All he did was shrug.
“I told Mrs. Moore–Josh’s mom–that I’d call her when I got back. Her mother’s been helping her out while I was gone, but she’s older and it’s hard on her to keep up with him so I’m sure she’ll be relieved that I’m home.”
“And the dogs?”
“Same.” Then she laughed. “Not that Mrs. Moore’s mother has been walking them, but I told everyone I’d call them when I got home.”
“Why not just tell them the date you were getting back?”
“Honestly? I had no idea how this trip was going to go. Maybe I was going to come back earlier than planned, or maybe I was going to have so much fun that I didn’t want to leave?” She shrugged. “Everyone was cool with being flexible so…”
“Have you given any more thought to maybe going back to school to get your degree in early childhood education?”
“What?”
Looking at her, he nodded. “You know, so you can work at either the daycare center you told me about or just go into the field wherever you want.”
“Levi, I…I wasn’t really serious about that. I mean, how crazy would that be to just go back to school again after all the years I already went? And believe me, I didn’t enjoy it at all the first time. Why would I want to go back?”
“Because now you’d actually be studying something that interested you and not something you were being forced to study. I bet that would make a huge difference. It’s something to consider.”
She groaned.
“I’m not trying to pressure you like your parents, trust me. I’m just offering a suggestion. I bet if you ran it by Donna and Jen, they’d agree.”
“Don’t play dirty, Levi.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means don’t you dare bring it up to them the next time we go to McGee’s.” Sighing, she turned her head and looked out the window, suddenly not feeling very chatty anymore. Levi must have taken the hint because he grew quiet as well.
By the time they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, Willow was ready to go crazy. She couldn’t wait to get out of the car, stretch her legs, and…speak. Yeah, that was a biggie right now.
Once the car was parked, they worked together to gather all of her things and Levi carried the bulk of them to her door. Willow unlocked it but didn’t open it right away. Instead, she turned and faced him.
“I never should have said you’d play dirty.”
He nodded.
“And I want to thank you for everything you did this past week.”
“You’re welcome.” His words were spoken so softly that she barely heard them.
Good thing I’m focusing on his mouth…
“I know everything didn’t go the way we planned, and…there were times when they were awkward…” She swallowed hard and forced herself to meet his gaze. “And some things were completely unexpected.”
“Willow?”
“Hmm?”
“Open the door.”
“What?”
He motioned to the door.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” No doubt all the things he was carrying were getting heavy. Opening the door, she stepped inside and moved out of his way. With a weary sigh, she went on, “Anyway, I just want you to know…”
Before she knew what was happening, the door was closed, she was pressed up against it, and Levi was kissing her senseless.
And it was glorious.
Willow wrapped herself around him, wanting to climb him like a tree–which she pretty much did. With her legs around his waist, she pulled back and broke the kiss and breathlessly asked, “Um, Levi?”
“Trip’s not over,” he said before diving in to kiss her again.
If the theory worked last night, he didn’t see why he couldn’t be the one to use it today.
It was late, and he was exhausted, but leaving Willow simply wasn’t an option. Granted, he knew he was going to have to eventually, but…just not now. Not tonight.
I should be checking on the pub! It’s still open and I’ve been gone for over a week!
But he knew he didn’t really need to. His manager was amazing and had been keeping him updated throughout the trip about everything that had been going on. It had been an uneventful week, and he was thankful for it. There would be plenty of time tomorrow for him to go in and sit in his office and deal with all the things he would have to deal with–paying bills, payroll, and ordering supplies. They had a first-rate computer system that handled most of that for him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t check, double-check, and triple-check on everything.
Tomorrow.
Right now, the only things he wanted to check, double-check, and triple-check were ways to make Willow come.
Because good Lord, was that an amazing thing to see, feel, and hear.
Yeah, one more night and he should be able to walk away and let them go back to the friend zone.
Just the thought of it nearly killed him, but luckily, Willow was sucking on his tongue and rubbing up against him so he was pretty much able to push those thoughts aside and focus on her.
They clumsily made their way to her bedroom, and he saw it was very feminine–some stuffed animals in a chair in the corner, lots of soft, pastel colors, and a ton of pillows on the bed. So many pillows that he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to lay her down. He broke the kiss and stared down at the bed. She turned her head to follow his gaze.
“Floor,” she said, climbing out of his arms and he wasn’t sure if she meant her or the pillows. But once she was on her feet, she quickly swept all the pillows off the bed and onto the floor before whipping her shirt up and over her head.
“Fantastic idea,” he murmured, stripping off his own shirt.
Maybe he should be questioning why she was so readily on board with what they were doing. Levi knew his reasons, but he was curious why he didn’t need to explain himself more. All day yesterday and last night,
