Page 129 of Knot Baked Out For This
He presses a kiss to my temple, gentle now, the same spot Luca claimed yesterday.
"Let's go to that town," he says. "The shop you mentioned. Like a mini date."
"You were listening to my rambling?"
"Always listen to your rambling. It's adorable rambling."
I bite my lip.
"How would we get there? Rowan has the truck for those training recertifications."
Levi's grin turns wicked.
"I have an idea."
That's never good.
"Absolutely not."
"Come on!"
"Levi, that's not a vehicle, that's a death trap with aspirations."
We're standing in front of what Levi generously calls a "classic ride" but what I would call "tetanus waiting to happen." It's a motorcycle that probably looked impressive in 1975 but now looks like it's held together by rust and misplaced optimism.
"She's perfectly safe!" He pats the seat, and something rattles ominously.
"She's perfectly terrifying."
"Where's your sense of adventure?"
"I left it with my will to live."
"Drama queen."
"Death trap enthusiast."
"It's only twenty minutes!"
"Twenty minutes of certain death!"
He pulls out two helmets, one decidedly more beaten than the other. He hands me the nice one, naturally.
"I promise to go slow," he says, those eyes doing the thing where they go all soft and earnest. "I'd never put you in danger."
Damn him and his sincerity.
"Fine," I mutter. "But if I die, I'm haunting you."
"Deal."
Getting on the bike requires a level of coordination I don't possess. I try to swing my leg over gracefully, miss entirely, and end up sort of falling onto it sideways while Levi pretends not to laugh.
"Smooth," he says.
"Shut up and drive." His chuckle confirms he loves our bickering.
He starts the engine, which sounds like a bear with bronchitis, and I immediately wrap my arms around his waist in a death grip.
