Not that it was a bad thing to be stuck with a beautiful blonde in a killer dress that had him thinking of all sorts of interesting scenarios. Every single one of which involved the removal of said dress.
He blew out a breath. It had been a long while since he’d escorted a woman anywhere—out to dinner, or to his bed. Ten, eleven months? Jesus. Since before his accident. And this wasn’t just any beautiful blonde; it was Lisa’s sister. He couldn’t actually do anything with her. Which left Levi…in a quandary.
Emily glanced back, her body swaying a bit. How much champagne had she drunk? “Are you sure it’s okay to leave the party?” she said. “I want to make sure Esther is happy and enjoying herself.”
He carried her bag, which he’d remembered to grab from behind the bar before they’d left, and guided her down the hallway to the main lobby. “Don’t worry about Esther. She’s got most of the company fawning and making future lunch plans with her. With the pension my father set up for her, she’ll be enjoying retirement for a good long while.”
Emily glanced back once more. “All right. If you think it’s okay.”
He smiled down at her. She was a sweet kid. Woman. Full-blown woman now, he reminded himself.
He scanned the area, searching for something to show her that might seem like something significant—damn Hunt—and caught sight of the prodigal son.
If it weren’t for Adam ditching them to work at Blue Casino, Levi wouldn’t be in this mess of running the club and escorting pretty, vulnerable females away from Hunt. “Adam.” There might have been a threatening edge to Levi’s tone.
His brother swaggered toward them with his fiancée at his side. “Sorry we’re late. We…”
Levi glanced at Hayden, whose hair—now that Levi was paying attention—looked a bit off. As in, off to the side, when the swirly bun thing—whatever—should be centered. And her hair was wispy, and not in the intentional way.
Levi sighed. He knew exactly what his no-good brother had been doing with his beautiful fiancée.
Lucky bastard.
“Well, you’re here now,” Levi said. “Go to the party and make it up to Esther. Keep an eye on Hunt too, will ya? You know how he is.”
Adam scanned Emily. “Where are you two going?”
Levi wanted to punch Adam in the face. What was with his brothers checking out his assistant? “This is Emily Wright, my assistant. And Lisa’s sister.”
“Sister?”
“Sister.”
“Hi, Emily.” Hayden reached out and shook Emily’s hand while Adam just stood there with a look of shock on his face. “I’m Hayden Tate, Adam’s fiancée. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Emily smiled, but Levi caught her wobble to the side.
He slid his arm around her waist, holding her up. “We’re just going for a walk.”
“A walk, eh?” Adam grinned just as lewdly as Hunt had earlier. Damn his brothers. Even Hayden was looking at them with a knowing smile.
“Good for you, Levi,” Hayden said as Adam grabbed her hand and dragged her off toward the party. “You two enjoy yourselves.”
Levi dropped his arm from around Emily’s waist as soon as they were out of sight. This was ridiculous. He didn’t have time to babysit. He couldn’t get rid of his lusty youngest brother from the party—Hunt was co-owner of Club Tahoe and had known Esther nearly as long as Levi. But Emily didn’t need to be there. And Levi didn’t need a good reason to send her home. He was the CEO. He could do whatever he wanted. Except touch. He couldn’t touch. Which supported his next decision. “You should go.”
Her face fell. “Is something wrong?”
“You’ve had too much to drink. I’ll call you a cab.”
Emily’s lips parted and her cheeks turned bright red. “I—I, yes. Of course.”
“Here.” He handed over the workbag and pulled out his phone. “Any taxi service you prefer?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, don’t bother. I’ll take care of it. Goodbye, Mr. Cade,” she said, and scurried off toward the entrance, her head tilted down.
Levi watched her go and wanted to kick himself. He’d been a jerk. He didn’t possess the smooth words that spilled out of Hunt’s unrepentant mouth. Even when Levi was trying to protect a woman, he screwed things up.
He rubbed the top of his head and let out a harsh sigh. “Fuck this.” He walked out of the lobby and past the pool toward the one place that wiped all this bullshit away.
Making his way down to the dock, he slowly took off his shoes, socks, and belt. His jacket and shirt went next, landing in a heap on a wooden bench. As he neared the end, he twisted around and allowed the weight of his body to pull him back and into the water.
Pins and needles peppered his skin, his face sinking under the sixty-degree water. He splashed up and whipped his head back.
Clearing the droplets from his face, he stared out where dark sky met dark lake. This was the place that brought Levi his best memories. Back to his childhood when his mother had been around and the world was safe and balanced. They used to visit the dock during the day and play for hours. It had been peace, and the loss of her had brought uncertainty and chaos to him and his brothers ever since.
Levi tried to right things. To bring some semblance of security to his brothers’ lives. By controlling their environment. By becoming a parent figure and planning for a future in which nothing could go wrong. Lisa had been a part of that safe plan. Beautiful, sweet. But Levi had been wrong about Lisa, and he’d floundered ever since, trying to make things right again.
The dock and water reminded him of what security and happiness felt like, and allowed him to decompress. He had other favorite places, but none he’d been able to spend quality time at since he started working for Club Tahoe. The lake would have to do for the time being.
He wouldn’t allow Club Tahoe to fail. It was his family’s last bit of security in the world.
Oh my God. “You’ve had too much to drink”? How dare he! Emily knew her limits. And okay, she’d had a little too much champagne, enough that she knew she shouldn’t be driving, but she wasn’t drunk!
She pulled out her phone. “Siri, call Uber.”
Emily paced the front of the Club Tahoe entrance. And paced some more, her anger rising. Why had she allowed Levi to treat her like a child?
She glanced back, expecting to catch him watching over her like she needed her shoes tied, but it wasn’t Levi who hovered nearby.
“Leaving so soon?” Hunter walked forward until he was standing at her side.
Hunter Cade was the bad boy of the Cade brothers, and he played up his role whenever possible. But Emily wondered how much of that was genuine, and how much of it was to get attention amongst a group of arrogant alpha males.
“I’ve had a long day.” Understatement. She’d busted her ass to make Esther’s party special, all the while attempting to pull off a miracle and get an entire agenda for the Korean group planned by next week.
Hunter frowned. “Where’s Levi?”
“I don’t know.”
His mouth twisted angrily. “Did he send you home?”
Levi had crossed the line tonight, telling her what to do. It probably didn’t help that she’d had a touch too much to drink and that she wasn’t used to walking in spiked heels. Never should have listened to Lisa. But although Levi was bossy, he was her boss. And she understood he’d been trying to be a gentleman with the taxi thing. “He’s under a lot of pressure.”
Hunter shook his head sharply and glanced away. “Don’t let my brother tell you what to do. He thinks he’s in control of all of us. Stay as long as you like. You’re welcome here.”
She gave him a quick smile. “It’s fine. I really should go home and get some sleep. Big week coming up.”
Hunter stepped closer. “Look, Emily. I know you’re aware of my history with your sister. The thing is”—he pushed back the sides of his jacket, his hands on his hips—“I cared about her. I
didn’t want to see her hurt.”
She wasn’t sure she could trust Hunter. That any woman should trust him. “Okay,” she said cautiously.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt by Levi the way Lisa did. He’s a rock, and Lisa bashed up against that rock until she couldn’t take it anymore. Don’t let it happen to you.”
Deeper things were going on between Levi and Hunter that Emily was only beginning to understand. But the one thing she knew was that Levi didn’t deserve what Hunter and Lisa had done to him. Even Lisa felt guilty for what she’d put Levi through. “What you did was wrong.”
He lifted his chin. “I’m not proud of it. But I’ve paid for my sins. I pay every day, but that’s not what this is about. Be careful, is all. I wouldn’t want to see you get your heart broken.”
Emily didn’t remember Lisa having a broken heart—more like a guilty one. “It’s not like that between me and Levi. He’s my boss, and like you said, he can be overprotective.” A gray sedan pulled up. “My Uber’s here. I have to go.”
He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, watching her as she got in the car. The car pulled away and Emily saw Hunter turn and walk back toward the party, his stride a casual gait, though she sensed tension in the way he held his shoulders.
Levi and Hunter had serious baggage Emily had no intention of getting caught up in.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Emily pulled on her fluffy bathrobe and crawled out of bed to answer the front door.
Outside, Lisa held up a hand and angled her head back. “Whoa. What happened to you?”
Emily rubbed her eyes and yawned, opening the door wider. “What do you mean?”
Her sister waved at the side of Emily’s head, balancing her purse and coffee drink in her other hand. “You’ve got a flock of seagulls launching from one side of your head.” She waved vaguely in front of Emily’s face. “And impressive sleep lines crisscrossing your cheek.”
Emily walked into the living room and sat on the couch, pulling her knees up and hugging them. “I didn’t sleep well.”
Lisa closed the door and walked in. She sat across from Emily, looking way too pretty and perky for eight in the morning. Lisa wasn’t known as an early riser.
Emily had screwed up last night, but mostly, she’d been humiliated. By Levi or herself, she wasn’t entirely sure. All she knew was that she felt probably about as good as she looked right now.
“Why didn’t you sleep well? You looked amazing when I dressed you last night. That outfit I got you was killer, so obviously the dress wasn’t the problem.”
Emily sank her head onto her knees. “Not all problems can be solved with good fashion.” She peeked at her sister.
Lisa stared in mock horror. “Of course they can.”
Emily groaned. “For you, yes. But when I wear a sexy dress, hot guys send me home like I’m some nuisance.”
“What? That makes no sense.”
“I might have had too much champagne. And the shoes you made me wear—”
“Looked fan-fucking-tastic.”
“—crippled me.”
Lisa sipped her drink. “We’ll work on your balance. Still, why would a hot guy send a drunk, wobbly girl home? That goes against the player handbook. You presented an easy target. He should have been hovering over you.”
“Ew.”
Lisa parted her mouth innocently. “I’m just saying, whoever the guy was, he should have been trying to go home with you.”
This conversation wasn’t helping Emily’s sleep-deprivation headache. “Well, apparently, that’s not how these things work for me.”
Lisa set down her drink and pulled out her phone. “That’s it. I’m texting Jared. It’s been too long since you’ve had a boyfriend.”
“I don’t want yours!” As soon as the words left Emily’s mouth, she realized how ludicrous they sounded. Even if Lisa knew about Emily’s crush on Levi, she wasn’t likely to assume Emily wanted Jared too.
Lisa scrunched her nose. “You really are tired. I’m not talking about Jared; that man is mine. I’ve got someone else for you. It’s why I came over today.”
Emily pulled the throw blanket over her head and lay down. “It’s too early to frighten me with blind dates.”
And then something occurred to her. She flipped the blanket back and stared at her sister for a solid five seconds. Was it possible her mom had been confused about Emily’s true father and she and Lisa weren’t actually related? Because that would explain so much.
Call it grasping at straws, but Emily was a tad delirious and a lot desperate at the moment. Lisa was everything Emily was not: vivacious, curvaceous, and sexually confident. If they shared no blood relation, it would make sense. And make Emily’s lusting after Levi less creepy.
But no, that couldn’t be right. Emily looked more like their dad than Lisa, and Lisa’s mom had been married to their father when Lisa was conceived. Dammit. “Why are you awake and harassing me? It’s Saturday, and before nine, for God’s sake. You’re never up this early, not even during the week. The boutique doesn’t open until ten.”
Lisa shifted in her seat. “Jared has me on an exercise routine.”
Emily might be slender, but the universe had been remiss in the boob department. Lisa, however, had a ridiculous metabolism and big boobs. Not. Fair. “Please tell me Jared doesn’t think you need to work out. I might have to kill him.”
She grinned. “Why thank you, sister. The exercise isn’t for me. Jared wants a workout buddy. He doesn’t like running alone and says it’s too hot to go in the afternoons. He runs in the morning and I ride my bike beside him.” She shrugged. “It’s not so bad. He makes me a massive breakfast afterward.”
He makes her breakfast? “Jared’s pretty awesome.”
“Exactly, so why are you settling for guys who send you home?”
“Oh, he wasn’t someone I’m dating.”
Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “Emily, who exactly were you with last night?”
Emily froze like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights, except instead of a car coming toward her it was a giant truck-sized Lisa.
“Em?”
Emily pursed her lips and looked to the side. “Levi,” she mumbled, but her sister took that moment to exhibit super hearing.
Lisa flopped back in the comfy, yet ugly, red sofa chair that matched Emily’s equally ugly couch, both hand-me-downs from Lisa. “Son of a… I told you not to let him push you around.”
“I’m not! But Jesus, Lis. He’s my boss. I kind of have to listen to him.” Although Emily wasn’t convinced she’d needed to listen to him last night.
“Who cares?”
Emily stood too quickly and her head spun. This was too much after only three hours of sleep. She didn’t need her sister pointing out what she already knew. That Levi still saw her as Lisa’s little sister, regardless of whether Emily was years older, had educational degrees under her belt, and had worn that sexy dress last night.
She made her way into the kitchen and took out the orange juice, drinking it straight from the container. “Did you come here for a reason?”
Her sister stared over the back of the red chair with a look of disgust on her face. “First, that was totally gross. Remind me never to drink anything from your fridge. Second, I already told you. I came over to invite you on a double date, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. I confirmed with Jared just now. Too much time around Levi will ruin your self-esteem.”
Emily ground her teeth. “There’s nothing wrong with Levi. He’s a great guy.” When he wasn’t pissing her off.
“Sure, sure.”
“I’ll go on this date,” Emily said, “if you stop putting down my boss.”
“Does Tuesday night work for you? Jared says Zander is excited to meet up.”
Levi was listening to calls go out on the police scanner and had just poured himself a cup of coffee when a knock sounded at his front door.
He turned the volum
e down on the scanner and padded over, mug in hand, with Grace bumping into his leg as she raced him to the door. Levi opened it to find Adam standing on the other side. “What are you doing here this early on a Saturday?” Hands tucked into the front pockets of his pressed khakis, Adam might have dressed nice, but his hair was weekend rumpled.
Grace licked Adam’s shoes, then turned back to her morning nap location where the sun beamed in through the dining room window.
“Gracie, that all I get?” Adam said. “Just one lick?”
The weekends were the one time Levi could count on Adam to loosen the Armani tie. His brother was always cool and collected and dressed to the hilt. Except on the weekends. And Adam tended to be a hell of a lot calmer around Hayden. Adam’s fiancée had a nice effect on his little brother, which Levi thought he’d never see, because Adam was a stubborn bastard.
Adam glanced at the mug in Levi’s hand. “Got another one of those?”
“Sure, come on in.” Levi crossed the room to the kitchen of his one-bedroom cabin, and Adam took a seat on the dark brown couch each of his brothers had passed out on at one point or another over the years.
Levi had moved out of his dad’s home as soon as he could. He’d wanted to provide a safe haven for his brothers—a place they could get away to when living beneath their father’s roof became too much. Before they’d moved out of their father’s place, one of them was always sleeping on his couch.
Grace went over and sat at Adam’s feet, abandoning her favorite place in the sun in exchange for petting.
Adam’s hand went to her soft brown mutt ears, rubbing in just the right spot. Grace’s eyes lulled shut. “That’s my girl. Give your uncle some love.”
While Grace basked in Adam’s attention, Levi poured Adam a cup of coffee and glanced around his house. He’d rented this place first, then bought it from the owner once he’d joined the fire station and could afford to. Sure, his father had provided trust funds for each of them, but Adam had been the only one to touch that money. Levi and the rest of his brothers hadn’t gone near the Cade wealth and all it represented. To Levi, it meant losing his family—his mother first and then his father.
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