“Is she aggressive?”
“Definitely not. Not in a hurtful way. But the tree costume incident was really just the beginning. Any time there’s a project that both she and Penny are involved in, things…happen. We attributed it to her just not being…you know, graceful, but I have to wonder if there’s more to it.”
“Hmm…”
“Hmm?” Levi repeated. “What the hell does hmm mean?”
“What are you getting all pissy for, Levi?” Natalie demanded. “Hmm means hmm. Stop being difficult.” Then she focused on Willow again. “Don’t mind him. He’s a little over-protective of his nieces.”
“Well, that’s nice…”
“Do you think we should talk to a shrink?”
“Oh, uh…”
“Nat, stop! Willow doesn’t know Olivia. Hell, she doesn’t know you! Why would you ask a complete stranger for advice like this?”
Willow stiffened slightly. She never saw Levi so uptight before and it suddenly made her feel a little uncomfortable. Putting some space between the two of them, she felt her cheeks heat and wished there was someplace she could go to be alone.
The Sullivan siblings continued their heated discussion and Willow caught some movement by the stairs. Slowly, she leaned over and noticed a little girl who had to be around six or seven staring at her. The house was a small Cape Cod, and the staircase was tucked in the corner without much light so she couldn’t quite make out if she was purposely hiding or just maybe being a little nosey about the raised voices.
Natalie stormed off to the kitchen and Levi followed her, and Willow figured she might as well go introduce herself to whichever daughter this was.
“Hi,” she said, walking toward the staircase. “I’m Willow.”
“I’m Livvy.”
“As in Olivia?” Willow asked for clarification, and the girl nodded. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Olivia.”
“Are you Uncle Levi’s girlfriend?”
It was way too complicated to try to explain their relationship, so she simply nodded. “We’re on our way down to Florida and Levi thought it would be fun if we stop and visit. I hope that’s okay.”
“Are you going to Disney World?”
“Oooh…I wish. We’re going to visit my grandmother for her birthday, so no Disney on this trip. But I would love to go! I haven’t been there in years!”
“I want to go, too,” Olivia said. “I want to ride the Frozen ride!”
“What? I didn’t even know there was a Frozen ride!”
Olivia looked up at her with big blue eyes and nodded. “Uh-huh! You ride a boat and everything!”
And as if of one mind, they both started singing Let It Go. Olivia jumped off the step she was on and began to twirl as she sang. She reached out her hand and Willow took it as they both started singing even louder. By the time they got to the final chorus, they each struck a dramatic pose before collapsing on the couch laughing.
“You are so cool, Willow!” Olivia cried. “No one ever sings along with me! Penny says she’s too old to sing any Disney songs, and mom has a terrible voice, so…”
“Hey!”
Willow’s eyes went wide as she turned her head and saw Natalie and Levi standing in the doorway watching them. “Um…”
“Mom! Did you hear us? Willow knows all the words! She even did all the movements Elsa did! Isn’t that cool?”
Willow’s cheeks heated, and she couldn’t believe everyone was looking at her like…like…She looked up and saw Olivia smiling from ear to ear just like Nat and Levi.
“Um…”
“That’s amazing, sweetheart!” Natalie said, hugging her daughter. She looked over at Willow. “That was very impressive! I can’t keep track of all those songs. They are way more complex than the Disney movies from when I was a kid.”
“Willow’s a pro at them,” Levi said, giving her a sly wink. “She admitted that in the car.”
“Really?” Olivia asked. “Do you know the songs from the new Frozen movie?”
Nodding, Willow said, “My girlfriends and I saw that in the movie theaters like three times!”
“Wow! You are so cool!” Olivia declared. “Want to come up to my room and see my Elsa costume?”
“Sure!” Standing, she looked at Levi and Natalie and shrugged. “We’ll be back down in time for dinner. I promise.”
And with Olivia laughing and tugging her hand, Willow followed the girl up the stairs.
“So…this is serious, huh?”
“What’s serious?”
“You and Willow. It’s serious, right?”
Levi sat down at his sister’s kitchen table and groaned.
This so wasn’t a good idea…
“Nat, I explained the situation to you. I’m just helping Willow out with her grandmother. She didn’t want to let her down or have to deal with her folks being judgy toward her. It’s no big deal.”
Placing the spoon down on the counter that she was using to stir the pot of sauce, Natalie turned and smirked at him. “Look, you’re a good guy. We all know that. You’d give anyone the shirt off your back.”
“Right, so…”
“However,” she quickly interrupted, “this is the first time that favor extended to bringing a girl home with you.”
“I’m not bringing her home, Nat. This was just a practical move–a way to save some money on the trip.”
“Why are you so worried about money? The pub’s doing fantastic, you just bought that ridiculous sports car…”
“It’s not ridiculous,” he countered. “It’s just something I kind of always wanted.”
“And you’re looking at buying a house! You’re doing great financially, so why volunteer to sleep on my floor for the night and bring Willow with you?”
Sighing, he rubbed his forehead and tried to stay calm. “Willow was insisting on paying for the trip since I was doing her a favor. She…she thinks I’m a bartender.”
“You are a bartender.”
“No, she thinks that’s all I am. She doesn’t know I own McGee’s.”
“Well, that’s stupid. Why don’t you just tell her and then spring for a hotel with real beds for the two of you?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Sitting down in the chair beside him, his sister simply said, “Try me.”
“Willow is…well…she’s not in a particularly good place right now,” he began carefully. “She’s got a degree she doesn’t want to use, she doesn’t really have a job…”
“She’s unemployed?”
“Sort of?” Then he shook his head. “She walks dogs. Like a lot of dogs.”
“What’s a lot of dogs?”
“Picture every cartoon or commercial you’ve ever seen where a person is walking an almost comical amount of dogs at one time. That’s Willow.”
“Wow, good for her! She’s a tiny little thing, but she must be strong!”
He never thought of that.
“And she’s a part-time nanny.”
“Well she’s wonderful with kids. I’ve never seen Olivia bond with someone that quickly.”
Nodding, he explained, “Anyway, her folks are pressuring her to buckle down and get a position with a practice–preferably theirs up in Seattle…”
“Seattle? Is that where she’s from? Because her accent is totally a New York one.”
“No, she’s born and raised on Long Island. Her parents moved there…I don’t know when.” He paused. “The thing is, she’s probably the sweetest woman I’ve ever met, and she’s a little lost right now. She made up a boyfriend so her grandmother wouldn’t worry about her so much and here we are.”
“You sure about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Levi, there’s obviously a bit of interest there,” Natalie said with a knowing smile. “On both ends.”
That was brand new information.
“Seriously? You think Willow’s interested?”
Her smile turned mischievous. �
��You mean you hadn’t noticed?”
“Well…”
He was interrupted by some loud thumping over their heads and the sound of Willow and Olivia singing something else and laughing hysterically.
“Moana,” Natalie said. “How Far I’ll Go. Another favorite of Olivia’s.”
“Ah.”
“Okay, before we get all teenage girl gossipy here, let’s go back for a minute. Why do you say she’s lost and what does any of this have to do with you not telling her you own the pub?”
“She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life and it’s an issue for her right now. I think she feels comfortable with me because she doesn’t see my job as being intimidating. I’m relatable, you know?”
Nodding, Natalie said, “I guess. But with all the getting to know you time the two of you have had, how has it not come up?”
“Anytime she mentions me talking to my boss, I just nod,” he said solemnly. “She’s opening up to me and sharing so much of herself and…I don’t know, I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. I’m afraid if I tell her, she’ll look at me and be…”
“Intimidated.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, damn. That’s both commendable and stupid all at the same time.”
“I wouldn’t say stupid…”
“Look, you need to be honest with her. If this thing goes beyond being her fake boyfriend for the week, it’s not going to look good that you lied to her. And it’s a silly thing to lie about.”
“Nat…”
“What? I’m serious! It’s not like you’ve got a wife and kids back home or anything. Now that would be a big lie–the kind you don’t get over. But having a good job? Owning a business? Um, yeah. I’d be okay if someone admitted that to me.”
“I’m sure Jeff would love to hear you say that,” he teased. “Speaking of my brother-in-law, when’s he going to get home?”
“Any minute. And don’t worry, I gave him the head’s up on this whole crazy relationship thing.”
“Levi? You awake?”
The house was pitch-black and everyone had gone to bed about an hour ago, but Levi had been staring at the ceiling ever since. He was on the floor, and Willow was on the sofa beside him. Her soft whisper made him practically jump right out of his sleeping bag.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m having a little trouble sleeping.”
Join the club.
Sitting up, he focused on her. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust, but then…there she was. “Do you need more pillows? Blankets?”
But she shook her head as she propped herself up on her elbow. “I wanted to thank you.”
“Really? For what?”
“For introducing me to your family. This has been a really good day.” She let out a soft hum that sounded far sexier than Levi imagined she meant it to. “I wish we didn’t have to rush out of here in the morning.”
“Well, we need to stay on schedule to get to your grandmother’s, right?”
“I know.” She paused and yawned. “But I had a lot of fun tonight. Your nieces are so sweet.”
“And they loved you. Seriously, Willow, you were great with them.”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“One of the reasons I don’t want to go into psychology is because…” She sighed. “I studied child psychology, and it made me really sad.”
“Sad? Why?”
“I love kids. Like…I know I said earlier that I had no idea what I wanted to be or do with my life, but I really love working with kids. Just…not to analyze them. I hate to see a child in pain–physically or emotionally.”
“I imagine that would be rough.”
“But the thought of teaching them or playing around and making them laugh? That’s something I could really get on board with.”
“Willow, that’s amazing. Why not go into teaching? Or…or…being like a nanny or something? The way you were today with Livvy was a bit on the Mary Poppins side.”
She let out a low laugh before changing the subject on him. “Tell me about the sister we’re staying with tomorrow.”
“Katie.” Leaning over slightly, he rested his arm on the couch. “She’s the oldest; married to Aaron for about a dozen years. My nephew Brandon is their only child. He’s ten and a total riot. I don’t think he’s into Disney songs, but he is all about sports. The kid is crazy gifted in baseball. Katie said she thinks he’s on track to go pro.”
“At ten years old? Seriously?”
He couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “It seems weird to me too. I mean, a lot can happen between now and when he’s eighteen. But they are doing everything they can to keep him on track. You know, as long as he continues to have an interest in it.”
“Wow.”
“I know.” He was about to say more when he felt Willow’s hand gently glide over his. His throat went dry, and he wasn’t sure if he should acknowledge it at all. Then she wove her fingers with his and he saw her lie back down. “Any chance you know how to play ball?”
She chuckled. “Remember the gym teacher story?”
“Oh yeah,” he said with a soft laugh of his own. “You think you can go to sleep now?” he whispered.
“Mm-hmm.”
When he went to pull his hand away, Willow held tight.
“This is the sort of thing couples might do,” she said sleepily. “We’ll have to move up a level tomorrow.”
Was he dreaming?
Starting to sweat?
Clearing his throat quietly, he asked, “Up a level?”
“Mm-hmm. Hand-holding will only get us so far around Gammy. She’s very affectionate. She’s going to expect to see us snuggling up together on the couch and kissing.” A soft giggle was out before she spoke again. “I don’t know what we can do about the snuggling while we’re driving, but we should definitely practice kissing.”
For a moment, Levi couldn’t respond.
Was she fully awake?
Did she have any idea what she was saying?
“Um…sure,” he said gruffly. “Yeah, uh…we can do that.”
“Mmm…thank you, Levi. You’re a great fake boyfriend.”
And that’s when he felt it. Willow’s soft lips on his cheek. He closed his eyes and stayed utterly still.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, her breath warm against his cheek. “I thought you said we needed to practice.”
Turning his head slightly, Levi reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. This wasn’t the way he had planned their first kiss to be, but maybe it was better that it was late and dark and…this.
“Don’t apologize,” he whispered.
“But…you seemed tense, like you didn’t want me to kiss you.”
The darkness of the room, the quiet of the house, and the soft tones of their voices made this all feel so intimate that it was hard to remember it wasn’t real.
“Oh, I want you to kiss me, Willow. And I really want to kiss you.”
Her voice was barely audible as she said, “Really?”
His hand moved to gently wrap around her nape as he moved in and touched his lips to hers. Kissing was something Levi loved to do-he loved the slow build, the teasing before completely sinking into it. But there was a shyness here that he never felt before, and just knowing what he did about Willow, he didn’t want to take it too deep too fast and scare her off.
Little did he know that she would be the one to do it.
Yeah, one minute things were slow and a little timid, and the next she was shifting on the couch to get closer and using one of her hands to mimic his.
It would be wrong to crawl up on the sofa with her, right? To cover her body with his and just…
Willow let out a throaty hum, and the decision was made.
Levi slowly got up on his knees and cupped her face with both hands as he tilted his head and teased her tongue with his. The kiss was deep and wet and so damn good. H
er arms went around him as she shifted to sit up. The darkness meant every move was a mystery, every touch was a surprise, and all of it was a turn on.
He lost track of how long they stayed like that. One kiss led to another and then another, and their touches were mostly from the shoulders up. At one point, he let his hands roam up and down her back, but he stopped before he gave in to the temptation to grab her ass and give it a gentle squeeze-something he’d been dying to do for months.
Ever since the day she fell in front of the pub and he picked her up.
When they finally broke apart, breathless and aroused-well, he hoped they were both aroused-they rested their foreheads against each other.
“Wow,” she whispered. “That was…”
“Yeah. For me too.”
“I don’t think we’ll have a hard time convincing Gammy or anyone for that matter that we’re dating.”
Swallowing hard, he gently argued, “Well, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep practicing just to be sure.”
“True,” she said, her nails slowly raking through his hair.
“Plus, it’s really dark in here. It could be quite different with the lights on.”
“Oh...I hadn’t thought of that.”
“You know what that means, don’t you?” he quietly teased, wanting badly to dive back in for another taste of her lips.
“What?” There was wonder in her voice and Levi could imagine her eyes going wide.
“It means tomorrow we’ll have to be sure to try this again in the light of day. Will that be okay?”
Her laugh was the sweetest sound as she rubbed up against him a little and playfully nudged his nose with hers. “Does that mean we have to stop now?”
“Hell no.” Then they were done talking for a while.
6
“Maybe you should ring the doorbell again.”
“Willow, I rang it four times. She’s not here.”
Yeah, that was becoming more and more obvious, she thought. There were no cars in the driveway, no one was answering the door, and…well…that was it.
“What do we do now?” It was a stupid question to ask considering Levi had his phone up to his ear. With nothing to do, she took a few steps away to give him some privacy and thought about all the things she’d learned about Levi today.
Test Drive: Road Tripping Series Page 7