I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him so badly.
But as I curl into his warmth, watching the rest of ER play out on screen, I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is coming.
Chapter 21
Levi
Thanksgiving morning dawns bright and clear, the kind of perfect November day that makes you grateful to live in Alabama. Cool enough to need a jacket, warm enough to enjoy being outside.
Magnolia’s been up since before dawn, finishing last-minute orders. I found her in the kitchen at five a.m., carefully boxing up chocolate-covered strawberries, her hair piled on top of her head, wearing one of my old Fish and Wildlife hoodies. I love the way she looks in my clothes, and if it were up to me, that’s all she’d wear.
“Morning,” I’d said, and she’d jumped, nearly dropping the box.
“Jesus, Levi. You scared me.”
The way her eyes had darkened made me wonder how many times Cody had taken it upon himself to sneak up on her like that, and scare her just out of spite.
“Sorry.” I moved into the kitchen, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You need help?”
“Almost done, actually. These are all for one order, and they’ll be here in the next ten minutes. The other one, I’m taking to your grandparents.”
“Ohhh,” I gaze over and see what she’s put in there. “The Harrison fam is going to love all of that.”
“I know.” She grins. “Different family members of yours have been ordering from me for a while, and I made sure to make their favorites. By the way, I know yours is homemade cinnamon rolls.” She tilts her chin toward a pan on the counter. “Figured we could make a special breakfast.” Her cheeks turn pink. “Kind of a memory for our first Thanksgiving we’re spending together.”
The fact that she wants to mark this as a first gives me a nervous feeling in my stomach, but not one of dread, one of hope. Maybe we’ll spend the rest of our Thanksgiving holidays together. “Thank you,” I tell her, my voice thick. “I’m gonna love them.”
She beams. “I hope you will.”
Hours later, after several cups of coffee, and those cinnamon rolls, we’re both getting ready for Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house. Magnolia’s in my bathroom, and I can hear her moving around, the sound of her humming to herself makes me smile. I’ve never had these moments before. Especially since I’ve never allowed a woman to spend more than one night.
When she comes out, my breath catches.
She’s wearing a deep green sweater dress that hugs her curves, her hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders. She’s done something to her eyes that makes them even bluer, and when she catches me staring, a blush colors her cheeks.
“Too much?” she asks, suddenly self-conscious, running her hands along her thighs, accentuating them.
“Perfect,” I say, my voice rougher than I intend. “You look perfect, Magnolia Grace. Let’s get out of here, we need to be there in about twenty minutes.”
She grabs the dessert we’re taking over, and I help her into my truck, shutting the door while I wait for her to buckle herself in. When I get into the driver’s seat, I glance over at her. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be. Thank you for helping me.”
“You never have to thank me. I wanna be the man in your life, and this is how you do it. Cody’s a dumbass.”
Leaning over, I take her lips with mine, before I pull back and start the truck.
The drive to my grandparents’ house is short, and I spend most of it sneaking glances at her. She’s nervous—I can tell by the way she’s fidgeting with her hands, the way she keeps taking deep breaths.
“Hey,” I say, reaching over to take her hand. “It’s just my family. They love you.”
“I know,” she says softly. “But things feel different now. I feel different.”
“Different how?”
She turns to look at me, and there’s something in her eyes that makes my heart race. “Just…different.”
We pull up to my grandparents’ house, and already I can see cars lining the driveway. Dad’s truck, Aunt Kelsea’s SUV, Molly’s car. The whole family’s here.
