Page 116 of Well Played

Alex shrugged. “You guys are weird.”

I smiled. “I guess we are. But I’ve been worried that you might think Dad and I are a couple again, and then you’d be disappointed when you realized we weren’t. Someday Dad is going to live somewhere else, and he might even have a girlfriend or something.”

“Would that make you sad?” he asked.

“Not at all. I want your dad to be happy.”

Alex seemed to mull that around for a minute, and then he shrugged again. “Okay. Can I go back to watching TV now?”

I laughed. He’d certainly taken that talk better than I’d expected. “Actually, it’s almost time to go to dinner. Why don’t you get dressed? I laid out your clothes on the chair next to the bed.”

“But no crunchy-hair stuff, right?”

I patted my son’s hand. “No gel. I promise.”

***

“Uncle Levi!” My heart nearly stopped when my son yelled. I’d been watching the door ever since we were seated, but when the waitress started making her rounds to take orders, I became distracted, looking down at the menu.

Alex was seated next to me, and both of us across from Tanner. Alex pushed back from the table, scraping the bottom of the chair along the tile, and bolted for the door. When he got to Levi, he leaped into his uncle’s arms with a huge smile. My heart squeezed for so many different reasons. They hugged, and then Levi set him down on his feet, and they did some long handshake with slaps, shakes, and fist bumps. I’d been so caught up in my own feelings about seeing Levi, I hadn’t stopped to think about how happy Alex would be. They’d grown close over the summer, and the looks on their faces made it clear they’d missed each other.

Seeing Levi, a few of the others in the room got up from the table and walked over to say hello. Tanner’s back was facing the door, but he turned to watch all of the commotion, like everyone else. When a crowd started to form around his brother, Tanner remained in his seat. His jaw was set tight, and he raised his hand and called the waitress over.

“I’ll take another vodka seltzer.” He sucked back the remnants of the drink in his glass and held it up for her, rattling the ice.

She looked across to me. My wine glass was nearly drained, but I needed to take the edge off, not get sloshed. I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’m good.”

After a few minutes, the crowd around Levi started to dwindle, and my heart raced as I stole glances at him. He looked beautiful. His hair had grown longer, reaching down to the collar of his shirt, and the ends curled up in a messy sort of way that I found insanely sexy. He wore a French blue dress shirt tucked into navy dress pants, and the outfit really showcased his masculine silhouette. Broad shoulders created the mouth of the V and led down to a narrow waist.God, he is even more gorgeous than I remember.

Fawning over him sort of caught me off guard. I hadn’t been thinking about what he looked like lately. I missed the maninsidethat body. But seeing the full package on display tonight made me ache for all of him. When Levi finally shook the last person’s hand, he scanned the room, and his eyes landed right on me. I felt his gaze all over. My heart jumped into my throat, my body tingled, and my eyes watered. Luckily, my son tugged at his uncle’s hand, which caused him to look away. The two of them walked over to Shelby, and Levi hugged and kissed his mother. There were empty seats at her end of the table, but Tanner, Alex, and I were seated in the middle, and there weren’t any open spaces.

Levi made his way around the table, saying hello to everyone he hadn’t greeted yet, while my son dutifully stayed by his side. When he got to his brother, Tanner didn’t even bother to get up. He knocked back half the glass of vodka the waitress had delivered two minutes ago and held his hand up.

“You still know how to make a grand entrance, I see,” Tanner grumbled. “Being late means extra attention, all of it on you.”

Levi’s lips flattened to a grim line. “I came as soon as practice was over.” He looked over at me and nodded. “Presley.”

I forced a smile. “Hi, Levi.”

Alex grabbed Levi’s hand and started to tug. “Uncle Levi, come sit next to me.”

Levi’s eyes flashed to mine before returning to Alex. “There aren’t any seats open, buddy. I’m going to sit down at the end near Grandma.”

“I got it!” My son took off, darting down to the end of the table. He grabbed a chair that was almost the same size as he was and carried it back to where we were seated. Setting it down, he looked pretty pleased with himself. “Now there’s a chair. Mom can move over a little and so can I. There’s plenty of room.”

There really wasn’t. But Alex was on a mission, and before I could say anything to discourage him, he was already moving his chair down and asking the woman next to him on the other side if she could make room.

“Mom, can you move down a little?”

“Ummm… Yes, sure.”

When my eyes caught Levi’s, I could see he was as hesitant as I felt. But he glanced around the table and found everyone looking at him. Rather than make a scene, he smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”

Levi was a large man, so even though my son had managed to squeeze in a chair, his shoulders and legs barely fit when he sat down—which meant our bodies were practically touching. His muscular leg was less than an inch from mine. I could feel the heat emanating from it, and it seemed to travel up my own leg and warm everything below the waist. I had the strongest urge to shift my thigh to rest against his. Because I knew this was the closest I’d be getting to Levi all weekend, and I longed for his touch—even a leg pressed against leg, as sad and desperate as that was.

Instead, I took a deep breath, looked up, and smiled. Surviving dinner sitting all together was going to be a challenge.

Even though other people, including my son, monopolized most of the conversation, there were points when Alex roped me into joining, telling Levi stories about the different guests who had stayed at the inn. The entire time, I had to act like my heart wasn’t racing, and that I wasn’t utterly and completely consumed by the man sitting next to me. A few times our eyes met, and so many unspoken words passed between us—all under the watchful eye of Tanner, who was now draining his fourth or fifth cocktail. I’d lost track.

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