“Good morning.”
I remember only a few weeks ago when he looked at me as if he didn’t know me. Which he didn’t. I’d been holed up in the penthouse for so long, he didn’t have a chance to.
“Oh, Miss Riley.”
I spin, the aroma of mine and Raeann’s coffee filling my nostrils. “Yes, sir?”
“A few letters came for Mr. and Mrs. Freeman.” He gives the envelopes a wiggle, and I can’t help but chuckle. Micah’s been trying to put his last name on Raeann for a while, and clearly he has succeeded in some cases.
“I’ll take them up.” I reach one hand out, and keeping a few fingers wrapped around the drink, I offer up the last two. He slips the letters between them, and I clamp them closed. “Thank you.”
If he thinks Micah and Raeann are married, I wonder what he thinks I’m doing living with them. I’m sure people would come up with a bunch of crazy ideas…as long as they’d never heard about the fire.
I happy sigh.Fire-kissed.When Levi said that to me, I nearly lost my mind. How he managed to turn something so damaging into something romantic is beyond me. It’s his charm. He literally drowns in it, dripping off one-liners as the day progresses until he starts the next day, completely soaked again. He has a never-ending supply.
I’d actually been looking into getting a tattoo. Prove to the world the fire didn’t ruin me. Remind myself that I’m a survivor. Either way, I hadn’t decided on what to get…until Levi said that to me.
Now, I can’t think of anything else.
My biggest decision now is whether to get it in a pretty, cursive along my forearm. Or maybe disguise it somehow. Use emojis like fire and lips. Something Levi and I could keep what it means to ourselves.
The elevator dings, and I step inside, pushing thePbutton. After a few moments, it closes, and I’m lifting upward. I catch my reflection in the shiny steel in front of me. There I go again. Planning as if Levi and I are going to be a long-term thing. It was never supposed to be like that. I laid those rules. Now I’m beginning to think I’m the one who had it wrong the whole time. Levi is sincere.
That doesn’t stop me from thinking why he would want someone like me. I come with baggage. Hell, I won’t have sexwith him with all my clothes off. That can’t be any kind of healthy. Plus, he’s still recording his dating show.
I’ll admit that the circumstances aren’t great, but I still can’t deny the growing feelings between us.
The elevator dings again, and I walk into the apartment. “Housekeeping!”
Raeann chuckles from the kitchen. I walk in to her mixing up some waffle batter. “You were up early this morning.”
“I decided to go for a walk. Then my mom called, so it was a bit longer than I expected. Then, of course, I stopped into the café.”
She peeks up for the first time, her eyes zeroing in on the cups I’m carrying.
“Remind me to thank Micah again for picking out this place next to our new favorite coffee shop.”
“Will do.”
I place the envelopes on the island and then hand her the coffee. She eyes them. “What’s that?”
“Oh, the doorman told me they were for Mr.and Mrs.Freeman.” I laugh. “Micah has certainly claimed you. Don’t worry. I’m just jealous. A hottie pro football player sounds like a lot of fun right now.”
I should know.
Raeann gives me a weird smile and then takes the letters, flicking through them before putting them in a drawer.
I eye her, my spidey senses going off. Athena shows up, sitting next to Raeann, which is the final clue I needed. “Okay, what’s up? Did you guys get in a fight or something?”
“What? No,” she says immediately. “Micah doesn’t fight with me. You know that.”
That’s true. The only thing he will give her pushback on is if he thinks she’s going to hurt herself, worry herself, or have anegative experience in any way. Even then, he doesn’t yell. He dick-notizes her.
Holy hell. I think Levi has dick-notized me!
Raeann speaks, bringing me out of my reverie. “I’m…you know…” She shrugs.
“You’re being secretive right now. Is there something in the mail that bothered you?”
