Page 124 of The Love Ambush
He smiles down at me with so much love in his eyes that my brain turns to mush, and I take a moment to get my words organized. “Levi Sullivan, I’d love for you to visit us any time you want and to stay for as long as you want. No pressure.”
“Yes, pressure,” Emily says. “All the pressure.”
Levi chuckles. “I’ll be here so much you’ll be sick of me. I’m honored you’d ask.”
Doubt and worry sneak in as my sisters cheer. Does he really want to spend more time here with me and my teenage sisters? He doesn’t really know what school mornings are like, because he’s usually gone before the chaos starts. What if he changes his mind?
Levi kisses me. “Stop worrying,” he says against my lips. “Nothing will make me happier than waking up with you in my arms every morning. I won’t change my mind.”
“I hate that I’m so easy to read,” I say.
He kisses the top of my head and hugs me. “I’m just glad I’m the lucky man who gets to know you well enough to be able to read you.”
“Levi should come with us on our girls’ day,” Sophie says.
I step out of Levi’s arms to face my sisters. “This is our day. I want it to be just us.”
“But today’s special,” Emily says. “We’re celebrating Levi sleeping over.”
“He’s part of the family now,” Sophie says.
I can’t say no to the kids when they look so happy. “Want to have breakfast at the diner and catch the early showing of True Love before Sophie has to head to her gymnastics class?” I ask Levi.
He grins. “I can’t think of a single better way to spend my day.”
We get dressed, head out, and have an excellent breakfast, filled with good conversation and laughter, at Tate’s Diner. We’re leaving the diner when Levi pulls me by the hand toward a man wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses sitting on a bench and staring intently at the diner.
“Deacon?” Levi asks. “What are you doing?”
“Shut up and go away,” Deacon says. He smiles up at me. “Hey, Gentry.”
“Hi, Deac—”
“Please leave,” Deacon says sweetly.
Instead of leaving, Levi sits on the bench next to his brother, pulling me down with him. Emily and Sophie wave and wander off to look in shop windows.
“Please, Levi,” Deacon says in a low voice. “For once in your life, go away.”
Levi doesn’t move, but scans the windows in front of us. There are several people easily visible where they’re seated next to the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows. I recognize Amelia Burns, but I don’t recognize the man she’s sitting across from or anyone else.
“Why the hell are you spying on Amelia?” Levi asks. “Is Sebastian meeting her here or something?”
Levi has, of course, filled me in on Deacon’s weird plan to set Sebastian up with someone. Levi is firmly convinced that Deacon is falling for Amelia, or Dogperson158 as she goes by on the dating app.
“I’m not spying,” Deacon says too loudly. He lowers his voice. “I’m not spying, Levi. I’m just keeping an eye on her to make sure she’s okay.”
I look back at the diner to see Amelia laughing at whatever the man across from her is saying.
“She looks fine to me,” I say.
“She’s fine now,” Deacon says. “But that man is her ex-husband, the father of her daughter. He claims he’s showing up to be back in his daughter’s life, but we all know there’s no way any man on earth can resist Amelia. He’s going to make her fall in love with him.”
“And that would be bad because then you wouldn’t stand a chance with her?” Levi asks.
“Yes,” Deacon shouts again, causing a person walking their dog to glance our way. Deacon lowers the brim of his hat and ducks his head. “I mean, no. It will ruin Sebastian’s shot with her, and she’s perfect for him. He’ll treat her, like, a thousand times better than her ex will.”
“If he’s that bad of a guy, Amelia won’t get back together with him,” I say. “She’s not stupid.”
