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Chapter Two
Caleb breathed in the unfamiliar smell of lavender-scented sheets and slowly opened his eyes. Light filtered in through the heavy drapes, but the absence of sound was so absolute that he lay there and let it surround him. It was never quiet in the city. There was always something flashing, beeping, wailing, or adding to the background roar of crowded humanity.
He’d hated it when he’d first moved on campus at Stanford, but over the years, he’d convinced himself that it was the buzz he needed to stay alert and successful. These days it felt like a clamor he could do without sometimes, which he guessed meant he was getting old. Not that he’d ever been much of a party animal. He’d been too big, too shy, and too awkward to make many friends or belong to the right clubs. Even his love of playing football had fizzled and died when he couldn’t even make it into the training squad. If it hadn’t been for Dan and a couple of other guys, he wouldn’t have stuck it out.
He yawned hard enough to crack his jaw and stretched his arms over his head. He had no idea what time it was, and for once he didn’t care. The last couple of years had been so hectic he’d hardly had any time to make the journey down to see his parents.
His stomach rumbled and he decided to get up, take a shower, and go and see what little Lucy Smith could rustle up for him for breakfast. She’d been a cute kid with an annoying habit of attaching herself to him and Dan and refusing to be shaken off. They’d constructed elaborate plans to avoid her—some of which he now regretted . . .
Having no siblings of his own, he hadn’t known how to deal with a sweet-looking girl, but Lucy’s ability to thwart his and Dan’s plans had shown him she wasn’t averse to a bit of trickery herself. At first, he’d been gutted when she’d looked at him and cried until he’d realized she could cry at will and always deployed her ultimate weapon to get him and Dan into the worst trouble possible. So, he’d hardened his heart and followed Dan’s lead in getting as far away from her as possible.
And now she was all grown-up and probably bearing a truckful of grudges against him, which she wouldn’t act upon because she was a professional hotelier. At least Caleb hoped that was the case. She hadn’t poisoned him last night, so he was hopeful he’d stay alive for the rest of his stay. She was still pretty cute, and she had a dry sense of humor he really appreciated.
He turned on the shower and was pleased when it ran hot and true, and he could get his broad shoulders into the space without getting stuck. There was sandalwood shower gel and shampoo that he used lavishly before drying himself off and checking his bag for a fresh set of clothing. When he opened his door, the fresh smell of cinnamon and coffee reminded him he was hungry.
He padded down the stairs in his socks and headed for the kitchen. The door was ajar, and Lucy was chatting away to someone he couldn’t yet see.
“Could you justtry? I mean I love you, and you do nothing for me in return.”
Caleb frowned. What kind of loser was she dating? She deserved way better than that. He pushed the door open wider, ready to give the unknown person his most ferocious glare and realized there was no one else there.
“Oh!” Lucy spun around. She’d obviously been talking on her phone. “Caleb! I didn’t hear you come in!” She rushed toward him. “Would you like breakfast?” She glanced at the clock. “Well, technically I suppose you could call it brunch now. I left the menu on the table and coffee and juice are available on the side.”
He stared down at her and wondered whether to say anything. Technically she wasn’t his responsibility, but years of considering her as a little sister couldn’t be ignored.
“That dude you were just talking to?”
“What dude?” A crease appeared between her brows as she studied him, but he was committed now.
“The one who doesn’t do shit for you?” he added, even though she knew damn well who he was talking about. “Ditch him. You deserve better.”
“How do you know? I might have turned into a terrible person who breaks hearts as easily as I crack eggs for waffles.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” He stared into her indignant blue eyes. “I guess I’m standing in for Dan right now, okay? Because we both know he’d say the same thing.”
“But he’s my brother.”
It was his turn to frown. “Yeah.”
“And you’re not.” She turned away and busied herself with something in the sink. “Now what can I get you to eat?”
Even Caleb realized she wasn’t going to talk to him about what had just happened, and stopped pushing. He’d keep an eye out in case the guy turned up at the B&B and maybe give him some gentle advice out of Lucy’s hearing that would send the little shit running back home to his momma. He sat down and studied the menu before raising his head.
“Waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon would be good.”
She flashed him a quick smile. “Coming right up along with your coffee.”
* * *
Lucy’s mind scurried around like a bag of trapped mice as she cooked Caleb his breakfast. Okay, he’d totally gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick about who she was talking to, but he had come to her defense, even if it was in a brotherly way. She glanced over at the rocking chair set near the old fireplace where Colin, her grandma’s cat, was ensconced on a cushion.
He weighed around twenty pounds, had the pointed ears and massive paws of a Maine coon, and the superior attitude to go with them. He’d been spoiled rotten by her grandma and barely bothered to move unless food was being offered. It had taken her six months to persuade him that canned food was an acceptable substitute for the lovingly hand-cooked fish and chicken he’d become used to. The thought of poaching fish at six in the morning made Lucy turn cold, clammy, and nauseous.
When she’d come into the kitchen earlier, two mice were playing right under Colin’s nose while he regarded them with some interest, but with no desire to evict them. Lucy had been gently lecturing him all morning about his shortcomings and Caleb had obviously heard the last of her warnings and totally misunderstood what had gone down.
Why she hadn’t immediately corrected him was another matter entirely. For a moment, when he’d spoken up for her, she’d thought he was finally beginning to see her as a person of interest. But no, he was merely doing big brother duty, which wasn’t what she wanted at all.
She concentrated on her cooking, keeping up a flow of bright remarks, which Caleb, who had reclaimed his charged phone, responded to with the occasional grunt. As she put the warm plate in front of him, he finally looked up.
