Page 27 of No Bed Of Roses

She laughed as she realized his thoughts had echoed her own. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

Heat flared in his eyes. “Good.” He kissed her again, and the heat in his eyes had transferred to his lips. Her entire body tingled, and when he lifted his head, she found she’d grabbed onto his t-shirt and was holding tight.

She released the fabric and patted it into place, then caressed it so she could feel the muscles beneath. “You make me forget everything.”

His hands flexed on her waist, and then they slid down to squeeze her butt. “Same goes.”

Those big hands slid up under her sweatshirt, and his thumbs grazed over her breasts. Even through the fabric of her t-shirt and bra, his touch had her nipples reacting. The zing reached right into her core and she leaned into him.

Levi growled into her ear and brushed his thumbs over her breasts again.

Hopper barked, and they broke apart. Levi sighed heartily and removed his hands. She couldn’t keep in the whimper, which made his eyes flare again. “Soon, Sprite, soon.”

Then he lifted her by the waist and set her into the truck. He closed the door, and she watched him take a deep breath before walking around to the other side. It almost gave her time to compose herself. If they didn’t get naked with each other soon, they were liable to combust.

He was muttering as he climbed into the truck and turned it around to head to town. Then he blew out another breath and sent her a sardonic look. “The sooner we make that date, the better.”

“We could count this as a date.”

He grinned. “I like the way you think. Okay, date one is demolition. Date two is dinner somewhere. We’ll have to find out where to go.”

Isla was too involved with thinking about what might come after the date that she completely missed the short, hilly drive into Phail. Levi pulled into a mostly filled lot.

The main drag of the town was called Phail Way. She spotted Phail Phoods across the street, and the diner she’d heard so much about was the No Fail Diner.

Apparently, if you were stuck with a terrible name, you made the most of it with a light-hearted sense of humor. Exactly how she would think about being stuck with a self-centered father.

A group had gathered in front of a trio of buildings across the street from the parking lot. The buildings looked to be well over a hundred years old and empty. Sean and Aisling were at the front of the group, and they waved as she and Levi joined everyone.

Sean called out. “Good timing. Everyone, if you haven’t met them yet, that’s Tansy’s friend, Isla Duggan, who bought the land north of our farmhouse.”

Her face flushed as everyone turned to look, but she managed a smile that hopefully didn’t look too forced.

Sean continued talking. “And that’s Oz. He spent time with me and Arrow in the military.”

Beside her, Levi sighed and then called out. “It’s Levi, Levi Connors. In case Falcon hasn’t noticed, we’re not in the military anymore.”

The crowd chuckled, and Sean clapped his hands. “Okay, I hope everyone brought muscles. As most of you know, Piper Keenan is having us create a park on this block. It will be a big boost for the town, but to get started, we need to get these buildings out of the way.”

Aisling nodded. “Do your best to be careful when taking things apart. I’m hoping to keep as much of the wood as possible. We can reuse a lot of it when we build the gazebo and some of the other park features. We’ll see if anyone has any use for the windows and everything else we pull out.”

That made Isla smile. No wonder Tansy was good friends with these people. Not only would they reuse the materials, but she didn’t see a single-use product in sight. People carried reusable cups for their coffee or other drinks.

Sean continued. “Aisling and I will divide everyone into teams, and then let’s get Phail Way Park started.”

Hopper leaned into her legs while the crowd moved around them. Maybe she should have left the dog at home.

A young girl appeared at her side. “Hi, I’m Nina, and I hear you’re Isla.”

Isla nodded at Nina, who looked to be about ready to start high school. “Hi, Nina. Nice to meet you.”

“Can I pet your dog? What’s his name? Or her name? Is he a boy or a girl?”

Isla grinned. “He’s a boy, and his name is Hopper. Do you know how to approach a dog who doesn’t know you?”

Nina’s smile brightened the whole area. “I do. I get to work with Kimi Twinishe every week. Do you know her? She’s Phail’s vet, and she’s amazing.”

Isla agreed. “She is. Kimi came to check out Hopper when we found him. We think someone abandoned him in the woods.”

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