Chapter 53

I don’t know what to say to him.

As always, I’m speechless in his presence. This is going to have to change, I think.

“Bee?” he inquires of my silence. “You weren’t really leaving, were you?”

He’s so hopeful. So full of boyish energy and joy. “No, I wasn’t,” I say, wringing my hands together.

Levi starts down the steps—fifteen of them in rapid succession. He’s at the bottom before I can stop him. “You can’t!” I exclaim, almost shouting, hurrying out of his reach.

He stops, confused. Then he starts toward me again.

“Don’t—Levi! I need to talk to you!”

His chuckle is maddening, devilish. “You can’t talk to me while I’m holding you in my arms under the moonlight?”

“No, I cannot. No distractions. I’ll end up kissing you instead.”

“Not if I kiss you first,” he growls, and I have never seen him move so fast. His arms are around me and his lips are pressing against my nose, my chin, my neck—and I let him because I’ve missed this too much. Talking? What’s talking?

He shakes his head at me, hair bobbing, lips parted. “Bee,” he murmurs, then kisses my lips. My small noise of delight fades out as I clutch his shoulders, kissing him back fiercely. I’m pretty sure I’m never going to stop kissing him, not now, not after all that.

GOD, he tastes perfect.

“I’m sorry…I never…told you…my name,” I murmur between kisses. I hear his contented sigh, feel it on my lips, and we’re a little bit frantic and a lot happy, our arms trapping us inside each other. I have a month of kissing to make up for; he better not think for a second that he’s getting out of that.

With a small chuckle, Levi reaches down and grabs my legs and hoists me up, saying, “Now this dress I can work with.” He sets me on the ledge behind us, so that he can hold me closer, his hands roaming my back, working his way up to my shoulders, squeezing like he can’t let go. (I know he won’t.) “I’m sorry I never rocked the boat,” he whispers. “I wasn’t there for you like you needed me to be, and I said so many stupid things that I regret.”

“Shh,” I say with a finger on his lips. “You were right. Well, mostly.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I was right or not. I was stupid, and I love you, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Levi.” I rest my forehead on his and, realizing I’m still gripping handfuls of his hair, I trace my fingers down to his shoulders to grasp his lapels. “I should have asked you about your dad. I should have asked you how things were at TCP. You know, the sponsors dropping out.”

“How did you—”

“Keagan told me.”

Levi grunts. “Bastard.”

“He also told me, essentially, that I can’t pretend to go all-in so I can back out whenever I want to.”

“Seriously?”

“Essentially,” I repeat. “At least, that’s how I’m taking it, because it’s true. And I don’t ever want to back out of this ever again.”

“Once again, I assume this means our relationship.”

He’s referring to something he said during our breakup, which makes me sad, but it also makes me think of second chances. I like that. “You are correct, sir.”

He heaves a sigh. “Thank goodness.”

I place my hand over his heart, and my own heart skips a beat when he places his own hand on top. “Come on, you goof. You knew you had it in the bag the second I stood up on that stage.”

His eyes twinkle like stars, his smile mischievous. “Duh. Dufus is smart.”

I hoot with laughter. “Yes,” I say, and I pull him to my chest, where his head rests against me. “Dufus is very smart.”

“Did Dufus tell you how great your speech was, by the way? Or how gorgeous your hair is? Or how freaking beautiful this dress is? Or how nice it is to kiss you after all this ti—”

“Shh, be quiet.” I can’t help it—I kiss him again.

But he’s not done yet. Now he’s indignant. “I can’t believe I didn’t guess Bernice. Of all the names! That should have been easy!”

“No,” I say with equal indignation. “I’m glad you didn’t guess, because I got to tell you myself.”

His expression turns soft, less teasing, but he adds quietly, “I’m still upset about it.”

“You are not.” I pat the breast pocket of his suit. “Anyway, shouldn’t we be heading back inside now? Won’t your adoring fans be looking for you to throw their millions at you?”

He helps me off the ledge, setting me softly on my feet. “Actually, there’s an entertainer for the next hour, and drinks and raffle prizes afterward, so…”

I look at him. He looks at me. Our hands meet between our bodies. We’re so warm, so contained within each other, as if we were never apart.

“We could go for a drive, if you want,” he says.

I reach up, my tiptoes barely lifting me to his height, and plant a kiss on the top of his lips. “We could.”

Because he knows that is my yes, Levi tugs me back up the stairs. We practically run around the building and into the parking lot, where we wait for the valet to bring his car.

“MAXIMILLIAN!” I shout when I see it.

Levi laughs like he’s trying not to but he can’t help himself. “That horrible name again?”

“What? It’s no worse than Bernice.” I sit in the passenger seat and close my door, arranging the hem of my dress around my feet.

“Bernice is totally sexy. I really don’t know what you’re so worked up over.”

I roll my eyes. “Exactly what Gretchen thought you’d say.”

“Once again, Gretchen is a wonderful human being.” He reaches across me to the glove compartment, rummaging around for something, and while he’s there I take the opportunity to kiss his beautiful hair. “Pick something,” he commands, and pulls back, dropping his iPod in my lap. Then he returns my kiss and puts Maximillian in reverse.

“What if I show you the playlist I listened to every day after we broke up?”

“We broke up?” He raises one eyebrow at me, turning out of the lot.

“Fine. After I broke up with you.” I log myself into Spotify and find my playlist, clicking on “Michicant”. I cue “Creature Fear” as well, because that’s my favorite Bon Iver song.

“What? Really? This song? What else is on this playlist?”

“It’s literally all Bon Iver.” I look sideways at him.

“Well?” he asks, glancing over. “Do you like them now?”

I shrug. “Depends on the song, but yeah, you could say they’re no longer deplorable.”

“Say it.”

“Say what?”

“Say you like them.”

You should see my bedroom wall, I almost tell him, but I want to show him that one. So I mumble, “I like Bon Iver.”

Levi seems to take this as fair. “Good, excellent. You’ve conceded. I win.”

I laugh. “Glory-hog.”

He reaches across the console to take my hand, looking very…distracted. (I blush.) “Where should we go?”

I smile. “Surprise me.”

Levi’s expression goes thoughtful as he focuses on the road. Then, without warning, he pulls to the side, turns on the hazards, and…starts to take off his tie.

I swallow. “Levi…”

He gives me a look before he realizes what I’m thinking. (His slow grin makes my toes curl.) “Calm down, don’t jump to conclusions.”

My blush runs deeper. “What are you doing?”

“This,” he says, and blankets my eyes with the flat side of his tie. When my world is completely dark, and he has tied the two ends behind my head, he takes my hand. “Surprising you.”