grifter—”
“Grifter? As in con man?” Elise laughed, picking up a baby carrot. “Nice try, but, seriously, you know exactly who he is and what he does. His clubs make the entertainment news enough that he’s practically a public figure.”
“That’s what he does, Elise. Not who he is.” The cajoling, half-teasing tone was gone as her sister looked her straight in the eye. “We’ve always talked to each other. Been there for each other, when no one else could understand what we were going through. The stuff with Mom and Dad—no one got that but you and I. Not David. Not Eric. It’s always been you and me. But with Levi, you tell me less and less every time I see you. What gives?”
“It’s not that I’m trying to exclude you.” She shifted, uneasy with what wasn’t exactly the truth. “I’m just trying to figure a few things out.”
“Like where the relationship is going?” Ally asked, her tone pitching toward hopeful. “Because it’s more serious than you thought?”
No and yes. She knew exactly where the relationship was heading. Straight for a dead end. But it was more serious than what she’d planned.
They’d spent every night together for a week now. And the night before, when she’d been waiting for him to finish at HeadRush, all she’d been thinking was how good it would feel to sleep with his arms around her. Sleep!
So wrong.
She’d known from almost the start, this wasn’t just sex. What she hadn’t been prepared for was just how much more it would be … to her. And to try and explain that to someone else, when she didn’t even want to admit it to herself—no.
This thing with Levi was … different. But he was exactly what she needed—what she wanted, right now. She just couldn’t let the emotions that were ready to run get away from her.
Still, Ally didn’t deserve to be shut out. Fortunately, she had a bone to throw. “I’ll tell you this. Levi thinks he’s got someone who wants Bruno. We’re meeting him this Saturday.”
Ally’s eyes lit up, welled around the edges as she reached out and grabbed Elise’s hand. “Really? Do you know anything about him?”
“He likes to run. Lives about an hour out of the city—”
“Wait.” The hand gripping hers squeezed tight. “This isn’t like you telling me that Bruno’s going to live ‘on a farm’ or something, is it?”
Elise shook her head, laughing at a typical Ally response. “No, I swear. Levi said he’s an older guy … early fifties maybe. Divorced. He works from home and had a Great Dane that died this past year. He’d been waiting to get a new one, but thinks he’s ready now.”
“Oh, my God, he sounds perfect!”
Elise’s heart swelled at the memory of Levi sweeping her around in a half circle and laying that triumphant kiss on her before telling her about his busboy’s dad, and the whys and why-nots of the people he’d talked to about Bruno already and how this guy seemed to be the best fit. “I know. I couldn’t believe he’d been looking for someone like that.”
The corner of Ally’s mouth shifted up in line with her brow. “I wasn’t talking about Levi … but knowing you think he’s perfect might be enough to satisfy my curiosity about the guy. At least for another day or so.”
Elise’s throat went tight and dry, choking back the denial surging within her. Only even if she’d been able to force the words free, what would it get her? Her sister wondering why the heck she’d be trying to convince her Levi wasn’t perfect … or if Elise might be trying to convince herself.
“You going to be on your best behavior, boy?”
Levi crouched in front of Bruno, nose to nose, rubbing the short hair of the canine’s neck as he gave him a little man-to-man.
Bruno huffed at the air, his back paws shifting over and again.
“Yeah, you’re going to be good.”
Elise watched the exchange, uncomfortable with the way her heart kept doing that little flipping business and her arm kept moving as though to reach out for Levi.
“You going to be okay?” she asked, trailing her fingertips across one strong shoulder.
Levi glanced back at her, braced his palms on his thighs and pushed himself to stand. “He’ll be fine.”
Elise cocked her head at him, noting how, even now, Levi was rubbing his hand over Bruno’s knobby head. “I meant you.”
That gruff laugh and wry smile were pulling at her again. Making her want to step into his arms and soak up his warmth.
Instead, she turned away. Walked the few feet down the paved path by Museum Campus, watching the waves of Lake Michigan while she tried to put her head back on straight. She wasn’t supposed to like him this much. She wasn’t supposed to get attached. And yet, how could she fight it when every time an opportunity arose—and half the time one hadn’t—Levi was there, showing her what a wonderful guy he was. Tempting her to imagine him in all the places she’d thought he’d never fit.
Down a ways, two little boys lined up by the water fountain. One trying to boost the other up to reach it, but not nearly big enough to do so. A couple stood a few paces off, hands linked together, matching smiles stretched across their faces. After watching a handful of unsuccessful attempts, the man dropped a kiss at the woman’s temple and stepped in, sweeping the boys into one arm each to hold them up for their drinks.
A family.
To have one of her own had been her dream. For the longest time, if anyone asked her what she wanted from life … the scene playing out across the park would have been a piece of it.
She’d had the chance to make it happen with Eric. But the timing hadn’t been right and, when faced with what it would cost her, she hadn’t been willing to make the sacrifice.
“You can’t ask me to choose.”
“And you can’t ask me to spend my life coming in second place in yours. If you love me, you’ll come with me … you’ll pick us.”
Levi’s wide hand wrapped over shoulder, drawing her back a step into the solid strength of his hold. His breath teased into her hair.
“What are you thinking about?”
What another man who’d been leaving had offered her. Something she’d been telling herself for the last year she didn’t want—didn’t have time for—but seemed to be thinking about more and more over the past two weeks regardless.
Pulling out of Levi’s grasp, she smoothed a smile into place and turned to face him. “Nothing. Doesn’t matter.”
Levi’s brow drew down, his mouth firming into a flat line as those deep blue eyes tried to probe the thoughts she didn’t want him to see.
A hoarse call of Levi’s name had his attention reluctantly shifting over her shoulder. Tightening the leash looped around his wrist, he stroked Bruno’s head with his free hand. “This is it, boy. Whole new life ahead of you.”
The exchange hadn’t taken long. It was clear from the minute Bruno and his new owner laid eyes on each other, they were going to hit it off just fine. A half-hour later Levi and Elise were walking back to her place alone.
She’d seemed withdrawn afterwards. Her arms wrapped tight around herself and Levi’d experienced the unpleasant sensation of Elise shutting him out. Though it drove him nuts that she didn’t want to talk to him, he understood how hard saying goodbye to Bruno had been. And unfortunately there was nothing he could do to fix it. Short of going out and buying her a new puppy, that was—which didn’t make a whole lot of sense considering the whole point had been to get rid of this one.
Regardless of the attachment they might have