Test Drive

by Samantha Chase

  Two pairs of wide eyes stared back at her.

  “Geez, relax, Mom,” Donna murmured.

  “Yeah, you didn’t have to yell. We were just having fun. No need to get all testy.”

  This time, they all laughed.

  “Levi, the tap’s on the fritz again!”

  “Levi, the fire inspector is here!”

  “Levi, your accountant is on the phone!”

  “Levi, Dex broke a tray of dishes!”

  Yeah, and that was all in his first twenty-four hours of being back at the pub. He was exhausted–or should he say still exhausted–and it didn’t look like he was going to be catching up on his sleep any time soon.

  It was Friday night, and he knew Willow and her friends were on their way in, but there was no way he was going to be able to find time to be alone with her. There was just too much to do. When he had agreed to go away with her, he really felt like it would be okay to leave the pub for a week, but now he knew why his grandfather rarely took any vacations.

  And he knew his staff was amazing and nothing that happened was due to anyone being incompetent. There was just a lot of things going on at all times.

  Okay, and maybe he wasn’t the best at delegating everything yet, but that would come in time, right?

  Either way, he was a little frustrated and more than a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to get to spend any time alone with Willow.

  Of course, he could ask her to hang out until closing time–which was midnight–and maybe she wouldn’t mind waiting while he did the books and handled everything that needed to be handled. She would understand and maybe even enjoy learning a little more about his job. Or maybe…

  Oh, right…she thinks this is just a job.

  “Shit.”

  Yeah, he was going to have to come up with a way to tell her about that.

  It wasn’t like he lied about it, not exactly. More like a lie of omission, and it was really done because he didn’t want her looking at him any differently. Now that he knew her better, he knew it was a mistake. Willow wasn’t the kind of person to see him for anything except who he was. She wouldn’t have felt intimidated, she would have still been his friend.

  And his girlfriend.

  But after he admitted how he lied–and his reasoning–he couldn’t be so sure.

  Why didn’t I speak up sooner?

  “Hey, you.”

  Turning, he saw Willow standing at the bar smiling happily. He drank in the sight of her. Funny how it had only been yesterday morning when he last saw her, and he was already a little crazed with missing her.

  Stepping around the bar, he did a quick check and saw she was there alone; no friends. “Hey, yourself,” he said gruffly, taking her in his arms and kissing her like he hadn’t seen her in weeks rather than days.

  Or…a day.

  When they broke apart, Willow rested her hands on his chest and let out a very sexy little sigh. “Wow. A girl could totally get used to that kind of a greeting.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about that,” he teased and helped her onto one of the barstools. “So, where are the girls?”

  “Oh, they’re meeting me here. They figured I’d want to stay and hang out with you until you got done for the night.” Then she paused and nibbled her bottom lip. “But if you’re going to be too busy, I don’t have to do that. You know…no pressure. If you’ve got too much to do, I can leave like I always do. No big deal. I mean, we weren’t dating the last time we all came here on a Friday night and I never stayed until closing time so I have no idea what it is that you have to do, but I’m guessing it’s a lot since you’re always here and you checked in with your boss so much while we were away. And…”

  “Willow?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You’re rambling,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose. Taking a step back, he kept his hands at her waist, feeling better just touching her this innocently. “So, how was your day?”

  “Oh, my goodness, have we gotten that domesticated already?”

  “What?”

  “The whole ‘hi, honey, how was your day?’ thing. It’s sweet, but it just feels like something long-time couples might say.”

  “I disagree. I look at it as something you should say to anyone who means something to you. You should be interested in how they are and how their day went.” He kissed the tip of her nose again. “So there.”

  Willow reached up and cupped his face and kissed him briefly on the lips. “Okay, then. My day was pretty great.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s up?”

  “Well, Mrs. Moore, Josh’s mom, just got a promotion at her job and wants to hire me as a full-time nanny!”

  “Really? That’s amazing!” Lifting her out of her seat, Levi hugged her and spun her around. “Congratulations!” Once she was back in her seat, he asked, “But what about the dogs?”

  Smiling, she reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I love that you thought of them too.”

  “I know how much you love them.”

  “That I do. And Mrs. Moore knows it as well, and we talked about it, and we agreed that I could still do it with Josh in the stroller. I might not be able to take them all out at one time like I do now, but in shifts. It gives Josh time outside, and it means I don’t have to let anyone down or scrambling to find new walkers for their dogs. It’s a win, win.” Her smile grew and he could feel the excitement practically vibrating off of her.

  “This calls for a celebration!” Stepping around the bar, he held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” Stepping into the back room where they kept all the wine and champagne, he found the best bottle he had and went back to get her approval.

  “Oh, my goodness! Champagne?” Her laugh was pure feminine joy, and he loved knowing he was the one to make that happen. “Can we chill it a little and then save it for when the girls get here?”

  “Absolutely.”

  After that, Willow sat at the bar and chatted with him while he made drinks and even joked around with the staff when he was busy.

  She fit.

  He’d dated women who made demands on his time or who weren’t pleased when he wasn’t giving them his full attention, but not Willow. He had a feeling she would be comfortable coming and hanging out here more than just on Friday nights. But eventually he was going to have to find time to take her out on actual dates–especially if she was going to be a full-time nanny.

  As she told him more about the position, he could see just how it was the perfect fit for her too. There was a lightness to her–a joy–that hadn’t been there a few days ago. Like she’d finally found her calling. He could only wonder if she had spoken to her parents about it yet. Judging by her mood, she hadn’t. He hoped they didn’t crush her enthusiasm.

  “Hey! There are the new love birds!” Donna called out as she approached the bar. Levi watched with amusement as she hugged Willow before turning to him with a knowing smirk.

  So clearly Willow told them about us…

  He hoped she didn’t share too much.

  “Willow and Levi, kissing in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Jen sang as she stepped up next. Winking at him, she said, “Hey, Levi. So, um…what’s new?”

  He rolled his eyes before stepping around the bar and putting his arm around Willow. “Cat’s out of the bag, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said with a soft laugh. “They got it out of me between penis-shaped chocolate-covered bananas, Flirtinis, and big and soft cookies.”

  There were so many things in that statement that needed clarification, but…he opted to simply nod and smile. “Awesome.”

  “Do you serve Flirtinis here, Levi?” Donna asked.

  “Flirtinis?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. It’s just vodka, champagne and pineapple juice served in a martini glass.”

  “We didn’t use martini glasses last night,” Willow chimed in.

  “Well, we had them, but Jen forgot them at home. We had no choice but to make do with wine glasses.”

&
nbsp; “I think that’s why I got so drunk,” Jen said. “You have crazy big wine glasses, Willow.”

  “I got them at the dollar store,” she replied with a shrug. “And you didn’t have to keep filling them up so much.”

  Jen shrugged, and Levi figured it was a good time to break out the champagne. Leaning down, he whispered in Willow’s ear, “Do they know about your good news yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Not yet what?” Donna asked. “Are you trying to find an excuse to leave already so you can go and have sex?”

  “What?! No! Oh, my God! Why would you even think that?”

  “Because you were whispering and being all secretive! No secret telling. Ugh…please don’t be one of those couples that have to keep whispering sexy stuff in each other’s ears. I hate those couples. They’re the worst. Do you two want to be the worst after only dating for like ten minutes?”

  “Hey! It’s been longer than ten minutes,” Willow argued.

  “You can’t count the test drive,” Jen countered. “That doesn’t count.”

  “Test drive?” Levi asked, fairly certain he was going to regret it.

  “Yeah, you know, the whole fake dating thing. It was sort of like a test drive,” Jen explained. “If the two of you weren’t compatible, you probably wouldn’t be here whispering sexy stuff to each other and plotting ways to ditch us and get out of here.”

  “Oh, my God,” Willow groaned. “No one is trying to ditch anyone, and there were no sexy whispers!”

  Figuring this was her chance to share her big news, Levi excused himself to go and get the champagne. Less than a minute later he heard the telltale squeal of good news being celebrated and was glad her friends were being so supportive. He liked knowing she had a strong support network of friends–especially after meeting her parents.

  With a little fanfare, he stepped back behind the bar with the champagne and a big smile. “We’re celebrating, right?” he called out and was rewarded with another round of celebratory squeals and woos!

  He never would have pegged Willow and her friends as woo-girls, but he supposed any group of girls out together and celebrating could easily turn into them.

  He popped the cork and Willow flinched so hard she fell off her stool. Luckily Donna was right there to catch her before she hit the floor.

  My sweet, clumsy girl…

  “Here we go!” he said, handing the first glass to Willow before pouring one for each of her friends and then himself. Normally he never drank while at work, but these were special circumstances. There was no way he was going to miss out on toasting her new job.

  Wait…am I supposed to toast and say something, or should her friends or…

  “To Willow!” Jen called out, taking the decision away from him. “To this exciting new chapter and a career that is absolutely perfect for you! We are all so proud of you for chasing your dream!” She held up her glass, and they all cried out, “To Willow!”

  Levi tapped his glass to hers first–then the girls’–and took a sip before telling her he needed to get back to work. The three of them went and found their usual table, and he knew they were going to spend a lot of time talking about her new job and then about him. And he was okay with it.

  Sort of.

  He only hoped she was flattering in any of the personal stuff she shared–and not so flattering that her friends were going to be ogling him or anything, but just flattering enough that they were impressed and not looking at him sympathetically.

  Or with pity.

  Closing time came sooner than he would have expected, and before he knew it, they were locking the doors and cleaning up. Willow had resumed her seat at the bar and he enjoyed talking with her while he and the staff cleaned up.

  “Hey, Boss,” Anthony said as he came out of the kitchen. “No accidents from Dex tonight. Must be some sort of record, right?”

  Levi chuckled. “We should put up a chart and give him a gold star for every night he doesn’t break something.”

  “It might work. Give him a little motivation for being careful!” Anthony walked away and a few of the wait staff walked around wiping down tables and vacuuming the floor. Within thirty minutes, they were all ready to go.

  Levi took Willow with him to the office after everyone left so he could take care of the receipts for the night and closing down the system. She sat in the lone chair opposite the desk and watched him.

  “I have to say, I would think your boss would be here on a Friday night.”

  Shit…

  “Weekends seem to be so busy. You’d think he’d want to be here to help out.”

  “Um, yeah…about that…”

  “But I guess since you were gone for over a week, he figured you wanted the hours,” she said, smiling at him. “And clearly he trusts you because he puts you in charge, and even the staff calls you boss!” Then she giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever dated someone who was the boss before. It was kind of cool hearing them all call you that.”

  This girl…

  She stood and walked over to him. “So, uh…everyone’s gone, right?”

  Looking up, he saw the look on her face. Knew that tone of voice. Nodding, he said, “Yeah. We’re all alone.”

  “Hmm…” She looked around nervously. “And…no one’s going to come back?”

  “Well, I can’t guarantee that.” He stood and walked around the desk and over to the door, closing it. “But I can guarantee that no one’s coming in here.”

  Her nervous laughter was immediately followed by a giddier one. “Do you think…I mean…can we…?”

  Turning the lock, Levi pushed away from the door. “Oh, yeah. We totally can.”

  And for the first time ever, Levi found a whole other perk to being the boss.

  16

  Two weeks after coming home from their road trip and Willow was still floating on a cloud of pure bliss. She loved being a full-time nanny, and even though juggling Josh and the dogs was a little more challenging than she thought it would be–and she had the skinned knees to prove it–she wouldn’t change a thing.

  Well…okay, there was one thing she would change, but it had nothing to do with her job.

  It had to do with Levi’s.

  Good grief, did he work a lot! Before their trip, when they had those two weeks together to get to know one another, she thought his schedule was flexible, but now that they were dating and trying to spend more time together, she realized it really wasn’t. He worked all the time, and it was like his boss didn’t even care about the pub! Levi was doing all the work! And with her working all day and him working most nights, it didn’t leave a whole lot of time for them to be together.

  Willow wasn’t a big late-night person to begin with, but if she wanted to see Levi, she had to get used to their dates starting at one in the morning.

  That only worked on the weekends.

  During the week, she was busy with Josh and the dogs and didn’t think it was right to take a toddler to the pub. Although it was pretty family-friendly, she just didn’t think the Moores were paying her to go on lunch dates with her boyfriend.

  Something had to give. She knew she could be patient, and eventually Levi’s schedule would have to lighten up. Maybe his boss was giving him the extra hours to make up for the time off he took while taking her to Florida, but…that should have been done by now, right?

  It was Thursday night, and she was getting ready to make herself something to eat when her phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Levi calling to say he took the night off, but when she ran over to grab her phone, she saw her mother’s name and number on the screen.

  Talk about a buzzkill…

  “Hey, Mom,” she said, forcing herself to smile even though her mother couldn’t see her. “How are you?”

  “Fine, sweetheart. Just fine. Listen, I wanted to run something by you.”

  “Oh, okay.” Sitting down on the couch, Willow braced herself for whatever this was going to be.
/>   “You remember Dr. Barrett, don’t you? She’s been with our practice for the last three years.”

  “Yeah, I remember her. Is she okay?”

  “Yes, yes, she’s fine, but her mother isn’t. The poor woman fell when she was getting out of the tub and broke her hip. Now Carol needs to take a leave of absence so she can go and take care of her mother.”

  “O-kay…”

  “Your father and I were talking, and we thought this might be the perfect way for you to test the waters.”

  “Test the waters for…what?” And now her heart was racing for a completely different reason.

  “Willow, you can’t keep avoiding this subject forever. You have a degree, and you need to be using it. Carol said she would be more than willing to let you take on half of her patients while your father and I help with the other half. It would only be a month; a trial run.”

  “Mom…”

  “But you’d need to be here on Monday so you can look over the case files and then start with your first patient on Wednesday. We’d like for you to be prepared.”

  “Mom…” she said with a little more assertion.

  “We’ll pay your airfare, of course. We know you probably can’t afford to fly across the country on such short notice. You’ll stay with us and we’ll cover your rent on your apartment there in New York to help you out. This is really a wonderful opportunity, Willow. Not many people get the opportunity to join a prestigious practice right out of the gate.”

  Pinching the bridge of her nose, Willow willed herself to stay calm. “May I speak now?”

  “Of course, dear. I’m sure you have a ton of questions.”

  “Actually, I don’t.”

  Silence.

  “There’s nothing to ask because there’s nothing I need to know. I’m not accepting the invitation,” she stated, hating the slight tremble in her voice. “I appreciate the offer, and please tell Dr. Barrett that I hope her mother’s recovery goes well, but I will not be coming to Seattle to cover her patients.”

  “Why must you be so difficult?” The exasperation in her mother’s tone was blatant and obvious. “This is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity.”