“Hold on, I’ll get it in a minute.” He eyed me for a long, inscrutable moment.

“You’re not going to get it,” I said with confidence.

He shot me a cheeky grin. “Hey, I’m on a winning streak right now. I’m really good at this.”

“Could have fooled me,” I muttered, but not so loud that he’d hear.

Levi kept his eyes on my face, brow furrowed deep like he was calculating the odds.

I folded my arms across my chest. He wasn’t going to get it.

“Barbara,” he said slowly, deliberately.

What?!

Okay, now that was pretty weird. I thought for sure I’d have him guessing for at least another ten names. Barbara wasn’t really modern, and I always got a double take when I introduced myself by my full name.

He saw the twitch of my lips and his own smile bloomed. “Ha, guessed it,” he crowed.

“Lucky guess,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. I fought off my smile, trying not to be charmed by his silly grin—a losing battle.

Levi’s eyes crinkled. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

I hadn’t gone by Barbara since first grade, when the teacher told the class to let her know if we went by a nickname. But he just looked so proud of himself that I let him have his win. It was oddly endearing, and anyway, it wasn’t like we’d be seeing each other enough for the antiquated name to bug me, anyway.

“I’m tempted to put you to the test in guessing other things,” I said.

“Go for it.”

“Not scared I’ll disprove your ESP?” I teased.

“Nah.”

I was tempted to poke a little hole in his confidence. But then I remembered Lucy was waiting for me back at Busy’s. With reluctance, I cleared my throat. “Sadly, gotta head back to work.”

“Maybe I’ll see you around?” he asked.

“Maybe,” I acknowledged with a dip of my head, unable to bite back my smile. “You know where I’ll be. And you have my number, so, um, just call me or drop by Busy’s if you need anything, all right?”

“Aye, aye.” One side of Levi’s mouth lifted in a crooked grin. “See you soon.”

I’d made it back from the house just in time to catch the tail end of Busy’s lunch rush, and in between plating up sandwiches, soups, and salads, I gave Lucy the entire play-by-play.

“Are you serious?” Lucy’s squeal was deafening. “He’s the one renting your mom’s house?”

The regulars didn’t look up. We were all used to her frequent high-pitched noises.

I laughed, swabbing the counter with renewed vigor. “Yeah, I know. I was…” I trailed off, unable to put it into words. “Surprised,” I said after a long pause. “Crazy coincidence, right?”