“Fun? She was dancing on tables.”
Molly snorts. “You didn’t know her in college, Levi.”
“I suggested I bring her to your house, but she said you’re sick of her shit.” I’m hoping my sister can shed some light on the subject.
“I’m not sick of her shit,” she argues. “But I’m seeing someone.”
“You’re what?” I had no idea she was dating anyone. “Who the fuck is it?”
“I’m not prepared to tell you that right now, little brother. Emphasis on little. But I’m going to be honest with you. Right now, I’ve got some stuff going on, and I don’t know how to be there for her. I’m sorry, but tonight, she’s right. I can’t hang. I know it makes me sound awful, and I love her, but Levi, I don’t think I can give her what she needs.”
My stomach drops as I hear what she’s saying. I’d hate it if my best friend did that to me. Moving my phone from my ear, I check the time. I’ve got an hour left on duty tonight, since it’s my early night. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of her.”
“Levi, are you sure?” Molly worries. “Maybe I should cancel my plans.”
“I’ve got it. Have fun with your mystery man.”
She giggles, fucking giggles. “Don’t worry, I will.”
When she hangs up, I shiver. That shit is not what I want to think about when I’m talking to my sister. Going to the driver’s door, I open it, and move my Red Bull and snack out of the way before sliding into the seat.
“So, Deputy Harrison, what exactly are you going to do with me?” Magnolia asks from the backseat.
Turning around so that I can see how she responds when I tell her my plan, I say quietly, “I’m gonna clock out early and take you to my place.”
“You’re gonna what?” Her eyes widen, and her eyebrows move up and down. “No, I can find some place to go.”
“Or you can come home with me. We’ve known each other almost our entire lives, you can stay with me.”
She huffs out a breath. I text my boss, letting him know something has come up, and I need to clock out early. When I look back at her, I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t walked into the bar. Backing out of the parking spot, I turn the SUV for home.
Behind the cage, she makes a noise. “Levi?”
“Yeah?” I come to a stop at a red light, and then gaze back in the rearview.
“Do you sleep in the nude, or no?” She snickers. “Because I’ve always kind of wondered what you look like with no shirt on.”
Closing my eyes, I inhale and then exhale, before meeting hers in the mirror. “Funny, Magnolia Grace, I’ve wondered the same about you.”
Chapter 2
Magnolia
What the actual fuck am I doing? When I left the house earlier tonight, this had all seemed like a really good idea.
Go out.
Have fun.
Find a man to go home with.
Forget the man who is in the middle of fucking me over in a divorce that he asked for.
But I guess things took a turn when I drank just a little too much and stepped up on a table. It had been slightly scary when I stepped up there and looked at the men who eyed me like I was a piece of meat. It’s not at all what I’m used to. My husband of five years hasn’t looked at me like that since a few months after our first anniversary.
Things had taken a turn though, when Officer Levi Harrison walked through the door.
I’ve been best friends with his older sister since we were five years old and I moved in next door to them. We’d become inseparable, and still are for the most part. I’m just sick of feeling like a charity case since my divorce started. Over the years, I’ve watched Levi grow up, saw when he started to become a man, but I haven’t seen him now in about a year except for pictures shared on social media.
