Page 20 of Shimmering Emeralds
I couldn’t deny the surge of disappointment that hit the pit of my stomach when he handed Dani’s keyring back to her. I’d managed to forget that he had to come back to return Dani’s apartment key. In that initial moment when I saw him, I’d allowed my ridiculously hopeful heart to believe that he was here just for me.
Tamping down my stupid feelings, I reminded myself that he was bad news. As if taunting me, his freshly-showered scent wafted over in a swirling, delectable mixture of pine trees, fabric softener, and fresh air. The smell was still familiar––and addictive––to me, even after all of these years apart. I wanted to drink it in and absorb it into my pores. It was all I could do to keep from closing my eyes to fully inhale it.
He ran a hand through his still-damp hair, and I noticed that he’d changed into clean jeans and a blue checkered flannel shirt. It should have been a casual, unassuming look, but on him it was irresistibly sexy. He had a natural magnetism that I’d never experienced with anyone else.
Annoyed by how inexplicably drawn to him I was, I pursed my lips into a scowl and tried to appear uninterested. That look became more sincere when I noticed the strap of a gym bag casually slung over his shoulder. He was probably packed and ready to skip out of town and back to his real life in Nashville. The men in my life always left when I needed them most.
Dani asked in an overly-friendly, sing-songy tone, “Did you have any troubles with Bruiser?”
“Is there more than one apartment over the diner? Because I must have had the wrong one.” Levi angled narrowed-eyes at Dani letting her know he knew exactly what she’d been up to.
“Whatever do you mean?” Dani asked with wide, innocent eyes.
“The little rat in that apartment can’t weigh more than seven pounds, and he squats to pee.”
Obviously offended at how Levi had disparaged her precious baby, Dani snapped, “He’snota rat. He’s a teacup Chihuahua, and he weighs two and three-quarters pounds.”
Levi let the disbelief escape from his lips in a whoosh of air. “What? You have the nerve to call something that weighs less than three pounds a dog?!?”
He shook his head and rolled his eyes before adding, “I can’t believe you let me think I was going to be attacked by a vicious animal.”
“He can be quite protective.” Dani crossed her arms and defended her pet. Angling her head in my direction, she added, “Sometimes big things come in small packages.”
That seemed to deflate the sails of Levi’s outrage over being tricked. He moved to set his bag down against the wall, under the mounted television. Turning back and making direct eye contact with me, he agreed, “Yes, I suppose that’s true in some cases.”
He gave me a warm gaze for an extended moment before looking at Dani to say, “I can’t believe you went with the ironic, obvious choice of naming him Bruiser. Did you get your inspiration from the movieLegally Blonde?”
Dani gave him a blank stare before asking, “From what?”
I looked back and forth between them, not quite able to believe that my brilliant best friend wasn’t familiar with that classic rom-com movie, while rugged, masculine Levi was. Before I knew what was happening, I burst out with a laugh over the ridiculousness of it.
The sound of my laughter bounced off the walls and echoed around Harper’s small hospital room. Levi and Dani stared at me with twin shocked expressions.
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand. As soon as it fully sank into my head that I had just laughed while my daughter was incapacitated by a coma, I burst into heartbroken tears.
18
Levi
Irushed to Meg’s other side as Dani held her while she sobbed. She had seemed so surprised and appalled by the laugh that had erupted out of her that she had finally allowed her pent-up sadness to emerge.
Although I knew she probably needed the emotional release of crying, I felt the urge to do something to help. I’d have done anything to make it better for her, but I didn’t know how.
When Meg’s gut-wrenching sobs finally subsided and she pulled back from Dani, I brought her a box of the hospital’s generic, scratchy tissues. She grabbed a few and swiped them across her wet face.
“She could probably use some water,” Dani suggested, giving me a pointed look.
Thrilled for a job, I said, “I’m on it,” and headed out to find the vending machine.
On my way, I found a candy-striper in a pink uniform and asked her for a bag of ice. Thanks to all of the bigger worries, we kept forgetting about Meg’s sprained ankle. She was only concerned about her daughter and sister, so she needed someone to focus on her, and I intended to be that person.
When I returned to the room, I held out the bag of ice, a granola bar from the vending machine, and a chilled bottle of water to Meg. She accepted them before saying, “Thanks. You can go now.”
“Go?” I asked, hating the thought of sitting out in that hallway and wondering what was happening in here.
Meg tipped her head toward the duffel bag I had left on the floor. Understanding dawned on me. She thought I was bailing on her––again. “Oh, I brought some toiletries and sweats for you to change into if you want to take a shower. The clothes will be way too big for you, but I figured you’d like to clean up and wouldn’t want to leave here.”
“How thoughtful.” Dani weighed in with the first somewhat-friendly words she’d had for me. Her reserved expression told me I still had a long way to go before I won her over, but it sounded like her harsh opinion of me might be starting to sway a little bit.
