The cool metal of my silver bracelet slid through my fingers as I sat at the kitchen table in Levi’s parents’ house. Levi’s mother, Gloria, was chopping onions and chatting away while she did so. I’d offered to help but she declined, insisting she was too bossy in her own kitchen.

I was restlessly fiddling with my bracelet because I was anxious. I was fielding a host of new feelings. I’d never had enough of a relationship with any man to meet his family. I didn’t know what to call what Levi and I were doing, yet somehow it didn’t sit right to pass it off as some sort of friends with benefits thing. So, that was confusing to me. Then, there was the odd feeling of wanting his mother to like me. I’d never cared much about anything like that. At the moment, I was trying to hold all of my internal unrest at bay and staring idly out the window. Gloria’s voice nudged me back into awareness.

“Lucy?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was enjoying your view,” I explained.

Their home was in a lovely area at the end of a road just beyond downtown Willow Brook. There was a narrow stream running along the edge of a field to the side of their home with trees in the distance and the peak of Denali visible above the tree line. The field was awash in color from the fireweed and lupine, bright amidst the misty rain falling outside.

Gloria cast a smile in my direction as she paused in her chopping to turn on a burner. Levi had inherited his rich blue eyes from his mother, along with his dark gold hair. Hers was pulled up atop her head with a chopstick as she moved about the kitchen.

Quickly pouring olive oil in the pan, she added the chopped onions to it and gave them a quick stir. The kitchen was large and airy with a picture window looking out over the view. A round table was situated in front of the window. An island served as a divider between the dining area and working area. It was clear that the kitchen was the center of this household.

Gloria had taken me on a tour of the house when I arrived, shooing Levi back outside to help his father chop and stack wood. I’d been briefly introduced to his father, Brad Phillips. His father had a quick smile, blue eyes and dark brown hair.

Their home had a large living room just across the hallway from the kitchen. A staircase in the center led up to a hallway with doors to four bedrooms. After the quick tour, Gloria had escorted me into the kitchen where she plied me with wine. I’d been happy for it, anything to take the edge off of my frayed nerves.

“It is a lovely view,” isn’t it?” she commented.

“Oh yes. But then it’s hard not to find a lovely view around here,” I replied with a little laugh.

Gloria chuckled. “So true. Where do you live?”

A perfectly innocent question. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about sharing that I was staying with Levi. Yet, it felt funny because the last three nights had demonstrated beyond any doubt that I wasn’t simply staying with Levi as a friendly houseguest. Rather, I’d been as intimate as it was physically possible to be with him. The flush started at my toes, sending tingles through my body. I took a gulp of wine and tried to keep a straight face.

“Oh, I’m between apartments right now. Levi was nice enough let me stay at his place for the time being. I think he took pity on me and invited me for dinner tonight because I’m a terrible cook,” I offered.

Gloria stirred the onions again and rested the spatula on the counter before turning to face me. “He certainly has room. I’m sure you can stay as long as you need. This is a tough time to find a rental.”

“I’ll say. It’s my own fault. I got annoyed with my last landlord for trying to raise the rent too high. I should’ve been a little more strategic about that argument,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

Gloria grinned and shrugged. “I think some of the landlords around here do that just to snag the tourist money when they can. Levi mentioned you own Kick A** Construction with Amelia Masters. Is that right?”

“Sure is,” I said, a sense of pride welling inside. I loved my job, and I loved working with Amelia.

“You two run one of the best construction companies in town. I told Brad he needs to hire you for the new garage he wants to build. Mind if I ask him to check with you about that?”

“Anytime. Just let us know when. We’re filled up for this year, but it’s getting late to start any new projects as it is. We could schedule it for next spring.”

“I’ll have him chat with you when he comes in. He likes to take care of everything himself, but a big project like that is too much as far as I’m concerned. Back to you though, looking for rentals now is bad timing, but with summer winding down, it’s a good time to look for property over the winter. Anyone who didn’t manage to sell over the summer will be more willing to negotiate.”

“I’ve thought about that. I’ll have to figure out the best timing.”

Gloria nodded and then glanced over her shoulder when the kitchen door opened. I hadn’t noticed the steady sound of wood stacking and chopping from outside had ceased. Levi and his father stepped through the door. The moment my eyes landed on Levi, my low belly clenched. With his hair tousled and his cheeks ruddy from the cool, late summer evening air, looking at him set need to humming inside of me.

The crisp scent of spruce gusted into the kitchen as his father closed the door behind them. Levi carried a woodsy, musky odor with him. His scent was pure octane to the lust that burned inside of me whenever he was near.

Don’t be silly Lucy. You can’t be sitting here lusting after him in front of his parents.

My body’s response was swift. Sure I can. You can’t talk me out of it.

The battle between my mind and body was raging these days. I took another sip of wine, willing myself to ignore the need spinning through my veins.

Gloria stirred the onions again before looking back to Levi and his father. “Well boys, is all the wood stacked?”

Levi’s father tossed his work gloves in a basket by the door and hung his jacket, kicking his boots off in unison with Levi. He stepped to Gloria’s side and dropped a kiss in the curve of her neck, only then answering. “Of course it is.”

“We moved all of it under the woodshed, and I also filled the rack out on the porch. You’re ready for winter,” Levi added.

Gloria grinned as Levi stepped past her to open the refrigerator and pull out a beer. “Need one, Dad?” he called over his shoulder.

“Sure thing,” Brad replied, slipping onto a stool beside the kitchen island.

Levi spun back to the refrigerator, handing his father a beer and then walking to the table to slide into a chair at an angle across from me. His eyes met mine as he arched a brow. I hoped he couldn’t tell I was wrestling with my almost constant desire for him.

Ignoring the heat on my cheeks, I smiled. “How was it?”

How was it? He was stacking wood. How could it be? Oh shut up.

I scolded my inner critic to stop nitpicking everything I said.

“Safe to say between work earlier and this, I’ll sleep well tonight,” he said with a grin before glancing to his father. “Hey Dad, you should talk to Lucy about the garage.”

His eyes flicked back to me. “Dad wants a garage, so I told him he should have you and Amelia take care of it for him. Maybe next spring.”

Before I could reply, his father was joining us at the table. “Gloria won’t let me build it myself. She says the project is too much,” Brad explained with a wry grin. “Honestly, she’s probably right. I’m not as young as I used to be. I’d love to set up a time to chat with you and Amelia about getting the project on your schedule for next year.”

“Of course. Amelia usually handles the planning upfront. I’ll have her give you a call. We can slot you in for next spring. Sound good?”

“Sure does,” he offered.

Levi’s eyes caught mine, the heat banked there hot enough to singe me from across the table. Restless and flushed, I stood abruptly and excused myself to go to the restroom. I splashed cold water on my face and held my wrists under the water—anything to cool me down.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, and my hair had come loose from its ponytail, tendrils dangling around my face. After drying my hands, I smoothed my hair back and took a deep breath, fortifying myself to get through dinner with Levi’s parents without looking like a foolish, lovesick girl. It didn’t help matters at all to know, deep down in the parts of my heart I’d kept locked away, that I might just be that.

When I returned to the kitchen, Gloria was serving plates with caribou and sautéed onions and mushrooms in gravy over rice. It was absolutely delicious. I glanced over to her between bites.

“This is amazing,” I offered.

Levi caught my eye and winked before glancing to his mother. “Lucy’s not much of a cook.”

“I already fessed up,” I added with a grin. “I figured you invited me over tonight out of pity.”

“Of course not. It was for the company, but I did know if I didn’t you’d probably eat soup out of a can for dinner.”

Gloria gasped. “Soup out of the can?” she asked, her tone disbelieving

I shrugged sheepishly. “My mother wasn’t much of a cook, and I’m not either.”

“How is your mother?” Gloria asked conversationally.

“I haven’t seen her in a few weeks. I didn’t…”

My words trailed off because I was slightly confused to have Gloria ask about my mother.

“She and I are in a knitting group together,” Gloria added, as if guessing my train of thought.

That was news to me. Though my mother hadn’t cooked much, the one domestic thing she did was knit. It sounded as if she’d expanded her social circle more than I’d known. I kept my expression controlled and polite. I didn’t want the awkwardness of my not-so-close relationship with my mother to be obvious. I wondered if Gloria knew I was a largely absent daughter as pangs of guilt stabbed at me.

“I didn’t know you knew her well,” I offered, uncertain what else to share.

Gloria nodded and smiled as she took a sip of wine. “Well, I’ve only just gotten to know her this last year. Janet started that knitting group and badgered me into it. Really, I don’t know why we say we knit. It’s mostly an excuse to get together, but that’s how I met your mother. She’s so proud of you.”

I was suddenly slammed with curiosity. I didn’t dare to pelt Gloria with my questions, so I nodded politely and smiled, relieved when Levi’s father began asking questions about my opinion on what he wanted to do with the garage.

Conversation carried on, the moment that was likely awkward solely for me passing. Dinner with Levi’s parents was comfortable and relaxed. I was more relaxed than I ever could’ve imagined I’d be having dinner with any man’s family.

I oddly liked it, and I shied away from thinking about that. After we finished and Gloria was swatting the rest of us away from helping her clean up, she commented to Levi, “I told Lucy I was sure you’d let her stay as long as she needed over the winter. I think she should find some property and build anyway. Anything else is wasting money around here.”

A flash of heat raced through me. I couldn’t believe she had volunteered Levi to let me stay at his place for the entire winter. I almost spit out the sip of wine I’d just taken. Levi’s eyes flicked to mine, a subtle gleam in them.

“Of course she can. I told her she could stay as long as she needs. Why don’t you just plan on it?” he asked conversationally.

Talk about awkward. There was no polite way for me to respond, especially not with the heat burning in Levi’s gaze sending sparks flying through me.

“I’ll play it by ear and see what happens,” I managed with a polite smile, willing the flush away from my cheeks even though I knew it was futile.

What I didn’t dare say was there was this crazy little part of me—a crazy part that had suddenly gotten vocal—that was practically jumping up and down with joy. A whole winter staying at Levi’s would be heaven, pure heaven. I’d pretty much given up trying to talk myself out of the idea that I could get him out of my system.