Page 29 of Shimmering Emeralds
Even though it felt strange to be so ravenous when my daughter was facing such a precarious situation, I devoured the steak Levi delivered to me. It had always seemed like my stomach was built upside down or backwards––emotional turmoil that would cause others to fast made me feel like I was starving.
Levi picked at his veggie burger as I finished off my T-bone. I glared at the foam container of his food, barely stopping short of scoffing. “You opted for green beans, instead of French fries. Who does that?”
“Umm, me.” He gave me a grin that tipped up slightly higher on one side to let me know he wasn’t truly annoyed by my ribbing.
Enjoying our light banter, I said, “I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t end up together.”
Levi’s gaze darted to mine. It was obvious he was desperate to know why I considered our break up to be a positive. My heart practically leaped into my throat over the intent way he was looking at me, but I did my best to tamp it back down.
Deciding I’d kept him waiting long enough, I said, “We would never be able to agree on what to have for dinner. You would never succeed at convincing me to go on your all-veggies-all-the-time diet, and I doubt I could corrupt you into eating like I do.”
Levi gave me an ornery smile before saying, “You’d probably be surprised how much you can corrupt me, and I would sure enjoy having you try.”
Suddenly, it didn’t feel like we were talking about food anymore. I was smiling down at the floor when the evening shift nurse breezed in to check on Harper. My grin immediately fell as if we had been doing something wrong that I needed to hide.
The brisk woman barely glanced in our direction, but that didn’t stop the surge of guilt that practically overwhelmed me for having such a lighthearted, fun moment while my daughter was in this suspended state, unable to wake up and enjoy her life.
Once the nurse’s soft shoes quickly squeaked out of the room, I got up to throw my trash away and change into some of my own clothes. I would miss the feeling of having Levi’s bulky sweats engulfing me in a big, warm hug, but it would be nice to wear something that didn’t require me to constantly shove up the sleeves.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Levi gave me a low, appreciative whistle. I shook my head, smiling down at the floor over the silly man. There was absolutely nothing sexy about my oversized Rolling Stones concert tee-shirt and plain, black leggings. Despite that, Levi made me feel attractive and noticed.
As I moved to resume my spot in the chair closest to the pillow end of Harper’s bed, Levi retrieved his bag on the way to the bathroom. Our hands brushed lightly when we passed by each other, and the simple touch tingled all the way up my arm and down my spine.
Levi wasn’t in the bathroom long. After tossing his bag aside, he hovered near my chair and said, “You’re sitting on my bed.”
We had just eaten dinner, but a glance at the clock indicated it was plenty late enough for us to be tired. I stood, but said, “This can’t possibly be comfortable. Don’t you want to go home and sleep in a real bed?”
His voice sounded husky when he said, “No, I’m right where I want to be, with exactly the people I want to be with.”
His perfect response made warmth pool in my belly. His inclusion of Harper in that statement was so thoughtful––so Levi.
I climbed into the bed and situated the covers to my liking while Levi dimmed the lights further before rearranging the chairs into his makeshift bed. He turned a few times trying to get comfortable, which made guilt churn in my gut over making him sleep on those awful chairs.
Deciding I needed to do something, I whispered barely loud enough for him to hear, “Do you want to sleep in the bed?”
It was silent for so long I began to wonder if he hadn’t heard me, but he finally asked, “With you?”
I was glad the room was relatively dark because my cheeks flared hot. The question needed an answer, so I went the snappy route and said, “Well, I’m not sleeping on those chairs.”
Levi didn’t hesitate a bit. Before he could even get his ‘Yes’ response out of his mouth, he was standing at the side of the bed.
Wondering what I might have just signed up for, I scooted to the far side of the narrow mattress and tried to sound firm when I said, “No funny business.”
As Levi climbed into the small bed beside me, he said, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
26
Levi
Unable to sleep, Meg and I were face-to-face in the bed. We’d been talking for hours. It had to be late, but I didn’t care. This quality time chatting and catching up with Meg was worth giving up ten years of sleep.
I loved listening to her talk about Harper. It was obvious how much Meg loved the little girl when she teared up telling me about the child’s sweet gestures of bringing her breakfast in bed or making her special artwork as gifts. Meg’s voice surged with pride when she revealed how far Harper had advanced with her karate lessons in such a short time.
Her tone was filled with barely-contained emotion when she added, “Harper is everything to me. She makes my life matter, and she makes me a better person.”
I brushed my hand through the woman’s soft hair. “You were already the best person I’ve ever known.”
“You’re biased because you’re trying to get back into my pants.” Her words were accusatory, but her tone was light.
