“You don’t believe it?” Jane asked.
“Sugar Plum, I’m not even sure you believe it.”
“I have food,” she said inanely.
Levi was back. “What takeout is it?”
“It’s not. I actually cooked. It’s your mom’s meatloaf.”
Levi’s eyes widened. “She gave you the recipe?”
She nodded.
“She never gives anyone the recipe. Her own sister died without ever acquiring the recipe, and there were many, many attempts.”
She gave him a smile that she hoped was her usual wattage. “She likes me.” She took the bag back and carried it into the kitchen. She divided the leftover meatloaf into three portions and carried everything out to the living room, where they all sat squished on the couch and ate while watching Jeopardy!
Before Levi, she’d never eaten a family dinner like the one at his house, with fancy china at a decorated table that had looked like something off Pinterest. Here at her grandpa’s, they were feet up on the coffee table, Grandpa yelling out all the answers to Jeopardy!
Even if her life had depended on it, Jane wouldn’t have been able to say which dinner had been better. They’d both felt . . . right.
It’s still not real . . .
Problem was, it felt real, more real than anything in her entire life.
After dinner, Levi followed her home. He parked and opened her door before she freed herself of her seat belt.
“This is usually where we argue about me walking you to your door,” he said. “But just FYI, I’m still going to. Not because you’re not capable of taking care of yourself, but because it’s the right thing to do, and . . .” He smiled. “It gives me an extra few minutes with you, where I plan on stealing at least one kiss and hopefully copping a feel as well.”
“You’re going to get more than that.” Yes, she was crazy to spend another night with him knowing she could no longer separate her feelings for him from the physical act of being with him, but she didn’t care. She wanted him, even if it was for the last time.
They walked hand in hand to the door. On the porch, he looked around. “Where’s Cat?”
“It’s a surprise. Do you have a minute?”
He cupped her face and smiled. “For you, I’ve got all the minutes.”
Her heart squeezed, which she tried to ignore. She unlocked the front door with her own key—smiling when Levi looked surprised at the fact she didn’t knock first. Still holding his hand, she tugged him into the living room and turned to the couch. “Levi, meet Zoe and Mariella, two of my roommates.”
Zoe and Mariella sat up straight. Zoe dusted some chip crumbs off her shirt and Mariella pointed at Jane. “Hey, you do know our names,” she teased.
Jane felt her face heat up and heard Levi’s soft laugh, but then there was a loud, demanding meow and they all looked down at the large gray cat unfurling herself from where she’d been lying in front of the woodstove. Chirping in happiness, she ran over to Jane.
“You invited her in?” Levi asked, crouching down to smile at Cat, who bumped her head against Levi’s thigh, demanding to be petted.
Levi obliged and Jane found herself rubbing her aching chest as she stared down at two of her favorite living creatures. She no longer had any idea how she was supposed to do this and then leave at the end of the season. But she did know it was going to hurt like hell.
“Saw your name painted on your door,” Zoe said. “Congrats.”
“For what?”
Zoe smiled. “For coming in out of the storm along with Cat.”
Damn. She felt her face heat up again, but not from embarrassment this time. It was an overload of something she almost didn’t recognize—contentment. Which meant, of course, she was doomed. She didn’t have a lot of experience with contentment, but she knew one thing for absolute certain.
It never lasted.
“Show me your door,” Levi said softly in her ear.
Which was how she found herself taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.
Levi smiled at the prominently painted JANE and the landscape. “Nice. You going to invite me in too? Like you did Cat?”
“It’s a little messy.”
“I like a little messy,” he said and kissed her softly. Letting her know he liked her just as she was.
A powerful realization. A little flummoxed, she pushed the door open and walked in. Levi followed, nudged the door closed with his foot, then turned her in his arms to face him. He let his smile fade as he looked into her eyes. “You’re an enigma, Jane, and I love that about you. You have all these secret compartments and hidden locked boxes, and there’s no instructions or manual. It’s been a thrill of a ride, the not knowing what’s around the next corner, but you know what’s an even bigger thrill?”
Speechless, she shook her head.
Cupping her face, he slid his fingers into her hair, the pads of his thumbs brushing her jaw lightly. “Being on the inside.”
Her breath stuttered in her chest. “You think you’re on the inside?” she asked lightly, going for a teasing tone.
“I do.” He paused. “I hope.”
She dropped her head to his chest to muffle her startled laugh. Because when he was right, he was right. “You are,” she said. “In, I mean. But we no longer have to pretend anything for anyone, so . . .” She shook her head. “What are we really doing here?”
“I don’t know about you, but for me this is real.” He brushed his mouth to her temple. “Has been for a while now.”
She lifted her head again, suddenly having trouble drawing air into her lungs. “But you promised. You promised not to fall for me.”
His gaze met hers, his own warm and loving. “Some promises are meant to be broken.”
This had her breaking out into a cold sweat of sheer nerves. “How can you be so sure?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been sure on my end of things since that night you stood over me bleeding on the floor of that gondola, stripping out of your clothes.”
She choked out a laugh past the emotions clogging her throat. “I didn’t strip out of all my clothes!”
He smiled, but then let it fade. “You’re a tough nut to crack, Jane. I’ve only been able to hope that I was slowly worming my way into your heart as well. But now . . .”
“Now what?” she whispered.
“Sometimes I catch you looking at me like I’m a cookies ’n’ cream cupcake,” he whispered back.
Was he right? No. Because he was better than a cupcake. “Maybe I’m really just thinking about a cookies ’n’ cream cupcake.”
He smiled. “You’re a cute liar.”
Maybe, but she wasn’t capable of baring her heart and soul. She didn’t know how. “I’ll show you cute,” she said, needing to change the direction of this conversation.
His eyes said he knew she was holding back, but he didn’t call her on it. Instead he smiled and said, “Please do.”
So she did.
All night long.
She’d been trying to prove a point to herself, but hell if she could remember said point. And it didn’t matter because what had started out funny and teasing ended up being the most meaningful night of her life.