Page 83 of Getting Wrapped Up

Even if there were things she didn’t know. Even if it was crazy or too fast. She wanted to be with Levi.

“So spreading you out on the bar is out of the question, but there is another firm surface I have in mind.”

She laughed. “Audience or no?”

“Private show.” He kissed her neck. “This time,” he added, low and hot in her ear.

She shivered with desire. He didn’t mean it. Probably. Levi wasn’t the type to share. Probably.

She made a mental note to bring up past experiences. They’d talked about seemingly everything over the past few weeks—family, work, friends, likes and dislikes of all kinds. But they’d barely touched on exes. Partly because she didn’t have much to tell and because Levi had too much to tell. But also because it didn’t feel like it mattered. It was as if everything that had happened to them prior to meeting in Sapphire Falls was in another life that didn’t affect things now.

But maybe it was time.

“I can grab my suitcase and just leave the rental car here,” she said.

It was fully insured. Like it mattered. It would still be here tomorrow. Or the next day. Or next week. Whenever she got around to retrieving it. There wouldn’t be a scratch or ding on it. She could leave a hundred dollars on the front seat and that would still be there too.

“Sounds good. Though you’re not going to need any clothes for at least the next couple of days.”

She laughed and turned in his arms. “Thought there was a big Valentine’s Day dance tomorrow. We’ll have to leave the house, fully clothed, for that.”

“You want to go to that?” He stepped back.

“Sure. Don’t you?” She straightened her clothes and ran a hand through her hair.

“Sure. I mean, I was planning to go.”

“Oh.” Then all of what he’d said sunk in. “You were going to go to the dance?”

“It’s a big town party. Everyone goes.”

Right. Everyone who belonged in Sapphire Falls.

“Do you think it’s okay if I go?” she asked. “I’m not from here.”

He lifted her hand and kissed it. “Well I’m from here and you’re my Valentine. You’re in automatically.” He gave her a surprisingly boyish grin.

She wasn’t sure Levi had acted boyish even as a boy. She wouldn’t have been surprised to find that he’d been roughish and charming since pre-school.

She tamped down the strange feeling of trepidation his statement evoked. It was true. She was visiting. He lived here. Those were simple facts.

It didn’t mean anything. Or at least nothing bad.

“Aw, that’s sweet.” She put her hand against his cheek. She had asked him to be her Valentine on New Year’s Eve. When he’d said that they had plenty of new years ahead of them and they’d spend plenty in Sapphire Falls.

It was all so fast. And she wanted it to be fast. Sometimes. When she was in his arms, when he was kissing her, when they were holding hands, when they were talking on the phone. The times when it seemed like everything was moving at warp speed was when hesaidthings like “we have a lot of new years ahead of us. We’ll spend plenty of them in Sapphire Falls.”

She remembered it word for word.

And that sentence was why she’d written her letter of resignation and put it on her boss’s desk before she’d left that day and why she’d put her notice in at her apartment, and planned to move to Sapphire Falls.

And that sentence was why she was now panicking.

Forever. After knowing each other for eight weeks.

That was crazy.

“I believe you said something about chocolate-covered cherries?”

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