“Well, um, that’s the thing. It’s supposed to be a secret.” I hope my smile doesn’t come off as too pained. “I filled in as a favor at the last minute, and we don’t want any special recognition in the run-up to the Maui Food Festival. You know what I mean.”

She nods, her face turning serious. “Oh, of course. You can count on me. I won’t peep a word, promise!”

She pulls me into a hug, and I nearly tumble to the floor. My God, tiny Penelope is stronger than she looks.

When she leans out of the hug, she still holds me by the upper arms. “How crazy that we—”

The kitchen door swings open and out steps Callum.

When Penelope gazes at Callum, I know the jig is up. In the few seconds he stands in front of us, she stares at him, standing there in his white chef jacket that’s identical to mine. Then she looks back at me, her widening eyes and mouth making it obvious that she’s putting two and two together.

“Wait . . . you two are working together?”

The wonderstruck expression on Penelope’s face is reminiscent of when a little kid is told that Santa isn’t real.

“But I thought . . . You don’t even like each other . . .”

Callum’s brow raises. “This is all your fault, Penelope.”

I mouth, “What are you doing?” at him.

Penelope seems to be going through the same thought process, because she’s staring at Callum with her eyebrows all the way at her hairline.

He crosses his arms over his chest.

“Wh-what?” she stammers.

“Remember that selfie you posted of you two with a caption calling out Hungry Chaps?” Callum says. “Well, this is the outcome. Nikki and I had it out over that, but now we’ve come to an understanding.”

Penelope furrows her brow. “And now you’re cooking together?”

“Something like that.” Callum lifts his eyebrow for just a half second, but the message it sends is indisputable.

His cheeky little nod is more than enough to clue her in. She’s beaming again and turns to me. “Oh my gosh, it’s like those enemies-to-lovers romances! Those are my absolute favorite!”

I tug her arm, finally understanding what Callum is doing. Sometimes the best way to hide is out in the open. Penelope is already a fangirl. If I can convince her to keep this a secret as a friend and fan, she’ll feel special. And our secret will be safe.

I turn Penelope to face me. “We have you to thank, Penelope. You brought us together. Sometimes we even call you Cupid.”

The lie doesn’t flow as smoothly as I hope, but she’s too excited to notice, thankfully.

“You do?” she squeals.