“I almost forgot about that. I can’t believe it’s noon already.” It felt like just a few minutes since Penny had left. “I better get moving.”

“Fingers crossed he’s cute!”

“Are cute boys all you think about?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s the only thing worth thinking about.”

I rushed for the door. “Back soon!”

“You better. I’m not crazy about handling the lunch rush by myself!” Lucy called after me.

I made my way along the boardwalk toward my mom’s house. My old house looked out on the beach, painted the color of lacy green fronds. The door was burgundy, and in front of it stood a boy. When he turned around, my eyes widened.

“You!”

It was the boy from Busy’s, the one I had dubbed Mystery Boy yesterday. His eyes lit up with recognition, and the wood creaked as he stepped off the porch.

“Me,” he agreed, using his thumb to point over his shoulder. “I wasn’t expecting the cute waitress to follow me home.” A faint smile played on his lips.

I breezed past the word cute with an awkward laugh. “I didn’t follow you. This is my house. Well, my mom’s house. I’m here to check you in.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “I guess that makes you my landlady.”

“I guess that makes you Levi Keller.”

He nodded and pulled a folded square from his back pocket, smoothing it out against his thigh before handing it to me.

My eyes skimmed the email confirmation. “Looks like everything’s in order.” I glanced at him. “You should have given me a call yesterday. I would have let you in early.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “It wasn’t a big deal.” He tilted his head to the car parked at the curb. “I didn’t want to bother anyone. I didn’t really think ahead when I decided to drive here early,” he said with a rueful smile.

I swallowed. Maybe if he’d given me that call, I wouldn’t have gone to Penny’s place. Rationally, I knew I couldn’t blame Levi, but the unwelcome thought had taken hold: Everything that had happened last night could have been avoided.

“Anyway, my car was comfortable enough for one night.” Even his eyes seemed to smile at me.

I moved past him to slide the key into the lock. From here, I could smell the clean detergent that clung to his clothing. My stomach fluttered. It was just the sweet smell of laundry. Why was I so hyperaware of it? I twisted the doorknob. Hard. “Come on in.”