She gave a wry laugh, thinking of the gated community and the rolling acres surrounded by high brick walls. “It wasn’t really that type of neighborhood.”
“What about your parents? Did they play with you?”
“My mom really wasn’t like that. My dad left when I was five.”
“Must’ve been hard.”
Her dad had left so easily, it had seemed. And here was Levi, staying with his sisters, putting his own dreams on hold until they’d settled into adulthood. She could only admire such loyalty and devotion. Not only that, but Levi was clearly a hard worker, steady and dependable. When a person’s childhood lacked those traits, they came to mean a lot.
“I barely remember my dad,” she said. “If I asked my mom about him she’d give me the silent treatment, so after a while I stopped asking. She was angry with him for leaving, I guess.” Man, she was like a bubbling fountain today.
Levi gave her an empathetic smile. “That’s too bad.”
“I’ve never told anyone that—not even the counselor my mom sent me to as a teenager.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I guess I can be a pretty private person. It’s hard to know who to trust in this business.”
“I’m sure it is. I’m glad you feel you can trust me.”
She gave him a long, steady look. She did, she realized. At least, more than she usually trusted people. She wasn’t sure why. Or even if it was smart. But she couldn’t seem to help opening up to him. It was like this place had cast some kind of spell on her.
She grasped the quilt, feeling snug despite her throbbing ankle. “Thanks for covering me up earlier.”
His voice was rough as his eyes pierced hers. “You’re welcome.”
Her honesty seemed to have deepened the intimacy between them. A pleasant fluttery sensation bubbled in her stomach.
She pulled the quilt up to her chin. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about my career.”
“What does your agent say?”
“He thinks we should wait it out a bit.”
“Why not do an interview like Jax did? You have the truth on your side—surely that’ll come through on camera.”
“It’ll also feed the beast. Nolan thinks it would be better to let it die down. Also, going public would further pit me against Jax, and he has a lot of fans. More than I do. Nolan knows what he’s doing. He’s been in the business a long time.”
Levi leaned forward, elbows on knees. There was something about his eyes that drew her. They had so many looks: calm as the deep blue sea; twinkling with humor and crinkled at the corners; and as she’d seen him up at the falls, filled with concern.
They talked about the business a bit, and he shared about running the inn. He entertained her with guest stories. Some of them funny, others, like the couple who’d come to the lake to spread their son’s ashes, more poignant.
Her ice pack had long since warmed to room temperature when a knock came at the front door. Grace was still upstairs, and Molly had left a while ago, so Levi jumped up to answer it.
***
Levi opened the door, prepared to turn away a potential guest. The vacancy sign wasn’t always enough. He blinked at the sight of Adam standing on the porch, then remembered he’d asked to come by this evening.
“Adam, come on in.” He glanced at his watch, surprised to see it was almost six.
“Hi, Levi.” Adam spotted Mia on the couch. “Hello.”
“Hi there,” she said.
Levi diverted his attention. “I’ll grab us some drinks and meet you out back?”
“Sure.”
