“No,” he answers quickly. “Why the hell would I be jealous of Benny?”
I offer him a bemused smile but decide to drop it. I can tell he isn’t in a joking mood, and I want to have fun today. I can’t wait to see what he has planned for us.
“Benny is changing the oil in my car, that’s all.” Turning around, I walk in the direction of Levi’s truck and he falls in step beside me. “It’s not a big deal.”
His fingers run through his hair, mussing it up, and I nearly trip over my own feet. He’s too sexy for his own good. It should be a crime to look as hot as he does. “I know,” he huffs. “Let’s get out of here.” He opens the door of his truck, offering a hand to help lift me up. Once I’m in and buckled, he shuts the door and jogs over to his side before climbing in.
“Where are we going?” He looks over at me with a smile, his cerulean eyes dancing with happiness . . . much different from how they looked just moments ago. I smile back, simply because there isn’t any other choice.
“You’ll have to wait and see.” Levi fishes his keys out of his pocket and starts his truck. Then he makes one last check in his rearview mirror and off we go.
“I love surprises.” Rolling the window down, I stick my arm out and lean back in my seat.
“I know you do,” he says quietly, sparing me a quick glance. I cringe, internally berating myself for bringing up the last time the two of us talked about surprises. That was a horrible night, and the last thing in the world I want is for him to be thinking about
that.
“Well, it hasn’t changed. Plus, you’re starting a trend here. This is two surprises in two weeks. If you keep this up, I’m going to start expecting it.”
Like a good boy, he keeps his eyes on the road, but a soft smile splits his face. “Duly noted.”
Leaning forward, I flick on the radio and Chris Daughtry’s sultry voice floats through the speakers. “I love this song.” Relaxing in my seat, I close my eyes and let the lyrics from “Home” seep inside of me. Levi is humming, and if I thought lying next to him and looking up at the stars was heaven, then I was sorely mistaken—
this
is heaven.
“Laney—” Someone touches my shoulder and I startle awake.
“Hey. Sorry,” I say when I see it’s just Levi. “I guess I fell asleep. How long have you been driving?”
His brows furrow. “Not long. Fifteen minutes. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired.”
“You’re always tired. And you don’t look that well.” I cock my eyebrow and he quickly continues, “You just look tired and you have dark circles under your eyes. If you’re not up for this, I can take you home. We can do it another time.” His words are laced with genuine concern and that warms my heart.
“No.” I shake my head. There is no way I’m going home. I’m not letting this monster stop me from doing whatever Levi has planned. “Where are we anyway?” Sitting up in my seat, I look out the window, effectively dismissing any further talk about being tired or going home. SENIOR CENTER is written in large black letters across the front of a building and I look at Levi. “You brought me to a senior center?” I ask dryly, giving him a curious glance.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Laney.” He smirks at me as he turns off the truck. Then he hops down and walks over to my door, opening it for me. I take his outstretched hand and when I jump out of the truck, my body slides down the front of his, and he sucks in a sharp breath.
“Sorry,” I murmur, stepping away. He grabs my arm and I stop. I expect him to whip me around like it happens in all those romance novels I read, but he doesn’t. He tugs gently on my arm, and I turn around and look at him. I’d give anything to know what he’s thinking. The air around us buzzes with electricity, and butterflies have taken flight in my stomach. I have no idea how I affect him, but he sure as heck does something crazy to me.
I’d give anything to have the freedom to touch him or kiss him again anytime I want, but I lost that privilege. His hand drops from my arm and I close my eyes in defeat, vowing to hold myself together. When I feel his fingers slip between mine, goose bumps scatter up my arm and my eyes flutter open. I look down at our joined hands and hope starts churning deep inside of me.
“Laney?” His voice is hoarse with raw emotion. I glance up and he steps into me, our fronts molding together. My heart is beating so fast that I’m certain it’s going to fly right out of my chest. His free hand makes its way to my hip and I take a deep breath, relishing the way his long fingers curl around me.
This is happening, and he’s orchestrating it. All of it. I’ve given him complete control. My body is his puppet. His touch is controlling everything from the rate of my heartbeat to the depth of my breath to the tingle in my toes. Right this second, I’m breathing for him, not with him, and I will only move when he moves.
His large hand sits at the base of my waist and he gives it a light squeeze. His eyes are two pools of swirling water, and I want nothing more than to dive inside and drown in his soul. Resurfacing is not an option because I need him more than I need my next breath.
When his head lowers, my stomach flutters in the best possible way. His nose brushes against mine, our warm breath mingling in the evening air. His chin drops and his lips land lightly on mine. It’s perfect. This moment with Levi is absolutely perfect.
“Levi! Get your ass—” Levi pulls back and looks up, clearing his throat as his hand falls from my hip. My body is instantly cold, and I turn around to see Harley standing outside the door. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly, looking away. “We, um . . . we need to get started.” She looks at the door and then back at us. “But if you need a few more—”
“We’ll be right in.” Levi’s voice is clipped but not rude, and I wonder if it’s because he wanted that kiss as badly as I did or because he’s glad she interrupted before he could make a monumental mistake. He looks confused when his gaze meets mine again, and he runs a hand through his hair. “I, uh . . . about that . . . can we just . . .” His stuttering is cute, but I decide to put him out of his misery. I hate that he feels uncomfortable.
“It’s fine, Levi. Let’s just go inside. We can talk later, okay?” I walk past him toward the door and when he doesn’t follow, I turn around. His chest rises on a deep breath, and for a split second I think he’s going to say something . . . but he doesn’t. He nods his head and then walks toward me.
We head inside and I stop dead in my tracks. The room is filled with people of all ages, from tiny babies to the elderly and every stage in between. But that’s not what catches my attention. It’s obvious that they’re all either homeless or severely poor and malnourished.
My head whips around to Levi and he shrugs. “You said that one of the greatest things you ever did was volunteer—oomph.” His words are cut off when I throw myself at his chest, my arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders.
“Thank you,” I whisper into his neck. “Thank you so much.”
Levi’s arms wrap around me, and with one of his hands he cups the back of my head. “You’re welcome.”
“As much I enjoy seeing you two all cuddly, it’s really starting to creep me out. Are we going to feed these people or what?” Harley asks, hands on hips.
Levi laughs and I untangle myself from his arms. “We’re going to feed these people.” Rubbing my hands together excitedly, I walk away from Levi and Harley and make my way over to the kitchen.
Several people are wearing aprons, busying themselves around the room. I walk up to an elderly woman and tap her on the shoulder. She turns to me with the sweetest smile and I ask, “Where do you want me?”
Her smile gets just a little bit bigger and she points toward the stove. “Over there would be great, dear.” She hands me an apron, and I slip it over my head and tie the string around my back. Stepping up to the stove, I look around to see what still needs to be done. A gentleman next to me hands me a wooden spoon and then startles the heck out of me when he kisses my cheek. I look at him with wide, amused eyes and he winks, pointing to my apron. I look down and sure enough, written in large red letters across my chest, it says ‘Kiss The Cook.’
“You’re the cook,” he mutters, patting me gently on the cheek before turning away.
I sense him before I feel him, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, and within seconds, the front of Levi’s body is resting against my back. “No fraternizing with the other workers, especially of the male variety.” He leans over my shoulder to look at what I’m stirring and I throw my head back, laughing. Levi’s eyes find mine when my head lands on his chest, and awareness simmers beneath my skin. His warm breath fans the side of my face, causing our almost-kiss from the parking lot to pop into my head. My laugh softens to a light purr and Levi’s eyes spark with lust. “I’m still thinking about it too,” he whispers, giving me a devilish smile before pushing past me to grab a spoon out of the drawer.
The next several hours fly by in a joyous flurry. We cooked, served and mingled, and I laughed more than I’ve laughed in the past several months. These people are absolutely amazing, and it reminds me so much of the place in California where I used to volunteer. Levi doesn’t know it yet, but I plan to come back here as often as I can. This is where I’m most happy. Helping people that actually need it and appreciate it. This brings me peace. I imagine it’s because I didn’t grow up in the best conditions, and if I can make someone’s life a little bit better or put some food in their empty bellies, then, by gosh, I’ll do it.
“Honey—” I look up and a frail-looking woman, probably in her eighties if I had to guess, is standing in front of me. “Is there any of that food left over?” She puts a fist to her mouth and coughs several times.
“Are you okay?” My hand rests on her shoulder, and she shakes her head as she breaks out into another coughing fit. Gripping her elbow in one hand and wrapping an arm around her back, I lead her over to a nearby table and help her sit down. Her coughing fit dies down once again and she apologizes.
“Don’t be sorry. Please don’t be sorry. Are you okay?” I ask again, concerned that something might be seriously wrong with her.
“I’ll be fine, dear. It’s just a cold. Nothing a little cough medicine won’t cure.” She runs a withered hand over her forehead and swallows, her loose-fitting dentures shifting in the process. “What I could really use is some of that food if you’ve got some extra.”
“You stay right here and I’m going to go see what I can come up with.” She pats my hands and offers me a soft smile. Most of the food is gone, but I saw someone stuff a large bowl of spaghetti into the refrigerator earlier. Walking into the kitchen, I pull open the cabinets to look for something to put it in.
“What are you doing?” Levi asks.
I shut a set of doors and move to the next when I don’t find what I’m looking for. “That woman out there needs to take some food home. I’m looking for a container.” My eyes scan the shelf, but there’s nothing except glass dishes and cups.
“Here.” Levi walks to the refrigerator and pulls out the bowl. “Just give her all of it.”
“Really?” I ask, turning toward him. “The Senior Center won’t mind? I mean, I can make arrangements to get it from her and I’ll make sure it gets back—”
“It’s fine,” Levi says, waving me off. “Laney, I provide the meals for this place to feed those from both the homeless shelter and women’s shelter nearly every day of the week. I assure you, they won’t mind if a bowl goes missing.”
“Thank you.” I don’t give him time to respond. Moving past him, I take the bowl to the woman and her face lights up. That look slams into me something fierce. She looks so excited and it breaks my heart because I hate the thought of this woman ever not having enough food. She reaches for the glass bowl and I shake my head.
“I’ll carry it for you. Let me walk you out.” Her tiny feet shuffle along the floor next to me. When we make it outside, she turns to me, her hands outstretched and waiting.
“Where’s your car?” This woman can barely hold her purse; there is no way I’m going to let her carry this glass bowl. I look around the empty lot but come up short when only Levi’s truck remains.
“Oh, I don’t have a car, honey. But it’s okay, I don’t live far.”
“Well, where do you live?”
She points to a small blue house across the street. “Right there. See, no need for a car,” she says with a laugh, which once again turns into a coughing fit.
“Let me walk you over there.”
“Really?” Her surprised look absolutely floors me. Has no one ever done anything nice for this woman?
“Absolutely.” The door behind us opens, and I peek over my shoulder to find Levi walking out.
“What’s up?” he asks, stepping up behind us.
“Mrs. . . .” I realize then that I haven’t even gotten her name. When I look at her, she catches on quickly.
“Mary. It’s just Mary.”
“Mary lives right across the street. I’m going to walk this over there with her real quick, if that’s okay.”
“Sure. I can drive you—”
“Nope,” Mary says, shaking her head. “I need the exercise. It’s good for the ticker.” She pats her hand over her heart and Levi laughs.
“Then by all means—” He waves for us to proceed and I mouth ‘be right back’ to him.
“He’s a handsome little devil,” Mary remarks as we make our way across the street.
“He is, isn’t he?” She nods her head and pulls a single key from the pocket of her cotton pants as we stroll up her sidewalk. After she unlocks the door, we walk in and she directs me to the kitchen. Her house is small with narrow walkways, torn rugs and stained furniture, but the dozens of pictures hanging on the walls somehow make it feel cozy. I stand in front of one of the walls that is peppered with pictures, and my eyes hone in on the picture in the center. It’s an old black-and-white photo of a couple on their wedding day. The woman looks absolutely stunning wearing a white lace gown. “Is this you?”
“It is.” I look over at Mary and watch as she kicks off her shoes and plops down on the couch, a haze of dust floating up around her. “That’s my Ronald. He died twelve years ago last month, and there isn’t a day that goes by I don’t wish he was still here.” My heart sinks at the thought that I might never have this—a wall full of photos depicting all the best times in my life.