Page 47 of Power Play

Levi turns and looks at me, and I blow out a long breath.

“That went…” he starts.

“Who knew he’d be the easiest one to tell?” I ask, running a hand through my hair. He smiles at me, and I get that feeling again. That feeling of being lighter. That feeling of being safe.

“Just you and me now,” he says with a smile, taking my hand. I nod over toward the grass, farther out in the yard where the rocking bench sits. When we moved in, Mom had figured out exactly where the sun set in the backyard, and Dad had built her this bench so that she could sit and watch it.

And now, I sit there with my daughter.

It’s about that time, and I look at him, standing up.

“Come on,” I say, leading him off the patio and farther down into the yard. We take a seat, and I nod toward the trees in the distance. “Keep your eyes there. That’s where the magic happens.”

But I feel his gaze on me, his big blue eyes searing into my skin.

“I beg to differ,” he says, and I can’t help but smile.

We sit there in silence for a little bit, watching as the sky goes from a deep orange to a lighter blueish purple, settling into a deep indigo as the air gets a little chillier.

“This is amazing,” he says as I curl up against him. I sigh, looking out over the trees.

“Mhmm,” I say. “I love it out here.”

“I want something like this,” he says. I look up at him, an eyebrow raised. “Land like this. Lots of trees, lots of privacy.”

I nestle into the crook of his arm, careful not to let my mind wander too far into the dreamy world he’s pulling me into.

“Lots of space for dogs and cookouts. And kids,” he says, looking down at me. I feel my heart rate pick up as our eyes meet. Half of me wants to smile, and the other half wants to panic.

“Well, I hope you have all that, wherever you decide to settle down,” I say. I pull myself off him slowly, stretching and yawning. I don’t look him in the eye. He pushes forward, cupping my face in his hands, and kisses my forehead.

“Lo,” he whispers. “I…uh…I need to talk to you about something else.”

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

levi

She looks concerned,and I’m already feeling guilty. Because no matter what she thinks I’m going to talk to her about, this is going to be worse. I take a breath and turn so that I’m facing her on the bench. She swallows as I take her hand in mine again.

“What is it?” she asks, her voice just above a whisper.

I force myself to look her in the eye. She draws in a deep breath and then lifts hers to mine.

“Are we over, Levi?” she asks bluntly, and it makes my stomach flip. On one hand, I’m relieved to see that us being over is something that worries her. Because since I’ve had her in my grasp, losing her has been my biggest fucking fear. But on the other hand, there’s a part of me that is fucking devastated that she thinks there’s a possibility of me leaving her. And I make a promise to myself right here and right now that, for as long as she will let me, I’ll spend every day showing her how much I fucking love her. She won’t go to bed one fucking night with a doubt about me in her mind.

Starting with right now. I squeeze her hands and cup her face.

“Baby, no,” I whisper, my eyebrows knit together. “Lo, I don’t want to do life without you. The only way we are over is if you say so. Okay?”

She draws in a sharp breath and nods, clasping her fingers with mine.

“Okay,” she breathes. “Then what is it?”

I take one more breath, then let it rip.

“I had to go in the office yesterday to meet the producers, and when I got there, Thad was there, too.” Her eyes are already wide. “I had to sit with him, have a meeting with him. The first segment the producers want me to do is this dumb Hometown Heroes thing. And my first guest is supposed to be Thad.”

Her eyes drop, and she slowly withdraws her hands from mine. I fight the urge to reach back out for them. I need to give her the space she needs. She nods slowly.

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