Twenty-four
Levi laughed when one of the kids asked if his biscuit was a good shape. The kid—Christopher—had so much flour on his face, he looked like a ghost.
“Looks great. Wait until we put butter on them fresh out of the oven.”
“They’re so good we can even eat them for breakfast,” Ollie said, taking time to gently transfer her biscuits from the counter to the tray.
Levi couldn’t believe how many amazing activities the teacher and Jillian had organized for these kids. He was doing dinner with this group of six, breakfast with a second group in the morning, and lunch with a third group before they left. All of them would get a chance to cook, make bracelets with Lainey, who was bringing Levi’s dad over, and make birdhouses. That was on top of today’s multitude of activities that included a scavenger hunt, relay races, and practice tying knots.
Though they’d sleep outside, they were eating at the lodge, utilizing the long, live-edge wood table that Levi coveted. He definitely needed to grab some furniture from his parents’ storage unit and maybe think more seriously about finding a long-term place. Jillian poked her head into the kitchen, and the timing, with him thinking about longevity, made him all too aware of how quickly he was falling. For her and her kid.
“How are we doing on time?” she asked as she came all the way in and took some photos.
“Mom, look!” Ollie held up her tray.
“That looks fantastic,” Jillian said.
Levi looked at the clock on the stove. “These biscuits are the last bit. The spaghetti and meatballs are ready and so is the vegetable medley salad.”
“We made the salad,” Christopher said. The kid swiped a cloth across the counter and forgot to catch the crumbs in his hands.
Jillian smirked as they went all over the floor. Christopher shrugged and went back to circling the dishcloth.
“Glad I’m not on cleanup,” she said quietly.
“Unless I tell you no dinner if you don’t help,” Levi said, grinning at her.
“You have to help, Ms. Keller. It’s part of being a team,” one of the other kids—remembering all their names was hard—told her.
Jillian laughed right along with Levi. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll go let the craft station know that it’s time to clean up.”
He winked at her, wishing he could give her even a quick kiss. Or a longer one. Or something more. He’d have to steal some alone time once the kids were in bed. While the biscuits baked and the kids carted place settings to the dining table, Levi smiled, listening to some rather interesting conversations.
“I don’t know why we’re setting the table. We’re in the wilderness. We should eat with our hands,” one of the girls said.
“We should catch our own food,” another added.
“I went hunting with my dad but we didn’t come home with anything because I didn’t like it.” This from one of the boys.
“We could just skip the dishes. That’s what my dad does when I go to his house on the weekend,” another boy said.
Levi covered a laugh with a cough. When the timer went, Levi told the kids to wash up and go get settled. Grayson came into the kitchen with Ollie on his heels.
“Dinner’s ready?” he asked.
Ollie pulled on her uncle’s hand. “I helped make it!”
He ran a hand over her hair. “I heard. I can’t wait to eat it.”
“Your timing is perfect,” he said, handing each of them some of the food to carry out to the waiting campers.
As they sat around the table, Levi couldn’t help stealing glances at Jilly and Ollie as they laughed and redirected the kids, asked questions, and heard so many stories. He hadn’t thought about having kids. He’d always just focused on tackling what was in front of him. He’d had his teen/youth years. When it was time for school, he was solely focused on that, and then his career. And now, even though he loved cooking and was excited, full of new ideas, his thoughts consistently returned to Jilly. Ollie. Them. What it might be like to have a family. To be a family.
Grayson raised his plastic cup. “I just want to say thank you to our wonderful chefs for the evening. You all did a great job, and as soon as you’re old enough, I’m happy to hire you for summer employment.”
Levi laughed along with everyone else as ideas and thoughts crisscrossed in his brain about ways to have it all.
Levi was every bit as invested as the young campers in the ghost story one of the dads—Zane—was telling. Some of the kids were so engrossed, their little mouths hung open, their eyes wide in the campfire light. Zane was an excellent storyteller and a really cool guy. Levi could have easily gone home and come back in the morning, but he wasn’t missing a perfect opportunity to hang with Jilly and Ollie. And he was finding that even though he didn’t have kids, it was nice to connect with some other Smileys, as Gramps liked to call the locals.
He leaned back on the log, reached for the bag of marshmallows, popping one onto a roasting fork before extending it over the flames. When he looked up, Jilly was looking at him from across the flames. The inky black sky was bursting with shimmery stars, real twinkle lights hovering above the ones Grayson had strung around the trees. Even in the low light, Levi could feel Jilly’s stare like a touch. One he wanted very much.
“Levi,” she said quietly.
His muscles tightened, his hands aching to touch her. “Hmm?”
She grinned, then pointed. “Your marshmallow’s on fire.”
Shit. He pulled it back, blew on it, and accepted the chocolate graham cookies a kid passed him.
“Well done, Chef,” she said with a laugh.
“I’ll eat it! I like ’em burnt,” Ollie said from across the fire.
Levi glanced at Jillian to make sure that was okay. She nodded. After passing the treat to Ollie, he set the stick down, tried to focus on the new story Zane started. He stared up at the sky, remembering how they used to wish on stars when they were kids. They made millions of wishes because they could always see the stars. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a moment just to stare at them. Not exactly something he did a lot in the city. And it just wasn’t the same.
Nothing was the same in Smile.
After s’mores and story time, the kids went to the lodge to clean up, use the bathroom, and get ready for bed. Not roughing it entirely, but it was a nice blend of the two. While the other parents took the kids, he stayed behind to help Jillian tidy up the campsite area.
“Zane’s an amazing storyteller,” Levi said, twisting the bag of marshmallows closed.
Jilly looked up, an unopened bag tucked against her chest. “He’s very good. He’s actually a successful author. He writes under a pseudonym, but every year, he writes a story featuring all of the kids in Christopher’s classes, since preschool.”
“Wow. That’s really awesome.” He picked up the sticks, laid them in the box Jillian had brought out of the kitchen. “I should ask him about helping me with my menu. I like the idea of quirky names and descriptions.”
She stepped closer. “Like Get Lost Tacos? Those were delicious.”
He played with a lock of her hair just for an excuse to touch her. “You should try my fresh buttermilk pancakes.”
“Is that an invitation?”
Leaning in, he nuzzled against her neck, feeling her tremble against him. He pressed a kiss to the soft skin where her neck met her shoulder. He wanted to kiss her everywhere. She sighed against him and he knew they only had a couple of minutes so he pulled back. “I will happily make you breakfast any time. But tomorrow, your invite includes about twenty-five other people.”
Her fingers traced over the stitching on the front of his hoodie. “As long as that’s not the norm. Though, in the summer, if you visit us here, it might be, sometimes. Not twenty-five, but that dining table gets pretty full.”
It made him smile that she was thinking ahead. Sure, only to the summer, but still. Cautious Jilly was starting to trust him. Trust them.
“When the kids are tucked in and everyone is asleep, meet me on the dock.”
The chatter of kids and parents came through the trees.
“What?” Jill’s gaze widened.
“You heard me. One hour. Everyone will be tucked in and asleep. Gotta love fresh air. One hour, Jilly.”
Levi wasn’t sure if being with Jillian made him feel like a lovesick teenager because he’d been into her when they were teenagers or if this was just how it felt to fall in love. He settled on the scuffed and scarred wooden planks of the dock. Maybe tomorrow his dad could give them an estimate on extending and replacing some of it.
While the parents had tucked the kids in, Levi cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for the morning. When he’d left them to it, he’d laughed, hearing one of the parents tell them the first out of the tents were responsible for getting camp set up for breakfast—which pretty much ensured they’d all try to be last out of the tents. Smart. He hadn’t seen Jilly when he came back out to the fire but he’d gotten a chance to speak with Zane, who said he’d be happy to chat with him about putting together some content for a cool menu.
When the hour passed, he’d quietly slipped away, anticipation humming in his blood. Even a few minutes alone with Jilly was enough to look forward to. His feet hung over the edge of the dock, and though he wasn’t touching the water, he could feel the cool chill of it rising up into the air. The stars and the moon worked together to cast shadows and beams over the pool of darkness. It seemed infinite.
His entire body was chill, but the second he heard her approach, his heart actually soared. Like it was taking a leap off a high-dive board into the unknown waters below.
She sat down next to him, her feet swinging next to his, her thigh touching his, her scent, floral and fresh, wafting around him with the breeze, wrapping him up. It was both stirring and comforting.
He took her hand, and his smile widened as he ran his fingers over the back of it. “I imagined this when we were younger. Not here but just hanging out by the water with you. Just us.”
He turned to see she was already looking at him, her gaze so sweet, he could hardly stand it.
She leaned in, kissed him softly. Everything around them was so still, so quiet, this moment between them felt amplified. “Fifteen-year-old Jilly might have passed out if you’d asked.”
He laughed, laced their fingers together. “I’d have waited around until you came to.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I think this is better. Back then, I wanted you to kiss me more than I wanted the second Hunger Games to release.”
Levi slid an arm around her shoulders. “Wow. You really were into me.”
Poking him in the side, she tipped her head back against his shoulder so she was looking at him. “But I wouldn’t have known how to process my feelings. And you still would have left. This is better, no matter how much I wanted to make out with you.”
Levi sucked in a breath. “There’s that past and present colliding again. Wanting to kiss me then and me wanting to kiss you now.”
Jilly sighed into the kiss, meeting him somewhere in the middle. The water continued to rock the dock beneath them with a gentle cadence that seemed to complement their own movements. Her sighs and his echoed over the water as his hands memorized her face, stroked over her shoulders, along her back. They turned in to each other, shifted so they could be closer. He was certain it would never be close enough.
As their movements became more frantic, their breaths more erratic, he tried to slow them down. Leaning away, he slid his hand along her jaw, held her hooded gaze, offering only the lightest of touches. It was torture for them both. Exquisite torture like he’d never known, but they were at a camp filled with a bunch of kids and parents. He’d just give them something to look forward to. Something more to anticipate. Levi trailed kisses along her collarbone, up the side of her neck, slowly, sweetly, feeling her soften and all but melt with each one.
When her hand came to his thigh, her fingers curling into the fabric of his jeans and her breath hitching, he moved back to her mouth because he couldn’t fight it. His fingers sank into her thick, luxurious hair and he lost himself in the feel and taste of her. The feeling that everything he’d gone through, all of his roads, had led right back here. Home. To Jilly. To happiness.
As they kissed on the dock under the moon and the stars, Levi knew it was more than falling. This feeling, the emotions he had for this woman, were stronger than anything he’d felt before and he knew they’d just keep spinning, keep growing, until she was as much a part of him as his skin, his limbs, his heart. She was his heart. This wasn’t falling; it was crashing. Crashing headfirst into love with Jillian Keller.