9. Levi
Levi slowed as he approached the apartment building, checking his heart rate and pace on his smart watch. He’d slept like crap and woken with a hangover. The last thing he’d wanted to do was go for a jog, but now that it was over, he was glad he’d dragged himself out of bed. His time was shit, but he wasn’t currently training for anything, so he was okay with it. Training for his next marathon was a few months away, so as long as he kept his fitness up?—
His feet stopped mid-stride. He knew that hair. What he hadn’t expected was to see it in the same proximity as Theo. What the ever-loving hell?
The head of hair in question was suddenly thrown back in laughter, and Theo was giving her his patented ‘come-hither’ look. The bastard.
Before Levi knew what he was doing, he was marching through the cafe doors. He was sticky and sweaty from his run and probably smelled like a gym locker, but he didn’t care in the slightest… his current state of dress and hygiene weren’t a priority right now.
‘Levi!’ Theo boomed, jumping to his feet, his arms open wide for an embrace. But then his perfect nose crinkled, and he went with a shoulder slap rather than a hug. Levi wasn’t mad about it. Theo was far too free with the hugs.
‘Theo,’ he replied, but his eyes were on the woman who was staring at him like he was her worst nightmare come to life. ‘I thought we were going to meet later tonight.’
‘We are,’ Theo said. ‘I was just visiting Mum and discovered this delightful person house-sitting for her. Have you met Alexis?’
Alexis. So that was her name.
Levi frowned and dragged his eyes away from Alexis to look at Theo. ‘House-sitting?’
Alexis cursed under her breath, and Levi smiled, turning back to her. ‘You’re house-sitting? Evelyn’s place?’ He frowned again and looked back at Theo. ‘Since when did Evelyn live in this building?’
Theo lowered himself into his seat and crossed one leg over the other, looking for all the world like he was on a film set. Levi didn’t want to be jealous of the guy’s easy elegance, but it was hard not to be. Theo tapped a finger against his chin, his watch glinting in the lights. Now he looked like he was on the cover of a magazine. Levi had clients who would kill for Theo’s smooth skin and full lips. Levi felt especially underdressed standing next to him in his jogging shorts and singlet.
‘I’m not sure?’ Theo replied thoughtfully. ‘A couple of months, I guess? She must have moved when I was in Italy. I’ve only had the chance to visit once before now.’ Theo beamed at Alexis. ‘I have to apologise for my rude friend here. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Levi yet?’
‘Oh, we’ve met,’ Alexis replied with a sarcastic lilt. ‘Not that it was much of a pleasure.’
‘I could say the same,’ Levi muttered.
Theo looked between them, his grin widening. ‘Now that sounds like a story I need to hear.’
‘It’s barely worth mentioning,’ Levi replied through gritted teeth.
‘Now I want to know even more.’ He pushed a chair out with his foot and nodded to it. ‘Have a seat. Join us for breakfast.’
‘No,’ Levi replied.
‘Come on, mate. I haven’t seen you in forever. Let’s catch up and get to know Alexis a little bit more.’
‘I know all I need to know about Alexis,’ Levi said. ‘And you and I are getting drinks tonight. We can catch up then.’
Theo pouted. ‘At least have coffee with us.’
Levi sighed and looked down at himself. He wanted to stay. It was irrational. He didn’t want to stay because of Theo; he wanted to stay because of her. Because of Alexis. But…
‘I really need to shower and change,’ Levi said.
‘What’s a bit of sweat between friends?’ Theo said with a wave of his hand.
‘I’m not sure Alexis is as forgiving as you are,’ Levi said.
‘You don’t mind, do you Lexi? I can call you Lexi, can’t I?’ Theo winked at her, and her cheeks flushed.
It shouldn’t make Levi angry. Theo was an incurable flirt, and there was not a time Levi could remember when Theo wasn’t flirting with all the women within his radius. But for the first time, it annoyed Levi. He wanted to stand between them so Theo couldn’t make eye contact with her.
He must be delirious with hunger. That was the only explanation Levi could come up with. There was no other reason for him to feel this way about a woman he didn’t even like. It had to be hunger and hangover. A fresh kale and citrus juice followed by an egg white omelette and dark rye bread would chase the feeling away in no time.
‘Does the body corporate know you’re house-sitting?’ Levi asked.
‘I don’t see that it’s any business of the body corporate,’ Alexis said, crossing her arms. ‘Or yours, for that matter.’
‘Of course it’s my business,’ Levi replied, crossing his arms to mirror her. Did he plump up his biceps just a bit? Sure, but that was just to… he didn’t know why he did that. He didn’t stop doing it, though. ‘There’s a whole security issue. And how do we really know you’re house-sitting and not squatting?’
‘Squatting?’ she spluttered. ‘Seriously?’
‘He has a point,’ Theo said, tapping his chin again. ‘I only have your word for it.’ He leaned forward, getting right into Alexis’ face. ‘How do I know you didn’t off my mother and are in the process of taking over her identity?’ He leaned back and smirked. Levi rolled his eyes. He was such a shit-stirrer.
‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Alexis said. ‘I have a signed contract upstairs, which you are free to look at any time.’
‘Any time?’ Theo asked, raising one cocky eyebrow.
‘You could have forged her signature,’ Levi said, jumping in before Theo could say anything else. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t stop the words tumbling from his mouth.
‘Well, then maybe you would like to join the video call I have scheduled with Evelyn and Tofu at seven o’clock tonight?’
‘Yes,’ Levi said without thinking.
‘Yes?’ Alexis said, her eyebrows high. ‘You’re serious?’
‘Deadly,’ Levi replied.
Theo laughed, and they both looked at him.
‘Sorry,’ he said, still chuckling and obviously not sorry at all. ‘Are you two shooting a drama?’
‘I’m leaving,’ Levi said, dropping his arms and spinning away. He stopped and turned back, narrowing his eyes. ‘I’ll see you at seven,’ he said to Alexis before looking at Theo. ‘And I’ll see you at eight.’
‘Oh no you don’t,’ Theo said with a wide, toothy smile. ‘I will see you and Alexis at seven. I’d like a word with Mother dearest.’
Alexis cursed under her breath again.
‘It’s a date,’ Levi said, spinning away again and marching out of the cafe.
He was an idiot.Why the hell had he said that? Why the fuck had he insisted on speaking with Evelyn himself?
He ran his hands through his hair and tilted his face to the ceiling, ignoring the view in front of him. Alexis was making him crazy. All the benefits from his run had been undone in a few moments in her presence, and he’d spent the rest of the day obsessing over the conversation.
He blamed Theo.
He blamed her.
He blamed both of them.
Ugh! He didn’t want to think of them together in the same sentence. Which was ridiculous. He shouldn’t care. He absolutely didn’t care. Theo never got serious about anyone… not that Levi cared whether he was serious about Alexis or not. Why would he care?
Levi turned away from the windows and stalked to the fridge. He pulled it open with such force that the glass water bottles in the door rattled. He stared at the contents and dismissed them all. What he wanted was a beer, but all he had in his fridge was water. There wasn’t even a stray bottle of soft drink to be seen. Of course there wouldn’t be. Levi didn’t buy the overly sugared drinks.
He grabbed a bottle of water and slammed the fridge door before it could start beeping at him. Twisting off the cap, he prowled around the apartment. His entire day had been ruined after the interaction in the cafe. Thoughts of Alexis had plagued him for hours, making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything else. It was bordering on obsession.
Levi needed a plan. If he was going to be running into her regularly—provided everything checked out with Evelyn tonight—then he needed a way to compartmentalise his reaction to her. She wasn’t even his type. She was messy and… and… and…
And he didn’t know what. He couldn’t even be sure that she was messy. He was just making an assumption based on the few interactions he’d had with her. Just what was it about her that got under his skin so much? Even when he’d thought she was just a fever dream, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. He still thought he smelled her perfume in his apartment at times.
Levi’s hyper-focus had served him well when he was studying. It was what made him a great doctor. It had just never extended to a person before. Especially not one who cleaned houses and house-sat, and whatever else she did. He was a snob. He freely admitted it. He didn’t understand people who weren’t super focused on their careers. Even Theo, who lived like a nomad, worked hard for his career. He might look like it all fell in his lap—and most of it did—but Theo knew how to focus when he needed to. Alexis was more like his brother Elias. Probably an unfair comparison, but in Levi’s eyes, there were too many similarities. Elias was freewheeling through life. It was a rebellion, Levi knew, but he couldn’t understand it. Elias could be and do whatever he wanted, and yet he did nothing. It annoyed Levi more than he was willing to admit.
Levi’s phone rang, and he answered it without looking at the caller ID.
‘Hello, this is Dr Beck.’
‘Uncle Levi!’ Chloe squealed in his ear. ‘Why didn’t you tell me Uncle Theo was back?’
Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘I only just found out myself.’ His niece Chloe had a massive crush on Theo. Levi had fervently hoped she’d have grown out of it by now.
‘When can I see him?’ Chloe demanded.
‘I’m seeing him tonight, so I’ll ask?—’
‘Where? I can meet you there.’
Levi groaned. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ll make a time when we can all meet up, but not tonight.’
‘You’re no fun,’ she said, and Levi could picture the pout.
‘Uncle Elias is the fun uncle, remember?’
Chloe laughed. ‘Okay, but promise me you’ll set something up! How about tomorrow? It’s Sunday, and I have the whole day free.’
Levi sighed. Spending two days in a row with Theo?
‘Promise me!’ Chloe demanded.
‘Fine. I’ll check with Theo. But only if he’s free,’ Levi said.
‘He’ll be free,’ Chloe replied. ‘He loves me.’
‘I’ll text you later,’ Levi said before disconnecting. He loved his niece, but she was a little overwhelming at times—a trait she got from her father, Jonah.
Levi checked the time for the thousandth time. It was still five hours before the scheduled call with Evelyn. What the hell was he going to do until then?