Page 61 of Well Played

“Too much ice cream, maybe?” He laughed.

He seemed to buy it.

“Yup. I think you were right. I need to stop eating so much before I make myself sick.”

Alex shrugged and disappeared again.

Presley and I let out a collective sigh of relief.

“I’d love to know what you werereallydoing with that belt,” Fern quipped.

CHAPTER 15

Presley

Warm lips touched my bare shoulder as I stood at the kitchen sink. When I turned, Levi was licking his lips. “Why do you taste salty?”

“Umm…that’s dried sweat you just had your mouth on. While you were busy sleeping in until almost ten, I finished painting the last of the living room moldings, scrubbed the floors, and polished a set of black candlesticks until they turned silver again.”

He grinned and tugged a wayward piece of my hair hanging in my face. “I did sleep pretty late. Must’ve been all the exercise I got yesterday. You know, if you’re already sweaty…”

I felt warmth bloom in my belly, yet I nudged Levi back with a laugh. We’d almost gotten caught a few times over the last week, and we needed to be more careful. “Alex is outside riding his bike. He could burst in at any second.”

Levi pouted. It was adorable. “Fine. I guess I’ll go to Home Depot to get mollies for the pictures you want me to hang in the living room, then.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Thank you.”

“You need anything while I’m out?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

He winked. “Be back in a little while.” But he stopped as he reached the kitchen door, looking into the living room. He held out a hand to me. “Come here.”

I walked over and stood next to him. “What?”

“Do you remember what this place looked like when you got here?”

“Yeah.”

“Look at it now. Take a good look.”

I studied the living room. It looked incredible, if I might say so myself. The walls that had been peeling were freshly painted, old, scuffed-up floors had been sanded and refinished, soot-stained stones on the fireplace had been scrubbed and polished until they sparkled, and colorful new window treatments and matching throw pillows on the couch lit up the room.

I sighed. “It does look pretty great, doesn’t it?”

Levi nodded. “It does, and that’s all you. I think I was about ten the last time this place looked like this. It even smells awesome. You’ve done an amazing job, Presley.”

I smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”

Levi looked into my eyes. I thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “I’ll be back.”

A few minutes after he left, my cell phone rang. Seeing Harper’s face on the screen, I plopped down on the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table with a smile.

“Hey, I was going to call you later today,” I said.

“I wish you would’ve called me a half hour ago. I might not have thrown my trash at the new intern.”

“You threw garbage at an intern?”

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