Page 68 of Getting Wrapped Up

Her heart pounding, Kate got behind the wheel and started toward the highway. She’d only been in Levi’s new house briefly. Levi was a newcomer to Sapphire Falls as well and had purchased the house after only being in town for a couple of days. She’d been given the tour before she had to head back to San Francisco but the house hadn’t been furnished—or heated, for that matter—so they’d stayed with Levi’s brother, Joe, over Christmas.

She knew, though, that he’d had people working on it and had some interior renovations already done and the farmhouse was now fully furnished.

She wondered if she’d ever get used to dating a millionaire.

Kate called his cell phone. It was seven at night, but she knew from both Levi and Phoebe that he stayed busy. His days were full of meetings with the mayor, Hailey Conner, and the rest of the city leadership about several ideas and projects he wanted to develop and was funding. He was going to be the primary investor on some new arena thing they were building and he was providing low-interest, low-payment loans to some of the businesses who wanted to expand or renovate.

Levi’s phone rang five times and went to his voice mail. Again. She hadn’t been able to get ahold of him since she’d left San Francisco.

Frowning, she disconnected and contemplated her choices. Was he home with this phone off? Was he in a meeting with his phone off? Was he even in Sapphire Falls? Her heart rate kicked up. He had to be in Sapphire Falls. She knew he’d traveled to Vegas twice over the past several weeks. He was still involved in his family’s business, which basically consisted of entertaining most of Vegas and several other cities. Their primary interest was in casinos, but she now knew that they invested in all kinds of entertainment ventures, including touring stage shows, stand-up comedy, music acts, and they even owned a hockey team.

So what if he’d headed to Vegas when he’d found out she would be tied up in DC? Or what if he’d gone to DC to surprise her? That wouldn’t, actually, surprise her at all. That was exactly the kind of thing Levi would do when he found out they would be apart on the most romantic day of the year.

Well, crap.

Just because he wasn’t answering her calls or texts, and just because that hadn’t ever happened before in the time they’d known each other, meant nothing.

Probably.

She started down Main and turned right to head out on the highway. Levi was living in a two-story farmhouse that was eighty years old and sat six miles outside a town of less than two thousand people. It was…crazy. The guy had come from a penthouse suite in Las Vegas. He’d partied all night and slept all day. He’d spent hundreds of dollars a night on drinks and fun and had a new woman in his bed almost every other night. Kate knew this for a fact. Levi had been intent on telling her all of his past sins and secrets and she’d finally had to beg him to shut up.

Levi had certainly not been an angel, but since he’d totaled his car and knocked his brain around inside his skull hard enough to get put in the hospital for several days, he’d been making all kinds of life changes.

Like moving to Sapphire Falls and buying a farmhouse.

And if there was a niggling voice in the back of her mind that said “can this really last?” and “it’s only been a few weeks” and “what about when he gets bored?”, she figured no one could blame her.

Levi had completely turned his life around. So far.

Did the crazy contrasts between this life and his old one make her a little nervous? Yes. Because she was a rational person who knew that she’d fallen in love with a millionaire playboy.

But the fact remained—she’d fallen in love. And if anyone should give him the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove that he was a new man, it was her.

Levi’s own brother, Joe, had moved to Sapphire Falls a few years ago. He’d fallen in love with a native, Kate’s friend Phoebe, and stayed. He’d made a life here. He was blissfully happy. There was no reason to think that Levi couldn’t be the same.

Besides, Kate herself knew all about the charming seduction of Sapphire Falls. She’d only been there for six days total and she had thought about the little town every day since.

Levi’s house was dark and there were no vehicles in the driveway. He’d told her he’d bought a pickup but she wasn’t sure if that was all he’d bought. She wasn’t even sure what type of pickup to expect him to choose.

He loved sports cars. When he came to San Francisco, he’d rented a Jag twice, hired a car service twice and they’d used her car the other time. No pickups.

So Levi wasn’t at home and he wasn’t answering his phone. Finally, Kate dialed Phoebe’s number. Her friend picked up almost immediately, but it was loud in the background of wherever she was.

“Kate!”

“Hi. Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. I’m videotaping something for you as a matter of fact.”

Kate frowned. “You are? What?”

“Levi.” Phoebe laughed.

“Are you with him?” Kate asked.

It was clear that Phoebe was at some social gathering. Laughter and music came over the line, loud and clear. Of course, everything in Sapphire Falls seemed to turn into a social gathering, from breakfast at the diner to City Council meetings to going to the grocery store. There was no such thing as a quick trip anywhere because you were bound to run into someone you knew who wanted to chat.

Kate had noticed that even in her short four days in town, and Levi had confirmed it with a number of stories over the past weeks.

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