Page 33 of Holiday on the Rocks
For my next trick I will dazzle you with the illusion that I have my shit together.
As we got closer to the house, my mind put on its mental armor to fight Levi as I was suddenly a ball of stress. If stress brings on weight loss, I should be invisible by morning.
I jumped when his phone started screaming Warning; an idiot is calling you.
“Sorry.” He grabbed the phone. “I changed my ringtone, you like?”
“Sure, if you’re a thirteen-year-old dude.”
He chuckled and put it to his ear. “Yo.”
I looked out the window as my super-sonic ears thought they heard a female voice.
“That’s fine.” Pause. “Nothing, just out of town for a bit.”
Nothing? Was he asked what he was doing and wrote off the entire storage closet situation as nothing?
He pulled onto the long driveway. “That works. Ciao.”
Wow. A reminder that he had a life. He’d lived years in another country where he did stuff every day with what appeared to be many people, Things that had nothing to do with me.
A weird irritation entered my body like a shot because Levi was messing everything up. He was messing me up. Sure, I kissed him first, but I didn’t want his presence, and I needed him to go. This was too hard. It took years for me to get my life back together, and I wouldn’t let that all go for a kiss. Nope, I was done.
As a matter of fact, he was kind of a jerk. He was the one who crushed me. And now Levi Dawson had the audacity to use his hotness to try to get some action while in Colorado? How dare he? He crushed me, left me, and never ever reached out again. Not once. Who does that? Only a cold-hearted bastard, that’s who. He just wants to get his kicks. Well, not happening!
Suddenly another car pulled up beside us, and I hopped out to see a man in jeans and a black jacket. “I have your grocery order.”
“Who ordered them?” I tried to ignore Levi and his orgasmic cologne as he stepped beside me.
“Lexi Golden.”
“Whoa.” Levi scrunched his nose. “Her name still gives me instant heart burn. Maybe I should go into the forest and search for portals to other dimensions in case needed upon her arrival.”
“Solid plan, Levi.” I looked back to the man. “I can help you with the groceries.”
Levi stepped away from me. “I’ll get them. You go inside.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Who did he think he was? “Don’t tell me to go inside.”
The delivery driver’s brow lifted as Levi flashed me a smile. “Yes, dear.”
Fire shot through me. “Don’t call me that.”
Levi picked up a bag and nodded with a hint of amusement. “I’m joking, Langley.” He whispered to the man, “Old ball n chain’s getting cranky.”
“You shut up.” The delivery driver narrowed his eyes at me. “We are not together.”
Levi huffed out a single laugh. “Well, we just made out in a storage closet for twenty minutes, so whatever.”
I stomped my foot. “And now I hate you again.” How was I going to survive this effing week?
Levi picked up another bag and gave me a cocky chin nod. “Sure, you do.”
He could see through me.
As I watched him enter the house, I knew I could not. Not now. I would either kill him or rip off my shirt and do a dance for him in the kitchen. I couldn’t trust him or his dark motives, and I sure as shit couldn’t trust my dumbass self. Uuuggghhh. Instead of entering the house, I just reached inside the front door, tossed off my shoes, pulled on my boots, and walked around to the back of the house.
I avoided the turkey infested forest to my right and headed down toward the frozen lake behind the house. For December in Colorado, it felt pretty warm, so I tromped through the snow that glistened like one thousand rhinestones under the sun.
