Which she also knew would not be her.

Because men like Anthony Bridgerton did not fall in love with women like Penelope
Featherington.

Chapter End Notes

This is kind of the end of the first phase of this story. More soon!
 Chapter 8
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Thanksgiving dinner brings unexpected guests and unexpected feelings for Anthony.

Content Warning: Language

See the end of the chapter for more notes

*Thanksgiving*

Anthony Bridgerton hated Michael-fucking-Sterling.

Hated him.

Francesca and her fiance, John Stirling, brought Michael to Thanksgiving dinner. Michael was
John’s cousin and was a successful lawyer who had been practicing international law in Dubai. He
was home for the holidays and considering transferring back to the United States.

So, his least meddlesome sister became his most meddlesome one when she decided that the right
incentive might sway his decision and purposely sat him next to Penelope at dinner.
So now Anthony was at one end of the long table next to Auggie while Penelope was at the other
being shamelessly hit on by Michael-fucking-Sterling.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Anthony was across from Colin, who also seemed to immediately
dislike Michael-fucking-Sterling the moment Penelope laughed at a story he’d shared with her
about his plane ride home from Dubai.

“Who’s this guy, again?” Colin asked with perfect charm and feigned nonchalance as he eyed the
couple at the other end of the table.

“Were you not paying attention, dear?” Violet asked as she scooped peas onto her plate. “He is
John’s cousin. He’s a lawyer. From what I understand, he’s quite successful at it, too.”

Simon, his soon-to-be former best friend, helpfully added, “He’s the top-producing partner in his
firm. They’re thinking about transferring him back to run their New York office.”

“And if they do,” Daphne chimed in, “He’d be the youngest managing partner ever there.”

“And he’s hot,” Marina said, as she pretended to fan herself with her napkin. “Pen couldn’t do
better if she tried.”

As Anthony argued in his head that she most certainly could (and had), Violet tittered. “Yes, he is
quite attractive.”

When both he and Colin shot her shocked looks, she replied with, “I may be old, but I’m not dead.”

Colin groaned a whiny, “ Mo-om ,” as Anthony cringed. Simon-fucking-Basset, meanwhile,

snickered into his napkin, clearly enjoying their discomfort over Pen and that guy.

“What do we really know about the guy, though?” Colin asked. “He could secretly be a serial
killer or something, couldn’t he? I mean, it’s always the ones that seem normal who end up being
freaks.”

“He is not a serial killer,” Daphne scolded sternly. “For God’s sake, Colin,” she added with an eye
roll, “Chill.”

Anthony thought Colin’s question was a legitimate one. There had to be something wrong with the
guy. No one was that perfect.

“Frannie said he is, and I quote, the perfect package.” Daphne then looked at Marina and waggled
her eyebrows, which even seemed to affront his soon-to-be ex-best friend.

“What the hell does that mean, Daph?” Simon asked.

“Nothing,” she said, but blushed slightly and pushed an errant strand of hair back behind her ear.

“No, it means something,” Colin argued as he turned to Marina for answers.

Hyacinth, who was seated near the middle of the table, but close enough to hear them, put her fork
down, leaned toward them, and said, “It means he’s hung.” Then she let out an exasperated sigh
and continued. “Frannie saw him naked once. Accidentally, of course. But she didn’t rush to look
away, either.”

“Hyacinth!” Violet scolded.

“What?”

“Manners.”

“Don’t blame me because these idiots are incapable of deciphering the innuendo.”

“Well, be that as it may, it’s not appropriate for the dinner table.”

Anthony’s sister rolled her eyes and returned to her dinner.

 He’d barely eaten another bite of his turkey when Pen snorted at something else the jerk said. She
was laughing so hard that tears were falling from her eyes and she was having trouble breathing.
Frannie, his new least favorite sister, and her traitor of a fiance were also laughing riotously.

He hated Michael-fucking-Sterling.

Chapter End Notes

Had to throw in that cameo.

 Chapter 9
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Anthony works through his jealousy in the best way he knows how.

Penelope was glued to the Michael-fucking-Sterling’s side all night. At first it was because they’d
teamed up with Frannie and John against Colin, Marina, Hyacinth and Gareth for a game of
charades. Since Ben and Sophie teamed up with Daphne and Simon, Anthony had ended up on a
team with Greg, Auggie, and Eloise, as Violet preferred to sit out competitive games between her
kids.

When the game was over, Pen began peppering Michael with questions about Indian culture and
cuisine. That conversation then segued into one where he asked her how she had learned to cook
and Pen told him excitedly about all the classes she’d been taking. When he found out from Eloise
that Pen was the infamous Ladi Whistledown, he offered to share stories of when he was wicked so
that she could use them in her upcoming books. And, Pen, seemingly more than curious for new
ways to describe two people having sex for her novels, was apparently happy to listen.

“You’re glowering,” Simon observed as he sidled up to him standing by the bookcase in the family
room.

“I hate that guy,” Anthony replied, honestly. “What the hell does she see in him?”
Simon snickered. “Successful, single, and hung like a stallion? What’s not to see?”

Anthony growled low in his throat, which made Simon reel back in surprise. “Oh, my God.
You’re jealous.”

“No, I’m not.”

Simon didn’t say anything. He just looked at him with a who the hell are you kidding face.

“Ok. I am.”

“Where do things stand between you two?” Simon asked.

Anthony took a sip of his whiskey. “Nowhere.”

“As in?”

“As in - we are just friends .”

“Like her and Colin?” No. Definitely not like her and Colin. Colin has never watched her shatter
the way he has. But Anthony asked, “What about Colin?”

Simon inclined his head toward the third Bridgerton sibling. “He’s perfecting his Anthony
Bridgerton glower, too.”

“Fuck,” Anthony muttered. “He needs to knock that off or Marina will notice.”

Simon then inclined his head toward Marina, who was coming in from the kitchen with more wine,
and replied, “Too late.”
Anthony watched as Marina sent Penelope a scathing look before walking over to collect her
husband to go out to the patio with her for some fresh air.

Penelope, bless her heart, didn’t see any of it. She was too busy blushing at Michael-fucking-
Sterling to notice.

After the rest of the family had retired for the night, Penelope and Michael-fucking-Sterling were
still talking. When she told him about how her mother always used to dress her in horrible citrus
colors when she was a teenager because they were happy colors that would help her find a
husband, he guffawed so hard that he started crying and snot came out his nose.

He apologized and excused himself to blow it, so Anthony took the opening. He sat down on the
table in front of the couch she was sitting on and said, “Hi.”

“Oh, hey, Anthony. How are you?” She asked pleasantly, as if he was just an acquaintance who
hadn't taken her on top of his dining room table two days ago. “I feel like I haven’t gotten the
chance to talk to you all night.”

“You’ve been busy,” he ground out. He was trying hard to keep the jealousy from his voice.

Pen blushed and twisted a copper lock of her hair. “Michael’s very entertaining.”

“So I hear,” he said curtly, which made her still her hand mid-twirl and cock her head to the side.

“Are you alright? You seem a little off,” she inquired as she eyed him curiously.

“I’m fine.”

Penelope opened her mouth to say something, but Anthony never heard what it was because
Michael-fucking-Sterling came back, sat down next to her, and immediately pulled her into
conversation again.
Anthony sighed, excused himself, and went to his room.

A half hour later, after Anthony had showered and crawled in bed for the night in his suite in his
wing of the house, he got a text message from Pen.

Pen: You sure you’re okay?

Anthony: Fine.

Pen: Okay. Just checking.

Pen: Night.

Anthony: Goodnight, Pen.

Pen was staying in the family wing of the house, which was on opposite of his and full of family
and their assorted guests and partners. There was no way he could see Pen tonight without
arousing suspicion for being in the wrong part of the house. Unless…

Anthony: Have you had dessert?

Pen: No. What did you have in mind?

Anthony: Eclairs. Want some?

Pen: …

Pen: …
Pen: Sure. I’ll be there in five.

Anthony knew that Pen knew there were no eclairs, but it would seem innocent enough of a
conversation to explain away if anyone happened to see it on their phones this weekend.

Five minutes later, he heard a soft knock at his bedroom door. Knowing it was Pen, Anthony
decided to answer without covering himself up and was pleasantly surprised to find her on the
other side in polka dot pajama bottoms, slippers, and a t-shirt. She had her hair in a messy high
bun and was holding a box of what he could only assume were eclairs. Leave it to Pen to make
their cover story believable.

When she handed it to him, it felt heavy. “How many are here?”

Pen placed her hand on his naked torso and pushed him backwards so that she could enter the
room. Once she was inside, she closed and locked it behind her.

“Twenty-four,” she replied. “Are you up for the challenge?”

Anthony had never been as glad to live alone in the opposite wing of the massive Bridgerton
mansion as he was that night.
 Chapter 10
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Pen gets busted by a Bridgerton.

When Pen snuck back into her room just before dawn, she was shocked to find Eloise waiting
there. “Where were you?” her friend asked worriedly. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came to see if you
wanted to hang out downstairs and watch some trashy reality TV, but you weren’t here. And that
was five hours ago.” The and that was five hours ago was punctuated with a brow raise that would
have made Anthony proud.

Shit. Double-shit.

“I went for a walk and fell asleep in the guest house by the pool.”

“Do you honestly expect me to believe that, Pen?”

Pen grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and twirled it nervously. “What would you believe?”
“I’d believe the truth, if you’re so inclined to tell me that.”

Pen rushed over to Eloise and sat her down next to her on the bed. “Okay. But you have to
promise not to get angry.”

Eloise shook her head furiously. “Uh-uh. No deal.” Then she gasped. “Oh, my God. You aren’t
sleeping with Colin, are you?!”

“Colin? What? No. Of course not. He’s married. I don’t do married.”

“Not even if the married man happens to be someone you’ve loved for ten years and someone who
was totally jealous of you and Michael all night?”

“What?!” Colin wasn’t jealous over her. Was he?

“He was glowering just like Anthony while you were talking to Michael. How did you not notice?
You always notice everything Colin does.”

Huh. She hadn’t noticed. She’d been too focused on Anthony’s reaction to her with Michael to
even think about Colin.

“Did you sleep with Michael?” Eloise asked. But then she shook her head and said, “No, you
couldn’t have. His room is next to mine. I would have heard that. You’re loud during sex.”

“ Eloise .”

“What? It’s true. You are.”

Suddenly, understanding seemed to dawn on Eloise’s face and she jumped up from the bed.
Pacing, she mumbled, “No, no, no. This can’t be. NO.”

“El.”
“You and Anthony ?” she asked in disbelief.

When Pen nodded in confirmation, Eloise sank to the floor. “This cannot be happening.”

She looked up and asked, “When?”

Pen sank to the floor across from her. “Colin’s wedding.”

Eloise gasped again, but this time covered her mouth in shock. “Does anyone else know?”

Pen shrugged. “I think maybe Simon. He looked at us strangely at Colin and Marina’s welcome
home dinner.”

El dropped her hands from her mouth and said, “You mean when you returned from giving him
advice on his book?” Then. “There is no book, is there?”

Pen shook her head.

Eloise crossed her fingers and closed her eyes. “Please tell me you never did it in our apartment.”

When Pen didn’t answer, she opened her eyes and side-eyed her. “You didn’t, right?”

Pen looked down at the floor.

“Oh, God. Where?”

Pen buried her hands in her face.

“Thewallbythedoorthekitchenislandandonthefloorinfrontofthecouch” she answered.
Eloise jumped up to her feet and began pacing again. “Ewww. Oh. Ugh. You better have
disinfected afterward.”

Pen followed suit and put her hands on her friend to stop her pacing. “Of course. El. Don’t worry.
We’ve never been together at home since.”

Eloise threw her hands in the air. “Ahh. The penthouse makes so much more sense now. I
couldn’t figure out why he suddenly needed one. He always slept in his office before.”

Pen blushed and sat back on the bed. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Eloise sat down next to her again. “Alright. I won’t. But I swear to God that if he breaks your
heart, I’ll break his head.”
 Chapter 11
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Anthony learns the jig is up.

Anthony was in an extremely good mood when he entered the kitchen the following morning. He
and Pen had stayed up attempting their orgasm record for hours the night before, but he wasn’t the
least bit tired. .

He poured himself a cup of black coffee and took a sip, smirking as the cup reached his lips.
Michael-fucking-Sterling who?

No one. That’s who.

When Anthony got Pen alone, he made sure that his name was the only one on her mind and her
lips as he brought her to completion over and over again

No matter how wicked Michael-fucking-Sterling claimed to be, there was no way he’d be giving
Penelope Ann Featherington that many orgasms in one night.
Anthony was older, wiser, and far more wickedly experienced than that poser would ever be.

Anthony smiled when he saw Pen enter the kitchen behind Eloise. She was dressed in jeans, calf-
high Uggs, and a beige camisole with a plaid flannel poncho-thing over top of it. Her hair was
pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck and she had kept on the simple diamond
chip pendant and stud earrings he’d given to her last night as an early Christmas present. Anthony
had chosen them specifically because he knew they’d look beautiful on her, but also because they
were not ostentatious or overly expensive and no one would question how she could afford them on
her own income as a writer.

As he watched Pen chat with Ben and Sophie, who were eating breakfast, Anthony grinned with
the satisfaction of knowing he’d been the one to give the delicate jewelry to her and see her
wearing only it and nothing else as she rode him to her twenty-fourth orgasm. Ok. Not twenty-
fourth. If she’d had 24 orgasms in one night, she wouldn’t be able to walk today. But he did
manage to break his single night all-time record with her, so that was an accomplishment worth
celebrating.

“You look happy, dear brother,” Eloise chirped as she bumped his hip to move him out of the way
so she could open the fridge and search around for something.

“It’s a beautiful morning,” he replied, pretending to be happy about the weather as he leaned back
against the counter casually.

When Eloise closed the door, put her finger on her chin and made a show of looking around the
kitchen, his curiosity got the best of him and he asked, “What are you looking for?”

“It’s the funniest thing… Pen brought a box of eclairs from the bakery near our apartment, but I
can’t seem to find them. Any idea where they may have run off to?”

“I’m sure I have no idea. I’m not the one with the voracious appetite in this house,” Anthony
deflected.

“Do you think Colin took them?” Eloise asked. “Or maybe Michael?” She paused and then added,
“I think I heard him say that he loves a good eclair to Pen last night.” His sister then leaned in and
whispered, “Could they have shared them as a midnight snack and not left any for us?”

Anthony’s grip on his coffee cup intensified. “I wouldn’t know,” he ground out. “Have you asked
Pen where they are?”

She made a show of slapping her forehead with her hand and exclaimed softly, “That’s right! I
did.” When Eloise dropped her hand, she gave Anthony the evil eye and continued, “And she told
me exactly where she left them.”

Anthony gulped, realizing that the jig was up. “She did?” he squeaked. Yes. Squeaked.

Eloise nodded. Then she got a mischievous lilt to her voice. “I’m sure Colin would love an eclair,
too. They are one of his favorite desserts after all. Perhaps I should send him to get them for me.
What do you think?”

Anthony leveled a fear-of-God gaze on his sister. “ Don’t. You. Dare ,” he commanded in his Big
Brother voice.

“Or what?” she asked challengingly. “What will you do about it, brother, if I tell Colin where
those eclairs are located?”

As he and his sister stared each other down, Penelope came up to stand next to her best friend and
locked arms with her. “Hey, El, why don’t we go for a quick walk in the gardens before we take
your mom out Christmas shopping?”

Eloise replied, “I think that’s an absolutely splendid idea, Pen.” Then she pulled Anthony’s coffee
cup out of his hand and sat it on the counter. “Brother, what do you say? Join us?”

“Sure. Why not?” It was clear from her tone that he didn’t have a choice in the matter if he
wanted his and Penelope’s secret to stay that way.
 Chapter 12
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Eloise has a realization that changes everything for Anthony and Pen

As soon as the three of them were cloistered in the gazebo at the far end of the gardens, Anthony
lost it. “What the hell, Eloise?!”

“Don’t you ‘what the hell’ me, Anthony Bridgerton. YOU are the one with the explaining to do
right now, not me.” Eloise nearly shouted as she poked him in the chest, hard.

“El. Anthony. Calm down please. Yelling won’t solve anything,” Pen begged as she inserted
herself between them.

Anthony paced to the opposite side of the gazebo as Eloise. He took a deep breath to calm himself
and then turned back to the center and asked Pen, “How did she find out?”

“She was waiting for me when I got back to the room. She knew I was gone all night. I had to tell
her. I’m sorry.”
He stepped forward again and took Pen’s hands in his. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in
that position in the first place.”

Eloise, who was still standing by Pen, interjected, “You two are lucky it was me who realized she
was missing last night and not another one of our siblings - especially the one whose name starts
with a C and ends with olin .” El made a show of looking between them warningly, “You do
realize he will flip his shit when he finds out about this, right?”

Anthony felt his hackles rise at that. “Colin lost the right to flip his shit over anything we do when
he married Marina, El,“ he stated. “Our idiot brother had ten years to realize how amazing Pen is
and blew it.” Anthony squeezed Penelope’s hands as he said that because he meant it. He truly
did. She was amazing and Colin was a damn fool. When Pen returned the squeeze and mouthed
Thank you , Anthony let go of one of her hands to cup her cheek and she leaned in to his touch.

“Oh. My. God,” El breathed. “This isn’t just sex, is it? You two are smitten.”

“What?” Pen asked, evidently as shocked by Eloise's observation as he was.

She pointed between them. “You two. You’re falling for each other.”

Was he falling for Penelope? Did he want more than friendship with benefits? Anthony had
honestly never thought about it. Penelope had asked him not to overthink their relationship, so he
didn’t.

But he was ready to murder Michael Sterling last night for putting his hands on Penelope. And
when she came to him, he was overjoyed. And possessive. Anthony wants, no needs, to be the
only man on her mind. But did he want to be the only one in her heart, too?

The thought of Colin waking up to his feelings, divorcing Marina, and stealing Pen from him
nearly paralyzed Anthony with dread. He didn’t want to lose her.

He couldn’t.

“Pen…” he started, but then remembered Eloise was with them. When Anthony looked over at her
imploringly, his sister, in an uncommon bout of charity said, “You know what? I need to make a
call,” and stepped down from the gazebo back into the garden a few feet away.
When she was out of ear shot, he continued. “She’s right. This isn’t just sex for me anymore.
When I saw you with Michael last night, I wanted to murder him.”

Pen smiled. “I saw you glowering at us. It was the only reason I kept talking to him as long as I
did.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s a nice guy, Anthony,” Pen admitted. “But he’s not for me.”

Anthony let out a relieved breath. Not having to worry about Michael Sterling was a weight off his
shoulders. “What about Colin?” he hedged.

“What about him?” Pen seemed surprised Anthony brought him up.

“Are you still in love with him?” he asked her point-blank, dreading and anticipating her answer in
equal measure.

Pen let go of him and walked to the edge of the gazebo to look out over the wooded area behind the
gardens. Anthony watched as she bowed her head in contemplation for an agonizingly long time.
Unable to bear the wait, he followed her and leaned down directly behind her. He put his hands on
the rails next to hers and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Be honest with me, Pen,” he
requested.

She sighed heavily. “Honestly, I don’t know. I thought I was in love with him, but now I’m not so
sure. Was it just infatuation? Or was there more to it? I do know he doesn’t make me feel the same
way you do. Around him, my stomach gets butterflies. Around you, I can’t think straight and just
want to rip your clothes off. Is that love? Or just lust? I just… I don’t know.”

He shifted one of his hands so that he could entwine his fingers with hers. “Maybe we can figure it
out together,” Anthony suggested. “I don’t need you to love me. Hell, I don’t know if I love you.
But I know I don’t want to lose you. So, that’s something, right?”

Pen laughed softly. “It is.”

They stood there like that until Eloise came back and cleared her throat. “It’s time to go. Hyacinth
is going to send out a search party if we aren’t back in five minutes, Pen.”

Reluctantly, Anthony stood up straight and stepped away so they could head back.

It was bad enough that Eloise knew. If Hy found out, everyone would know in an hour. And
Anthony wasn’t ready to share Pen just yet.

“You won’t tell?” He asked his sister as they walked back to the house.

“I’ll hold Pen’s counsel. Not for you. For her.”

Anthony knew that was the best he was going to get.

 Chapter 13
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

Eloise and Anthony butt heads.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

You know that just because I know about you two, it doesn’t mean that you can be all kissy-face
whenever you want, right?”

Eloise said as she tapped her foot on the hardwood floor of their shared apartment.

In response, Pen pulled away from Anthony’s kiss and shifted on the couch so she could look at
her roommate. “Sorry, El.”

“She may be, but I’m not,” Anthony replied from beside her as he smirked, put his feet on the
coffee table, and picked up the remote to flip through the channels on their television.

“I loathe you,” El said as she stomped over to where Anthony was sitting, kicked his legs
unceremoniously from the coffee table, and stole the remote from his hands. “Don’t you have a ten
million dollar penthouse in Hudson Square you can fuck around in? Why are you here?”
“Because here is where Penelope is,” he replied in the superior voice that Pen knew El hated.

“ Pen ,” she whined. “He cannot be here all the time. He’s too annoying and I suffered enough as
a child.”

“At least I’m not eating you out of house and home,” Anthony interjected. “If Pen was with Colin
instead of me you’d be annoyed and hungry.”

“He’s got a point.” Pen confirmed, knowing that her lingering feelings for Colin were a sticking
point in her and Anthony’s new relationship. She was glad he was feeling relaxed enough to joke
about them.

El turned off Anthony’s UFC match, much to his chagrin, before addressing Pen again. “But if
you were with Michael, then I’d at least be able to enjoy seeing him walk around half-naked all the
time.”

Anthony, who was clad only in his boxers and a tight black t-shirt, snatched the remote back from
his sister’s hand, turned his UFC match back on, and declared, “She’s not going to date Michael-
fucking-Sterling, so give up the matchmaking, Eloise.” He motioned with his arm for her to get
out of the way, but she didn’t budge. “Will you get out of the way?” her boyfriend (yes,
boyfriend!) ground out frustratedly.

“Will you get out of my apartment? ” El challenged him.

“No,” Anthony stated as he adjusted his position on the couch to try and see around her.

“Well, then, I’m not moving,” Eloise replied as she spread out her body to block as much of the
screen as she could.

Suddenly, Anthony dropped the remote, jumped to his feet, and tackled his sister. He threw Eloise
over his shoulder, walked her to her room, and plopped her down, unceremoniously, on her bed.
She was sputtering in rage as he sauntered out and shut her door behind him. “That’s much better,”
he said as he settled back down next to Pen again and glued his eyes back to his match.

“Do you want her to kill you? Or, worse, tell everyone about us?” Pen asked exasperatedly.
“Because she is this close to spilling the beans.” Pen put her index finger and thumb in front of
 Anthony’s face to illustrate what she meant by *this close*, but he batted it away.

“Relax, Pen. She won’t tell. It’s in her best interest not to.”

“Anthony, what are you holding over your sister’s head in exchange for her secrecy?”

“I found out she slept with Phil the Botanist the night of Colin’s wedding and I’ve threatened to tell
Mother.”

Pen gasped. “You’re blackmailing her?!”

“Absolutely,” he smirked. “But I prefer to think of it more as mutually-assured-destruction than

blackmail. Neither of us want our mother interfering in our love lives, so if we both keep our
mouths shut, we both win.”

Pen shook her head and laughed. “I cannot believe you two,” she commented before reaching for
her laptop to continue writing her chapter.

Just as they got comfortable on the couch again, Pen heard Eloise’s door open and then the sound
of Sienna’s latest album blaring from the speakers of her stereo.

When Anthony groaned, Pen couldn’t help but laugh.

Chapter End Notes

This was my favorite chapter to write. I hope you enjoyed it!

 Chapter 14
Chapter Summary

This story came into my head randomly and is based off of the Friends storyline of
Monica and Chandler’s unexpected hook-up at Ross’ wedding to Emily and their
subsequent secret relationship. What happens when Anthony and Penelope find
common ground at Colin’s wedding to Marina and realize there is more to each other
than meets the eye??

This is a modern Bridgerton AU set in the United States where Anthony is a rich
billionaire CEO and philanthropist and Penelope is a writer sharing an apartment with
Eloise. Anthony has not met Kate (and will not meet her) and Colin is in love with
Marina and completely unaware of Pen’s feelings for him.

If you are fans of the original couples and cannot picture them with other people, then
DO NOT READ THIS FIC, as it is NOT for you. But, if you have an open mind, then
enjoy.

Chapter Notes

An unexpected visitor disrupts the delicate balance Pen and Anthony have created
with Eloise.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Two weeks later, Pen was cooking dinner and paused to watch Anthony and Eloise interact at their
small dining table. The siblings, who still weren’t enthusiastic about spending so much time
together, slid into a rhythm that worked for them.

On the days they stayed at the apartment, which were many, Eloise would allow them privacy in
the common area before dinner. After dinner, Anthony and Pen would retreat into her room with
the door closed and stream tv from their phones or laptops so Eloise could relax in the living room.
Exceptions were made, however, for the shows they all liked, when Pen and El wanted to watch
reality tv together, or if one of Anthony’s UFC matches was on.

Anthony and Pen were not allowed to be overly affectionate in Eloise’s presence and her brother
was required to always have a t-shirt and boxers or pants on. Failure to do so resulted in an
immediate $100 cash fine. Anthony, of course, didn’t care about Eloise’s opinion or the money, so
he wore what he wanted and paid up when she caught him. But, when he accidentally walked in
on Eloise dressed only in a towel as she crossed from the bathroom to her room, he realized the
wisdom in her rule and placed the same nakedness conditions on her for the common areas. No
Benjamin’s had crossed hands since.
Tonight, though, they were sitting together and working on the New York Times crossword puzzle
as a team rather than competitors. Once in a while, they’d shout to her to ask for a word and then
cheer or groan in unison over her response.

Anthony had been spending nearly every waking moment with Pen since they returned from the
Bridgerton estate over Thanksgiving. If he wasn’t working, he was with her. Since Eloise knew
about them, most of that time was at her apartment because all of Pen’s belongings were there. Pen
had even cleared out the bottom drawer of her dresser and some space in her closet for Anthony’s
extra clothing. On the nights they wanted privacy or El wanted them to make themselves scarce,
they’d go to Anthony’s penthouse instead. But those visits were getting fewer and farther
betweeen.

They still had sex. A lot of it. But their routine had changed. It was something that added to their
relationship versus being the primary aspect of it. Since they could touch, cuddle, and kiss each
other freely anytime they were at home, the need to couple wildly wasn’t as strong. Pen enjoyed
the nights when she and Anthony would come together tenderly and languidly because they didn’t
have to worry about being separated. However, they were working on being quieter, as Eloise
charged them a $500 fine for loud sex. Pen snickered quietly as she remembered the day Anthony
had given Eloise her own key to his penthouse instead of the $500. His sister gaped at him as he
told her if she didn’t like it, she could leave. It was one of the few times Pen had seen Eloise
speechless.

Pen had just plated the chicken piccata she made when the siblings shouted, “DONE!”

“Good, then you can come over and get your own plates instead of me bringing them to you,” Pen
replied.

Before they had a chance to stand up, though, there was a loud knock at the door. The three of
them exchanged a glance since they weren’t expecting the takeout guy tonight before Eloise stood
up to see who it was. Eloise gasped and then turned around to mouth It’s Colin just before they
heard another knock and Colin’s voice shout, “Pen? El? Are you home? If you are, will you let me
in? It’s freezing out here.”

El shot her and Anthony apologetic looks before unlocking the deadbolt and opening the door.
Colin, carrying a laptop case and a duffel, smiled upon seeing her. “Surprise!” he said jovially as
he shuffled in.

“What are you doing her, Col?” Eloise asked. “You weren’t supposed to fly back to New York
until next week.”
Colin dropped his stuff, took his coat off and hung it on the hook by the door. “I caught an earlier
flight so that I could surprise my best friend and my favorite sister for a weekend of Christmas in
the City fun.”

Christmas in the City had been a tradition for them them the last few years. Colin would return
early from wherever he was, bunk on their couch, and they’d all go to see the Rockettes, ice skate
at Rockefeller center, go Christmas shopping, and then put up their Christmas tree. Pen had
assumed, in light of his marriage, that the wouldn’t be doing their weekend this year so she and
Eloise had invited Anthony join them instead.

Pen was still speechless by his sudden appearance, so she was grateful when Eloise asked where
Marina was. “She’ll be here later. She’s in a fashion show tomorrow night and has to meet with
the designer to go over the details.”

Clearly Colin expected that Pen and Eloise would welcome his wife into the tradition, which
angered Penelope. But, El, God love her, said, “Well then we definitely need to include Anthony,
too.”

Colin, who was still by the door and digging through his laptop bag on the floor for something,
laughed and asked, “Why would we do that?”

In response, Anthony, who’d been silently taking in the scene from the dining table, answered,
“Because I’m here and it would be rude to leave me out after Pen and El already invited me to
spend the weekend with them.”

Colin’s head snapped up at the sound of his brother’s voice. His eyes narrowed at the sight of his
brother sitting at the table in a pair of grey joggers and a blue t-shit. Anthony’s posture was
relaxed as he leaned back and twirled the pen he and El had been using for the crossword absently
in his fingers, but Pen could sense the tension emanating off of him. Anthony casually dropped the
pen on the table, pasted a smile on his face, and held his arms out to his sides, “Surprise back at
you, little brother.”

Colin stood up, whatever he was digging for long forgotten. “I… just… wow. I didn’t expect to
see you here.”

“Ditto,” Anthony said as he stood, too, and walked toward his siblings. When he reached Colin, he
held out a hand for Colin to shake and added, “But it’s good to see you.”
Colin nodded but didn’t reply as he took his brother’s hand and shook it. He was clearly not used
to seeing Anthony in this space, let alone dressed comfortably with bare feet and wet hair from the
shower he’d taken after work. “You have to forgive me, Ant. I’m just a little shocked to see you
like this.”

“Like what?”

“Relaxed. Liked you’re at home or something. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I saw
you this way. At home you’re always in jeans or khakis and a polo shirt unless you’re working
out.”

Pen knew that Colin sensed something was off with the scene in front of him. Anthony rarely
spent time with Eloise at her apartment. The two of them fought more often than they bonded due
to their similar dominant personalities and stayed as far away from each other as they could as a
result.

Fortunately, her beloved best friend saved her bacon once again by sidling up to her oldest brother
and pulling him close to her. She shook him playfully as she said, “Our New Year's resolution is to
spend more time together, so I invited big brother here to come hang with us and let down his hair a
little.”

“But it isn’t New Years…”

“We… started early,” Anthony replied before mussing her hair like he used to do when she was
little. This action earned him a scowl, which broke the tension and enabled the four of them to sit
down to dinner together and catch up.

She should have made more chicken.

~zzzzz~

About an hour later, Marina came back from her meeting. While she greeted everyone warmly,
Pen sensed something lurking behind her eyes as she said hello to her. Was her cousin angry with
her? If so, why? Pen hadn’t seen her since Thanksgiving weekend and never even spent any time
with her or Colin the entire time.
 “It’s getting late,” Marina said with a yawn after the Christmas special they’d been watching
ended. “I have to get up early for hair and makeup.”

Pen was about to shoo everyone from the couch so that she could make up the pullout sofa bed for
Colin and Marina when Anthony stood up, walked over to the end table, and picked up his keys.
He held them out to his brother. “Why don’t the two of you take the penthouse? I had already
planned to bunk here with El for the weekend anyway.”

“Really?” Marina asked excitedly at the prospect of having a $10 million penthouse to herself for a
weekend.

“Sure. Consider it a belated wedding gift. You’re going to love the view. You can stay in
whichever one of the spare bedrooms you feel like. All I ask is that you stay out of my office and
my suite. Otherwise, the place is yours till we head up to Mother’s on Monday.”

“I dunno,” Colin hedged. “Wouldn’t you rather go home than sleep on the couch?”

Anthony stepped forward and put the keys into Marina’s outstretched hand. “Naw. I’m good
here.”

“Alright. If you insist.”

“I do.”

“Then I guess I’ll be back tomorrow so we can go ice skating,” he said to the room in general and
then picked up his and marinas bags. “Thanks, Ant.”

“It’s entirely my pleasure,” Anthony responded smoothly, which caused Pen to bite back a smirk as
she realized how easily Anthony had manipulated the situation to his advantage.

Once the door closed behind them, Eloise sighed and said, “Well, that was close.”

Chapter End Notes

 Ok, friends. This is literally all I have written. Thanks to your lovely comments, I have
inspiration on where to go from here, but I don’t know when I’ll update or how
frequently. Please be patient.

I was going to wrap up the story in a few chapters, but now I want some more siblings
to find out, so I have to visualize and write those scenes.

If you bear with me, you won’t be disappointed.

End Notes

This is about all I have written. More to come. Updates will be a little slower until I write
ahead. In the meantime... what do you think?

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