Ugh, she wanted to yell at them both to shut up, but…her voice still wasn’t cooperating.
Levi stepped in close–really close–and put his large, wonderful hands on her shoulders. It was hard to focus on anything except how amazing they felt, but he tilted his head toward her and then she felt the heat of his body wrapping around her.
“You don’t have to say yes, Willow,” he said gruffly, his words soft against her ear. She knew he did that because the music was getting a little louder and it was harder to hear each other, but she kind of liked it. He straightened, and slowly her gaze traveled up to meet his eyes, and holy crap. They were so incredibly dark that she couldn’t tell if they were blue or brown or what. “If you’re not comfortable with this…”
It was her turn to lean in. And get on tiptoes so she could reach his ear. “What color are your eyes?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your eyes,” she repeated. “Like I’m looking right at them but the lighting isn’t the greatest in here and I can’t tell. You should tell your boss the lighting needs to be better.”
He pulled back and looked at her like she was crazy. “You want brighter lights?”
She nodded.
“In a pub.”
Another nod.
“And you want me to tell…my boss.”
“Yes, exactly.” This wasn’t the first time she thought about the interior of McGee’s, and as she looked around, more ideas came to her. “And while you’re at it, you should mention that he really should get some new signage in the windows and change out these tables and stools. They’re very worn and your crowd here is a little more mature. Not quite the wine bar crowd, but not college kids either. Something a little more sophisticated.”
“Sophisticated?”
“But seriously, what color are your eyes because right now they look almost completely black.”
He laughed, and it was deep and rich and yummy, and Willow knew it wouldn’t be a hardship to have Levi as her pretend boyfriend.
“They’re blue,” he replied, leaning in again to talk closer to her ear.
A girl could get used to this…
“Wow,” she whispered breathlessly and instantly pulled back, horrified.
Bad, Willow!
His smile was slow and sexy as hell, and suddenly she began to wonder if maybe this wasn’t the best idea. If she was ready to rub up against him over a few whispered words, what in the world would she be like after a week of playing boyfriend and girlfriend?
Someone would probably have to turn the hose on me…
Unable to help herself, she giggled. Levi’s expression went from sexy to confused. Willow immediately cleared her throat and glanced at her friends, who were watching all of this with pure amusement.
Damn them.
“Um, I really appreciate the offer, Levi, but…”
“Don’t listen to her!” Donna cried out, jumping off her chair and crowding in with them. She gave Willow a stern look. “You know this is the perfect solution! It’s killing you to miss out on going to Florida, and the biggest obstacle was the whole boyfriend thing! This is a total answer to a prayer!”
“I wouldn’t exactly say a prayer, but…”
Jen flanked her on the other side. “You know it was breaking your grandmother’s heart. If you didn’t show up, her whole birthday was going to be ruined. Do you really want to be responsible for doing that to her? I mean, she’s not getting any younger. Why devastate her and risk giving her a heart attack or something?”
“A heart attack?” she said, gasping. Eyes wide, she stared back and forth between her friends. “Do you really think that could happen?”
“Do you really want to take that chance?” Donna asked, solemnly. “Take Levi up on his very generous offer, Willow. Trust me.”
Now she had no choice but to look at Levi, and she couldn’t quite read his expression. “You know this won’t be a quick trip, right?”
“Right now, I don’t know anything about it,” he said lightly. “But maybe we can get together tomorrow for lunch and talk about it?”
She practically sagged with relief. A night to think about it would really help, and to be able to sit with him without her friends hovering would be even better.
Smiling, she nodded. “Sounds good! Where should I meet you?”
“Why don’t you meet me here tomorrow around noon and we can pick a place to go then,” he suggested.
“It’s a date!” she said and then realized she was already way too into this fake relationship than she should be. “I mean…it’s not really…it’s…”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Willow, I know what you meant, and yeah, it’s a date.” Smiling, Levi winked and took a step back. “You ladies have a good night. I’ll be at the bar if you need anything.” And then he turned and walked away, the crowd swallowing him up.
But that didn’t stop her from trying to watch.
“Oh. My. God!” Jen said excitedly, slapping Willow on the back. “This is amazing! Not only do you get to see your grandmother like you wanted, but you get to do it with a hot boyfriend! Yay, you!”
“I don’t know…”
“One week of having that sexy man all to yourself!” Donna chimed in. “How awesome is that?”
Sighing loudly, Willow faced both her friends. “I never said I was going to do this.”
They both looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Why wouldn’t you?” Donna asked. “What’s the matter? Is he not hot enough? Nice enough? Sexy enough?” She huffed with annoyance. “When a hot guy offers to help you out, you say yes!”
“What if he’s crazy, huh? What if he’s like some sort of deranged murderer and this is his MO? We don’t even know him!” Willow countered. “It’s not right to just go on a trip with a stranger! I may never come back!”
“Okay, no more late-night serial killer documentaries for you,” Jen murmured as they all sat down around the table.
“I do not watch serial killer documentaries,” she murmured.
“Oh, please! You are such a liar!” Donna cried. “We’ve binge-watched several of
