Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A FRIDAY IN DECEMBER
“Are they too tight?” Levi asks as he kneels in front of me, my right foot tucked into the skate held between his thighs. “Or is this okay?”
“I think it’s okay,” I tell him. He sets my foot down and stands, holding his hands out to help me up to my feet. Claire is practically bouncing with excitement beside us, her own skates in her hand.
She hops onto the bench where I was sitting, giving Levi her skates.
He grabs her foot and slips off her boot, helping her into her skates.
He ties them like he did mine before he picks her up, carrying her over to the rink.
I smile as her eyes grow to the size of saucers as she takes in the giant lit tree.
“Wow,” she breathes as Levi sets her down. “It’s so big and bright.”
“Kind of like you.” I chuckle as Levi jostles her shoulder, and she beams up at him. “Okay, let’s get out there.”
Claire holds onto Levi’s hand as they step out onto the ice, and he lifts his hand higher to keep her upright as her feet slip out from underneath her.
She squeals in response as I skate out after them, staying a few strides behind as he plants himself in front of her.
He skates backwards, holding onto her hands, pulling her around the rink until she gets her strides down.
Eventually, he lets go, but keeps his hands extended in case he needs to catch her.
I have my phone out, recording the moment as my daughter learns to skate for the first time, completely oblivious to everyone around us.
Levi keeps giving Claire words of encouragement that seem to spur her on, and I cannot stop the grin from staying planted on my face.
“Mom, look,” she exclaims about half an hour later, skating completely on her own. She looks over her shoulder at me with a giant smile, but she still stays close to the boards in case she needs something to hold on to.
Levi skates beside me, his left hand intertwining with my free one. He gives it a gentle squeeze as we follow behind her. “She’s actually pretty good. Figured it’d take a lot longer to get her skating on her own.”
“She’s always been a quick learner,” I tell him, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “Not sure who she got that talent from, to be honest.”
“Give yourself some credit, Lowe.” Levi takes two quick strides forward and spins backwards so he can look at me. “You’re pretty smart and quick on your feet, too.”
I roll my eyes and try to fight my smile. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
He laughs, stopping completely. I slam into him, my hands landing on his biceps as he holds onto me by my elbows. Giving me a gentle smile, he dips his head and presses his lips to mine. It’s a slow kiss, one that has my heart skipping a beat.
“I love you,” he whispers, his forehead resting against mine. His right hand slides up my arm and moves to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my soft skin.
“I love you, too.” I lean into his touch before he kisses me once more.
“Can we go eat?” Claire asks, appearing beside us and causing us to pull apart.
Levi looks down at her with a smile. “Of course we can. What are you hungry for?”
“Burgers?”
“Burgers it is.”
Levi grabs Claire’s hand with his left and mine with his right, leading us back over to the door to get off the ice.
Once he helps both of us get our skates off and get back into our snow boots, we each grab Claire’s hands so she’s between the two of us as we walk down the busy streets towards her favorite burger place.
As we round the corner, something across the street catches my eye. A man is fiddling with his coat before wringing his hands together, pacing the sidewalk. Once he turns, my breath catches in my throat, drawing Levi’s attention. He follows my line of sight, his own eyes narrowing into slits.
“Take her inside, please.” Levi stares at me for a moment, hesitation and worry evident in his eyes, but one look down at Claire has him nodding. “I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”
Levi nods a second time, biting his lip gently before he takes Claire inside. I take a deep, calming breath and follow the crowd across the crosswalk to approach Travis.
“What, are you following me now?”
He turns around, his eyes growing wide in surprise. “Marlowe. What are you doing here?”
“You’re two blocks away from my apartment.” I roll my eyes, crossing my arms in front of me to try to keep myself warm against the winter chill.
“Yeah, okay.” He runs a hand through his overly long blonde hair. “I was debating whether or not to go see if you were home.”
I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, closing my eyes for a second. “Do you realize how repetitive this is becoming? How many times do I have to tell you I don’t want to see you? What happened to your threat of getting your own lawyer?”
“This has nothing to do with Claire.” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise as I wait for him to continue. “Remember when I came to your work and said I was in trouble? I need money, and they said they’re going to kill me if they don’t get it.”
“Who are they?”
He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I need twenty-thousand dollars, Mar.”
“What—” a surprised laugh escapes me. “I don’t have that kind of money, Travis.”
“Would your boyfriend? I mean, he’s a hotshot CEO, right?”
I scoff, placing my hands on my hips as I tilt my head back to look up at the snowflakes falling gently from the sky. “You’ve got to be kidding me. We can’t help you, Travis. Even if I wanted to, I can’t get that kind of money. I’m sorry.”
Travis gives me a sad look as he nods in understanding.
He absently glances around, his eyes falling on the burger joint across the street.
I follow his gaze to see Levi and Claire sitting beside each other next to the window.
She’s laughing at something as he draws on a piece of paper with a crayon, and when I see her lips moving, he laughs, too.
“Are you going to be at the apartment tonight?”
“Travis—”
“I won’t come by.” He stuffs his hands into his coat pockets. “I’m sorry, that was dumb of me to ask. I’ll leave you alone now. Can… can you at least tell her I said hi?”
Nodding just to end the conversation, he gives me an indecipherable look before he spins on his heel and walks away. I wait until he’s across the opposite street and rounds the corner before I go back to the burger joint.
Walking inside, Claire immediately perks up, waving her little hand frantically to get my attention. I laugh softly and head over to their table, sliding in across from the pair. There’s already a burger and a water waiting in my spot, Claire’s burger half gone but Levi’s untouched.
“You sure got those burgers fast,” I say as I slip out of my coat.
“Yeah, I’m not sure whether that’s concerning or not,” Levi responds with a laugh as Claire takes another massive bite of her burger. “I hope you’re good with a plain cheeseburger.”
I nod. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
Levi grins before picking up his burger, taking a bite. We eat the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence, the sound of the other patrons filling our ears. Claire finishes before we do and is coloring in the flowers that Levi had outlined for her when my phone rings in my pocket.
Claire perks up once I pull it out and sees Blue’s name on my screen. “Can I answer?”
I shrug and hand her my phone.
“Hi, Auntie Blue… that sounds like fun… let me ask mom. Mom? Can I stay the night?” I nod. “She said yes! Okay, here she is.”
“Figured you could get your Christmas shopping done,” Blue says the second the phone is to my ear. “You’re welcome.”
I chuckle. “Yes, thank you. We can drop her off here soon. Do you still have some extra pajamas and her toothbrush?”
“You know I do.”
“Okay, we’ll see you soon.”
Levi pays the check and together we walk back to his car.
The drive to Blue’s is filled with Claire telling us everything she wants for Christmas for this year—as if she hadn’t already given both Levi and I separate lists.
Only once she’s dropped off and we’re heading to our first stop of our shopping adventure does Levi speak to me.
“What did he want?” I turn to face him with a raised brow. “Travis.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him, tearing my eyes away from him to look out the window.
The car suddenly lurches to the right and Levi flips his hazards on.
My brows furrow as I glance at him; his one elbow rests on the center counsel and his other hand reaches for the one I have resting on my thigh.
He gives it a squeeze, his eyes pleading as he stares at me intently, and all I can do is sigh.
“He asked for money,” I mumble, glancing down at our intertwined hands. “And then asked if I’d be at the apartment tonight.”
Levi’s finger and thumb grip my chin, drawing my eyes back up to his. “Lowe, you can tell me anything when it comes to him. I know I don’t like the guy, but I want you to confide in me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I tilt my head up to rest my forehead against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He pulls back, turning off the hazards and flipping on his blinker to merge back into traffic. “Now, let’s go get Claire everything on her lists.”
My brows shoot up to my hairline. “Everything?”
“Everything.”