Page 83 of Stroke of Fate

It’s been months, and I’m still dealing with the ramifications of beating myself up for not seeing the signs earlier in my last relationship.

I didn't question things when I should have. I’m doing that now, except it’s to the wrong guy. Levi hasn’t given me a single reason not to trust him.

Yet.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Levi says, his hands stilling when the silence stretches on.

“No, I want to go. I mean, if you want me there,” I whisper.

“I’d take you everywhere with me if I could, Bear.”

“Sounds possessive,” I murmur jokingly.

“Mm…you could call me a little obsessed.” He traces a finger down my temple to my chin and over my mouth, before his hand drops back to my hip with a squeeze. “Will thirty minutes be enough time for you to get ready?”

I nod as Levi untangles himself from the bed. I sit up against the pillows, watching him put his clothes back on.

When he’s dressed, he kisses my forehead before walking toward the door.

“Wait!” I hug the comforter to me as he turns. “Aren’t you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“It’s a surprise. Just wear something comfortable and a pair of sneakers.” With that vague, very Levi way of answering, he’s gone.

Forty minutes later, because thirty turned out not to be long enough, we’re driving through a part of town I haven’t seen yet.

Our apartment building is in the middle of downtown, but the further we drive, the more residential it becomes. The houses grow further apart, separated by large yards. Some are more worn down than others, but Levi seems comfortable behind the wheel like he’s driven these roads a million times, which makes me relax in my seat.

Levi slows down in front of a plain brick, single-story house with a sign on the front lawn:Wagging Tails Animal Rescue.

“An animal shelter?” I ask brows pinched in confusion as I peer out the window. There’s not much to see from the front. It looks like any other house.

“Yes, but we’re not staying long,” he says, shifting the car into park.

I tear my gaze from the window and turn to him. “You’re adopting? I thought we weren’t allowed pets in the building.”

He turns the car off and twists in his seat to face me instead of the road.

“No, I’m not adopting.” He offers me a shy smile, clearing his throat. “I volunteer here every Sunday. They run a program where you can take a dog out of the shelter for a few hours. Some dogs get stressed being stuck inside, and it’s a good way to help socialize them before they’re adopted.”

I stare at him. How is it possible that every time he reveals another piece of himself, I’m even more in awe of his character? Good sex is just a happy by-product. Levi is the real prize.

“How long have you been doing it?” I ask, finally finding my voice.

“Since freshman year.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “In fourth grade, I begged my mom for a puppy, but she said it was too big of a commitment. Her compromise was to get involved in the foster program with our local shelter. I wanted to keep up with it.”

A long-forgotten memory surfaces. “Wait, is that why you have a dog bowl in your apartment?”

“Yes,” he grins. “I didn’t even know you noticed that.”

“I might have been snooping a little to figure out what sort of person you were.”

“And what did you come up with?”

I drop my eyes to the center console as I say honestly. “Every time I think I have you figured out, you keep surprising me.”

When I peek at him, he’s watching me with a smile that lights up his beautiful face. I smile back, and the car feels ten times smaller after my confession.

Levi squeezes my thigh with one hand while the other moves to the door handle. “Come on, let’s get our dog for the day.”

---