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“Family?”
“Mom, Dad, two older sisters—Cassandra and Dana—and my younger brother, Jason. He’s a junior at UVA.”
Caleb’s eyebrows quirked in amusement. “Your siblings are Jason, Cassandra, and Dana? And you’re…Penelope?”
Her heart thudded at the sound of her full name on his lips. “My mother’s a high school English teacher. Big fan of the classics.”
“Clearly.” He pinched his lips together, like he was trying not to smile.
Penny wondered what it would take to get him to actually smile. He must be capable of it. His mouth seemed otherwise proficient—supple, dexterous. Perfect, basically. Surely it was able to form a smile. Why was he so reluctant to show it off? Maybe it was so beautiful it turned people to stone. Or made them fall in love with him. That didn’t seem too far outside the realm of possibility. Even thinking about Caleb smiling made her feel a little faint.
His eyes fell on her mouth, almost like he could read her mind. Oh, God, wouldn’t that be mortifying?
Penny licked her lips and looked down at her coffee.
The way he was hanging around and looking at her—if she didn’t know better, she might almost think he was flirting with her.
Which was undoubtedly why he didn’t usually do it. When a man this gorgeous showed an interest in you, it was easy to get swept away and convince yourself he was being more than just polite. No wonder he avoided chatting with customers other than George.
Penny silently pledged not to give Caleb any reason to think she was misconstruing his attention. He was simply being nice. Just because her libido was raging out of control didn’t mean she should repay his niceness by creeping him out.
The bell rang as a group of new customers came in, and Caleb rapped his knuckles on the counter as he went to serve them.
She blew out a breath as soon as his back was turned, and pressed her fingers to her cheeks. They were burning up. She must be bright red. How embarrassing.
If she and Caleb were going to be friends, she’d need to learn how to talk to him like a normal person, without noticing how gorgeous he was.
Easier said than done.
Knitting was back in its regular Monday night slot that week. When Penny arrived—ten minutes late because she’d had to pack up the peanut butter bars she’d made for the group—she cast a nervous glance at the counter.
Malik was still working, but there was no sign of Caleb. Relief warred with disappointment. As much as she liked seeing him, it would be easier to relax and enjoy knitting without him around, distracting her with his good looks and sudden friendliness.
Penny carried her peanut butter bars over to the couch where her friends were waiting for her. While they set upon the baked treats like a flock of ravenous seagulls, she took the smaller container she’d packed and got in line at the counter.
Malik broke into a grin when it was her turn to order. “God, I love Monday nights. It’s the only day of the week I don’t mind working a double.” He tilted his head, trying to see into the container. “What’d you bring this week?”
She slid the contraband toward him. “Peanut butter bars.”
“Hey, those are for everyone,” Caleb said, coming out of the kitchen with a fresh dispenser of iced coffee. “No hogging them all this time, Malik.”
Penny’s stomach lurched. They should put a bell on him so he couldn’t sneak up on people like that. She needed time to gird herself before confronting his handsomeness up close.
“What’ll it be?” he asked, taking over at the register as Malik wandered off with the peanut butter bars.
“Mango tea.” If she drank coffee this late it would keep her up half the night.
Caleb gave an apologetic grimace. “We ran out. I’m making more, but it’ll be another five minutes or so.”
“That’s okay. I’m in no hurry.” She handed him her credit card and added the usual twenty percent tip to the bill.
“Go sit,” he said when she pushed the receipt toward him. “I’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready.”
Penny grabbed a handful of napkins and joined her friends in the back corner. They’d already devoured half the peanut butter bars and were chatting excitedly about the previous night’s episode of Game of Thrones. Everyone in the group watched the show except Penny, who wasn’t a fan of all the violence and gore.
From what she could gather, a major character had died last night, which seemed to happen almost every week. Also something involving incest, which—again—seemed to be a frequent occurrence.
“These peanut butter bars are outrageous,” Olivia said, changing the subject. “I don’t know how you do it.”
