Page 22 of Penny & Royce

His mouth tugged at one corner. “Also, enough to know your brother owns the café, your other brother is a doctor, and if I make you uncomfortable, I’ll have a line of people ready to throw me into the nearest creek.”

Penny should not have smiled. “That is probably accurate.”

“Good,” he said, the teasing fading a little. “You should have people looking out for you.” There was an awkward moment of silence before he spoke again. “So, what am I supposed to call you? Doctor Klein? Penny?”

“You can call me Penny.”

“Penny,” he murmured, like he was testing the shape of it. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“You say that word a lot.”

“Because it’s true. And it’s how I feel about you. Would you prefer I don’t say such things?”

Her mouth went dry as she searched his face. “Yes… I mean… no.”

His brow lifted.

Penny closed her eyes for half a second. “I mean it’s okay. You can call me that.”

His smile lit up his whole face.

“And what is your last name?” she asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

For half a second, something flickered in his expression.

There and gone.

“Eventually,” he said.

She stared at him. “Eventually?”

“I know. That is not the right answer.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “But it’s the honest one for today.”

Penny should have pushed. She knew she should have. But something in the way he looked at her made the moment feel less like a game and more like there was a reason he wasn’t ready to say it.

That didn’t mean she liked it.

“You are a bit of a mystery, Royce Eventually.”

He laughed, and the sound eased some of the tension in her stomach.

“Okay, then,” he said. “Are you ready to go? I have a few things we need to drop off at your place before we head out.”

Brows pulling together, Penny stepped around him to gather her things from her desk. “What do you want to take to my house?”

“I got a few things for Daytona.”

She stilled in the middle of searching for her keys. Then she looked up at him. “You got stuff for my cat?”

“Of course.”

“Of course,” she repeated.

He moved closer but stopped near the edge of her desk. “You didn’t think I’d bring you a cat and expect you to get everything for her, did you? I have a litter box, litter, toys, a scratching post, and some food. I would have dropped them off for you yesterday, but time got away from me.”

Penny blinked at him. “Royce… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” His voice softened. “But if any of it is too much, tell me. I can take it back. Or you can tell me to stop meddling.”