Page 97 of Hopeless Romantic
She slid open her window, and a cold burst stung her lips. “What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
Without a word, he lifted his phone and tapped the screen. Oh, he was sending her a text. How modern of him.
With a quick “be right back” finger, she ran to the bathroom to unplug her phone from where it had been charging, then raced back to the window, holding it up to show him she had it. He tapped his cell again, and hers lit up.
Oh my.She had dozens of missed calls and texts. Not surprising, since her phone had died during the search. She opened the most recent thread from Captain Confident. Two simple words that brought on a whole different kind of shivers.
Come out.
Be right down
Sensation trilled down her spine, but she couldn’t tell if it was relief or excitement.
Beckett wrapped herself in his coat, because why not, pushed her feet into Uggs, and opened the front door to find snow falling. Levi had moved to stand by his truck, hands on hips, head down. It was a posture she wasn’t familiar with and one that put her on edge, but her brain was so fogged from stress and fatigue, she didn’t understand her body’s reaction.
“Levi?” she asked, rushing her steps to meet him on the driveway. “Are you okay?”
He lifted his head and met her gaze. The look on his face froze her stomach solid. His expression was hard, his eyes piercing—and not in a good way. Levi was throwing off a tsunami of emotions, with anger and disappointment jockeying for the lead position.
Before she could ask what was wrong, he said, “You first.”
“Am I okay?” Confusion complicated what she was feeling. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Is your dad okay?”
“If you ask him, he’s a hero.” She gave a half-hearted shrug, still upset by her father’s irresponsible behavior. “I think he’s lucky to have me as a daughter.”
“What about Tommy?”
She tightened the cross of her arms. “That’s a whole different story.” She took a beat. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
“Welcome to the club.” He ran a ragged hand down his face. “Jesus, I need a minute.” He paced the length of his truck, his hand gripping his neck, anxiety pouring off him. “What happened tonight at the bar? You just disappeared.”
“I didn’t disappear.”
“Then what the hell happened?” His earlier concern morphed into anger. Scalding hot, and aimed at her. “And it better be a good fucking story to justify leaving the bar the way you did.”
“An emergency came up at home, and I gave Seth exact instructions on what to do, how to set the alarm; he even did food prep for tomorrow. He texted me when he closed up and assured me it all turned out fine.”
“Glad he’s assured everything’s fine.” The force of his censure landed squarely in the center of her chest and dragged her heart to her feet. “Jesus, for all I knew, you were on the road somewhere dead.”
“Yeah, Tommy and my dad had one of their things. Tommy decided to go looking for me and—” She waved a dismissive hand. “He’s home now. I’m more worried about what’s going on with you.”
“Was it life-threatening?” His expression remained rock hard, and the look made her feel as if she’d swallowed a beehive.
She exhaled. “Levi—”
“Was it?”
“Well, it—” She took a step toward him, and he held up a hand. She swallowed. “What’s this about?”
Levi opened his mouth, then closed it and looked at the ground. “I had an emergency, too, tonight. Got a call over my boat’s radio from my security company, informing me that the alarm was tripped.”
She pulled in a sharp breath. “Oh no.”
“I called you a dozen times, but you didn’t answer.”
“I panicked and left my cell on the bathroom counter. Someone lent me a handheld radio—”
