I shook my head. “Tanner sees Levi’s life as the one he should be living. So I’m certain seeing Levi and me together would not go over well. It would be a disaster, really.”
Harper wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound pleasant. I guess we’re just going to have to find you another man to—what did Fern call it?—boink. We’re going to have to find you another man to boink. That shouldn’t be too hard. I read an article on the flight down that said there’re a hundred-and-sixty-million men in the United States. Finding one to make you forget all about Levi shouldn’t be so hard.”
I nodded and smiled, though all I could think was… A hundred-and-sixty-million men in the United States, and of course, the only one I’ve wanted badly in years is the one I can’t have. Great. Just great.
CHAPTER 9
* * *
Presley
“I still cannot believe how much we got done this week.” After returning from the bathroom, I looked around the inn in amazement.
Apparently a visit from Harper was just what I needed. Over the last four days, not only had we painted six of the fourteen bedrooms, we’d also painted the living room, ordered new window treatments, and had all of the rotted pipes on the second floor replaced by a reasonably priced plumber whose name I’d gotten from Jeremy.
Harper had also offered to help with publicity for the grand reopening, and somehow talked both the local paper and local news station into agreeing to cover the huge event she told them I’d be throwing to celebrate next month. It had been a whirlwind few days, and I was exhausted, but also sad that she was flying back home tomorrow.
Earlier we’d gone to dinner at one of the local restaurants, and now we were sitting around drinking spiked lemonade. Mine was going right to my head. I’d dug out some old photo albums to show Harper what the inn had looked like back in the day, and she sat flipping through the pages.
“Wow, Tanner was super hot in college.”
I peeked over her shoulder at the photo she was checking out. “Ummm…that’s not Tanner. That’s Levi. I think you’re looking at one of the scrapbooks his grandfather made. He made books of both his grandsons. But Levi has a few more since his career didn’t end as soon as his brother’s.”
She flipped a few more pages and stopped on a shirtless picture of Levi taken in front of the inn. He was all dirty and had on work gloves, leaning one elbow on a shovel. His bare chest glistened in the sun.
Harper lifted the book closer. “Damn, I might need to start watching football. He’s something else all sweaty.”
“That picture looks like it was taken in the last few years, probably during spring planting,” I told her. “As far back as I can remember, the brothers would come over to The Palm Inn every year and plant all the flowers out front. They were probably only six and eight years old when that tradition started. I know from talking to Thatcher that Levi was still doing it even last year. He’s a Super Bowl MVP and flew home for a weekend every April to plant his grandfather’s flowers. Obviously, he could have afforded to send a gardener in his place, but he never did. I guess it’s things like that that confuse me about how Levi can sell this place so easily. The Palm Inn meant so much to his grandfather and the entire family.”
Harper flipped another page. “Did Tanner come home every year to help, too?”
I shook my head. “He stopped doing it in college.”
On the next page was a newspaper advertisement. Levi had done an underwear modeling campaign for Adidas. Harper pointed to the very noticeable bulge in his gray boxer briefs. “They stuff these sometimes, you know.”
“I’ve seen the man up close and personal in his underwear. There’s no stuffing going on there.”
“Wow.” Harper picked up her lemonade and gulped back the rest. “Is it getting warm in here?”
I sighed. “Tell me about it.”
Harper flipped a few more pages before shutting the book. “I think we need a plan B.”
“For the inn?”
“No, for the innkeeper. Screw forgetting about Levi. I think you should fuck him out of your system.”
I laughed. “I think you’ve had too many spiked lemonades.”
“Oh, I definitely have. But hear me out.” She shifted in her seat, pulling one knee up on the couch to face me. “Why does Tanner or anyone have to know? You and Levi are both adults. Clearly you want to boink him, and from everything you’ve told me, it sounds like the feeling is mutual. He’s only here for a little while longer, so it’s not like things could get too serious. Why not screw him so you can move on?”
“We’re going to need refills for this conversation. Hang on a minute.” I got up and went to the kitchen to get the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator.
“Hey!” Harper yelled from the living room. “Grab your notebook with your to-do list while you’re in there!”
“Okay.”
I emptied the remainder of the pitcher into our glasses and set the notebook down on the table.
“I think I was too shortsighted earlier in the week,” Harper said.
I chuckled. “I think your vision miraculously improved when you got a look at what’s in Levi’s pants.”
She pointed at me. “Maybe, but humor me for a minute anyway. You’re lusting over this man, right?”
Considering I’d dreamed about Levi hovering over me again last night, I didn’t bother to deny the truth. “I’m definitely attracted to him, yes.”
“And if you continue to keep your distance, is that going to change?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She leaned forward and opened a random page on the scrapbook she’d been thumbing through. Of course, she just happened to open to the underwear ad again. Tapping the page with her nail, she said, “The answer to that question is a big, fat no. That is not going to change. How could it? We’re attracted to who we’re attracted to. So if it’s not going to change, why suffer through the next month or however long he’s here? Fuck him out of your system. Have a no-strings-attached fling—one no one has to know about.”
I chewed on my nail. “I don’t know. That sounds easy, but the reality would be different.”
“Why? Because it will be tough when he leaves and it’s over?”
I shrugged. “That’s one reason.”
“You’re already into this guy. Isn’t it going to be tough when he leaves after you spend another month secretly going to bed with your hand down your panties thinking about him anyway?”
She’d nailed that. “I guess.”
“So why not enjoy that time? It’s going to suck when he leaves either way.”
“What if we get caught?”
“By who? Fern? Pretty sure she’d high five you both and keep her mouth shut. The only other person in this big, old place is Alex. That’s easily solved with a lock on the door and your face pressed into a pillow to muffle the screaming from multiple orgasms.”
“I don’t know…” God, I must’ve been drunker than I thought because Harper was starting to make sense. Or maybe it was the thought of multiple orgasms. It had been a while…