Page 98 of Between Never and Forever
Kill me dead. Levi Cooper is even sexier than I remember, and I fucking hate him for it.
“Hi, Daddy,” Brynn says sweetly, snapping me back to reality.
“Hi, Daddy,” I repeat, matching her tone, and Levi’s nostrils flare as he flicks his eyes to me.
“Ms. Loveless, may I have a word,” he grits out, and my smile grows.
“No, I believe you may not.”
“Savannah,” he growls, and I have to keep myself from squirming. “Now.”
“Ugh, fine.” I stand up with a fake huff and Ziggy immediately comes to my side. I give her head a pat, then raise my eyebrows at Levi expectantly. “Lead the way.”
He turns and stalks off, so I follow him, but I take small, slow steps. He disappears behind one of the fake buildings, and I bend down so I can untie and retie my shoe. Slowly.
“Savannah,” he shouts.
Oh, he’s so pissed right now. Good. Asshole. I stand and follow his voice, and I don’t bother trying to hide the bounce in my step.
The back of the set piece is just a bunch of two-by-fours and nails and unpainted space. It’s crazy how real the other side looks.
“I told you to stay away from her,” Levi says as soon as I set foot in front of him. His patronizing tone pisses me off, and I meet his eyes with equal fire.
“She came to me, Levi. What did you want me to do, kick her out? Be rude? I thought you didn’t want me to disappoint her.”
He’s silent for a breath, and I give myself a tally in the ME column in my head. He steps closer, dropping his voice lower.
“You should have let her come back with Dustin. He shouldn’t have brought her to you.”
I wave him off and roll my eyes.
“Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. And if I’d refused to give her an autograph? How do you think that would make her feel?”
He doesn’t say anything again, so I plow forward.
“I brought her back as soon as I finished the last S in my name.”
His eyes are still hard, his teeth still clenched, and my anger spikes higher. I take a step closer to him.
“I’m not a fucking bad influence, Levi,” I whisper-yell, my voice shaking with fury in self-defense. He has the audacity to scoff in my face.
“Like I’m going to take the word of someone who’s spent the last several years in and out of rehab. Someone engaged to Torren Fucking King.”
He spits Torren’s name like it’s acid on his tongue, and I suppose based on what he thinks he knows, it’s understandable. Doesn’t mean I don’t see red because of it, though.
“I am sober, you prick,” I say through my teeth. “And I’m not fucking engaged to Torren King.”
“And how do you explain this, then?”
His hand shoots down and takes my left ring finger, rubbing the base of it where my emerald would be if I were wearing it. The way his touch burns and sends sparks up my arm makes me suck in a breath, and I yank my hand from his grip.
“It’s complicated,” I seethe, and he fucking laughs.
He throws his head back and barks out a sardonic laugh that makes me want to knee him in the balls. When his eyes meet mine again, though, he goes silent.
He glares at me a moment, but then his gaze rises to my hairline. His eyes flare, he blinks twice, and his eyebrows furrow. I reach up and touch the place where his stare is burning into my scalp, and it dawns on me.
“It’s a wig,” I explain, and he nods.
