Levi’s town car cruises down I-87, gliding through the traffic, and I try not to act like I’m about to lose my mind.

I couldn’t say no to him. I had been hoping to flesh out a deal right then, but under the spell of his eyes, I couldn’t say no. So I didn’t. I told him that he had to be the one to drive.

And now…

Eating pancakes at a diner with him is one thing. Being in the back of his town car, this close, with his scent filling the air, is on another level. I don’t know what kind of soap he uses, but mixed with his bare skin, it’s making every breath a kind of paradise. And a kind of hell, because I want to press my face against the side of his neck. Then my lips. Then my tongue.

Yes. I want to lick his bare skin, and the thought has my cheeks on fire.

Levi mistakes it for nervousness about the house. “You don’t have to feel embarrassed about what your parents have to sell.”

“I don’t.” I say it too quickly, which is highly convincing. I look into his gray eyes. “I really don’t. I’m only nervous that—” I swallow hard. That I might leap across the seat and straddle you right now, and that might be awkward for both of us. “That there might not be anything there that’s valuable enough for you to...be interested in.”

He grins, a half-smile that’s half teasing, too. “I did make you an offer. Just yesterday morning.”

“Yes, but that was the kind of offer I bet you’d give if you were...gambling.”

“Gambling?”

I don’t want to accuse him of any shady behavior, but it’s already out there. “That seemed like the kind of offer you would make if you weren’t a hundred percent sure that there would be some really great pieces in the house.” I bite my lip.

Levi laughs out loud. “You’re right.”

“Then I was also right to be insulted. We have a lot of priceless things.”

“We? I thought this estate was your parents’.”

“Well...family pieces.” Saying the words makes my throat go tight. Don’t ask. Don’t ask...

He asks.

“Is that why you took it so personally, what I said?”

“Which thing that you said? It’s not like you’ve been walking on eggshells.” I force a smile.

“I was referring to my initial offer.” He narrows his eyes, thinking. “Although it could also apply to one of the more...insensitive comments I made at breakfast.”

I take a deep breath. “Yes. In a way. I’m—” I search for the right words. “I’m glad to be able to do this for my parents, but it’s not easy. It’s much harder than I thought it would be. Most of those things—”

“They were supposed to be yours.”

“Yes.” I swallow the ache that pulses in my throat. “They were supposed to be mine.”

Levi looks at me for a long moment, his hand rising from his lap. But he doesn’t reach over. He picks up his phone instead, but doesn’t make any move to look at the screen.

“You mentioned you had a job. Where do you work?”

The tightness in my chest loosens a little, and the insane, bright desire building between my legs is front and center in an instant. “I work for a publishing house called Drawstring Press that my dad invested in back in the beginning of his career. He’s not involved now, so don’t think—” I look across at Levi, and he’s grinning. “Don’t think I got my job just because of my dad.”

“I don’t know why that would be a problem. I got mine because of my father.”

“Your father was an antiques dealer?”

“Not quite. Before he died, he was a billionaire. He made his money in banking.”

Oh, shit. “I’m sorry to hear that—that he’s passed away.”

“It’s alright. He’s been gone about ten years now. Cancer.” Levi says it matter-of-factly, not looking away from me for even a single moment. “It’s a bitch.”

“It is. My mom—she had a brush with breast cancer when I was in high school. That was scary enough.”

He nods, and we’re silent together for a moment. “So you...love to read?”

“Yes. And it’s a good thing, because I’m in acquisitions, so I’m always reading.” I leave out the fact that living in a one-bedroom apartment roughly the size of the closet I had growing up is becoming a problem. I bring home far too many manuscripts for the space, and they’re piling up everywhere.

A flutter of panic rises in my chest. I don’t want to admit it—not even to Levi—but the job at Drawstring was only a hobby until everything came crashing down a few months ago. If something doesn’t change, it’s not going to be sustainable for me to live in the city. I don’t want to leave New York. So if the estate sale goes well—this time, at least—and I can dig us out of this hole, if we can get things back together...

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just—just what I’m going to do if all our antiques don’t pan out.” But I don’t want to keep the focus on this situation. I don’t want to spend all day today fretting about having to find another job somewhere across the country and leave all this behind. “What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

I search Levi’s eyes to see if he’s joking, but there’s a heat there now that I can’t ignore. I suck in a breath. “What—what about me?”

There’s an energy crackling in the air between us, filling up the back of the town car, and I’m ridiculously grateful for the partition that separates us from the driver.

“I was thinking about...” His voice is low and smooth and polished, and the sound of it is like having his fingertips running down the length of my spine, down and down and down until they’re between my legs. “...How you’re managing to do all this. Most people I know wouldn’t go to such great lengths to smooth out one less-than-stellar estate sale.”

“It wasn’t really great lengths. It was just...it was just one phone call.”

His grin is downright sultry. “It was one phone call to a man you’d sent packing just the day before. You didn’t stop there, either. You let me get out of bed and come to meet you. You let me buy you breakfast. And you’re still willing to deal, even though I think—and I could be wrong—I think you’d rather not sell a single thing inside that house.” Then he laughs, and it vibrates all the way to my core. “There’s more to you than meets the eye, Ruby Ashworth.”

I’m running so hot that I’m concerned the entire back of the town car might combust, and he hasn’t even touched me. “Don’t tempt me, Levi.” The need in my voice surprises me. “I might just show you more.”