Willow shuddered slightly in his arms and all he could do was chuckle softly. “Mango,” she muttered against his chest. “Mango, mango, mango!”
Holding her close, he said, “That was going to be my line.”
With a sigh, she looked up at him. “So then we’re in agreement. We are free to go and we should go, right?”
“Absolutely.” Hand in hand, they walked across the room to the table where Willow grabbed her shawl from her chair. Levi kept his hand on the small of her back while looking around to see where her parents were at. It wasn’t likely that they’d be able to leave without saying goodbye to them, but he was hopeful it was all they were going to have to say.
Wishful thinking and all.
“Are you leaving, dear? We barely had a chance to talk!” This coming from Willow’s mother as she approached them.
Turning, Willow faced her mother and kissed her on the cheek. “Parties aren’t exactly the best place to sit and chat.” She smiled at Levi as he placed her shawl over her shoulders. “If you had come with us today for a little spa time…”
“Oh, you know I hate that kind of thing. So many germs.” She visibly shuddered. “I don’t know why you would even subject yourself to them.”
“It was a nice time to sit and chat,” Willow said, ignoring her mother’s comment. “Gam and I made a lovely day of it. You could have joined us for lunch, too.”
“You know how your father is. He wanted to play some golf and relax before the party.”
The image immediately came to mind of Paul Andrews enjoying a few cocktails at the country club after his golf game.
Willow shrugged. “Will you be joining us for brunch tomorrow? Gammy’s really looking forward to sitting down with the family before we all have to leave.”
Mrs. Andrews eyed him before returning her attention to her daughter. “It’s on the calendar, so we’ll be there.”
“Oh, okay then. Great. I guess we’ll see you in the morning,” Willow said before kissing her mother on the cheek again.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Andrews. I hope you have a good night.” Levi wasn’t surprised when her wan smile was her only response, and he hoped they could make their escape unnoticed.
“Willow,” her father called out when they were in the lobby. They both stood still and waited for him to walk over. “A little early for you to be leaving, isn’t it?”
“Actually, no,” she said, but Levi could hear the slight tremor in her voice. “It’s been a very full day, and the party is winding down. Gammy was the one to suggest we go home.”
His gaze narrowed at her and then Levi. “You should stay until the end of the party. It’s the proper thing to do.”
Levi was about to step forward and say…something, but Willow beat him to it.
“Oh, really? And is it also proper to get drunk and be surly to all the guests?” she asked, and there was no disguising the sarcasm in her tone. “Maybe you should consider calling it a night, too, Dad.” She paused and looked at him with mild annoyance. “Or at the very least, have some coffee. Oooh…there’s one of the waiters! Maybe I should call him over for you?”
Paling, Paul muttered a gruff “Goodnight” to them before turning and walking away, and it was hard to tell who was more shocked by her act of bravery.
“Come on,” she said, smiling. “You promised me a foot rub.”
His bark of laughter was out before he could stop it. “Willow, you got it!”
10
“What song would totally embarrass you if people knew you loved to listen to it?”
“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone…”
Willow made a zipping motion across her lips.
Levi let out a long, dramatic sigh. “I listen to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ year-round.” He shook his head. “I love that song.”
She knew her eyes went wide but fought the urge to giggle. “Okay, wow. That was…not what I was expecting.”
They were lying in bed, in pajamas, facing each other. Only one small lamp was lit and even though no one else was home, they were talking softly. It was almost as intimate as all the kissing and touching they’d done last night, but for some reason, she wanted to talk to him right now more than anything.
“Although…I sort of got hooked on Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ after seeing the movie by that name last year. I could probably listen to it year-round and not get tired of it.”
“I also really love Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’.”
“Wow.”
Nodding, he said, “Yeah. I know. Now it’s your turn,” and reached for her hand and linked their fingers. “And it better be really embarrassing.”
“Trust me. It is.”
“Well?” he prompted when she didn’t share right away.
“Ugh…all right. It’s the Pina Colada song.” She huffed. “There. I said it.” Flopping onto her back, she closed her eyes and waited for him to laugh.
“So…you like Pina Coladas.”
Turning her head, she looked at him. “And getting caught in the rain.”
It was pointless not to laugh at that, and while they were both cracking up, Levi pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the head. “That is awesome. And surprising. That’s a really old song!”
“I know, right? I can’t even tell you when I heard it for the first time or why it stuck, but it’s on my playlist and I swear I listen to it several times a week.”
“Good to know.”
“New topic…did you ever have one of those themed birthday parties when you were a kid?”
“Guys don’t do that.”
“Oh, please,” she said with a snort. “Yes, they do. And I’m talking about when you were young–like ten or younger.”
“I was really into trucks, and one year my mom did everything with them–the plates, the cups,
