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Her degree was in chemical engineering, but she worked as an examiner for the US Patent Office and had applied for a telecommuting position so she could follow that rat Brendon to the West Coast. There she’d been, all alone in a strange new city with a broken heart and a job that didn’t require her to leave her apartment.
The thing Penny hadn’t realized until after she locked herself into a work-from-home position was that she needed a routine and regular social interaction in her life. She was a people person, and she didn’t do well cooped up in an apartment all day with no one but herself to talk to.
So she’d joined a gym. And a knitting group. And a book club. Signed up for a yoga class and a spin class and a weight training class. Started volunteering at a nursing home on Sundays and as a Planned Parenthood escort one or two Saturdays a month. And she made herself a rule that every single morning she had to shower, put on real clothes and makeup, and leave the house at least once. Which was when she’d incorporated the daily coffee breaks at Antidote into her routine.
Penny’s Monday spin class started in half an hour. She just had to brush her teeth, change into workout clothes, and get in her car. Once she got to the gym, it would get easier. Her competitive instincts would kick in as soon as she got on the bike, and there’d be music to cheer her up. The exercise would make her feel better about herself, and that would make her feel better about everything else.
With a bone-deep sigh, she threw back the covers and pushed herself to her feet.
An hour later, sweaty and humming a Jackson Five song, she let herself back into her apartment feeling at least fifty percent better. It had been Motown day, which was always a guaranteed mood elevator. Plus, she’d beaten her previous energy output record and helped her team take first place. So far, her plan was going well.
After a shower and a breakfast of yogurt and fresh fruit, she sat down at the computer in her home office and opened a new patent application. This one was for a composite shoe insole, and after familiarizing herself with the specification, she spent the morning scouring government databases for older patents and scientific journal articles pertinent to the technology.
When her usual break time rolled around, she was still in a pretty good mood, even after three straight hours researching methods of curing composite materials for use in orthotic insoles. But as she logged out and stretched her legs, a tremor of unease ran through her at the thought of going to Antidote.
It was the site of her humiliation. Hottie Barista would probably be there, and for once, she didn’t look forward to seeing his devastatingly handsome face. She still resented that he’d known her boyfriend was cheating on her and said nothing. He’d just let her go on seeing Kenneth, knowing she was going to get hurt.
Hottie Barista was kind of a jerk, as it turned out.
Far worse was the very real possibility she’d see Kenneth there. His office was just down the street, and he knew what time she went for coffee every day. If he wanted to force a conversation, Antidote would be a convenient place to do it. She’d half expected him to show up at her apartment over the weekend, but he might be waiting for today so he could ambush her in public, knowing she wouldn’t want to make a scene. That would be just like him.
She pondered skipping the trip to Antidote this morning. It wasn’t like she had to go out for coffee. She owned a perfectly good coffeemaker. She could take her break here at home. Surf the internet or watch some TV for an hour.
Bad idea.
Once Penny gave herself permission to sit around watching TV in the middle of the day, it would be difficult to go back to work afterward. She needed to leave her apartment and be around people for a while.
Fine. What if she went somewhere other than Antidote? There was a Coffee Bean not far away. She could go there instead.
But she didn’t want to change coffee shops. She loved Antidote. It was her Cheers, where everybody knew her name. Kenneth shouldn’t get to take that away from her. How was that fair when he was the villain? He should have to find a new favorite coffee place, not her.
To heck with Kenneth. And to heck with Hottie Barista too. Penny was sick and tired of rearranging her life to accommodate men. She was going to Antidote.
It was a beautiful April day when she stepped out of her apartment. The marine layer had burned off leaving behind a glistening blue sky and a crisp breeze. The walk to Antidote only took ten minutes. Her stride started out brisk and confident, but grew slower the closer she got to her destination. By the time she drew within sight of the building, she was dragging her feet like a recalcitrant toddler.
No one had seen her yet—it wasn’t too late to fake her own death and start over with an alias in a new city. Or maybe just find another coffee shop to hang out in.
Her mother’s voice popped into her head, telling her that was coward talk.
Penny wasn’t a coward. She straightened her spine and pulled open the door, determined to face both Kenneth and Hottie Barista with her head held high.
After all that, there was no sign of either of them. Instead of Hottie Barista, the new girl, Elyse, stood alone behind the counter, looking overwhelmed. Penny let out a relieved breath and got in line.
Elyse was small framed with short hair and big round eyes set in a heart-shaped face, giving her a pixie-ish appearance. “Did you want any syrup in your skinny vanilla latte?” she asked the woman in front of Penny.
“Vanilla…?” the woman replied, sounding confused.
Elyse had only started working at Antidote last week. She was young—a sophomore in college—and her only prior experience had been at the coffee stand on campus, which had apparently not offered a broad selection of authentic espresso drinks.
Penny was only twenty-five herself, but college students looked positively fetal to her these days. All shiny and new, untarnished by the pressures of adult life. It felt like a hundred years ago to her instead of only three.
It took Elyse nearly five minutes to make the poor woman’s skinny vanilla. She had to throw the first one out and start over when she forgot to use the sugar-free syrup. Penny waited patiently until it was her turn to order, in no hurry.
Elyse finally greeted her without enthusiasm. “Morning. What can I get you?”
“She always gets the same thing,” Caleb said, coming out of the kitchen with a tray of clean dishes. “Regular nonfat latte. Ring her up and I’ll make it.”
Penny froze at the sight of him. Six gorgeous feet of tanned skin and muscles topped by thick golden hair and a face so beautifully symmetrical it stopped you right in your tracks. Perfectly proportioned nose. Strong chin. Granite jaw. And then there was the matter of his eyes, which were a gold-tinged brown so striking it felt like they were looking straight into your soul.
