Chapter 4
LEVI
CHAPTER FOUR
I loved my family. I really did. But I couldn’t deny how hard it was to be around them. Being in their presence only served to remind me of how much we’d lost. Of what I’d taken from them. And the painful memories my being around at all must’ve brought up for them. It would’ve been easier for everyone if I weren’t here.
I’d spent years holing myself up, hiding away, but that had only worked while Addison had been at college. During that time, my brothers had been lost in their own grief, and we’d all been trying to keep the resort afloat in our mom’s absence. My brothers all had each other, though. The Irish twins, Brady and Aiden. And the actual twins, Beck and Ford.
I’d been alone. Addison, my partner in crime growing up, had been off at school. Chase had already embarked on his hockey career and was clear across the continent in Vancouver. And anyone else who’d once cared about me was long gone or actively avoiding all contact.
But after Addison had graduated and returned home, everything changed.
She’d whipped the resort—and us—into shape like the little dictator she was, earning every bit of her little D nickname. Without taking no for an answer, she’d dragged me from my solitude, whether I’d wanted her to or not. And now, barely a day went by when I didn’t see the little demon.
The past year notwithstanding, get-togethers with her and my brothers had been few and far between. But recently, they’d become more and more frequent as my siblings had started pairing off, one by one, until I was the only single one left.
Something sure as fuck was in the water around here, and I had no intention of catching whatever the hell it was.
Thanks to the new part-time help Chase had coerced Addison and Aiden into hiring for the resort, the family had been given some breathing room, allowing for a quick lunch at the café on Main Street. Since Brady and Ford were both on duty tonight, this was the only time that worked for everyone to celebrate the soft launch of the Lockhart Hockey Camp for Kids.
Since the actual complex Chase was building on the resort property wasn’t yet complete, he’d been given permission to use the high school rink as a temporary stand-in for the trial run. He’d been working around the clock the past couple months to make this a reality, and there was no way I’d miss being there to support him. Especially when he’d given me that same support tenfold over the years.
“How much longer till those fucking construction trucks are gone, Lockhart?” Aiden grumbled as all eleven of us strode out of the café. Avery elbowed him in the gut, and he glanced down at her with a raised brow. “What? It’s getting mud and shit all over the resort grounds.”
“You can handle a mess once in a while.” There was no missing the sexual undertone in her voice or the smirk she sent his way.
“Goddammit, Avery!” Addison glared at her best friend. “It’s bad enough that you’re staying so close I can hear you at night, but this, too? It’s going to be like this for the rest of our lives, isn’t it? You saying completely inappropriate things about my brother’s and your sex life, and me just having to deal with it.”
Avery grinned, completely unrepentant, and shrugged. “Yeah, probably. On the plus side, you get to do that to Levi now.”
I snapped my head in Avery’s direction. “The fuck she does.”
I didn’t care if Addison was married. I didn’t care about the fact that I’d witnessed her and Chase climbing out of the back seat of his truck, no question as to what they’d been doing. I didn’t care that I’d walked in on them going at it more times than should have been possible in the four goddamn months since they’d gone public. In my mind, those two were sleeping in separate beds and always would be.
“I don’t want to hear it, either,” Brady said, wrapping an arm around Luna as they led the group. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re still a virgin.”
“Ditto,” the rest of my brothers chimed in.
Addison huffed, turning an indignant expression our way. “Well, if I have to hear about all the freaky shit you guys are doing, it’s only fair that you have to hear about me!”
“I will duct-tape your mouth shut and lock you in a closet if you even think about it,” I said.
Beck nodded, glancing back at us with Everly tucked into his side. “I’ll help.”
“I’ll be on lookout.” Ford shot a wink at his wife. “And make sure my beautiful, do no harm doctor wife doesn’t know anything about it.”
Quinn snorted and rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.
“Brady and I will occupy Chase while it’s taken care of,” Aiden said.
Brady didn’t agree with Aiden’s statement, but he also didn’t rebuff it. Plausible deniability for the sheriff and all that.
“You could try,” Chase said, his tone daring my older brothers to give it a go.
“She’s twenty-eight, not sixteen.” Luna shot a glance at my brothers and me over her shoulder. “And she’s married to that.” She tipped her chin toward Chase with a smirk. “She’s definitely getting fu?—”
“Lawbreaker,” Brady cut in, his low tone ringing with warning. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, or you’re gonna be in trouble when we get home.”
She shot him a mischievous smile. “In that case, she’s definitely getting fu?—”
“That’s our cue.” With that, Brady offered a two-fingered wave over his shoulder and tugged a laughing Luna along behind him.
The rest of my brothers and their significant others followed suit, saying their goodbyes as they dispersed until it was just Chase, Addison, and me.
“Can I catch a ride with you guys over to the high school?” I asked.
“Yep.” Chase twirled his keys around his finger. “We’re parked around the corner.”
“Let me run up and grab my gear, in case we do a pickup game.”
He nodded as the three of us crossed the street, heading toward my apartment. Chase never let Addison get out of arm’s reach, always having to touch her in some way. Including the undeniable sound of his hand smacking her ass as they walked into the building behind me.
I climbed the stairs and shot them a glare over my shoulder. “Seriously, I think I liked it better when you were hiding shit from me. I can’t look at you two without seeing your hands on some part of her body, and it’s fucking weird.”
Chase just shrugged, a satisfied grin on his face like he was the luckiest man on earth. As long as he made Addison happy, I’d figure out a way to deal with all the PDA they seemed to be intent on subjecting me to. He rested his left hand on her stomach, his fingers spread wide, their wedding date inked on his ring finger for all to see.
I unlocked and opened my apartment door without taking my gaze off the two of them, the placement of his hand drawing my eye. It was possessive. Protective. As if she were— Without even finishing my thought, I shot my gaze to Addison’s face before snapping it to Chase’s. “Wait, are you preg?—”
“Oh, honey,” Mabel’s voice called from somewhere inside my apartment. “I wasn’t expecting you home until tonight!”
My thoughts derailed in an instant, and I hung my head, blowing out an exasperated breath. The older woman was always around, stopping by more days than not. And she didn’t understand the meaning of privacy, instead just letting herself into my apartment whenever she saw fit. I’d learned a long time ago that it was easier to go along with her whims than fight them. Especially because she brought cookies half the time.
“Are you…reorganizing my brother’s kitchen cabinets?” Addison asked, her brows raised as she stared at Mabel in disbelief. My sister turned toward me, hooking a thumb over her shoulder to Mabel. “Seriously…is she reorganizing your cabinets?”
“Not the first time,” I mumbled.
“When he puts the spices in the same cabinet as his cups, what am I supposed to do?” Mabel asked. Her gray hair was in curlers, and she wore a shirt that read, Prone to shenanigans and malarkey. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a heavy sigh. “She’s taken it upon herself to be my surrogate mother.”
“Well, with no one else here to help, who’s going to do it for you? I, for one, am happy to provide my assistance. And, actually, that’s why I’m here.”
“To reorganize his kitchen?” Addison asked.
“No, to let you know you won’t be lonely living here all by yourself anymore.” She shot us a smile I’d learned a long time ago meant nothing but trouble. “At least, not for a few weeks.”
“Uh, what?” I asked, not bothering to hide the suspicion in my tone.
“A roommate,” Mabel said, speaking slowly as if that would clear up everything.
“I don’t have a roommate, Mabel,” I said. “I live alone. I like to live alone. And you might be my landlord, but you can’t just rent out a room in my apartment without my consent.”
“Oh, but I can. Because, technically, it’s still my apartment.”
I raised a brow in her direction and crossed my arms over my chest. “The lease I signed says otherwise.”
“Did you read the lease, honey?”
I didn’t appreciate the condescension in her tone. Or the way she whipped a large packet of papers from her purse and offered them to me with a flourish, as if she’d just been waiting for me to challenge her.
She pointed to a section in the middle of the page. “It says right there that you’re renting one bedroom in this apartment. Not the whole apartment. So, the living room, kitchen, and bathroom are all technically shared spaces. And the extra bedroom is free for me to rent! I had a friend in need, and who was I to say no to the sweet girl?”
I scanned over the document, realizing that the fucking rental agreement I’d signed was, in fact, for a single, solitary bedroom, not the whole apartment. And the sad part was I wasn’t surprised in the least this conniving woman had pulled that over on me. What was a surprise was that she’d waited years to spring it on me.
“Jesus Christ, Mabel, are you serious?” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t want a stranger living in my apartment.”
She shot me a huge smile and snatched the papers from me before stuffing them back in her oversized purse. “That’s the best part! She’s not a stranger. In fact, you all go way back, so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.”
I could only manage to stare at her, no clue who she could possibly be referring to. I didn’t go way back with anyone. Only my family, Chase, and?—
Before her name even entered my mind, Harper Davidson stepped out of the extra bedroom and froze at the sight of us. Her attention pinged between the four of us before landing on me, and a jolt of awareness shot through me.
Just like fucking always when it came to her.
And just like fucking always, I immediately dropped my gaze to her left hand, equal parts relieved and angry there wasn’t a ring on her finger.
She was still as gorgeous as ever—a blonde bombshell with lips I’d pictured wrapped around my cock more times than I would ever admit and curves that could make a grown man weep. Since I’d pushed her away all those years ago, I’d seen her in passing a handful of times, but I’d never really allowed myself to look, to soak in every inch of her, knowing just how dangerous it would be. Knowing exactly how easily she’d pull me right back into her orbit.
But she’d disarmed me enough by showing up in what was supposed to be my sacred space that there was no stopping it now.
Her hair was long and wavy, falling to the middle of her back, her blue eyes sparking with a fire that was brand-new. Her body was made for sin—something that was new, too, and so different from the wisp of a girl I’d once known—with full tits, a small waist, and a pair of thick hips I couldn’t help but imagine gripping as I?—
Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell was wrong with me?
She was going to be my undoing. She was still my undoing.
When we’d known each other more than a decade ago, she’d had an innocence about her. She’d been soft and sweet. Willing to conform to any expectation someone had of her. But it seemed life or circumstances or both had beaten that out of her, leaving behind a woman who dared you to cross her.
Except I already had. I’d crossed her. Before bailing entirely, I’d said the words I knew would hurt her. I’d broken her heart and left her to pick up the pieces on her own.
Worse, I’d known exactly what I was doing. Had known my unexpected words would cut her deep. It was why I’d said them—my assurance she’d leave me alone. That she’d never want anything to do with me again.
And it’d worked. She’d stayed away from me and from Starlight Cove for more than a decade.
Until now.