Page 53 of Tempting Levi
Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “Weird in what way?”
Emily took a deep breath. “We kissed.” She peeked at Lisa, but her sister didn’t appear surprised. “It’s not a big deal. Levi doesn’t want anything serious and I don’t want to date a guy who sees no future for us.”
That got a sour look out of Lisa. “Why doesn’t he see a future with you?”
“You know, because of his past withyou.”
“So? You’re the best thing that’s walked into his life. Besides me.” She flashed a confident smile. “He should be charming you and wooing the hell out of you.”
Emily squinted. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s not weird that I kissed your ex-boyfriend.”
“Because it isn’t?”
Emily was about to argue, when she realized that would go against her best interests. “Are you sure it doesn’t bother you? There’s little chance we’d ever kiss again, but…you really don’t mind?”
Lisa stood and picked up one of the dresses, holding it up to herself. “Look, Em, I care about Levi. I want him to be happy. And Iloveyou. It’s been years since I dated him, and when it ended, it was for the best. I wasn’t in love with him.”
Emily shook her head. “That’s so weird. How could you not love that man?”
Lisa gave her a soft smile. “I just didn’t. But it seems likeyoudo.”
“Like,not love.” But Emily worried her feelings leaned more toward the other L-word. “He’s not easy to put aside. The men I dated in the past were nothing like Levi.”
“True, I questioned a couple of your choices, but there were one or two boyfriends that had potential. You’re a beautiful girl, and you’ve always attracted guys. Once they looked past your nerd tendencies.”
“Which wasn’t very often.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I don’t mind you dating Levi—as long as that piece of granite treats you well. And I’m not kidding. I’ll have Jared mess him up if he doesn’t treat you like a goddess.”
Emily laughed, not only because the visual was ridiculous—Levi had to be four inches taller and twenty-five pounds heavier than Jared—but because her sister was being silly. “I don’t think we need to worry about that.” Her smile dropped. “I already told you he’s not interested.”
Lisa set the dress down and came over, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “Then he doesn’t deserve you.”
Emily nodded, but she wasn’t sure she believed it. Levi was a good man. Even Lisa had chosen him at one point. But if he didn’t want to be with her, Lisa was right—she needed to move on.
Her sister clapped her hands together so loudly that Emily jumped. “Now which dress?”
Emily pressed a hand to her chest. “Jesus, don’t do that. I’m already on edge.” She glanced at the four dresses on the bed. Three of them were long and elegant. Very classy. One was short, black, and elegant as well…and much sexier. “The black.”
If she was going down in flames, might as well do it in style.
Chapter 24
Well? Is it everything you envisioned?” Emily studied the side of Hayden’s face as the other woman gazed around the ballroom they’d converted into an elegant lodge wonderland.
The stone arches and the wall of windows were covered in thousands of white lights, with more lighting strung across wood-beamed ceilings. Wrought-iron-and-crystal chandeliers created overhead centerpieces, and the effect was breathtaking. The lighting alone had taken Club Tahoe’s entire facility crew, and a few hired lighting specialists, all morning to create.
Hayden pressed her fingers to her lips, her eyes open wide. “It’s stunning.”
The doors that led onto the patio were propped open, allowing in a gentle breeze, with outdoor fire pits lit for effect. Inside, rectangular tables with ivory tablecloths held a thousand votive candles arranged in swirl patterns around hammered-copper pots filled with bright greenery and blooming ivory and peach roses. Emily thought the room looked great, but all that mattered was if Hayden was happy…
She turned to Emily, beaming. “Truly, I couldn’t have pictured anything more beautiful. You took my ideas and made them reality.”
Relief washed over Emily and her shoulders relaxed. “You can thank Pinterest and screenshots. I sent dozens of them to the vendors after we talked. But really, it doesn’t take much to make this place shine.”
