Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
LEVI
It had been a few weeks since the night we’d gone to the bar, and when Andy didn’t mention again about being my wingman and helping me navigate dating, I figured he’d forgotten about it, or that I was such a train wreck when I pretended to pick him up that he regretted his decision and tried to sweep it under the rug.
I wouldn’t have blamed him. If I was in his position, I wouldn’t want to teach me how to date either.
That was why, when I’d been asked about it at the last couple of weekly gatherings with Jim and Austin, I hadn’t known what to say. They had invited Andy to join us, but I hadn’t seen him around recently and he never sought me out either.
I didn’t think he was intentionally avoiding me or anything like that. I’d been busy with the B like he’d steal my secrets from the depths of my eyes .
I didn’t think my dads would be too happy to know I was going on a date with our new chef.
Not a date .
God, I really needed to remember that.
It didn’t even cross my mind to lie. To tell him I was excited about meeting up with Austin and Jim tonight, or that I’d met someone new and was grabbing dinner with them. Pops could smell a lie a mile away, and I didn’t really want to get into my dating life with him—or more accurately, my lack of a dating life.
“If you don’t want to tell me, fine. But if you do have happy news, I hope you’ll share it with your bàba and me. We love you and just want you to be happy.”
No matter how old I was, I would never stop feeling mushy when my parents showed me their care for me. I really won the parent jackpot to have two of the most amazing, kindhearted people as my dads.
I dropped my sandwich on my plate and wrapped Pops in a bear hug. He yelped at my surprise attack, laughing and patting my back—hard—at the hug.
“I love you too, Pops,” I said into his hair. He was about half a head shorter than me. The perfect height for me to rest my head on top of his in this position, though he hated it when I did that, claiming it was a crime that the men in this family towered over him.
“I know, my little boy,” he said. I pulled back and gave him a pointed look that stated the obvious fact that I wasn’t little anymore.
Pops’ gaze didn’t falter as he looked up at me, almost like he was the biggest force in the kitchen right now. He wasn’t wrong. Put me in charge of a kitchen and the only thing you’d get out of it was burnt toast. Better to leave all that to Pops.
The rest of the day flew by while I busied myself around the B my dads almost never got a day off either. It didn’t help that they lived in the living space on the top floor of the B&B, so there was practically no work/life balance.
Dad liked to joke about retiring and taking Pops to travel the world, but he was too much of a workaholic to actually retire, and both Pops and I knew that.
The final task I liked to end my workday with was chatting with our guests in the general living area where people could hang out, watch TV, play board games, or just socialize.
It was also the rooms where we held our events, like our weekly movie or arts and crafts nights. Those were especially popular with the kids.
I enjoyed taking time out of my day to chat with the people staying here. They would tell me about their hometown, why they were here, and even sometimes their hopes and dreams.
Every person had their own story to share, and I loved absorbing it all. I’d always loved talking to people, and the little connections we’d formed with our guests at the B&B fueled that for me.
And, of course, this was a productive time to hear about areas we could improve in as well. Sure, the B&B was a business, but I liked to think we were creating a home away from home for these travelers. We became their extended family while they were here, and we wanted them to be as comfortable as possible.
I was stupidly happy on the walk home after listening to a little girl excitedly tell me about all the hidden doves she’d found around the B&B .
The Doves of Destiny was a known symbol here, representing the love between the two founders of our town. Usually, it was depicted as two doves with their beaks touching, as if kissing, but the doves’ motif was used as decorations in general.
I wasn’t sure who’d started it, but doves were hidden in the most random places at the B&B. There were the obvious ones, like the statue of the kissing doves in the reception area, but there were also dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny doves hidden in plain sight. On the baseboard of the stairs, the decorative topper on the door hinges—those were my idea—little sun catchers on windows that shone pretty spots of rainbows inside.
The little girl was absolutely brimming with energy as she told me she’d counted at least fifty and listed every place she remembered seeing one. It was little things like that, tiny moments of joy from our guests, that really lit up the fire inside my heart to continue bringing my best to the B&B.
Humming a happy tune, my head was in the clouds through my shower routine. It wasn’t until a knock came on my bedroom door that I realized I’d forgotten something.
Towel still wrapped around my waist and water droplets tickling as they slid down my skin, I opened the door to find Andy standing there all dolled up in tight pants that deliciously hugged his thigh muscles and a long-sleeved casual sweater that made his forearms look even bigger.
I could just drool.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice low and smooth.
Had our day apart made his voice somehow sexier?
Fuck! Despite looking forward to it all day, the last couple hours chatting with the guests had me forgetting all about our date.
Not a date, Levi! Get it together!