Page 35 of Let Me Hold You

She felt a tissue on her eyes and cheek.Dab. Dab.

She opened her eyes.

It was Levi. He handed her a wad of tissues, now moistened with her tears. And took the phone out of her hand. He hung up the phone without a goodbye.

“No need to torture yourself, Mags.” Levi sat down next to her.

This was the second time this afternoon that Levi had sat down next to her on a couch.

His arms went around Maggie. Maggie resisted. Pushed him back. Her heart could not take it.

“Just let me hold you,” Levi said softly.

Maggie hesitated.

“I’m your best friend—meaning, I’m also your closest friend.”

“Are you?”

He nodded, arms open wide.

And Maggie cried on his chest.

Chapter Nine

Stephanos had an understated decor and sleek lines, minimalistic architecture that made Levi feel cold and insipid. He had to wear a jacket to eat here—a jacket that Maggie had helped him to select—and he felt constricted. He’d rather wear a tee shirt and eat a hamburger with Maggie somewhere else.

Clearly it had been a mistake to pursue Forsythia all these months, only to realize in his heart on Sunday afternoon that she wasn’t the one. Still, he had to go through with the dinner plans.

This Tuesday evening, at this expensive place that could put him out by a few hundred dollars—including tips—Levi would say goodbye to his short-lived crush. It all felt silly to him now as he was about to lose someone dear and close to him, someone he should have loved instead of looking elsewhere.

He had broken Maggie’s heart, and he was here tonight, on a date with Forsythia, to end his rabbit trail.

They had driven separately as Levi had requested. He planned to leave early. If only he could have canceled this dinner, but it was too late. Might as well show up, even though this was probably the last time he would step into such anestablishment as he surely couldn’t bring Maggie to a place with this evening’s memory.

Forsythia appeared with the maître d’.

She looked lovely in a simple red dress. Her five-inch heels were studded with rhinestones—or real diamonds, perhaps. She wore her hair up, and there was a pretty gold necklace around her neck.

She placed two hardcover cookbooks on the table before the maître d’ seated her and placed the cloth napkin on her lap.

“Please tell Chef Stephanos that Chef Forsythia is here.” Forsythia’s voice was calm, but her eyes were all excited.

“Yes, ma’am.” The man nodded and left.

Levi realized now that Forsythia hadn’t spoken to him yet. The cookbooks told Levi all he needed to know about why Forsythia agreed to dinner with him tonight.

“I suspected it was you.” Forsythia smiled. It seemed like a genuine smile.

“Me?”

“When Maggie answered my questions on Sunday afternoon, she gave me the impression that she knew you very well. Like really well. There was no hesitation in her answers.”

“I heard Maggie sob on the phone, and then she hung up on me because she could barely speak.”

Well, the last part of it wasn’t exactly true. Levi didn’t want to tell Forsythia that he had been the one who hung up the phone. It was none of her business that he had spent a lot of time with Maggie—both at work and outside of work.

“Maggie and I are coworkers at church, and I also consider her a friend. I don’t want to hurt her feelings—especially at Christmas, of all times. Clearly she cares about you.” Forsythia looked around, as if Chef Stephanos would appear any minute now.

---