33. Alexis
Alexis woke to the sound of a catbird, and she smiled. She’d always found their call funny—more like a baby than a cat.
She’d slept amazingly well, curled up in Levi’s arms. Even though it was November, it had been cool in the yurt, but with Levi pressed against her, she was cosy. And safe.
Sure, she’d dated in the past, but now that she was with Levi, it occurred to her how little her previous boyfriends had really cared about her as a person. They’d always judged her on her appearance or her background. There wasn’t a single one who’d made her feel like a human being worthy of an equal partnership.
And while she knew Levi had become even more accepting of her once he’d discovered her previous career, she honestly believed their relationship would have ended up at the same place, even if he’d never found out.
She watched him sleep and traced the side of his face with her finger. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
She smiled back. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi.’
They lay there, side-by-side, gazing at each other.
‘You’re so beautiful,’ Levi whispered.
She smiled wider in return. ‘You’re not so bad yourself.’
‘Do you feel okay this morning? No regrets?’
It was cute that he worried about her state of mind. That had definitely never happened in the past.
‘No regrets,’ she said.
‘I suppose we should get dressed and go find Theo and Sarah.’
‘Probably.’
‘But first…’ He pulled her face toward his and kissed her. She melted into his body and wrapped her arms around his torso, tugging him closer.
Sarah and Theo could wait a little longer.
Alexis lost track of time,but at some point, she became aware of Tamra shuffling around outside. Was she gardening?
Alexis reluctantly rolled out of bed and pulled her clothes on while Levi watched. It could have been awkward, but it wasn’t. They must have gotten rid of all the awkwardness in the earlier part of their acquaintance. Back when she was just the annoying upstairs neighbour.
She exited the yurt and saw Tamra in the yard surveying the result of yesterday’s rain. The sun had risen, and the view to the rocks was misty.
‘Sleep well?’ Tamra asked.
Alexis narrowed her eyes, wondering what she meant by the question—but it appeared Tamra was not enquiring about her love life.
‘I slept amazingly. I think the rain calmed down around midnight, and then it was super quiet. There’s always noise in the city where I live. This was nice.’
‘Yeah, I appreciate the quiet. Although, the birds can sometimes be a bit much. And the cicadas in summer! You’re lucky you’re here in spring. Sometimes I have to stay inside in the afternoons because they’re so loud.’
‘I actually think I’d like that.’
‘You’re welcome back anytime to hear them for yourself.’
‘I may just take you up on that offer.’
Levi came out of the yurt to join them. ‘Thank you so much for putting us up last night.’
‘It was my pleasure. Now, do you want to stay for breakfast? I have some fresh bread…’
‘Actually, we should probably get going,’ Alexis answered for him. ‘I need to get back to the cat I’m looking after.’ Evelyn hadn’t been happy about Alexis’ ‘technical difficulties’ but it hadn’t gotten her fired, so that was a win. She’d promised to get her phone ‘fixed’ that day so Evelyn could check on her precious cat tonight.
‘No problem. You should be fine with the roads now. The water rises quickly around here, but it also subsides just as fast.’
They farewelled Tamra and headed back to the car.
‘Hopefully she’s right,’ Alexis said.
‘I wonder how Theo and Sarah coped?’ Levi mused. ‘I meant to tell you, but Theo sounded very suspicious when I spoke to him yesterday afternoon.’
‘In what way?’
‘I don’t know. We may find out soon.’
The roads were as Tamra described, thankfully, and the drive back to Byron Bay was uneventful. Alexis watched the scenery pass by and grinned. At one point, she rested her hand near the middle console, and Levi reached down, enveloping his fingers around hers like he had the previous day.
She felt like a teenager on a first date. Why was her heart beating so fast?
Alexis assumed that Theo and Sarah would have booked a cheap motel for their last-minute stay, but when they arrived at the address Theo had sent through, she saw it was a boutique house in a quiet street.
Alexis followed Levi up the driveway to a gate that led to a pool, where both Theo and Sarah were lying on sunbeds.
Theo looked like he was posing for a photoshoot, his hair slicked back and his bare chiselled chest glistening in the sun. And while Alexis had known Sarah for most of her life, today, she noticed she was more than a match for the guy lying next to her. Her red hair was tied in a stylish ponytail, and she wore an emerald-green bikini that showed off her curves.
She looked so happy, she practically glowed.
‘It seems as though you two made the most of the situation,’ Levi drawled.
Sarah jumped up, suddenly looking panicked.
‘Yeah. Theo had a friend who owns this place,’ she rambled. ‘It was pretty lucky, because we couldn’t find anywhere else to stay at short notice.’
Alexis frowned at Sarah. Why was she acting that way?
Theo was a little more casual, but even he seemed uncomfortable.
‘Should we get going?’ he asked.
‘Yes. I’m sorry to have dragged you all the way down here when we didn’t even really get to do anything together.’
Sarah started coughing, and Alexis slapped her on the back. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine,’ she choked out.
Those two were acting very weird.
She shot Levi a questioning look, but he just shrugged in return.
‘Did you achieve your mission?’ Theo asked.
‘It looks promising.’ Alexis had told them she’d been investigating a potential house-sitting gig once her time with Evelyn was up.
‘Great. Shall we go then? We can grab breakfast on the highway.’
Sarah and Theo went inside to lock up, and Alexis and Levi returned to the car to wait. ‘When we get back to Brisbane, I’ll call Valentina, and we’ll see what we can do about your issue with work,’ she said.
Levi seemed to have forgotten all about his legal troubles, and his earlier ease disappeared. ‘Maybe I should just move to another country. You want to come with me?’
She chuckled. ‘Sounds fun. Sure. But we’ll have to wait until Evelyn returns.’
‘Damn.’ He shook his head as if it were a serious obstacle.
‘Don’t worry, Valentina is one of the best lawyers in town, and if anyone can sort out your problems, she can.’
‘I’ll help you find your mum too.’
‘We’ll help each other,’ she agreed.
Sarah and Theo joined them, and they drove quietly back to Brisbane, only stopping briefly for coffee and pastries and to charge the Jag.
When Alexis turned to check on the back seat, she swore she saw Sarah hurriedly pulling her hand away from the middle.
Something was going on.
And when they got home, Alexis was going to find out what.