“You’re not making brownies again, are you?” He stomps into the kitchen looking stupefied as if I were about to hack the tails off a litter of kittens for theumpteenthtime.
I turn Bertie Higgins on and let “Key Largo” filter through the air, set on a loop before I bother to answer him. God knows an entire stream of expletives is begging to shoot right outofme.
“Why yes, Levi, I am making brownies again. You see, my ingrate of a sister put them in the freezer to save for later since they already had a cake, thus creating a divide between my daily allotment of their ooey gooey goodness and me.” I pull the bowl out of the cabinet and slam it onto the island. “And you’re welcome bytheway.”
He grunts while folding his arms across his chest, watching me as if he were my supervisor—a decidedly hot and vexingly handsome to the bone supervisor, but a watchmannonetheless.
“What has you so worked up?” I pull out the cocoa and the chocolate chips, the flour and the baking powder. “It’syoursister that holds the key to thischastitybelt.”
“Mysister?” His head ticks back a notch. Levi’s brows arch in that way that frames those glowing eyes, and my heart lets out an unnatural thump. Have I mentioned he is quite the specimen? The body of a lumberjack, the mind of a genius, and a heart of gold,mostly.
I frown over at him. “Yes,yoursister. This is what you get for letting Raven rule the roost.” I point the spatula at him. “It’s probably all your fault she’s a naughty little brat who always getsherway.”
He barks out an obnoxious laugh. “My sister didn’t threaten my balls anhourago.”
“Ugh!” A primal cry rips from my throat, and all I see is red as I retrieve the eggs from the fridge. Then I strut right over to him and land my hands flat against his chest and give him a solid shove—albeit unfruitful, since he’s still planted in the exact same spot I found him in. Moving Levi is like trying to relocate a mountain. He’s solid and strapping, and all kinds of good things under those clothes that I will never know about becausehissister is such a pushy little tart. “My sister is only looking out for me. Unlike your sister who is only looking out forherself.”
He leans in, his eyes narrowed as if he were livid himself. “My sister is only looking out for the bothofus.”
“Ha!” I laugh right in his face, and my lips double dare me to cover his, but I’m too stubborn to listen. “My sister thinks you’re a two-timing cheat about to pull me under into the wicked world of adulterous fornication.Yoursister knows that I’m a great person. Your sisterknowsthat you’re a great person. Why in the hell wouldn’t she want us together? Because she’s having atantrum. That’s why! Raven is a big fat baby. She couldn’t handle the thought of me parading around this place in my underwear, trying to seduce her angel of a brother!” My voice hikes to its highest soprano as my fingers work my blouse off then my skirt. I drop trou right there in the kitchen as “Key Largo” carries on its melodramatic tune. In all my life, I have never imagined doing an inadvertent strip tease to the song I grew up listening to like a life raft, but right now it feels far more like abattlecry.
Levi’s eyes widen as he takes that visual elevator up and down. My feet are still pressed neatly in my Louboutins. My lace panties just so happen to match my lace bra, and both are appropriately see-through. It’s what I had donned this morning in hopes that this would finally be the day we kicked Raven and all her ideals to the curb, and instead we’re arguing at ten o’clock at night—half-dressed, half-baked, half a mind to shove one another into that roaring fire eating up thenextroom.
His Adam’s apple rises and falls as he steps forward and cups my face. His steely eyes bear hard into mine, and they’re saying so much more than wordsevercan.
“Low”—he sighs into my name, and a smile comes up on the other end of it—“I don’t want to fight with you. In fact, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to youallday.”
A flicker of light emanates from the living room and the heat level rises, but I solely attribute that second part to the fact Levi’s body is inching ever so dangerously closetomine.
“Oh my God!” he shouts so loud, I close my eyes from the blowback. Levi bolts into the living room, and I trot right along with him, only to find that damn robotic fireplace has sent a line of flames all the way to the ceiling. “Shit!” he barks as he points the defunct remote to it as if it were a gun, and just as quick as the flames engulfed the vicinity, they disappear on command. In its wake are a badly charred wall and a few sparks still shooting out from the armpit of thefireplace.
“Nice save.” My heart does its best to launch right out of my throat, and I press a hand to my chest as if keeping it in. “Maybe we should go old school next time? You know, firewood and a match.” It’s then I notice that monkey with five arms is blackened from the flames, and I head right over to it. “Oh, no! Your grandmother’s gift!” No sooner do I pick it up than Levi turns my way from acrosstheroom.
“Be careful—it’s hot,” he shouts just as I launch the scalding piece of questionable art into the air, and I stand there, watching the horrific event in slow motion. The knives gleam as they twirl airborne, slowly coming back down to earth, all of its five razors aiming straight for me—but I’m frozen solid, completely unable to navigate from ground zero. The only thought going through my mind is that it’s the last thing Levi has left of hisgrandmother.
“Low!” Levi’s voice comes in slow and deep, demonic in nature. His body wraps itself around mine as he tackles me and lands us both on the sofa, his heavy protective frame securely settled over mine. And just as our eyes connect in something other than irritation for the first time all night, a horrific crash comes from our right as the monkey in all of his primate knife-wielding glory shatters into a million tinypieces.
I gasp as I look over to see it sprayed about the hardwood floor likeconfetti.
“I’m so sorry.” I bury my face in his chest, and all of the tension of this evening just pours right out of me like the loosening ofadamn.
“It’s not your fault,” he says it quiet like maybe it is. Levi lifts me by the chin, and I’m met with those watery blue eyes, that budding crooked grin that I’ve grown to love like crazy. Hell, I’m in love with all of him. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. To hell with Raven and her overprotective ideals. Wouldn’t she rather he end up with me than with the last nut he was with? “I promise you, it wasn’t that important to me. I’m just glad you’re safe. My concern is for you.” That greedy grin of his spreads wide. “You’re half-naked. I didn’t want those flames anywhere near your body.” He swallows hard, and the moment grows serious. “And who knows? Maybe as much as my sister is doing her best to keep us apart, my grandmother of all people has joined us together—literally so tospeak.”
We share a quietlaugh.
“As I was saying”—his voice grows tight—“Low, I wanted to wait until the right time to say these words, but now that I see how life is playing out—well, I think the right time is any time you’re around.” His breathing picks up pace. He lifts his chest off mine a bit, and I’m right there panting with him. “I love you.” His smile expands right along with my heart. “I’ve loved you from the moment you set foot in the restaurant that night.” His eyes catch the light and sparkle with the hint of tears as his chest trembles with a quiet laugh. “You lit up the room with your smile. When you walked in, I swear I heard a hallelujah choir singing in the background. You hit me like a bolt of lightning and knocked my entire universe off its pathetic base. Over the last few weeks you’ve made all the crooked places straight, shed your beautiful light where only darkness once existed. You made me realize that what I had before with other people didn’t even come close to what real love was. What I feel for you is solid. It has the power to span a lifetime.” All of the joy on his face is quickly replaced with sorrow. “I’m sorry I’m laying all this on you.” He tries to get up, but I’m quick to press him rightbackdown.
“Don’t you think for a minute you’re getting away with this.” I’m right back to boiling anger. “You can’t just tell me you love me then make a run for the hills—or should I say shower? I know exactly what’s going on in that icy den of hell your sister has imprisoned you in.” I blink back unexpected tears of my own. “I love you, too,” I say it far more curt and aggressive than I ever meant to. “And Imeanit.” I practically shout those last words. “The last time I checked both you and I were adults—who by the way are not under the conservatorship of our sisters. If I want to love you—spend the rest of my life with my arms and legs wrapped around you, then that’s just what I’ll damn well do.” Okay, so maybe in all of my schoolgirl fantasies did I not once bark those magical words in the face of the man I want to spend the rest of my days with, but for the love of God with Raven as my psychotic bestie, with Lisa as my drill sergeant of a sister, there was no other way todoit.
“You love me?” His lids hood over, and that grin turns into something just this side of all-out lustforme.
“Hell yes, I love you. If I had my phone nearby, I’d snap a picture of the two of us just like this and send it to both your sister and mine with the wordsdon’t like it,don’tlook.”
A deep thunderous laugh rumbles in his chest. “I wouldn’t care if they were watching. Nobody is going to stop me from loving you.” His mouth dips to mine, and he steals a heated lingering kiss off me. “In fact, they could watch me do this.” He leans back and takes off his shirt, sending it flying into the open dark mouth of the soot-riddledfireplace.
I bite down on my lip, trying to hold the bubbling laugh from shooting out of me. “And for sure they could watch me do this.” My fingers work his jeans until they’re open down the front and I can feel him growing against mythigh.
Levi scoops me into his arms and jumps to his feet. “This is where I’d draw the line,sweetheart.”
