“Have you been here before?” Levi settles into the booth across from me, reaching for a menu stacked behind the napkin dispenser.
“Yep.” He hands me a menu and I glance at the lunch options. “It was the first place I stopped when I got to town. It’s one of the things that made me pick Rose Prairie as my new home.”
“Where are you from?” His question doesn’t feel forced. He genuinely would like to know.Why does this feel like a date?Maybe I should have been clear about what this lunch is. Lunch, and nothing more.
Or so I’m telling myself.
Taking a deep breath, I try to decide how much to tell him. The wall I’ve tried to build between us is quickly crumbling the longer I spend time with him. He never seems fazed by my gruffness towards him, if anything it makes him like me even more. There’s no way I’ll be able to keep this up much longer. Resigned, I answer, “I’m originally from Chicago. I grew up there.”
His eyes snap up to mine over his menu, a look of interest on his face. But before he can respond, a beautiful blond waitress stops in front of us.
“Levi? Oh my gosh, I heard you were back in town!” Feeling like an outsider, I watch as Levi stands and gives our waitress a quick hug.
“Hey, June. Yeah, I moved back last week. It’s been pretty busy.” Is it just me, or does Levi seem uncomfortable? His hands are resting on his hips and he’s shifting his weight between his feet. His eyes meet mine for a split second and I suddenly don’t feel so out of place. “June, this is Sammie. Sammie, this is June.”
“Hi,” I say as I manage an awkward wave. “Nice to meet you.”
“Well, hi there.” June is the classically beautiful girl next door. Even dressed in her work outfit, she’s gorgeous. She’s got a kind smile and dimples that make her cute as a button.
Levi slides back into the booth as June pulls out her notepad, readying to take our orders. “What would you guys like today?”
We both order glasses of water and I choose the soup and sandwich option while Levi goes for a heartier meal of chicken fried chicken.
After June heads back to the kitchen to put in our order, I look at Levi. “Is she an ex or something?” A pang of jealousy stabs my chest, but I have no right to be jealous of anything.This isn’t even a date, I remind myself.
He chuckles, hand scraping his jaw. “It was a long time ago. We dated for a couple of months in High School.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, you’re from Chicago? What brought you to Rose Prairie then?”
Hmm. Do I go into detail or not?I might as well blow through the last semblance of the wall I’ve made like the Kool-Aid man.Screw it.
“I left the city because it wasn’t for me. All my life I grew up wishing to be somewhere different from where I was. Chicago was just too large and stifling. Small towns hold more appeal for me, so I left.” I shrug.
A crooked smile pulls at his mouth as he looks at me, his eyes conveying a softness.God, I could melt in that gaze.“What about you? Why’d you move back here?”
Levi leans back into the booth cushion behind him. “Well,” he sighs, “it’s very similar to your reason actually. It was too quiet growing up and I longed for something more. But that something more ended up being too much and I couldn’t resist the pull back to this place.”
Color me shocked. Levi and I have something in common.
“So, what’s the deal with the Christmas Spectacular?” he asks, changing the subject.
“What do you mean?”
He leans forward, elbows crossed on the table. “You’re just so passionate about it. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone want something more than you want this.” How is he able to see me so clearly when I’ve been nothing but a—let’s be honest—bitch to him?
“Whoa, that’s a serious question,” I tease. “Do you want the real answer or the boring one?”
“Real, obviously. How else am I going to get to know you?” His grin lights up his face as he winks at me. An honest-to-god wink.
I think I’m going to combust now.
I can’t help but chuckle. “The real reason is that I love Christmas. I love everything about it. There’s just something about it that transforms everything for me. The beauty that the joy of Christmas brings to people, the glow of the lights during the dark of night, the quiet stillness of snowfall…” I sigh, “it’s everything.”
Tilting his head, Levi examines me, those brown eyes so intense it’s like he’s seeing right through me. “You know what, Sammie? I think you’re one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.”
Whoa, where did that come from?
Luckily, I’m saved by June when she returned with our food. We dive into our meal, both hungry from the hard work we’d done today. The potato soup is creamy and delicious and works to warm me up.
“I have to ask,” he says after cutting a slice of chicken, “how do you know so much about construction?”
