Page 65 of Get Lost with You
“What are you doing?” Her whisper cut through the quiet.
“I needed to see you,” he called back, hoping his voice didn’t carry.
Her face was only partially illuminated from the light, so he couldn’t fully read her expression. She’d been so quiet for the meeting, taking notes after she’d returned from tucking Ollie in.
She’d held his hand when he’d reached for hers, but it didn’t feel like it had when he first showed up. He really should have found a way to talk to her before now.
“At midnight?” she asked, refocusing him.
Shit. He hadn’t checked the time. “I’m sorry. I’ll go. Go back to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“No. Wait.” The curtain closed.
His nerves spun his stomach like the spin cycle on a washer. What was he thinking, knocking on a grown woman’s window in the middle of the night? First, he took part in blindsiding her with her brothers, then showed up at her house for the meeting, and now he was here, again, out of the blue while she was trying to get some much-needed sleep.You’re the reason she didn’t sleep last night, too. And her kid might be in there with her.And her parents were home. Levi groaned.
The front door opened and closed softly. Jillian came down the steps to where he stood under her window in the shadow of the trees.
Her smile was soft, reaching her eyes just enough to smooth his nerves. “Levi Bright knocking on my window. I never even imagined you doing that when I was a teenager.”
Levi closed the distance between them, his hands sinking into her hair and his mouth taking hers like they’d been apart weeks rather than hours. Jillian made a seductive sound of agreement, her hands going to his wrists, holding on.
She swayed into him, her hands coming to his chest, twisting in his shirt, pulling a few of the hairs there. He didn’t care. All he cared about was kissing her. Being with her. There was nothing else in this world that compared to kissing Jillian Keller.
When they pulled back, their foreheads meeting, both of them were breathing heavily.
“Jesus, Jilly. I think I’m addicted to you. Tell me we’re okay. Please? I’m so sorry that I didn’t talk to you first.”
Her gaze went downward. “It’s a big decision to make. I won’t say it didn’t sting that you didn’t even run it by me. A relationship is like a partnership, right?”
God, the vulnerability in her voice shredded him inside. “It is, and we are partners.” He lifted her chin, met her gaze. “I should have talked to you, but honestly, I got so excited I just dove in.”
“That’s what worries me,” she said quietly.
Levi frowned, pulled back. When she shivered, he removed his zip-up sweater and wrapped it around her shoulders, holding her close. “What do you mean?”
“You wanted a food truck.”
“Yeah?” He waited for more.
“The lodge is not a food truck.”
“Still with you.”
She gave an annoyed sound, tapped his chest. “I thought your dream was a food truck. You had it narrowed down to two, you took a loan, you were going to buy one next week. And then, just like that, new plan. No looking back. Like the food truck meant nothing. You just changed your mind without a moment of hesitation on something huge. Something that could shape and define your future.”
He let the words settle over him and, more than that, he listened to how she said them and heard what was beneath them.
Tightening his hold, he dug for the right words to ease the worries beneath her worry. “Jilly, cooking is my professional dream. The food truck was a really awesome idea I was excited about because it would let me be in charge of a fairly containedkitchen and creative menu. This job gives me exactly that, but not on wheels and not on my dime. I didn’t change my dream, just the venue. But Jilly, let me assure you.” He paused, slid a hand up her back until it was nestled at the base of her neck, beneath all that soft, gorgeous hair. “It wasn’t a whim. It wasn’t really even a change in direction. It was an opportunity to do what I love with people I trust and grew up with. With the woman I’m falling in love with.”
She sucked in a breath. He held her gaze as the surprise turned to longing, and he thought he’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted to make this woman know, down to her core, that she could trust him. That she could believe in him.
“That could make things trickier,” she whispered.
He smiled. Sweet, cautious Jilly. Levi pressed his lips to her eyebrow, kissed her softly, then did the same to the other eyebrow. Leaning back, he told her, “It could. Or it could make things absolutely perfect. It was a leap, I’ll admit. But the reason I was able to make it so easily, even though I should have talked to you, was because I knew you’d be standing on the other side when I landed. I knew you’d be there.”
Moving her hands up his chest, she gripped his shoulders like she was using him as an anchor. He’d be whatever she needed. “Ollie’s getting so attached to you.”
“I’m getting so attached to her.”
