“Too bad,” Matt said. “And I was ready to see some blood.”
“Shut up.” Levi found Grace with Emily and allowed himself to breathe again. At this point he shouldn’t put anything past Mr. Lane. “Everything okay here?”
“Perfect.” Emily sighed, eyes half-mast. She was in what Levi called her baby high. Seemed that babies were the drug of choice for some women. “I want one.”
“You can’t have this one.”
Emily blinked. “I’ll get my own, thanks. I’ve got Mr. Studly right over there and he loves to practice.”
Stone grinned at Emily from a distance, unaware that his bride-to-be was already plotting against his freedom. Poor sucker. Levi sure hoped he had a head start on a healthy savings account. At least he wouldn’t be blindsided.
“Where’s Carly?” He scanned the crowd again. Not a beautiful and self-conscious blonde in sight.
“She went home,” Emily said. “And by the way, when did you get engaged and why am I the last to know?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AFTER GETTING HOME, taking a shower and getting all the mud out of her hair, Carly forced herself to take care of some bookkeeping. But her mind kept going back to Levi in the office at Magnum Aviation.
I have plans for you. Not here.
Oh, she wanted to hear more about those plans. Considering she had arranged for his engagement without his knowledge, anything else that happened between them after that would have to be his idea. She’d already done enough. And worse, when her tongue had become disengaged from her brain and she’d told Irene they were engaged, she’d failed to consider any women Levi might be dating. What did that lapse in judgment say about her?
Maybe it said that the desperation she’d felt for so long about selling and getting her father some help had spilled over into all areas of her life. Little did Levi know when he’d brought Grace over here to ask for a favor that he’d be swept up into her plans and not the other way around.
But at last this baby business was thriving again after months of being dead in the water. So she didn’t need Levi and his hot kisses and orgasms right now, not even as a nice distraction. Even if, at the moment, a nice distraction and a little bit of fun wouldn’t kill her. But she didn’t need the kissing that made her feel awake for the first time since Mom’s death and Dad’s accident. The touches that made her legs weak enough to match her resolve. She didn’t know if she could stay away, but she had no business getting involved with a single dad.
For the first time in a while, New York was a little seed of an idea taking root. Maybe Dad was right and she hadn’t given it enough of a chance. Jenny was obviously still in the city, so Carly would know at least one person there. She’d checked, and Alec was no longer teaching at the FIT—not that she should let him stop her from enrolling again, anyway.
But she did love Fortune. Loved the small-town mix of rural and suburban. The old working farms and vineyards that butted up against newer housing developments. The residents, nosy, but supportive of every worthy cause that came along. They were good people. She had history here. Good friends like Zoey and Jill. Life was simple here. Easy.
But maybe easy wasn’t what she needed.
Later that evening, she was in the middle of an episode in season two of The Fall, wondering if she should break out her sewing machine and work on a few more dresses for Grace instead of watching a show about a serial killer while alone, when she heard a rustling sound outside. She went to the door, going first by the kitchen to grab her sharpest butcher knife in one hand, cell phone in the other, thumb poised to dial nine-one-one. She peeked through the peephole.
Nothing. Paranoid much?
She went back to the kitchen to put the knife away, then grabbed a soda and stepped out into the fall night. Even if the days had been unusually warm for October, nights were a wake-up call that they were smack-dab in the middle of autumn. Soon, the weather pattern would shift and change. The clocks would be set back, and the days would shorten.
Taking a seat on the tiled porch step, she set her unopened soda can to the side. The night was dark and filled with stars, and the air carried with it a chill that gave her second thoughts about the long-sleeved cotton shirt she wore. Carly closed her eyes and pictured New York City. It would be much colder there now. No one walked outside without a sweater, least of all a native Californian. The sounds of sirens and traffic would fill the air, and neon lights would stay on all night long.
She jumped at the sound of a door closing and turned to see Levi. Hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans, he stared into the velvety black night. She turned in his direction, drawn to him with a pull she couldn’t ignore anymore.
“Hey.” Levi crossed their shared lawn.
He sat next to her on the step, bumping into her thigh. Grinning, too, as if to make it clear it had been no accident. Not saying another word, he reached for her soda, opened the top and handed it to her.
“Where’s Grace?”
“She’s with Cassie tonight.”
Oh, boy. That meant he had a free night. Wide-open. She wondered what he had planned for it and if there was any room for a fake fiancée in his short-term plans. They sat in silence for a few minutes, during which time Carly passed him the soda.
He took a swallow and handed it back to her. “Found out something. Mr. Lane lied to me. There’s no court date. I’m an idiot for letting them spook me the way they did. I know better.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You’re new to this, and they’re not making it easy on you.”
“No, they’re not.” He spread his legs and his long arms hung between them.
“I can imagine it’s harder for Mr. Lane. Fathers and daughters sometimes have...complicated relationships.”
Carly’s father had always worried about her, but especially after Mom’s death. They were separated now by several thousand miles, but the distance worked. Because she had to do this on her own. He would have only tried to rescue her from the tough work she’d had to do by herself, just like Mom had done.
“It’s the only slack I cut him. Can’t imagine what he went through.”
“When my dad fell and broke his hip...at his age, it’s dangerous. We worried we might lose him, too.” She fought for control of her shaky voice. Not going to let her emotions take over, and risk him feeling sorry for her.
“I get it. My parents travel all over the world to places where American civilians often have no business being. I used to worry about them all the time.” He took a big breath. “But it’s one thing to lose a parent. Another to lose a child. Even if they’re grown.”
She nodded. “I can’t possibly understand.”
He studied her. “Tell me about your dad.”
“My dad? Oh, he always had my back. It’s hard to see him like this. Hurting. Not willing to work to get better.”
“Physical therapy is rougher than you might realize. I’ve had a couple friends go through it. It can be not just physically debilitating, but mentally. Only the mentally strong get through it.”
“And he won’t get better if he doesn’t try to adapt to the new hip. My brother says he fights them at every turn. He hates the pain.”
“They all do. But no pain, no gain.”
“I’ve heard that before. Every time I went to the gym.”
“Physical therapy is like the gym on steroids. You know that trainer you love to hate? It’s like that.”
“So no use fighting it, right? Get through the pain and to the other side.”
“Sounds like you’ve been there.”
“No, just nearby.”
He laughed, and she loved the sound of it. His laughter rang into the night and touched her special places with a sharp, hot slice of desire.
“Tell me.”
“In a way, N
ew York was sort of like physical therapy for me. Painful, but I needed to get through it.”
He squinted. “How’s that?”
“Never mind.” He didn’t need to hear about her problems. “Nothing to tell. It just didn’t work out for me.”
His easy acceptance of that, without forcing her to say more, surprised her. All of her friends had pressed, Mom and Dad included. Only Zoey and Jill knew the honest truth. Alec had built her up, just to tear her down.
She’d simply been...devastated.
“Plan B can be interesting. Grace is my plan B.”
Carly was still working her way to plan B. “What was plan A?”
“Plan A, since I was eighteen, was always the air force. My first love. My dad was army, so he gave me a hard time. But I wanted to make my own way. I was going to die there, or stay until they forced me out.”
“I’m sorry, Levi.” She leaned against his shoulder and listened to the pattern of his breathing.
Steady. Measured. So much like the man.
Levi had lost so much. His dreams. They were both, in different ways, readjusting to a new reality. But while she’d struggled to regain her footing, he’d seemed to hit the ground running. Carly admired that about him. He didn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself or blaming Sandy for not contacting him about Grace sooner.
“It’s all good. Still get to fly. I wouldn’t have planned it this way, but I’m still okay.”
She wondered if anything truly upset Levi Lambert. His emotions were cool and guarded, rolled up tight.
“Even with Sandy’s parents in the picture? It’s still okay?”
His jaw seemed tight, the only clue she had that he felt something. “I know how to fight, and she’s worth fighting for.”
She wanted to tell him that she realized it couldn’t be as easy as he made it look. Wanted to let him know that he could confide in her. Tell her everything. Unwind. But she could see in those fathomless blue eyes that Levi Lambert was not an open book.
He reached across her lap, his warm hand brushing against her thigh, and reached for the soda. “What were you doing out here?”
“I thought I heard a noise.” She had heard a noise, but in reality she’d come out here because the four walls were closing in on her. And maybe because, on some level, she’d hoped that Levi would join her.
He quirked a single eyebrow. Opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“What? I would have dealt with whatever I found out here. I’m not as weak as I look.”
“Didn’t say you were weak.”
“I can take care of myself, I mean. I have a good butcher knife. I don’t need a man.”
He groaned. “Pay no attention to me. That’s the sound I make when I’m replaced by a kitchen utensil.”
“A butcher knife. Big and strong and...sharp.”
His blue gaze slid from her eyes to her lips. “You’re not making me feel any better.”
He’d flustered her, and she fought for the right words. “You know what I mean. I...I don’t need a man to fix my problems. I don’t need to be rescued.”
“Tell me. Is there any reason you need a man?” He grinned, a wicked glint in his gaze.
“I think we already established that.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, c’mon. Something tells me you don’t need me to soothe your fragile male ego.”
He snorted. “Ouch.”
She was going from treading water to drowning. “What can I do to make this better?”
He sat beside her, all broody and alpha male testosterone filling the night. His eyes had switched from light and humorous to a dark and heated gaze that had her resolve melting like a chocolate bar left in a hot car. God, she did need him. Now. Not to slay her dragons but to remind her she was alive. A woman.
He stood and crooked his finger.
Oh, boy. He looked so incredibly sexy. A sliver of moonlight glinted in his blond hair. He had that tousled natural look. So...inviting.
She didn’t know what she was—what they were—doing. Still, her feet took her in his direction as if they were the ones making all the decisions now.
She’d been in Levi’s house only once and even then briefly, so now she took it in. A similar floor plan to her own. A brown leather couch dominated the great room, and even though touches of a little girl were everywhere Carly cast her gaze, the overall impression was of one hundred percent American male. The plasma TV was large and in the center of the living room. She noticed a Dallas Cowboys throw on a rocking chair and decided she’d have to forgive him for that.
He was smiling when she turned to him. “Meet with your approval?”
“That’s a big TV.”
He lifted a solid shoulder. “I’m from Texas. We do big...everything.”
While she let that simple statement register, one of his arms reached for her and tugged her in close. And that was the thing about Levi. She imagined that all children and dogs and women everywhere would melt in his arms. He was utterly male. Such a protector. Warm, hard and...safe, somehow.
Then he pulled her farther into the room and toward the laundry, where he opened the door. “Except for Digger. He’s not Texas size.”
She followed him into the laundry room, where there was a small dog pillow occupied by Levi’s even smaller dog. Digger wore a teensy-weensy blue-and-green dog sweater from Zoey’s store that read I’ve Been Pimped, which made Carly smile. He lifted his trembling head, showing her the whites of his eyes, then curled into himself as if he could roll tight enough to disappear.
“Aw. Poor baby.”
“I think he likes the warmth from the dryer.” Levi nodded toward the dog.
“He’s shaking.”
“That’s why I got him the sweater. Believe me, I’ve never put a sweater on a dog in my life. Seems wrong. But I think it’s nerves more than anything else. He still isn’t sure about me.”
“Maybe he was abused by his previous owners.”
“If by abused you mean dropped off at the shelter because he has an uncontrollable bladder, then yes.” Levi squatted in front of him and held out his palm. Digger licked it. “Hey, Digger. This is my friend Carly. Carly, meet Digger.”
Carly one-finger waved. “Why Digger? He’s been digging in the yard?”
“No, but thanks for that image. Maybe something to look forward to. I nicknamed him after my grandfather’s favorite dog. That was before I realized Emily would take that as some kind of a sign.”
“Why?”
“When I flew him out to Washington for his adoption, the family didn’t show up. Emily thought that meant Digger and I must have been meant for each other. She had zero mercy on me when I reminded her that I have Grace.”
Carly bent low beside him to pat Digger’s bony head. “That’s okay. Kids need pets.”
“Maybe so, just don’t know about babies. When I introduced them, her eyeballs got as wide as if she’d seen a monster. Digger stared back. Then he peed all over my hand, and I’m pretty sure Grace did the same in her diaper.”
Digger turned in a circle over his doggie bed three times, then plopped down with a satisfied doggie sigh.
“It’s nice of you to take him in.”
“Well, it’s only temporary.”
“Sure.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I guess I’m going to get too attached to the little thing. I haven’t stepped on him yet, so that’s promising.”
She tried not to stare at this man who was such a mix of things she’d never expected to find. He had the outward appearance of someone who’d been plucked out of one life and thrown in an alternative universe. One in which he was suddenly a family man, with a baby and a dog to boot.
Levi closed the door to the laundry room and shoved his hands in h
is pants pockets. “Carly, I don’t want you doing anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. Like being here. Alone with me.”
“I said I’m not afraid of you. Why won’t you believe me?”
“So...you’re okay with all this?”
“Like the orgasms, you mean?”
He gave her a slow smile. “For starters.”
“I’m not exactly a virgin. I know what I’m doing with a man.”
One arm came up on either side of her and caged her near the wall. “I know, but are you ready to take orders?”
“Um.” She squirmed.
“No. Not ready yet.”
“Neither one of us is looking for something permanent.” She wanted...needed another kiss from Levi. “But what if I want some small part of...this?”
In case there was still any question, she licked her lips.
He cupped her chin. “What part?”
“You.”
With a slow grin, his hands settled on her hips and in one swift move he pulled her flush against him. Every inch of her in close contact with his body. Close. So close. He thrust one powerful leg between her thighs and kissed her. Not shy, and not at all tenderly or with any hint of hesitation. Instead, his plundering and madly wicked tongue promised her a wild ride. His hand slid down her back to cup her ass and lift her to him. She kept kissing him, over and over again, unable to break away.
He tasted so good she almost forgot that she wasn’t quite dressed for seduction. She’d walked over here wearing a Green Day T-shirt that had seen better days and her old and faded jeans. Not exactly the outfit she’d love to wear to seduce a man. But right now, right here, Levi was all she needed. Wanted. She wasn’t going to think about anything else. Not RockYourBaby, not Grace, not their fake engagement and not New York. Nothing but this moment.
No one gets hurt.
She broke the kiss. Hands wrapped around his powerful neck, she gazed into warm blue eyes. “Levi.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s not stop this time.”
She wrapped her legs around his hips, wanting to climb him like a monkey. She buried her face in his neck, licking him while he carried her into the bedroom. When he tossed her on the bed, she bounced and rolled on her back. A quick glance around the room, and she noted the baby monitor on the nightstand. But no worries that Grace would interrupt them tonight. No, Carly had him all to herself.
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