She slaps my chest and laughs. “Jerk.”
“Yeah, but I’m your jerk. For as long as you’ll have me.” I kiss her softly, the taste of salty tears still on her soft lips.
“I like the sound of that,” she breathes, and I feel a surge of contentment, the kind that makes the world shrink to just this moment.
She rests her head on my chest, and I wrap my arm around her as we watch the sun set over the mountains, casting everything in a soft, golden glow. Before heading inside, I catch movement by Tris’s bird feeder and look over just in time to see her robin fly away.
Chapter Twenty
Tris
“What’s got you happier than a pig in mud?” Ainsley asks, wiping her hands on her apron, looking me over as I make a fresh pot of coffee.
“I got Levi an early Christmas present,” I beam, pressing the brew button and watching the water trickle excitedly.
Her brows turn down. “You do realize that it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, right?”
“Yes, I know.” I roll my eyes and wave her observation off. “As if that little detail matters. This couldn’t wait. I’ve been waiting weeks for this.”
I’m so giddy. One night while Levi and I were relaxing on the porch, having our usual late-night chats, he let it slip how much he misses the coffee back in Oregon. The man is a grump without his coffee in the morning, I mean, he’s also a grump with it, but especially when he goes without, and other than the pumpkin-spiced lattes I’ve been bringing him, he seems to barely tolerate the coffee from around here. Other than my cup of Folgers, that is, which he denies ever enjoying and swears he was just trying to be nice.
Right.
As if Levi cares about being nice just for the sake of it. I almost laugh out loud at the thought. The other night, I asked him if he wanted to go out or stay in and watch a movie, and his response was a growl. Like a literal growl. He then claimed he’d had enough socializing with people for one day and told me that all he wanted for Christmas was for common sense to be more common.Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about the collapse of society’s overall intellectual capacity, but I did manage to track down a Stumptown, specifically the Hair Bender blend that he says is his favorite.
The door chimes, and as usual, he walks in wearing his typical scowl. Shaking my head, I can’t help how my lips twitch up as I watch him before he spots me. A smile only meant for me crosses his face quickly before returning to neutral when he holds the door open for a customer to leave. For someone whose whole job is about helping people, he sure dislikes having to interact with them.
“It’s exhausting.”He claimed the other night when I asked him how come he doesn’t ever seem to talk to anyone outside of the people he already knows.
He’s something else.
“Hey there.” He leans over the counter and kisses me.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” I say, barely containing my excitement.
He looks at Ainsley for a clue, but she puts her hands up, refusing to give him any.
“Here, have your coffee first, and I’ll tell you what the surprise is after,” I say cleverly, handing him his actual surprise without his knowledge.
He takes a sip. “So what is the surprise? Wait a minute...” He stops, taking another sip, eyes widening as my smile spreads across my face and I bite my lip. “There’s no way.”
I clap my hands together and hold them in front of my face as Levi finishes another sip. Certainty fills his expression before he huffs out a disbelieving laugh. “There’s no way. Is this the Hair Bender Blend?”
I wiggle my brows. “Yup!” I say, popping the “p” like Rory usually does. “Consider it anearlyChristmas present.”
I sneak a peek at Ainsley when I say the wordearly,and she snorts.
“How?!” He stares at me, stunned and in awe.
“I’m amazing, obviously. I thought everyone was aware of this,” I tease.
“Get over here,” he says in a low husky voice, sending goosebumps over me.
I grin and walk around the counter until I’m standing exactly where he wants me.
“Youarethe most amazing woman,” he says with a grin before wrapping me in his arms in a bear hug and spinning me around. He swallows my laughter with a kiss, only putting me down when the bell chimes.
He’s still laughing when Tom walks in.
