Page 60 of Taken By Storm

“That could never happen. You’re smoking hot. Besides, if Levi says you’re his—which, by the way, is so fucking hot—then he means it because my cousin doesn’t lie.”

As far as reassurances went, Remi had hit it out of the ballpark. Because Kasi wanted every single word her best friend had just said to be true.

“That helps,” Kasi said, even though there was a tiny part of herself that told her she needed to hold back on the emotions. And not because of Levi but because of herself. Her life was still a disaster, and it didn’t look like that chaos was going to end anytime soon.

Did she have the right to drag Levi into the middle of all that? Especially if she couldn’t figure out how to pay the bills. Right now, her family was in actual danger of losing their farm and home.

And while Kasi wasn’t considering Scottie’s offer because…gross. That didn’t mean she wasn’t facing some hard decisions…like where they’d go if the farm was foreclosed. The only family they had who would take them in was her mother’s brother, Dave, who lived just outside of Nashville. The idea of uprooting and leaving the only home she’d ever known tied her stomach in knots, but they might not have any other choice.

“So you and Levi are dating?” Remi asked, mercifully pulling Kasi back to the present. There would be plenty of time—too much time—to think about what came next, tomorrow. Tonight was just for her. Shots and girl time and no thinking about the future…or the past. God, she’d missed being this girl. This carefree, happy one without a worry in the world.

“I…I think so,” Kasi said. Neither she nor Levi had really given this thing between them a name, but it sure felt like dating.

“Here you girls go.” The waitress delivered their next rounds of shots.

“Thanks.” Remi picked up one of the glasses, waiting until Kasi followed suit. “Here’s hoping there’s lots of hot, sweaty sex in your very near future.”

Kasi laughed as she tapped her glass against Remi’s. The third shot slid down without burning, the alcohol doing exactly what Kasi needed, melting away all her anxieties.

“Just be a good bestie, anddon’ttell me about it,” Remi added with a grin.

Chapter Ten

Levi slapped Jace on the back as they walked into the farmhouse together.

“Thank God for your mechanical mind,” he said to his youngest brother. “I was afraid it was going to be a long night if we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with that destemmer.”

Jace grinned at the compliment. “Yeah, well, Theo and Maverick provided me with some pretty strong motivation.”

Levi chuckled. “Still planning to hit the bar?”

Maverick had declared earlier in the day that after working their asses off for weeks, they all deserved a little downtime. And because it was Maverick, he decided that time should be spent at Whiskey Abbey for ladies’ night.

Then the destemmer had gone down.

Technically, the destemmer was Maverick’s domain as winemaker, but the poor guy had been putting in seventy-hour work weeks since early summer. So Levi told his brother to keep his plans for the night, and that he’d fix the machine. Mercifully, Jace had volunteered to stay home to help as well.

“Hell yeah, I’m going. I’m only about a half hour behind them,” Jace said, checking his watch. “I can catch up quick.”

Levi glanced into the living room where Everett and Grayson sat on the couch, each with a controller in hand, playingCall of Duty.

“Already finished?” Grayson asked, spying him and Jace in the doorway.

Levi nodded, jerking his thumb toward Jace. “Wonder kid here had it sorted out in record time.”

“I’m heading to the bar,” Jace added. “Y’all sure you don’t want to join me?”

Both of his brothers shook their heads.

“Having the game of my life. Kicking this miserable bastard’s ass,” Everett replied with a shit-eating grin. Everett was the epitome of a homebody.

“You’re not kicking my ass,” Grayson grumbled before turning back to them. “I’m perfectly happy on this couch. Too tired to deal with people.”

Levi didn’t bother to point out that was pretty much always the complaint when it came to Grayson. His younger brother was one of those people who could live quite happily on a deserted island for the rest of his days, never once longing for companionship or conversation.

“Your loss,” Jace said. “Always lots of pretty girls there on Wednesdays.”

Everett and Grayson waved them off, then returned to playing their game.

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