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Excerpt
“Can we
talk?” Penny tilted her head toward the back. “Privately.” Was it her
imagination, or did Caleb’s eyes widen momentarily in fear?
He wiped
his hands on a dishtowel and nodded. “Sure.”
She trailed
after him down the back hallway, past the restrooms. He halted in front of the
office door and turned around to face her. It was quieter back here. The voices
of the businessmen had faded to a dull murmur, blending with the white noise
hum of the refrigerator case at the end of the hall.
Neither of
them spoke. They were standing close enough that she could see the gold in his
eyes. As they stared at one another, the memory of the kiss floated in the air
between them. Their fevered breaths. The way he’d moaned into her mouth. Penny
licked her lips.
“I owe you
an apology,” Caleb said.
The words
punctured her thin bubble of hope. “I see.”
“I
shouldn’t have kissed you like that.”
“Why not?”
she heard herself say a little too loudly.
He flinched
at the challenge in her tone. “What?”
“Why
shouldn’t you have kissed me?”
The bell on
the front door jangled, and there was a murmur of voices as more customers came
in. Malik was out front. He could handle them.
Caleb
shuffled his feet like he was itching to escape. “Um…”
“Do you
have a girlfriend?” Penny asked.
He shook
his head at the floor. “No, nothing like that.”
She rested
her hands on her hips. “Did you not mean to do it? Am I supposed to believe it
was some sort of accident? That you tripped and fell onto my face?”
“No, of
course not, I—”
“Because
I’m trying to understand why you’d do something like that and then run off and
leave me standing there. And why you’re apologizing now for kissing me instead
of for running off.”
“I’m sorry
for that part too,” he said quietly.
“It wasn’t
very nice.”
“You’re
right, it wasn’t. I’m sorry.” God, he was beautiful when he was being contrite.
It made it impossible to think straight.
Penny
stared at his collarbone, which was also stupidly attractive, but not quite as
distracting as his face. “So why did you do it?”
“Run off?
Or kiss you?”
“Both.
Either. Why are you being so weird about all of it?”
“Um.” He
shifted his weight, lowering his eyes to the floor. If she hadn’t been standing
between him and escape, he might have actually bolted like a horse.
She crossed
her arms. “Did you not want to kiss me?”
“No, I…” He
trailed off, rubbing his palms on his thighs.
Penny
waited. She was prepared to wait all day if that was what it took.
He looked
up. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.”
That
stopped her in her tracks. “W—what?”
His eyes
looked into hers. “You heard me.”
Something
burned in her chest, constricting her voice to a whisper. “But you don’t even
like me.”
“That’s not
true.” He looked pained.
How long
was a long time? Since last summer when he’d started working here? Did that
mean—could she have been dating Caleb instead of Kenneth? She tried to
picture it. Caleb asking her on a date, taking her out to dinner. Smiling
across the table as he tried to charm her, hoping for a goodnight kiss at the
end of the evening. She couldn’t even picture the smiling part, much less the
rest of it.
She tried
to clear her throat and made a choking sound instead. “You acted like
you didn’t like me.”
“I was
trying to keep my distance.” His expression turned reproachful. “You had a
boyfriend.”
“Who was a
cheating jerk. Which you could have told me at any time.” If Caleb had ever
given her even the slightest hint he was actually interested in her, she would
have dropped Kenneth like the flaming bag of dog poop he’d turned out to be.
“I was
afraid you’d hate me if I was the one to tell you.”
Unbelievable.
Literally, it was impossible to believe this man who’d barely acknowledged her
existence had actually been attracted to her all this time. It was
inconceivable, and not in the Princess Bride sense of the word.
And yet…he had
kissed her. It hadn’t been a half-hearted kiss either. That was a serious kiss
he’d given her. Deadly serious.
Penny
swallowed. “I don’t have a boyfriend anymore.”
Also Available
AMAZON
Free in Kindle Unlimited
AMAZON
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Author Bio
L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.
She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.
