24. Levi
Levi leaned against the door, smiling stupidly to himself. Damn, it was nice seeing Alexis this morning. And kissing her. He’d barely been able to keep the kiss from last night out of his brain. Now he had another one to add to his memory.
He pushed away from the door and went to his closet to dress, taking extra care with his clothing choices. She had seen him in his work attire before, but… it was different now.
He stepped out of his room and breathed in a scent that made his stomach rumble. Was Elias cooking breakfast?
No. Not Elias. Alexis.
‘You don’t have to cook him breakfast,’ Levi said, a little annoyed. Not at her. At his oaf of a brother who was stretched out on the couch watching her. Levi did not like the way Elias was admiring her. Not one bit.
‘I don’t mind,’ she replied, smiling over her shoulder at him. It went a long way to smoothing his ruffled feathers. ‘You should sit and have some too.’
‘Don’t bother making anything for him,’ Elias said. ‘He only drinks those disgusting green smoothies in the morning.’
‘I could eat,’ Levi said.
He would be late for work, and it would mean skipping lunch, but he really didn’t give a shit right at that moment. If it meant spending more time with Alexis, then work could go to hell.
‘It’s nothing fancy,’ she said. ‘Just an omelette.’
Levi moved around the kitchen and got out some plates and cutlery. ‘Do you want me to set the table, or should we eat at the kitchen counter?’
‘The counter’s fine,’ she replied.
It was all so… domestic. He didn’t hate it. There were no hives breaking out over his skin and no panic attack brewing. It was… perfect.
Elias slid onto one of the bar stools and looked between Levi and Alexis.
‘What’s this?’ he said, waving his hand between them. ‘What is going on here? Is this a case of the body snatchers? Did aliens come down from space and steal your bodies or something?’
Alexis and Levi looked at one another and grinned. ‘No,’ they replied together.
Elias’ eyes widened. ‘That’s exactly what an alien would say.’
‘Shut up and eat,’ Levi said as Alexis placed a plate in front of him.
Elias kept a wary eye on them as they both sat and started eating. The omelette was great, although to be honest, Levi couldn’t say he tasted anything. It was great because Alexis made it. It may very well taste terrible, and he wouldn’t know or care.
‘Did you know we’ve met Alexis before?’ Elias said when he couldn’t stand the quiet any longer.
‘What?’ Levi turned to his brother.
‘We have?’ Alexis said at the same time.
‘Yeah. I worked it out. You remember that time when we were kids that Dad had some legal trouble?’
Levi frowned. His dad had been sued a few times, so it was hard to pin down one time in particular.
‘You know,’ Elias coaxed. ‘I was probably only in primary school. It was a big deal. Lots of hushed conversations, and Mum went through that bread baking stage, although I think it was the kneading that she did it for. The bread was awful and as hard as a rock.’
Levi nodded slowly, a faded memory coming into focus. ‘I think I remember.’
‘So it was a Saturday, I think. I’m only guessing because all I remember was that everyone was home. Dad’s lawyer came, and he brought his daughter with him because he didn’t have anyone to look after her.’
‘O-kay,’ Levi said slowly.
Elias pointed at Alexis. ‘That was Alexis.’
Levi looked at the woman in question—who looked just as confused as he was.
‘What?’ she said. ‘How on earth did you come to that conclusion?’
‘You were telling me about your dad being a lawyer and how your mum left, and you were sad, and you remember someone giving you a stuffed bear.’
‘Ri-ight,’ Alexis said with a frown, looking between Levi and Elias.
‘Levi gave you the bear.’
He had given the little girl one of his stuffed toys. But was that really Alexis? That meant…
‘Your dad’s a lawyer?’ he asked, piecing the puzzle together. ‘And the family business is a law firm?’
Alexis was nodding, but her face was pale.
‘So… you’re a lawyer too?’
‘Was,’ she corrected. ‘I was a lawyer.’
Levi blinked. He didn’t know what to make of this turn of events. He did not know how to reconcile the woman he had gotten to know with his image of a lawyer. He couldn’t picture the little girl he’d given the bear to, in fact he’d just about forgotten all about her.
Levi stood. ‘I need to go.’
He needed some space to get his head around the revelation. Alexis was a lawyer, and not the concierge he’d believed her to be. Oh, he knew she hadn’t exactly lied to him, and he wasn’t angry just… confused.
‘You’re leaving?’ she asked, following him to the door.
He looked down at her, cataloguing her features. She looked worried and a little bit angry, which he could understand.
‘I’m late,’ he said, trying to make his voice seem as non-combatant as he could.
‘You can’t leave in the middle of a conversation,’ Alexis said.
‘I just…’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I just need to think.’
‘About what? Is me being an ex-lawyer such a big deal?’
‘It… changes things,’ he said.
‘How does my previous career change things?’
‘Look, I really don’t have time to talk about this now. I need to go. I promise we’ll talk about it tonight.’
‘What if I don’t want to talk about it tonight?’
‘Alexis. Please. I have to go.’
‘I never lied to you,’ she said, and her voice was small. He hated hearing her so diminished.
Not caring about whether Elias could see them or not—not even thinking about Elias at all—Levi dipped his head and kissed her. It was irrational and probably inappropriate, but he hadn’t known what else to do.
‘I promise we’ll talk tonight,’ he whispered.
Not waiting for her reply, he left, his brain spinning.
Hours later,Levi still couldn’t think of anything else except Alexis. He’d thought his head would be full of their kiss, but the revelation that she was really a lawyer had taken front and centre. He’d come to the conclusion that it was perfect. Alexis being a lawyer was actually perfect. Despite his mother setting them up, she would not have approved of Alexis’ job. But now that it had been revealed who she really was, Levi knew his mother wouldn’t have any objections.
And there was that connection from their childhood. Levi wasn’t sure if his father still used the same law firm—Levi had his own lawyer who had nothing to do with the clinic or his family—but it wouldn’t really matter. It wasn’t like it was a conflict of interest or anything.
So… this was a good thing. He smiled. The weight that had been on his shoulders all day fell away. It was still early days. He and Alexis hadn’t even defined their relationship yet. Hell, could one date and a couple of kisses be even considered a relationship? But it felt like a green light to him. What were the odds of finding someone that his mother would approve of and that he liked?
‘Dr Beck?’ Tessa said from the doorway.
‘Yes?’ he said, smiling. She looked a little taken aback, which was understandable considering he rarely smiled in the office.
Tessa came into the office and closed the door behind her. ‘I just thought you would like to know that I found out about Sophie Jamieson.’
Levi pulled his eyebrows together. ‘I take it by the look on your face, it’s not good news.’
‘She died,’ Tessa whispered. ‘A few months ago.’
Levi swallowed, his mind going quiet. ‘How?’
Tessa shook her head. ‘I don’t know. No one would tell me. But… her husband went to court. He was acquitted?—’
Levi jumped to his feet. ‘Did he kill her?’ he said between gritted teeth.
‘Not according to the trial,’ Tessa said.
Levi started to pace. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that. Well, logically he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He should have done more. Maybe if he had said something earlier, maybe if he hadn’t been so hesitant about speaking honestly with her, he might have prevented this. Maybe he could have gotten Sophie away from him before he’d done this.
Levi had no doubt that Sophie’s husband had killed her. He didn’t give a damn what the courts said. That man was guilty—not that he could do anything about it. Sure, he had documented her injuries, but if the prosecution had wanted his testimony, they would have contacted him. It was too late now.
‘Thanks, Tessa,’ he said with a resigned sigh.
She nodded and backed out of his office. He felt like punching something. Shaking his hands out, he continued to pace.
‘I’m going for a run,’ he told Tessa through the intercom. ‘I’ve got time, right?’
‘You don’t have any other clients today,’ she replied.
‘Good.’
He’d go for a run to clear his head and then return home. The last thing he wanted was to have this mess in his brain when he was trying to talk to Alexis. It wasn’t like he could talk to her about it anyway. Levi had a very strict code of conduct when it came to patient confidentiality. He would never speak about his patients to anyone else, not even abstractly. No. He had to deal with this himself and make sure he was one hundred percent focused on Alexis tonight. He couldn’t do anything for Sophie now, so he needed to put his energy into the things he could do something about.