All of that aside, how the hell could I be there for Presley with my crazy schedule and the fact that I lived in Colorado half the year? There were so many reasons this couldn’t work. So many things that should have turned me off. And yet she was all I wanted right now.
Alex’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear what I said, Uncle Levi?”
“Hmm?” I shook my head. “I’m sorry. Repeat it.”
“I told Caden that Alex was really short for Alejandro, like the Lady Gaga song, and he believed me! So now all the kids are calling me Alejandro.”
I chuckled. “I think that suits you.”
He turned to his mother. “Can I have dessert?”
“Sure, honey.” Presley stood and walked over to the freezer where she took out a carton of ice cream. She scooped some into a bowl and handed it to him. Then she turned to me. “You want some?”
She blushed soon after. The way she said it sounded like she was asking me if I wanted something else.
“I do.” I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. “And probably seconds.”
“Two bowls?” Alex said with his mouth full. “That’s a lot of ice cream. You’ll get an upset stomach.”
I kept my eyes on her. “There are some things you can never have too much of.”
She turned redder, and I freaking loved it. I was so damn hungry right now.
After dessert, Alex put his bowl in the sink and skipped off to his room. Presley was at the sink when I snuck up behind her. Sensing the heat of my body, she shut the water off and turned around.
“Can I help you?” she teased.
“Yes, actually, you can.” I leaned in to kiss her neck.
She arched her head toward the stairs. “We need to be careful.”
“I can do that. I can be really quiet, too, if I have to. I’d love to show you that talent tonight.”
“Not quiet enough…” Fern said as she waltzed into the room.
Shit.
Goddammit.
Presley yanked her body away from me. Earlier, I’d had to explain to her what Fern’s text meant. I’d wired the old lady the ten grand before dinner—not because I felt she deserved it, but because I’ve never been one to default on a bet. Plus, I needed to do everything in my power to make sure Fern kept her big trap shut. Needless to say, Presley was not happy when I told her.
Presley turned to her. “Fern, just to be clear, we need your utmost discretion about what you overheard. You can’t mention it to anyone, even people you think you can trust. You know how fast things travel around this town. We can’t risk Alex or anyone else finding out.”
Fern smirked. “You have my word. The last thing I want is to cause trouble. Thatcher would never forgive me if I did. And for the record, I’m rootin’ for y’all. It’s scandalous as hell, but it was inevitable.” She winked. “And what your brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He certainly ain’t gonna hear nuthin’ from me.”
Just the mention of Tanner made my stomach turn.
“Well, thank you. I really appreciate it,” Presley said.
“There’s nothing better than living vicariously through young love.” She winked again.
Love? I hadn’t thought about whether I actually loved Presley, but given that I’d never felt these feelings before, there was a damn good chance this could be developing into that.
Before I could even begin to respond to her statement, I heard footsteps and Alex entered the kitchen. He lifted something up to show us. I soon recognized it as my belt. My damn belt. The same one I’d whipped off and thrown on the floor in Presley’s room today, right before I buried myself inside her. I couldn’t even deny it was mine because it had my friggin’ initials monogrammed on the buckle.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
“I found your belt on the floor in Mom’s room, Uncle Levi. I thought maybe Mom borrowed my iPad again, so I was looking for it in there. This was on the floor.”
Presley’s face was red as a beet. She was probably ready to shit a brick.
Snapping my fingers, I said, “That’s where it is! Thank you. I was looking for it.” I took the belt from him. “I ate too much for lunch, and I took it off when I was fixing that light in your mom’s bedroom. Totally forgot I did that.”
“Too much ice cream, maybe?” He laughed.
He seemed to buy it.
“Yup. I think you were right. I need to stop eating so much before I make myself sick.”
Alex shrugged and disappeared again.
Presley and I let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I’d love to know what you were really doing with that belt,” Fern quipped.
CHAPTER 15
* * *
Presley
Warm lips touched my bare shoulder as I stood at the kitchen sink. When I turned, Levi was licking his lips. “Why do you taste salty?”
“Umm…that’s dried sweat you just had your mouth on. While you were busy sleeping in until almost ten, I finished painting the last of the living room moldings, scrubbed the floors, and polished a set of black candlesticks until they turned silver again.”
He grinned and tugged a wayward piece of my hair hanging in my face. “I did sleep pretty late. Must’ve been all the exercise I got yesterday. You know, if you’re already sweaty…”
I felt warmth bloom in my belly, yet I nudged Levi back with a laugh. We’d almost gotten caught a few times over the last week, and we needed to be more careful. “Alex is outside riding his bike. He could burst in at any second.”
Levi pouted. It was adorable. “Fine. I guess I’ll go to Home Depot to get mollies for the pictures you want me to hang in the living room, then.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Thank you.”
“You need anything while I’m out?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
He winked. “Be back in a little while.” But he stopped as he reached the kitchen door, looking into the living room. He held out a hand to me. “Come here.”
I walked over and stood next to him. “What?”
“Do you remember what this place looked like when you got here?”
“Yeah.”
“Look at it now. Take a good look.”
I studied the living room. It looked incredible, if I might say so myself. The walls that had been peeling were freshly painted, old, scuffed-up floors had been sanded and refinished, soot-stained stones on the fireplace had been scrubbed and polished until they sparkled, and colorful new window treatments and matching throw pillows on the couch lit up the room.
I sighed. “It does look pretty great, doesn’t it?”
Levi nodded. “It does, and that’s all you. I think I was about ten the last time this place looked like this. It even smells awesome. You’ve done an amazing job, Presley.”
I smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
Levi looked into my eyes. I thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “I’ll be back.”
A few minutes after he left, my cell phone rang. Seeing Harper’s face on the screen, I plopped down on the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table with a smile.