“Would it help if I told you a little about my sex life?”
Oh, dear God…
“Remember the night I beat you at Words With Friends and I mentioned I was going out with Donald?”
“If I say no, can we change the subject?”
“No.”
“What if I say yes? Then can we change the subject?”
“I’m ignoring you and telling my story,” Gammy said stubbornly. “Now, I wouldn’t say that Donald is my steady beau, but we do out together once a week, and he has been known to spend the night.”
Groaning, Willow turned her head and rested it on her hand.
Again.
“Viagra is a game-changer, let me tell you.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t.”
“But I really miss the spontaneity, you know? Sometimes it would be nice to just be able to…you know…do it whenever we wanted rather than waiting those pesky thirty minutes.”
Another groan.
“One time, Donald took two pills instead of one!” She laughed joyously. “Now that was a memorable night!”
“Levi’s an amazing kisser! And his hands are a little rough and scratchy, and I love the way they feel against my skin! And the sex is the stuff of fantasies!” Willow blurted out loudly and then noticed the entire nail salon had gone quiet.
Dammit.
Gammy gave her a knowing grin. “I knew I’d wear you down.”
“Gammy…” she whined.
“The stuff of fantasies, huh? Bravo!”
“Yup. Fantasies.”
Mainly because that’s the only point of reference I have where sex with Levi is concerned…
“I’ll say it again, Willow. Well done. I think he is absolutely perfect for you.”
Okay, maybe now they could have a serious, sex-free conversation.
“How do you think he’ll do around mom and dad?”
“You know I love your father like a son…”
“Gammy, he is your son.”
“I know, so then I can say this without anyone judging,” she said primly. “My son is far too rigid and snooty. I think he’s going to look down on Levi because of his profession.” When Willow went to comment, she held up her hand to stop her. “If your father would sit and talk to Levi first before asking about his job, you might stand a chance. But you know how he can be. He’ll grill the poor boy first.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Although I must say, bartending does pay well. Johnny, one of the Romeos, used to be a bartender at one of the big hotels in Vegas. His place here in Florida is one of three homes he owns. There’s big money in it.”
“Maybe in Vegas. I’m not so sure about Long Island.”
“Willow, Levi’s car is brand spanking new and goes for a pretty penny. And when I talked with him last night while you were in the shower, he seems like he’s doing more than okay. Did you know he’s looking to buy a house?”
“Um…”
“You know what that means, don’t you?”
“Um…”
“It means there could be wedding bells in your future! Oh, how exciting!”
“Um…”
“I’ll have to grill the boys later at my birthday party and see if Levi happened to mention to any of them if he’s planning on proposing,” Gammy said seriously. “And I promise not to tell you even if I know. Something as important as that should be a surprise.”
“I guess…”
Beside her, Willow knew her grandmother was still talking, but all she could think about was why Levi hadn’t shared with her that he was looking to buy a house. That was a pretty big thing. In all of their pre-trip times together when they were really playing the getting to know you game, they had talked about where they lived. She had told him about her tiny apartment and how much she wished she had more space and more privacy, and all he had mentioned was how he had lived in his condo for the last five years and it was essentially one big man cave.
“Willow, you’re frowning, dear. Don’t do that. It will give you wrinkles. And we don’t want that for our party later!”
No. I guess we don’t.
“You want to make some real money, Levi, you need to leave the island and head out to Vegas! I made a very good living tending bar in the casinos. Lots of big tippers!”
Levi nodded at Johnny and had to remember not to mention how he owned the pub. It would be wrong to admit that to anyone before he finally admitted it to Willow.
He was out to lunch with five…Romeos. They were eating at the kosher deli Willow had mentioned, and he had to admit, the food was good and the company wasn’t so bad either. The old guys welcomed him like he was one of their grandsons, and he was actually having a good time. Willow had been worried all morning about it and tried to come up with excuses so he wouldn’t have to go, but now that he was here, he was glad he hadn’t backed out.
No doubt Willow was going to be surprised.
Willow.
She was turning him upside down and inside out, and if he didn’t get her alone soon, he swore he was going to spontaneously combust. There were only so many cold showers he could take.
Sleeping beside her was…okay, it wasn’t all sexy time and touching.
It turns out that when in a bed, Willow tends to sleep diagonally. He woke up that morning holding onto the edge of the bed for dear life. And she hummed in her sleep. Some of it was just tuneless hums, others were more…erotic sounding.
And he seriously hoped those were because she was dreaming of him.
Mainly because whenever he did manage to sleep last night, Levi sure as hell had dreamt about her.
“Willow and Irene are very close,” Donald said, changing the subject. “I swear, Irene talks about her all the time, and it means the world to her that the two of you are going to be here for her party tonight.”
“It meant a lot to Willow too,” he said, smiling.
“We’re glad you came with her,” Tom, another one of the Romeos, chimed in. “We all adore Irene,
