Piper smiled, so bright, and the emerald of her eyes glowed.
“I love you,” she whispered. “More than you’ll ever know.”
In one precious moment, Levi’s world expanded into infinity, then, in a heartbeat, narrowed to nothing but Piper. Now mattered. Here, with her. Any problems they might face, they’d conquer together, fighting side by side.
Love. Trust. Forever. Levi knew Piper. She would never settle for less. And that was fine with him. He felt the same.
“Higher?” Levi asked as he grasped Piper’s hands. “More?”
“Yes,” she said, her head falling back, a fine sheen of sweat covering her body. “More. More.”
They rode the wave, twisting, turning. The peak came for Piper and Levi followed. They didn’t crash, they floated, down, down. Together.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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PIPER TOOK A bite of fluffy pancake covered in just the right amount of melty butter and warm maple syrup. She sighed. The perfect morning breakfast to top off the perfect night of sex.
No, she corrected herself. A night of love.
Corny, over the top, but true. Piper laughed. So, what if she and Levi were a cliché? All lovey-dovey, holding hands under the table as they sipped their coffee and gazed into each other’s eyes. The brilliant glow of new love would fade a bit in time. Not too much, she hoped. But a little dimming was inevitable.
Until then, Piper planned to bask—she’d earned the right.
“Mm.” She smacked her lips. “Bacon.”
“Ah, my little carnivore,” Levi said with an indulgent smile. “For you, heaven would be a well-stocked butcher’s shop.”
“But I need a rounded diet,” Piper told him with a straight face. “Next door to the butcher, please include a candy store and bakery.”
“Why don’t you weigh a ton?” he asked, shaking his head as he filled his mouth with a spoonful of multi-grain oatmeal.
“Pure thoughts keep the pounds off.” With a wink, Piper shrugged. “And Pilates. Thin is great, but even I need to exercise now and then. I refuse to go around with a saggy butt.”
“I’d still love you,” Levi assured her. “Sags and all.”
“Would you?” Piper beamed, her esteem for Levi rising to new levels. “Should I stop working out?”
“Should I?” Levi asked with a pointed look. “Would you want me as much if I developed a beer belly and jowls?”
“Probably.” Piper chuckled. “But, just to be safe, let’s keep fit for now. We’ll wait and go to pot in our sunset days.”
“Hell, no,” Levi exclaimed. “When I’m ninety, I plan to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. With you by my side.”
“I’m exhausted already.”
Piper groused because she didn’t want Levi to think he’d gone to bed with one woman and awoke beside someone else. Nor did she want him to get any ideas about upping her level of activity. She was fine with her life as a semi-couch potato who occasionally ate healthily.
Yet, for all Piper’s grumbling and groaning, she liked Levi’s vision of the future. Not the hiking up famous mountains part. But the part where they were together long, long into the future.
“You’re older than I am,” Levi said.
“Way to ruin the moment,” Piper muttered. Sneering, she savagely ripped off a piece of bacon with bared teeth. “What’s your point, junior?”
“Just that you’ll reach the age of ninety a good three years ahead of me.” A mischievous twinkle entered Levi’s dark eyes. “I’ll be your eighty-seven-year-old boy toy.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” Piper said with a snort. “Now, shut up and finish your gruel.”
Laughing, Levi kissed the back of Piper’s hand. She felt her heart sigh.
Sipping her orange juice—freshly squeezed by Levi—Piper couldn’t remember a time when she’d been as happy. Her blood crackled with a combination of excitement and contentment.
In all Piper’s years of dating and enjoying nights of adult entertainment, had she sat with a man the next morning over a post-sex breakfast—when she made the mistake of sticking around—and not wanted to scamper out the door as quickly as possible.
Today, with Levi, was a first. Piper didn’t constantly look at her watch or calculate the fastest route to the exit. Instead, of an antsy, when will it ever end, feeling, she wanted to linger at the table. The longer, the better.
If Piper had to look at Levi’s handsome face, every morning, noon, and night for the rest of her hopefully long life, then sign her up.
“What changed your mind?” Levi asked after a long, comfortable silence.
“Pardon?” Piper pushed her empty plate away. “Changed my mind? About what?”
“A few days ago, you were adamant about not altering our friends-only relationship. Yet, here we are.” Levi grinned. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“I should hope not,” she said.
“Did you want to wait and see how I performed on Sunday?” Levi crossed his arms, his gaze, unblinking. “If the Knights had lost the game, if I stunk up the stadium, would we still be at the same old status quo?”
“I’ll answer the ridiculous question because I know you’re joking.” Piper frowned. “At least I hope you are.”
Levi merely shrugged.
“Did you check the time of my text?” Piper asked with an air of superiority. “I sent the message before the game began. Not during. Not after. Before. There’s your proof that I didn’t give a rat’s ass about your performance. In the bedroom, yes. On the field, nope.”
Without a word of response, Levi picked up his phone. When he began scrolling through his texts, Piper's mouth fell open.
“You don’t believe me?” she asked, offended and shocked.
“I already knew what you said was true. I looked at the time before I read the text.” Levi set aside his phone. He chuckled. “Getting you riled up is so much fun, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
With a sniff, Piper started clearing the table. Levi had other ideas. As she reached for his plate, he pulled her onto his lap. Still holding a half-empty bottle of maple syrup, she wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into his kiss.
“Tell me,” Levi said, licking a bit of sticky sweetness from the corner of Piper’s lips. “Why the about-face?”
Piper smiled, happy to let Levi persuade her to his heart’s content. Her head dipped to the side as his mouth found a particularly sensate spot at the base of her neck.
“What was the question? Hey!” Piper jumped when Levi pinched her backside. “That hurt.”
“Don’t be a drama queen. I barely touched you.” Levi took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and gave her a light shake. “Answer me.”
Giving in wasn’t difficult. Piper wanted Levi to understand. She brushed the back of her hand over his cheek and smiled.