Six
At well over six feet with wide, muscular shoulders, Levi barely fit in the passenger-side opening of her yellow Beetle. If he was uncomfortable with the lack of space, he didn’t show it. If he thought she was staring too hard or her breathing was oddly erratic, he gave no signs. Other than the slightest of flinches when she cleaned his cuts and scrapes, it almost felt like he was holding his breath. Jillian was doing her very best to not think about his legs or his calves or what it would be like to crawl right onto his lap and—
“Is this the same car you had when you were younger?”
She startled. “It is.”
He pursed his lips, nodded like he didn’t know what to say about that. But it was better than talking about who had embarrassed themselves more. She won that battle hands down.
“When I came home after…” She stopped, glanced up to see him watching her intently. “When my marriage ended, I moved back in with my parents. Right after I got home, my dad asked me to come out to the garage one night.” She smiled, returned to the spot on his calf that she was bandaging up, as she thought about how a little piece of her resurfaced when her dad gave her the car. “I’d sold it before moving away but he got a chance to buy it back, so he did, as a surprise.”
She swallowed past the thickness in her throat. She hadn’t wanted to be a failure at marriage, but God, she’d wanted to come home. She was so happy to be back in Smile, and getting her teenage car back made her feel lighter. Hopeful. It was step one in a pretty long healing journey.
Levi was still looking at her as she crumpled the Band-Aid packages. She tried to breathe through her nose as she reminded herself he was just a man and she was no longer an innocent young girl who plucked petals off flowers as she chanted “he loves me, he loves me not.” She hadn’t been that girl in a very long time.
The memory of getting her car back, along with his proximity, was doing strange things to her nervous system. She let out a sharp breath, exhaling the rough pieces of the past, then stood up. Before she could move back, he unfolded his long body, rose slowly, like he was allowing her time to adjust to his nearness. Smart would have been stepping away; staying away. Jillian was smart. Just not in this particular instance. Not when it came to Levi.
“Thanks for taking care of me,” he said.
Her pulse wobbled. “You should watch out for coolers.”
When he laughed, she felt it along her skin, and for one split second, she ached to close the distance and take the kiss she’d craved all those years ago.
She frowned up at him, remembering that night and what he’d just said about evening the score. She wasn’t a kid anymore. They could address the long-buried mortification head-on. He might not even remember.
“Back to the whole embarrassment tally. Pretty sure I have you beat for the rest of our lives.”
He didn’t follow her when she walked over to a garbage can, got rid of the wrappers, then wandered back.
Instead, Levi leaned against the side of her car, seemingly perfectly at ease. “I think you’re wrong, Jilly.”
The playful way he said her name made her want to smile and shove him at the same time. She rounded the hood of her car, firming her shoulders so she didn’t melt into a puddle of lust.
The past was the past. “Then we aren’t remembering things the same way.”
Levi turned and, because of his height, leaned casually with his arms folded on the roof of her vehicle, tapping his fingers while watching her from across it.
“Maybe not. I’m glad your dad got your car back. You deserve good things. Plus, this car is like happiness on wheels, so it suits you.”
She didn’t know what to do with his kindness, his sweet smile, and the way he held her gaze.
“Do you want a ride somewhere?”
His smile widened, reminding her of the boy he’d once been. The line between then and now would be tricky to stay on the right side of. He was just starting his life over. She was just getting hers on the right track. Stay in your lane, Jilly.
He looked down at his legs then back up. “I guess my run is over for today. I need to talk to Pete. You headed near there?”
It was Smile. Nowhere was truly far from anywhere.
She nodded, fidgeting with her keys. “Passing it. Indirectly, at least.” Since it was on Middle Street.
They both seat-belted, him after he moved the seat back to stretch out his legs. It was silly to feel nervous with him in her car. They were adults. But she’d dreamed of driving around Smile in her yellow bug with Levi riding shotgun, his hand on her thigh while music blasted and they stole kisses at stoplights.
“You’ve got a sweet smile on your face,” he said softly.
Heat spread over her body like it was being tattooed into her skin one cell at a time.
Keeping her eyes on the road, she took a small leap. Not like both of them hadn’t been fully aware of her feelings. Maybe acknowledging them as a thing of the past, she’d settle herself on firm ground right now. “I was thinking about how my sixteen-year-old self used to imagine driving in my car with you.”
She felt him angle his body, giving her his attention. Jilly kept hers on the road. Safer for everyone.
“I’d be curious to know what else sixteen-year-old Jilly imagined.”
Oh, good lord. So much for that theory. Fortunately, Smile was small, and she turned into the school parking lot.
“Easier to park here than behind Pete’s. You good to get there from here?” It was less than a ten-minute walk. Her brain and body weren’t communicating so she was out of the car before he answered. With his long legs, he easily met her at the front of the bug.
Levi put a hand on her arm, stilling everything about her except her pulse, which did a little tap dance. “I wasn’t trying to embarrass you again, or scare you off.”
Lifting her gaze, she saw the gentleness in his and it settled her heart rate. “I know… I’m… Okay, let’s just lay the cards face-up. I liked you back then, I obviously thought of kissing you, I tried, I broke your face, you moved away. The mortification score is Jilly a thousand, Levi one.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, realizing she’d just added plus one to her score.
His whole body shook with his laughter, and she felt it because his hand lingered on her arm. She opened her eyes, stared at him.
“I don’t even know which part of that to address first,” he said in between laughs.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing,” she said, not angry but wishing again that she had the magic potion for chilling the hell out when he was within touching distance. If she wasn’t careful, she’d forget her own hard-learned, self-imposed rules about keeping an emotional distance from any man. Even the one she’d wanted forever. Truthfully, no one she’d met in the years since her divorce had made that difficult.
Levi leaned his butt against the rounded hood of her car in a move so effortless and casual a gust of longing struck her right between the ribs. Whether it was for him or the way he felt so at ease in every situation, she wasn’t sure.
His hand slipped from her arm down to her fingers in a barely there grasp she felt everywhere. How could something feel exhilarating and new while also feeling familiar and sweet? With very little nudging, she moved closer to him, his legs almost on either side of her hips. She’d imagined this as well, long ago. The logical part of her brain—the mom, sister, professional, and adult —knew this was not the time or place. But she’d like to meet the woman who could resist Levi Bright looking at her like she was all he could see.
“I don’t think it’s funny that you’re struggling with any of this. But I do think our memories are slightly different. First of all, you didn’t break my face.” He pointed to his chin.
Jilly leaned forward, right into the scent of his skin. Her lips pursed as his head tipped back. “You have a scar.” It wasn’t prominent; just a pale faded line. But still. She’d put it there. Her fingers itched to trace over it. To touch him.
He dropped his chin, meeting her gaze. “It makes me smile every time I think of it.”
“You’re a strange man,” she said.
His index finger brushed under her chin, lifted it. “True. But when I think about that night, I think about how badly seventeen-year-old me wanted you to kiss me. How much, even though I was excited about school, I didn’t want to leave in that moment.”
It was like fifteen-year-old Jilly and almost-thirty-year-old Jilly shared a dramatic chest bump inside of her rib cage. He’d wanted it too. Okay. Let that be enough.
Jill stepped back, did her best to school her expression and calm the fizz of energy inside of herself. “Teenaged Jilly would be happy to know it wasn’t one-sided.”
Mature. She mentally patted herself on the back.
Levi pushed off her car. His expression was a strange mix of longing and determination. He gave a barely visible nod, like he’d decided something for himself. “Yeah? How about this Jilly? How does she feel knowing it’s still not one-sided?”
Her gaze widened, and because she simply couldn’t maintain her chill around him and the universe clearly hated her, she moved back, tripped over a raised piece of the path that led to the school. Levi might not have seen the cooler in his path earlier but his reflexes were not lacking. His arms darted around her, yanking her against him and stopping her fall. Of course, this meant she was tucked up against his chest, all too aware of how good he smelled, despite having run and rolled around a bit on the ground, and how solid his abs felt under her fingers.
“Careful,” Levi said, his voice gruff, his breath warm against her face.
Careful. A good word to focus on. “I am.” For very good reason.
The recess bell rang and, like they’d been waiting at the door, dozens of children sprinted out into the sunshine.
An electric energy filled the air with the pounding of feet on the ground as students aged five to thirteen fought for every single second of freedom in these final days before summer.
Jillian stepped away, grateful for the timing. She’d never actually been saved by the bell.
“Mom!”
Before she could turn fully, Ollie body-slammed her thighs, her small arms snaking around all she could grasp of Jilly. A unique kind of happiness that could only be inspired by her daughter rose through Jill, reminding her of the here and now.
Jilly’s world righted and focused on her little girl. With the ease of a well-practiced mom, she bent her knees, boosted her daughter up for a hard squeeze before letting her go.
“Hey, sweet pea. How’s it going?”
“I’m good. I gotta go. I’m it for Man Tracker. I like to give them a head start ’cause I’m so fast. Who’s this? I’m Ollie.” She stuck her hand out, staring up at Levi.
His lips twitched as he crouched down so they were eye level. “I’m Levi Bright. A friend of your mom and your uncles.”
Ollie nodded. Her reddish hair had grown out and the curls were more pronounced so they bobbed along with every movement. “Hi. You should come to our lodge. It’s the coolest.”
Jillian couldn’t help but laugh at the unfiltered mini-marketer she was raising.
Someone shouted her name. “I gotta go. Bye, Mom. Bye, Levi.”
Ollie raced off as fast as she’d shown up, a little blur of movement and energy that fueled Jilly’s soul.
Levi rose, his gaze meeting hers, and she noted the softness in his eyes.
“She’s adorable. Feisty.”
“You have no idea.” And she was the reason Jillian didn’t do impulsive things like dating just because her hormones were in overdrive. Her ex had let her down in more ways than she could count, but she never wanted Ollie to feel the emotional impact of that. The men in her life were steady. Secure. Not that Levi wasn’t, but he was a threat to Jilly’s heart and carefully curated life. He stared after her daughter a minute, then looked into Jilly’s eyes. “She looks like you. I’d love to get to know her.”
Damn it. Her heart surged. While other men might see a child as an obstacle to get to the mother, Levi wouldn’t. But that didn’t make him any less dangerous. If anything, that might make her more vulnerable.
“I’m sure you’ll get a chance. We’re all friends,” she said, reminding herself as much as him.
She might have sucked at marriage, fumbled her way into divorce, and been subpar at dating, but friendship she could do.