I smile up at the blue eyed man, genuinely excited for my first day of training.

"So boss, what's on the agenda first?" I chuckle, putting my chin in my hand and batting my eyelashes.

He laughs heartily, and the sound makes my heart flutter. His eyes sparkle, emanating kindness.

"Well, first thing's first I guess. Some general questions," he composes himself, "How long have you been serving?"

I scrunch my nose, genuinely having to think about his question. "I've been working for so many years..trying to keep us afloat…let me see..about four years now? I started off just bussing tables, of course, but then when I turned 16, Haymitch let me serve even though I was under the drinking age..and the rest is history, I guess."

He nods, "Okay cool, so you have lots of experience. How would you say you are with customers?"

I chuckle, "Well I mean, everyone has that facade they put on when dealing with customers in the workplace. I am definitely no different there."

He smiles and again, my heart flutters. Don't be stupid, Katniss, I warn myself.

"A perfected poker face, great, great. Now, I think that's enough playing around. Let's get to business shall we? I'll show you around," Peeta says, gesturing for me to come around the counter.

I do so, and he leads me into the kitchen, where two other young men are busily working away.

"Hey guys," Peeta says, causing them to look up from their work. Both men smile, one with a little too much enthusiasm. "Katniss, these are my brothers. This one here's Vienna, he's the oldest, can't you tell? Then there's Rye…you'll come to find that he's a bit of a trouble maker. Guys, this is Katniss, our newest employee."

The man Peeta named as Rye raises an eyebrow and crosses the room so he's standing right in front of me. He does a slight bow and sticks out his hand, looking up at me from under his eyelashes.

"How do you do ma'm, the name's Rye," he says as I shake his outstretched hand.

His features are nothing like Peeta's. His hair is a chestnut brown, and his skin is much darker than Peeta's as well, and he has brown eyes instead of the bright blue Peeta does. However, by the shape of their faces and the similar bone structures, you can tell they're related. Rye also seems a hell of a lot more outgoing and loud than Peeta; his colorful introduction says that much.

The oldest brother, Vienna, is still working away at his station, kneading a dough of some kind. He looks in our direction and rolls his eyes.

"Rye, don't scare the poor girl off on her first day," He looks up at me and smiles kindly, "I'm Vienna, it's nice to meet you, Katniss."

I nod and smile, returning the sentiment. Vienna too has a different set of features. The first thing to catch your eye is his jet black hair; I have no idea where that could've possibly come from, judging by their father's golden locks. His eyes however, are the same bright blue, and his smile is luminous and friendly. It's obvious that he assumes a sort of fatherly position between the three, he has the air of authority about him.

When the introductions are finished, Peeta takes me to a corner of the kitchen and begins showing me where they keep all the recipes and ingredients.

"Now, you probably won't be working in the kitchen too often if we can help it. That's usually where you'll find my brothers and I. You will mainly be out front, helping customers and watching the shop and all that. Just in case though, I'll let you in on all the secrets that are in use back here," he winks at me, pulling a large book off the shelf.

The next hour is spent going over the recipes, until I ask Peeta to demonstrate for me.

"I can't sell what I haven't tasted," I point out, biting my cheek to keep from laughing.

He chuckles and shakes his head, agreeing to give me a sample.

"One of my specialities-bread wise-are cheese buns. Sound good?"

I nod and he rummages through the cupboard for the ingredients he needs. He begins to bake, slowly explaining every step and ingredient he uses. I'm kind of in awe at how seriously he takes this job, and at the amount of care he puts into it.

His strong hands knead the dough, his muscles rippling under his shirt. I can't help but stare.

"So," I cough, "Bread seems to be a big thing around here, hm?"

"Yeah, my father used to own a bakery. Before we moved here, that is. He decided to expand a couple years back and had been looking for the perfect place to set up a small cafe somewhere. He found Panem, and this building, and he was sold. Easiest decision he ever made, he's always told us, right after deciding to marry our mom…" he trails off, clearing his throat. "Anyways yes, bread is a big thing for us."

I'm about to ask about his mother, I hadn't seen a woman around here, when he starts off on a new story about how his father came to find this particular building. I find myself clinging to his words-even though they're not really anything too exciting. I watch his lips move as he speaks, curling around his perfect, white teeth. The wrinkles that form at the corners of his eyes when he smiles, and the dimples that appear in his cheeks. A single blond curl falls into his eyes and he gently swats it away, never skipping a beat in his work or his speech.

"So, you're the youngest of three boys. Clearly an insane daddy's boy by the way you talk about your father. And…you're a bread boy," I conclude, leaning back in my chair.

He laughs as he plops the tray in the oven and sets the timer.

"I guess thats the gist of it, yes," he smiles. "Now, is your real test. Customer service. Let's go Miss. Everdeen."

I follow him into the dining room, and to my surprise there are a bunch of people seated at different tables. Nothing compared to the crowds I was used to at Abernathy's, I could definitely handle it.

"Where's my notepad?" I raise an eyebrow and suppress a smirk. Peeta returns the smirk, scoops a pad off the counter and shoves it in my hand, pushing me in the direction of the customers.

My time to shine.

Two and a half hours later, I'm clearing the remaining plates off the empty tables. My first shift went off without a hitch. There were no problems, no drunk customers trying to hit on me, no rude men yelling comments when I didn't pour their drink fast enough. It was busy, but somehow relaxing.

I dump the dishes in the sink and turn to Peeta, a hand on my hip.

"So, boss?"

He shakes his head and looks down at his feet, "Well…I hate to say this but I was wrong about you, Katniss."

I'm completely shocked by his words and my mouth drops open.

"You…what? Why? What did I do wrong?" I ask sheepishly.

He begins to pace back and forth in front of me, his hands clasped behind his back. I'm nervous. I don't think I've ever been this nervous. I always thought I was a good waitress, I'd never really had any complaints before. I've always been confident in my abilities, but as Peeta, the bread boy, walks back and forth in front of me without saying a word, I'm terrified. I'd really wanted him to like me, wanted this job to work out. He seems like such a good person, and his family too, I has been so exciting about working with people who wouldn't be drunk and rude all the time. I might have just screwed everything up though, because now he's looking directly at me; his blue eyes are unreadable.

"This isn't a bar. It isn't what you're used to. It's not some big joint where no one is going to care how you treat them as long as they get their beer. We are not pushovers, and we are definitely not absentee owners of this place. We might not have much experience, but we know what good service in a cafe looks like. You, Miss. Everdeen…." he drops his serious looks and breaks into a huge grin, "Did absolutely FANTASTIC! I was really impressed. Coming from a place like Abernathy's, this is a big change, but I am pleased. I didn't doubt you for one second. You'll be a great asset to Mellark's."

I nearly drop the floor I'm so relieved. I squeal in delight, and before I can stop myself I'm flying across the room and find my way into Peeta's arms. I'm hugging him tighter than I have ever hugged anyone before-I'm not usually one for much physical contact-and I'm genuinely happy.

I stand there for a moment or so before I realize; Katniss, you unprofessional shit, you just threw yourself at your boss.

I quickly untangle myself from his grip and play with my braid, coughing softly.

"Thank you, Peeta. I'll see you tomorrow."

I grab my purse from under the counter and nearly sprint out of there.

As I get into my truck I can't help but smile to myself as I have the realization; he was hugging me back.