Page 44 of How Sweet It Is

“We must do as the princess commands.”

“I guess.” My voice sounds breathless. What in the world is wrong with me? Why does touching Levi make me this way?

As we dance, all of the electricity in the room seems to gather between us. It crackles, sending my nerve endings into a frenzy. I look up at Levi, and he’s got a lopsided smile on his face, his dimple just barely showing.

“Why are you so happy?” I ask.

“I’m dancing with a princess.”

I laugh, although I have to admit, Levi looking at me like this is making mefeellike a princess. Like he has feelings for me. I try not to dwell on this thought. Levi can’t have feelings for me. That would be silly. He’s the flirty Barrett brother. The one who doesn’t settle down. The one who is all surface, no depth.

Yet as I look into his eyes, I can’t help but feel that I misjudged him. Like there’s more to him than I first thought. He seems to have cared quite a bit about the last girl he dated. As I ponder this, it makes me wonder how much he cared about her.

“Were you in love with Lisa?” I blurt out.

Levi’s eyebrows fly up. “What? Why would you ask that?”

Heat flushes through me at how bold that question was. “Never mind. That was inappropriate.”

Levi shakes his head. “No, it’s not inappropriate. It just surprised me, that’s all.”

I take in his pained expression, and it tells me what I wanted to know. “You don’t have to answer,” I say.

He pulls me closer to him. “I’ve dated a lot of girls,” he says quietly. “I was playing a game. Seeing who I could get to like me. I never thought about the consequences of breaking up with someone until Lisa came along. I cared a lot about her, and she dumped me.”

I gape at him. “Was Lisa the first woman to break up with you?”

“Yes, and I know how that sounds. You don’t have to tell me. I’m a jerk.”

“I was going to say cad, but jerk can fit too.”

The song changes to “A Whole New World,” and Levi slows his tempo. His movements are mesmerizing. Being in Levi’s arms feels like the world finally makes sense. Like all the sharp, broken pieces inside me have found a place to rest. His hand settles against the small of my back, strong and steady, and I swear I could melt right into him.

He swallows. “Lisa and I meshed really well. At least, I thought we did. She really hurt me when she told me I’d never amount to anything.”

I gasp, my heart jumping up into my throat. “She said that to you?”

“Yeah.” The pain behind his eyes is plain to see, and it makes me want to go find Lisa and slap her. What a terrible thing to say.

I run my thumb along the skin on his bicep. “Oh, Levi. She’s wrong.”

His playful grin spreads across his face. “I know. I’m worth millions now.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s not because of that. It’s because you’re such a sweet and caring person. You’re like a ray of sunshine. You go out of your way to do nice things for people. This is why you’ll always be valuable to… people.”

Levi slows his movements. “Valuable to people in general?”

I swallow, not wanting to think about what he’s asking. “Of course.”

He knows I’m deflecting, but he lets me do it anyway. “Tell me more about your family’s business.”

I stiffen. I shouldn’t say anything, but I feel like I need to tell him something. “They struggle a lot with it. I’ve been helping them. I’m just afraid now that I’m here, it’s going to suffer.”

“You can’t help from here?”

I shake my head but don’t elaborate.

He changes the subject. “I like your hair down.”

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