Chapter 56
“Are you okay to drive?” Levi asked.
“Yeah. It’s not far.”
He nodded. “I’ll see you at your place then.”
Ten minutes later, he was working away in my kitchen. I wasn’t allowed to help; he’d ordered me to change out of my suit, made me a cup of hot cocoa, and pointed me to a chair in the breakfast nook, where I watched him as he worked efficiently. I loved having him in my kitchen. His presence made my apartment feel like a real home.
“What are you making?” I asked.
“Just a simple pasta with cherry tomatoes. It’s quick. Which is necessary when the Hell Sisters are hungry, and we only have a few minutes before they get really loud and obnoxious.”
“Are they really that terrible?” I chuckled
“Yes and no,” he said with a shrug. “Most of the time they listen to me and Luke. And Dad. But that’s pretty much it. They’re worse than all the rest of us combined. Don’t tell her I told you this, but Mom doesn’t seem to have the same energy for small children these days. Can’t really say I blame her. Eleven kids are a lot.”
“It is.” My own mother barely had time for one between all her charity lunches. Her giving heart had never extended to her own son.
“They’re sweethearts really. They just need to calm down. I hope school will help.”
I hummed in reply, unable to take my eyes off him as he chopped, stirred, and sautéed. He was fast and efficient, like a real chef. Made it seem effortless. He chatted and laughed and before I knew what had happened, he put a steaming plate before me, and finished it off with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
It was spaghetti and blistered cherry tomatoes and garlic and vibrant green basil. I inhaled, and a little piece of heaven found its way into my nose. My stomach growled in appreciation and we looked at each other and broke out laughing at how loud it was.
“You’d better feed that beast before it’s too late,” he said with a wink, and I did.
The flavors exploded on my tongue: the sweetness of the tomatoes, the saltiness of the cheese, and the slight pepperiness of the basil made me want to cry with happiness. “This is so much better than frozen pizza,” I said with my mouth full of pasta.
“I’d sure hope so,” he said and swirled his spaghetti around the fork and ate in a far more civilized manner than I.
“Seriously, how did you even manage this in less than thirty minutes?”
“Lots and lots of practice.”
He beamed with happiness as I cleared my plate in an embarrassingly short time and hurried to give me a second helping.
“I didn’t have time to eat lunch,” I explained in an attempt to make myself seem like less of a gluttonous barbarian.
“Why not?
“It’s a long story.”
“Tell me, I want to hear.”
So, I told him about my day. About the colleague who had emailed the boss at ten PM the night before, saying she wasn’t coming back. How the rest of us had been forced to pick up her slack. How the more we looked, the bigger mess we found.
“It’ll take us forever to clean up after her,” I finished.
He scowled. “Wow, what a Bravo-India-Tango-Charlie-Hotel!”
My mouth dropped open. “What did you say?”
“Eh, we’re not allowed to cuss at home. So, I, uh…” His voice trailed off and he averted his eyes.
Understanding dawned on me. “So…you kind of spell it out?”
Levi nodded.
Oh dear, sweet, everything that was holy. Just when I didn’t think he could get any cuter. “Whiskey-Oscar-Whiskey,” I said, and he burst out laughing.
His hand flew to his chest. “You’re a dork,” he said, eyes beaming with affection.
“Hey, you’re the one who started it.”
“We do not want the Hell Sisters racing around the house screaming…” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “bitch to each other.” He shuddered. “Trust me on that.”
“I do.”
We remained seated at the table long after the plates were cleared and talked and laughed and had fun. He was such an amazing guy; funny and smart and caring, and I could spend hours and hours listening to him telling stories about his family.
And look at him. The way the tip of his nose moved up and down when he spoke was alluring. The way he laughed with his eyes, talked with his hands, and scratched his stubble on his chin made warmth fill up my belly.
I was fascinated by how much Levi and Matt at first glance were spitting images of each other, but a scratch on the surface revealed they were nothing alike. Matt was the quintessential jock who loved sports, girls, and beer, hated his job, and spoke about his family as if they were a necessary evil. Levi clearly adored his family even if they got a little too much sometimes. He was a computer genius, practiced yoga, and cooked like a pro. God knows what else lurked under the exterior. Levi was like a great book; for every page I turned, he revealed another piece of the puzzle and I couldn’t wait to read more. To learn everything about him.
But most of all, he made me feel special. Like I was someone important.