Chapter Twenty-One
Levi
I remember the first time I told Kayla I loved her. I said it first, and her answer was, “You do?” like she couldn’t believe someone could love her. When I nodded, she flung her arms around my neck and told me she loved me, too. But over the past week, I’ve done a lot of soul searching, and you know what? The love we shared wasn’t the forever kind. It was young love. Learning love. Love with struggles. It came with highs and incredible lows, but it helped shape me into the person I am today.
You’re thinking, How thoughtful of you, Levi, aren’t you? Well, I had some help. When your four older sisters kidnap you and take you to Catalina for the day (trapping me on a boat, then on an island), it’s inevitable your feelings are dissected and analyzed. To quote my oldest sister, “The past is the past; now get on with today.” “Be fearless,” my youngest sister added. “Because fear is good for only one thing.” I’d asked what. She said, “Making something out of nothing.”
So here I am, ready to put my past behind me once and for all.
“Hi.” At the sound of Kayla’s voice, I raise my head from my coffee cup. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me here,” she says.
We’re at a coffee shop in Beverly Hills. I got here early to snag a table in the center of the small eatery. I wanted to be in as public a spot as possible with her, not tucked away in a corner. “Sure,” I say, getting to my feet to pull out her chair.
“Thank you,” she says.
“I wasn’t sure if you could drink coffee so I didn’t get you anything,” I say. “Would you like something?”
“An iced tea would be great.”
“Okay. Be right back.” I buy her drink and return to the table.
“Are those for me?” she asks, accepting the tea while she eyes the flowers I left sitting atop our square table.
“No,” I say, leaving it at that. In hindsight, I should have stopped at the flower shop after meeting Kayla, but every morning I wake up, my mind is on only one person.
“Are they for the girl I saw at your house?”
“Yes.” Whether or not Harper accepts them is a different story. We haven’t talked or texted since she left my house almost a week ago.
Kayla takes a sip of her drink. “So,” she says.
I’m all ears, ready to hash out whatever we need to in order for us both to move on. Independently. After agreeing to meet her here, I erased her text messages and blocked her number.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Anson. He wants us to move to Atlanta.” She fiddles with her straw. “His family is there, and his father has offered him a job.”
This is what she meant by him leaving her? This is great fucking news. “Congratulations.”
“I don’t want to go.”
That is bad fucking news. The skin on the back of my neck prickles. “Kayla.”
“I still love you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.” Her lying eyes dart to the floor then back to mine.
“You don’t, because if you did, you wouldn’t have cheated on me. But that doesn’t even matter anymore because I don’t love you.”
“You love her?” She makes a face like she’s repulsed by the idea.
“My life is none of your business anymore. I agreed to see you today to say good-bye for good. I wish you the best, but please don’t contact me ever again.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Kayla.” Her features relax at the quieter way I say her name. “You need to make it work with your husband. Georgia sounds like a great idea. It’s a fresh start and a second chance for a happy life with this baby and his dad.” I glance down at her stomach.
She rubs her hand over her round belly. “I wish—”
“Don’t. The fact is, we were never meant to be, and the sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”
“Why are you being so mean to me?”
“I’m just being honest.”
Her fist comes down on the table, startling the people sitting on both sides of us. “Then tell me you want me.”
I remain calm, hoping it carries across the table. “I don’t.”
She stretches across the table to take my hand. I let her because I don’t want any more displays of anger. “Please, Levi.”
The front door of the coffee shop opens. It’s not the first time its opened since I’ve been sitting here, but for some reason, I turn my head. Harper steps inside and holds the door open for an elderly couple. Her eyes find mine. Lock. Until they sweep down to the flowers and Kayla’s hand on mine. Her face pales, and then she’s gone, back out the door before I have a chance to say anything. Fuck.
“Oops,” Kayla says, her tone smug.
I yank my hand free. “If you really care about me like you say you do, then you’ll move to Georgia and leave me alone.” I pick up the flowers and stand.
“Wait.” For the first time in I don’t know how long, something close to care and understanding registers in her eyes. She swallows thickly.
“Good-bye, Kayla. Have a good life.” I don’t wait to hear anything more from her. I hurry out the door to find Harper.
She’s nowhere in sight. I have no idea where she’s gone, but eventually she’ll go home, so that’s where I drive.
Her car isn’t in front of her aunt’s house. I check out the guesthouse anyway, getting no answer. It’s a cool September morning with cloud cover blocking the sun, so I decide to sit in my car and wait for her. The few hours of sleep I got last night catch up to me and I close my eyes.
When I wake up, it’s almost three o’clock. I’m sweaty, and the flowers are wilted. Shit. The good news? I see Harper’s car.
I knock on her front door louder than I intended, but I really need to see her. Teague and Mateo left yesterday for Teague’s sister’s wedding so I know she’s home alone.
“Who is it?”
“Levi.”
The longest seconds of my life tick by before she finally opens the door. My body immediately reacts when I see her. She obviously just took a nap, too. “Hi,” I say to her nipples. I can’t help it. They’re poking through her thin blue tank top.
“Hello,” she says curtly, then, surely to torture me, she stretches against the door with her arms raised above her head. Her top rises, exposing the piercing in her navel that drives me wild. My gaze continues lower. She’s wearing underwear, or rather a scrap of material hanging off her hips by strings. Her legs are tan and shapely. The anklet I gave her is still there. My eyes bounce back up to her fresh face and mussed hair. She’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.
“These are for you.” I extend the drooping bouquet.
She doesn’t take them, so I quickly add, “I bought them for you before I met Kayla. If you’ll let me, I’d like to explain what you saw earlier.”
Once again, agonizing seconds of quiet pass while I wait for her decision. She had to see me sleeping in my car. That’s got to earn me some points.
“Thank you.” She takes the flowers and sniffs the petals. “They’re beautiful, even if a little wilted.” She rests her bright, assessing eyes on me again. “Do you want to come in?”
“So badly, you have no idea.”
She frowns.
Shit. Now is not the time for any innuendo. Can I stop thinking about sex with her for one goddamn minute? I brace myself for the door to slam in my face, but she surprises me by backing up to allow me entry.
“I’m going to put these in water.”
I step inside, reaching my arm back to close the door because my eyes are glued to her. There is nothing but a tiny strip of lace between her ass cheeks. How the hell am I going to talk to her when she’s dressed like this? You’re going to do it because she means more to you than a piece of ass. A lot more.
I sit at the kitchen table, figuring it’s the least comfortable and therefore safest place to talk without getting sidetracked by her body. “Do you think you could put on a robe or something?”
She sets a glass vase with the flowers near the window above the sink. “Why would I want to do that?” She sashays toward me, clearly on a mission to make me sorry for how we left things. I deserve the torture.
“It’s hard for me to concentrate when you’re barely dressed.” I’m here to reestablish closeness that has nothing to do with getting her naked. She deserves that.
She considers what I’ve said and then, without a word, walks down the hallway. She returns wearing the sweatshirt I gave her to cover up after we got caught skinny-dipping. It hangs to the middle of her thighs, blocking my view of her soft skin and curves.
“Okay. Talk,” she commands, sitting across from me and taking a tone and stance I haven’t seen from her since the night at the bar when I clumsily spilled her drink on her.
I launch right into my sisters kidnapping me, work being insane—not that that’s a good excuse for not getting in touch before now—and my conversation with Kayla.
Harper pulls her knees up, feet flat on the edge of the chair, and covers her legs with the sweatshirt. Since it’s mine, there’s more than enough material. She listens intently, puts her chin on her knees.
“Do you really think she’ll leave you alone?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Listen, about last week. The bet and—”
“Old news,” she says, waving a hand to dismiss the topic.
Dismissing me.
She drops her legs to the floor, gathers her hair and ties it in a knot behind her head. A few loose tendrils fall around her face. She’s so gorgeous, and even with tension between us at the moment, the chemistry far outweighs it. The air practically crackles with electricity. If we lit a match, the area around us would sizzle like a hundred hand-held sparklers.
I rub the scruff on my chin. No way is she getting rid of me that easily. “I’m free the rest of the day. Want to hang out?”
“I’m not having sex with you.”
It’s impossible not to smile at that. She’s thinking about sex. With me.
“Okay. How about dinner? A movie?”
“I’m also not dating you.”
“Our agreement is null and void now?” My muscles clench. I won’t let her go without a fight. I’m finally free of my past and…and I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I want to live right now with her.
She blows a wisp of hair out of her face. “I don’t know.”
“How about this? Since I ruined your breakfast this morning, let me make you a late lunch/early dinner.”
Her dark lashes sweep down then up. I take that as a “yes.” Walking around the table, I lean over, brush my lips on her earlobe. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“It’s hard to say no to you,” she whispers back.
“I promise not to give you a reason to.” I can’t remember the last time I made a promise.
The food selection in her fridge is minimal. Same goes for her pantry, but she’s got eggs, cheese, tortillas, and a tomato.
“What’s on the menu?” She lifts herself up onto the kitchen counter. I’m temporarily frozen as I stare at her smooth, tanned skin, one leg crossed over the other.
“How does a breakfast burrito sound?”
“I could eat that.”
I want to eat her. Bury my face between her legs and taste her until she comes all over my mouth. I get busy cracking the eggs. “Have you decided what you’re going to do about MASF?” I ask.
“Not yet,” she says with a sigh. “Brad has been really patient with me, though, so I need to give him an answer soon.”
“Should we talk pros and cons?” I find a frying pan, put it on the stove.
My suggestion puts a slight quirk in her soft, full lips. “No, that’s okay. I’d rather just watch you cook.”
I remember what she said to me when I made her cinnamon rolls. I pour the eggs into the frying pan then turn to face her. I reach over my shoulder, grab the collar of my shirt, and pull it over my head. Her jaw drops.
Excellent.
She’s about to say something when her phone rings from across the room. She hops off the counter. “I’m waiting on my dad to return my call.”
“Everything okay?”
“It will be, but maybe…” She picks the phone up off the couch. “Hey, Dad.”
I turn back around to scramble the eggs and give her some privacy, but to my surprise she’s put the call on speaker.
“Hi, sweetheart. What’s up?” her dad says.
“Since you’ve apparently hired yourself as my manager, I’m firing you.”
“Excuse me?”
I glance over my shoulder. Harper is sitting on the arm of the couch, facing me with the phone palm up in her hand.
“I can’t believe you resorted to having some agent call me about being a stunt double on the film! He said my business manager got in touch with him. I can’t believe you would do something like this behind my back.”
“You know I only have your best interests at heart.”
“No, Dad. You have your best interests.”
“Can you fault a father for trying?”
The sound of papers rustling comes over the phone line. I turn off the burner and move the frying pan away from the heat. Harper watches me pull out the tortillas and open the shredded cheese.
“No more trying, Dad. I told you I thought about it some more, and my decision was final. Please respect my wishes, and please don’t interfere in my life anymore.”
“You call it interfering; I call it guidance.”
“Guidance is when you give advice or direction, not try and steamroll your daughter into working for you.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be happy until you do.”
“What about my happiness?”
Silence fills the room. I stop slicing the tomato.
“I’m sure”—her dad breaks off and lets out a breath—“you’re right,” he finally says. “I’ll back off. But there’s always a job for you in the company whenever you want it.”
“Don’t hold it for me,” Harper says. “Please don’t let a job loom over my head. Or yours. I don’t see it happening, Dad. Not now and not months or years from now. We’d end up hating each other if we worked together, and I love you too much for that. I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings, but it’s past time I was one hundred percent honest with you. And myself.”
“Since when do you put your father in his place?”
“Since he pushed too hard, I guess.”
“I’m sorry about that.” There’s a beat of quiet. “I’ll do my best to leave you alone from here on out.”
“I have a witness to that. Levi’s here.” Her eyes glitter from across the room. “You heard all that, right?”
“I did,” I say.
“Did you just one-up me?” her father asks.
Catching Harper’s unguarded smile as she straightens from the couch takes my breath away. “I think I did.”
“I know you’re more than capable in your pursuits, sweetheart, and if I haven’t told you lately, I am proud of you. It’s hard for me to let go of the reins after twenty-three plus years is all.”
“I know.”
“Will you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Go up to the house in Big Bear this weekend. Take a few days to relax and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Your mom and I were going to go, but a business meeting I can’t miss has come up. The place is being stocked and readied as we speak, so you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Thanks, Dad. A quick getaway sounds great.”
“Good. Enjoy yourself.”
“I will.”
“Levi?” her dad says.
“Yes, sir?” I stop mid burrito making.
“Be sure my daughter gets off safely.”
“Okay.” I fight a smile. I know her father didn’t mean that to sound dirty, but it’s where my mind went.
Harper and her dad talk for a minute more before she practically floats over to the kitchen table to join me. Seeing her visibly cheerful tugs on my chest.
“This smells yummy.” She lifts her burrito. “I love eating breakfast for dinner.”
“Nice job with your dad. You continue to impress me, Ham.”
She eyes me, her gaze dipping to my bare chest before biting into her food. “Thanks. It helped that you were here.”
“Yeah? I should probably join you in Big Bear, then. I have the weekend free, and I could keep you safe and get you off.”
“You think so?”
“I’ve been told on more than one occasion I’m very smart.”
“Only one? I’m not sure how smart that makes you.” She busies herself with eating. She’s hilarious.
“That’s okay. I know it’s not my brain you’re after.” I flex my biceps as I lift my burrito to my mouth.
For a split second, she doesn’t look amused. “Tell you what, bring me my heart’s desire and you can meet me up there.”
Her heart’s desire? How did we go from my body to that? I sit back in my chair to study her. This is a test of some sort. To get back at me for the bet?
“What if I bring the wrong thing? You gonna send me home?”
“Yes.”
“You’re serious.”
“Take it or leave it.” Her tone allows for zero compromise.
“I’ll take it.” And hope like hell I bring what she desires.