Page 4 of Getting Wrapped Up

“So you can set me up?” Levi asked. “I need a nice girl who can teach me to be a gentleman and who will keep me out of trouble. Introduce me to one of Phoebe’s friends. Or a cousin.”

Joe chuckled, going through the women he knew in Sapphire Falls that might be able to handle Levi. Sure, a nice girl would be good for Levi in some ways, but Joe refused to have Levi blow into town, make some sweet girl fall for him and then leave a broken heart behind. A broken heart that would blame Joe.

So he wasn’t going to set Levi up with any of the really nice girls he knew.

He thought about Phoebe’s closest friends.

Lauren would be able to handle Levi for sure. She was a city girl who had turned country. She’d be able to see Levi coming from a mile away and would have him wrapped around her finger before Levi even used all his lines on her.

But Lauren was married to Travis Bennett, and there was no way Travis would let Levi Spencer anywhere near Lauren. Travis would also see Levi coming a mile away.

There was Phoebe’s best friend Adrianne. She would also be quite able to handle Levi. Adrianne was sweeter than Lauren and wouldn’t be quite as in-his-face with Levi, but she would absolutely be able to keep him in line.

Of course, Adrianne was married to Mason Riley, one of Joe’s bosses, and they had a son now— an incredibly bright, curious little boy who was almost a year old. He’d started walking early and loved to dig in the dirt and get into anything and everything he could. Adrianne was running from sunup to sundown keeping up with him.

Then he thought about Phoebe’s other close friend. The four women were kind of an unlikely bunch. They’d been brought together by various, strange circumstances for sure. But the friendship had evolved through the three romances—Adrianne’s, Phoebe’s and Lauren’s—and they never missed their weekly margarita meeting.

Hailey Conner was the only one who was still single. And Hailey could most definitely handle Levi. Hailey was the Mayor of Sapphire Falls. A hometown girl who had always been popular, sort-of liked and sort-of feared as gorgeous, confident, mean girls always were. Hailey had gotten progressively less mean over the years. To hear Phoebe tell stories from high school, Hailey had never met a person or a situation she couldn’t manipulate to her own purposes. Still, Joe knew his wife actually liked Hailey now. As much as that surprised her.

Hailey was actually very much Levi’s type. She was one of maybe half a dozen women in town who could tell the difference between Prada and a knock-off. She always looked amazing. She had a confident sensuality that had many men enamored. But she was still a country girl at heart. She’d spent her life in Sapphire Falls and loved her hometown more than anything. She was, actually, a very good mayor.

Hailey was the perfect woman to set Levi up with. She could introduce him to small-town life, she would demand he treat her well, would keep him in line, but she wouldn’t fall for all of his charming bullshit.

“You know what?” Joe said. “I think I have the perfect woman for you.”

“Yeah? Great. I’ll be there day after tomorrow.”

Joe nodded. “I’ll set it up for you two to meet that night.” Probably the sooner someone was keeping track of Levi, the better.

“Great.” Levi actually looked happy. That was really nice to see.

Joe smiled. Then he remembered a not-so-tiny detail. “Shit. Phoebe and I won’t be here.”

“When?”

“In two days. We’re heading to DC for some holiday get-togethers. But with travel and everything we’ll be gone about four days.”

“That’s okay. If it’s okay with you, I’ll come anyway and get settled,” Levi said. “I’ll use the guest room through the holidays, but then I’ll look for something to buy.”

Levi definitely had the money to simply plunk a wad of cash down on a house in Sapphire Falls that he intended to use for his year ofrehab. “Yes, that’s fine, of course. I’ll be sure the fridge has something in it.”

“Don’t worry about anything,” Levi said. “I’m a big boy with a massive credit limit. And I need to get to know my new neighbors, right? I’ll get some groceries, check out the local eating establishments. It will be fine.”

Joe laughed. “Checking out the local eating establishments won’t take long. You can get a sandwich at Scott’s Sweets, a burger or wings at the Come Again, or breakfast, lunch and dinner at Dottie’s, the diner downtown.”

Levi grinned. “Can’t wait.”

Joe wondered for a moment if leaving and having Levi come to town and be on his own for a few days was a good idea.

But really, what could happen?

Besides, he’d fill Hailey in and be sure she was keeping an eye on him.

“Iam boycottingall things peppermint, red, green and joyful.”

Phoebe Spencer laughed. “You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, but I do. I’m going to get Chinese takeout and do a Netflix marathon of Marvel comic movies.”

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