“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I think it’s Gammy. It was the Words With Friends notification. I want to silence it until tomorrow.”
He chuckled softly. “I should reach out to her for a game. She’s the one who introduced me to it. What’s her screen name on there?”
“Oh, it’s IreGemGal.”
Why does that sound so familiar?
Then it hit him and he laughed out loud.
“What?” she asked. “What’s so funny?”
Rolling off the bed, he found his phone and sat down beside her, pulling the game app up on his phone and showed it to her. “Look at the words she played!”
Then Willow was laughing hysterically. “Oh, my goodness! That is so Gammy! I love it!”
“Hey! I think it was a little insulting.”
“Aww…poor baby,” she cooed, cupping his cheek. “Did my sweet little old grandma make you sad?”
With a slight pout, he said, “I wouldn’t say sad, but she certainly didn’t make me feel good…”
“Well, tomorrow you can call her out on it. But for the rest of the night, the phones are off, and you have my full attention.”
“Hmm…I like the sound of that.”
“Mmm…that’s good because…I like you. A lot.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. “And I like you too, Willow. A lot. Actually, I think I’m in…”
Her hand instantly covered his lips. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Not yet.”
Disappointment washed over him.
“It’s too soon, Levi, and we have some things to work through.” Slowly, she removed her hand. “But just know, it means a lot to me that you wanted to say it.”
It would have meant more if he had actually had the chance to say it, but…he knew he would.
Soon.
EpilogueOne Month Later…
“Do you believe in love at first sight or do you think it takes time to grow?”
It was a little after midnight and they were lying in Willow’s bed, naked and exhausted, but she couldn’t help but want to talk. It was one of her favorite things to do with him.
“We never did finish those questions, did we?” he asked before yawning loudly.
“We are right now…if you answer the question,” she teased, placing a soft kiss on his chest before snuggling closer.
“I kind of remember you asking me that one in the car.”
She shrugged. “I may have, but…refresh my memory.”
“I don’t know if I have enough brain cells left to think and answer questions. I’m not even sure I know what day it is or my own name.”
Crawling on top of him, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him soundly. “You’re Levi Sullivan, pub owner extraordinaire, boyfriend extraordinaire, and…”
Dare I say it…
“And…?” he prompted.
“The man that I love.”
There. I said it.
And it felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Levi’s arms banded around her as he kissed her softly on the lips. “I kind of like all those descriptions.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He nodded. “Definitely. Especially that last one.”
She could seriously feel herself blushing from head to toe. They had been back together for a month now and things had been going really well. Levi was taking a little more time off from the pub so they could see each other at a decent hour a few times a week, and Willow was helping him with some of the decorating at the pub.
And loving every second of it.
Levi had teased her that maybe she should forget about going to school to get her early childhood education degree and instead go into interior decorating. It was something she actually considered, but realized it was more like a hobby for her. Working with kids in a loving and educational environment was always going to be her first love.
Well, that and Levi because…yeah, he was definitely her first real and true love and she was so happy she could finally say it out loud.
“I love you, Levi.”
His hand anchored up in her hair as he said, “I love you too. I have for a long time, but…I didn’t want to say it too soon and spook you. I already messed things up once between us. There was no way I wanted to do that again.”
“It’s never a bad thing to tell someone you love them. At least, I don’t think so.” Leaning down, she kissed him and kept on kissing him until they were both breathless. “Say it again.”
Luckily, he knew exactly what she meant.
“I love you, Willow. So damn much.” Then he kissed her and kept on kissing her as he rolled them over so he was the one on top. “Do I believe in love at first sight? Absolutely. It happened to me several months ago.”
And yeah, she was totally blushing now.
“A beautiful girl tripped right outside my window. And the first moment her eyes met mine, I was lost.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned having feelings for her before their fateful road trip, but it was the first time he admitted how deep those feelings ran.
“That makes two of us.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” Ducking her head, she explained, “When I told my family I was dating someone? It was you.”
“Well, yeah. That’s why I went with you to be your fake boyfriend.”
“No,” she said with a small laugh. “Before that. When I first made up a boyfriend, I told them his name was Levi and…and…totally described you to them.”
“Willow, I…you never told me that.”
“It was a little embarrassing.”
“You never need to be embarrassed with me. Ever. You can tell me anything.”
“Anything?”
He nodded. “Anything.”
That got her thinking. “Can I…tell you that I’m really thirsty right now and wish I had something to drink?”
And before she knew it, he jumped up and ran to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water for her.
“Wow. Thank you.” She took a long sip and then studied him as he got comfortable under the blankets again. “Can I tell you…that I really didn’t like that movie we watched earlier?”
His eyes went wide. “Seriously? What
