Page 85 of The Love Ambush
“I get it,” he says. “I hate it, but you wouldn’t be the amazing person you are if you didn’t want to devote yourself fully to those kids.”
He parks in front of the farmhouse. All the windows are dark, and I cross my fingers that everyone’s fast asleep.
I expect him to head straight upstairs, but he grabs my hand and pulls me back to the kitchen. “I heard your stomach growling,” he says in a low voice.
The kitchen is pretty well sound-proofed from the rest of the house, with its own swinging door and thick walls. “What are you in the mood for?” he asks.
“I’ll just take whatever leftovers we have.”
“You’ll have to fight the raccoons for them,” he says. “Any other ideas? Grilled cheese? Scrambled eggs? I make a mean BLT.”
My stomach rumbles. It all sounds so good. “Seriously. I’ll just have a bowl of cereal or something. It’s late, and we have a busy day tomorrow.”
It makes me feel so much worse about pushing him away that he’s still being so nice to me. All I want, so, so badly is to give in and lean into him. I want this every day. I want someone to come home to who doesn’t hate, or at least disdain, me like my sisters do. I want a partner who’ll take care of me every once in a while, and let me take care of him.
Am I overreacting? We weren’t charged with anything, and I will never, ever have sex in a car again or anywhere public. Can I realistically have this with Levi?
“BLT it is,” Levi says as he sets a loaf of homemade bread on the counter and digs around in the fridge until he emerges with tomato, lettuce, bacon and mayo.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
He stops what he’s doing and turns to look at me. “You’ve turned me down, so I should be mean to you? Is that what you expect?”
“It’s been my experience with men in the past.”
He scowls. “Sometimes I really hate my own gender.” He walks over and faces me. “I’m not one of those guys, Gentry. I care about you, and I’m going to continue being nice to you. If I can’t be with you, I still want to be your friend.”
My throat tightens, and my eyes burn. God, I like this man.
“You know,” he says. “When we get back to Catalpa Creek, if you ever want time to paint, I’d be happy to help out with the kids. If you need me to drive them anywhere or just be a body in the house to make sure no one’s sneaking out, I’m your guy.”
The suggestion comes so far out of left field it takes me a moment to register exactly what he’s saying. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
He flicks water at the pan he’s heating, but there are no bubbles. “You aren’t asking. I’m offering, Gentry. Friends help each other out, right?”
I cross my arms over my chest. It seems way too selfish to take this man up on his offer just so I can have time for a hobby that’s never going to make me any money. “What are you hoping to get out of this, Levi? I’m not going to change my mind about us dating.” Okay, so I’m leaning toward changing my mind, but I know all too well the way some people will use favors to get something another person never wanted to give. I may have dated a guy or two like that, even had a good friend who used similar tactics, before I realized what I was doing. I’m not falling into that trap again.
Levi frowns, and his brows lower, his expression hurt. “Let’s get one thing straight. I hear your no, and I accept it. I’m never going to expect anything from you that you don’t want to give. I don’t treat my friendships like transactions.”
He goes back to the pan. This time, the water sizzles, and he adds the bacon.
Shit. This is why I keep my friends at arm’s length. “I’m not good at trusting people. I’m sorry.”
He turns back, his arms crossed over his chest. “Trusting them to stick around? Because of your parents?”
I nod. “Them and… I may be overcorrecting after a few bad relationships. I really appreciate your offer, but I think it’s better if I focus on my sisters and not art right now. I’d have to buy supplies I don’t have money for.”
He pops the bread he’s sliced into the toaster. “Like what? What do you need?”
My heart melts even more. Because I know he’d probably buy me whatever I name. He is genuinely just that kind. “It’s a long list. Stuff you’ve never even heard of. How about you? Any hobbies?”
“Just computer stuff.” His head pops up from where he’d been looking at the bacon he was flipping, and his eyes go wide. Did he not mean to say that?
“Like computer games? I won’t judge if you’re a gamer, Levi.”
He looks back down at the bacon, incredibly focused on what he’s doing. His shoulders rise to his ears and then down, before he turns back to me. “I’m a hacker.”
That stuns me so completely I take a step back. “Are you joking?”
