Page 57 of This Baby Business
“He wasn’t.”
Then there was Alec, not a nice man at all, but I didn’t talk about him. He was just a blip on the radar of my love life, anyway.
“Well, you finally hit the jackpot. Levi is different. Special.”
“I didn’t hit the jackpot. We’re neighbors and I’m his temporary nanny and fake fiancée.”
“And…this morning?”
“One-time thing. He can go ahead and be special because I’m not looking for special.”
Cassie squinted and leaned in like she hadn’t heard right. “What, now?”
“Maybe I want a little fun for once.” I took a gulp of coffee. “Besides, the thing is, I’m probably going back to New York City.”
“Yeah?”
Sure, as soon as I wrap everything up here. I want to finish what I started there.”
“Makes sense. And I know you’ll tell Levi your plans, so he’s not left hanging when you go.”
“He’s supposed to be looking for a new sitter anyway.”
Cassie’s eyebrows went up. “That’snotwhat I meant.”
Levi came through the front door. He wore sweats, a windbreaker and a backward baseball cap. But more than what he wore, I zeroed in on his eyes. They were filled with a kind of strength that I’d never found so attractive. He was big and bad. Strong and solid.
“Hey,” he said, taking in the kitchen scene with sharp eyes that never seemed to miss a single detail.
“Hiya, cowboy,” Cassie said.
I zeroed in on the fact that Digger was not with him. “Digger?”
He pulled a worn-out-looking Digger from under his jacket. His eyes were no longer wide with fear but more like half-mast. On the good news front, he looked too tired to shake.
“He’s not much of a runner.” Levi set him down, and he scurried off in the direction of the laundry room and the safety of his pillow. “I would have been here sooner, but he slowed me up.”
“It’s the short legs.” Cassie dropped a kiss on Grace’s forehead and patted me on the back. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
“Hope she wasn’t too much trouble,” Levi said. “Thanks again.”
“No trouble at all.”
We exchanged goodbyes, and Levi walked Cassie outside.
“No trouble at all.” I turned to Grace. “Seriously?”
“Goo.” Grace held a Cheerio in between her two fingers with the intensity of a doctor performing brain surgery. When she got it into her mouth, she gummed it with nothing less than abject joy on her face.
“If only my life could be that simple.”
“Pfft,” Grace said.
“Yeah, okay. I get it. There’s no comparison.”
“What’s no comparison?” Levi smiled from the entrance to the kitchen, where his lean and built body was braced in the entrance, one arm on either side of the frame.
“Uh, nothing.” I stood. “Time for me to go now.”
