Page 38 of This Baby Business
I froze. This wasn’t who I wanted to be. His honest words cut so deeply that I wrenched away from him and stomped out of the kitchen.
CHAPTER16
Levi
Levi had hita raw nerve, because Carly’s eyes flashed with anger. She twisted out of his arms and walked away without another word. But someone so adept at lying shouldn’t be shocked at being called out for it.
He understood little white lies. Not quite an angel, he’d told plenty of them in his not-so-distant past.Baby, you’re sexy. No, your breasts are the perfect size. You’re the only one for me. I think I love you.All in his past. He no longer had room in his life for any kind of deceit. For years now, he’d been nothing but up-front and direct about what he wanted and needed from a woman. It was ugly but real. He found that women could stomach real better than he’d ever believed possible.
She’d stomped into her bedroom, and he followed, stopping to brace one arm in the doorway.
She turned and pointed to him. “I’m not afraid of you!”
It was difficult not to laugh. “That’swhat you’re upset about? Not that I called you a liar?”
“First, I’m not afraid. Second, I’mnottoo emotional. I’m a girl. Anyway, it’s better than keeping feelings locked up tight. That’s going to give you an ulcer one day. And third, lying is new to me. A hazard of my trade.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were in politics.”
“No, but close.” She plopped onto her bed.
He waited patiently for more, assuming she would give it to him once the silence stretched between them. She probably didn’t want to be alone with him in her bedroom and run out of things to talk about. Not here. Because that would be scary. For her. When that happened, we might both have to face the sizzling chemistry between them. Clearly, she didn’twantany of this. And he got that. He wasn’t sure he liked this deal, either, so she could join his club.
“You don’t want to hear this,” she finally said.
He met her eyes. “Actually, I do.”
“It’s…a long story. You have to understand that I’ve spent most of my life hiding the truth. Every time a teacher asked me to stand up and read, I developed a bad case of laryngitis. Every single time. I listened to books on tape and I learned to memorize parts so I wouldn’t have to read them. I had my coping skills. Either way, it was a long time before anyone realized I had dyslexia.”
Levi’s stomach dropped. He’d had a buddy in high school with dyslexia. Really bright kid who had a difficult time with reading comprehension. Not only had he had a tough time in school, but kids made fun of him. It was ugly, because kids could be so damn mean. Levi had gotten in trouble more than a few times for sticking up for his friend.
The discarded instructions to the crib took on a different light. “Did you get any help?”
“It took a long time, but yes. I was well behaved so they said I was capable, just wouldn’t apply myself. They didn’t even want to test me for a long time. But finally my parents fought the school and got me help in my junior year.”
He was no expert on the matter, but that seemed a little late. “So you graduated.”
“Barely. And after a few years, I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.”
“Been there many times. Great city.” The city buzzed with an excitement and energy that was contagious. Not the place he wanted to live, but he understood the draw.
“You know how the song says something like being able to make it anywhere if you can make it there? Well, I didn’t make it there.”
“I’m not much for Broadway show tunes.” He moved to her bed, where he sat beside her, like he would stay awhile. “Were you trying to get on Broadway?”
“No, silly. That’s just an expression. And also, not a Broadway tune. It’s Frank Sinatra.”
“What happened?” Levi said.
“Nothing. That’s exactly what happened.”
More waiting, then. He let the silence fill the room while he studied her. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t so much an icicle as a patient man. Learned the hard way.
“I screwed everything up because I didn’t believe in myself. Or maybe the lying caught up with me.” She picked up a pillow and hit it once. “Look, there’s a lot of selling that has to go on in any career. On a job interview, for instance. But when it comes to a competitive edge, I wasn’t all that good at selling myself. Or my work.”
“So with RockYourBaby you’ve chosen to lie your way to success.”
“Notlie, exactly.” She squirmed next to him. “Create an illusion that the real baby expert simply passed the torch on to her daughter. And because my illusion is all done behind a computer monitor, maybe it’s a bit easier for someone like me. I didn’t mean to dragyouinto this. But I also helped you. Irene likes me, and it can’t hurt for her to think that we’re together.”
