Perfect Kiss (11 page)

Levi rubbed his thumb over her wrist and felt her pulse racing triple time before he pulled his hand back to go deliver the pitcher. As he moved across the dining area, he could feel Dina’s eyes on his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that not only was Dina watching him, but Shelby was, too.

If he knew what was good for him, he would ignore the way it made him feel every time a certain pair of blue eyes was pointed his way. He would spend the next few nights Dina was in town having a good time. The kind of good time he hadn’t had in far too long.

Shit
. That might even explain why he’d been walking around with permanent blue balls for the last week. It probably didn’t have anything to do with Shelby, specifically. It was just a symptom of a much more general problem.

He needed to get laid.

After dropping the pitcher off, he headed back to his post behind the bar with a renewed sense of purpose. He was pretty damn sure he could spend the night with Dina tonight. But, even if that didn’t pan out, he was one hundred percent sure someone would be in his bed tonight. If not, he might really lose his mind.

As he slipped behind the bar, Shelby moved down and said quietly, almost nervously, “Hey, I had something I wanted to ask you after work.”

“Okay.” Levi nodded.

Then she returned to her end of the bar, leaving the sweet smell of citrus in her absence. His heart clenched as he realized he already missed her closeness.

Yep. He definitely needed to get laid.

*

Shelby figured that she might as well get “Third Wheel” tattooed across her forehead. First, it was at Matt and Amy’s. Now, it was here at work. There was nowhere in this tiny town she could go to escape her newly acquired third-wheel position in life.

Damn.
After grabbing the stack of twenties, she sat down and began counting them out for the third time. She was trying to cash out as quickly as possible while Levi locked the front door, but she was distracted. The redhead Levi had been flirting his ass off with all night was still sitting at the end of the bar, and even though it shouldn’t bother Shelby…it did.

Which was insane, because what Levi did was none of her business. Plus, the woman he was obviously going to be hooking up with was not some random bar-slut hoochie. She seemed classy. Though, for some reason, that made it worse. Which was double insane.

Insanity seemed to be a running theme with her lately. She needed to be rational. Not do things on impulse. Think things through.

For weeks, she’d been trying to convince herself that all she felt for Levi was physical. Then every day she worked with him, she’d observed him talking with customers, listening and really hearing their stories. He’d give advice where advice was needed and stay silent when it wasn’t. She’d seen person after person leave the bar happier than they’d been when they’d come in. And not because they were buzzed. It was because they’d basically had a one-on-one therapy session with Dr. Levi.

Then there was the story he’d told her behind why he’d wanted to start the B&B. She couldn’t get his words to stop playing on repeat in her mind. Every time she thought about what his life had been like as a child, she wanted to hug him. To wrap her arms around him and say that he wasn’t alone, that she was there for him.

But she wasn’t. Not really.

He was her boss. Her extremely sexy, funny, smart, ambitious, entrepreneurial, caring boss—who she was not going to get involved with.

“What did you need to ask me?”

Levi’s deep voice startled Shelby, and the cash she was counting flew out of her hand like when her Uncle Henry had played 52-card pick-up with her and Matt.

Bending down, Levi quickly and efficiently helped her pick up the bills that were strewn across the bar floor. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” she lied. “I was just in my own little world.”

She really hoped that one day,
soon,
she wouldn’t jump at the slightest sound. It was extremely irritating, not to mention embarrassing.

When they stood, she stumbled back slightly due to the fact that her legs had decided to do their best Jell-O impression. Levi reached out and steadied her, and it was all Shelby could do not to swoon. Closing her eyes, she gave herself a beat—one brief moment—to luxuriate in the feeling of being held in such strong, capable hands. It felt so good. Too good.

Snapping her eyes open, she backed away from him and took a deep breath. When she did, a look she would classify as disappointment flashed across his face, but he quickly masked it.

Clearing his throat, he stepped back. Then he repeated, “What did you need to ask me?”

“Umm…”

Dang it. She was really regretting her “brilliant” plan now.

For the last few days, she’d wanted to ask Levi if she could move into the B&B. The second she’d laid eyes on it she’d fallen in love with it, and it had everything she needed. A working shower. A stove. And a bedroom. She could pay rent and even help with the renovations.

As much as she loved her brother and his family, it was a little too crowded in his house now that Matt was home for summer break. Between Matt, Amy, her, the twins, and Scooby, their Great Dane, there was no privacy. Also, there was also the small fact to consider that Matt and Amy pretty much had everything under control. Shelby felt like she was in the way more than she was helping.

And she knew how hard Levi had been working on it. Every second he wasn’t at the bar, he was either sleeping or working on the B&B. Every time he’d come through the bar, on the way up to his apartment to take a shower, smelling like sawdust, Shelby would get a nostalgic feeling.

She missed building things. During high school and college, it had been a form of therapy for her. When she had a hammer in her hand, all was right in the world.

Plus, she was really grateful for the opportunity Levi had given her. After all, she was employed because of him.

All of those reasons sounded perfectly logical in her head. Still, it had been three days since she’d come up with this ingenious solution, and every time she’d opened her mouth to ask Levi, she’d choked. Just like she had all of those years ago up on the stage, in front of the lights and her classmates. She opened her mouth and nothing came out. So she’d decided she would tell him that she needed to ask him something in an attempt to keep herself accountable.

Again, it had sounded like a clever plan in theory. In practice, she was having serious regrets.

“Shelby?” The questioning sound in Levi’s voice only doubled the nerves ricocheting through her body.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It can wait.” Shelby glanced up at him and smiled, hoping to convey a casual—no big deal!—move along there’s nothing to see here—attitude.

When their eyes met, his searched hers and she grew more than a little uncomfortable under his scrutiny. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that, a couple of weeks ago, she would’ve looked away. She would’ve crumbled like a cookie beneath the weight of his stare. Luckily, this wasn’t then; it was now. And every day, she was feeling a little stronger, a bit more like herself. So, instead of shrinking like a wallflower, she stood tall and waited him out.

Thankfully, her efforts paid off. He looked away first. Score one for Shelby.

When she turned her attention back to the money she was still counting, she had to stop herself from doing a victory dance. On the outside, anyway. On the inside, she was doing a jig, the cabbage patch, and, yes, even twerking. Maybe that achievement shouldn’t have made her feel like she’d just climbed Mt. Everest barefoot. It didn’t really matter, though, because that was exactly how she did feel. Like she’d just conquered a mountain.

Not because she’d won the staring contest, although that didn’t hurt. No, her disproportionate pride came from the accomplishment of having regained some of her old self back. The Shelby who never backed down. The Shelby who, like Levi had so intuitively pointed out, was a fighter.

“Okay, now what did you want to ask me?” Levi’s question interrupted her internal victory lap.

Shelby lifted her head to find him seated on the other side of the bar with an expression that told her that he was absolutely not dropping the subject.

Great.

“We can talk about it later…” Her eyes sliced to the end of the bar and saw that the redhead who had been sitting there all night was gone. A quick once-over of the bar concluded that she was nowhere to be seen.

Oh, Levi must’ve sent her upstairs to his apartment. That could work to her advantage.

“Seriously, I know you have company waiting. It’s not important.”

Confusion spread across Levi’s bad-boy, chiseled face, and Shelby wanted to roll her eyes. Did he actually think she was that stupid? Was he going to try to play innocent? This was why she would never be in a relationship again. Men always tried to act like women were the ones who played games, but from her experience, men were far more guilty of lying and manipulating and pretending to be something they weren’t.

“There’s no one waiting on me. You said you needed to talk, so I just sent Dina home.” He motioned to the front door. He was speaking a tad slower than usual and looking at Shelby like she was more cuckoo than a clock.

Shoot. She’d been so busy patting herself on the back that she must’ve missed him escorting his conquest out the door. Old Shelby never would have missed that. No matter how much she wanted to believe she was finding her way back to herself, she kept getting reminded that she wasn’t as close as she’d hoped. She felt like Paula Abdul, taking two steps forward and two steps back. Levi wasn’t being shady, he’d sent his hookup home so that
they
could talk.

What was wrong with her?

Anger bubbled up inside her. Anger at Kevin. Anger at herself. Anger at her situation.

If there were ever a motivating force, it was anger.

Without even giving it a second thought, Shelby began speaking, “Fine. I was wondering if I could move into the cabin. Temporarily. Things at Matt’s are crowded, and I’ll pay a fair rent—”

“Okay.”

Not even hearing Levi’s response, she continued to defend her proposition. “I can help with the renovations. I’m a hard worker, and I know that you’re doing a lot of the work yourself…”

“Great.”

“Having another set of hands would be valuable. And I might look small, but believe me, I ca—”

“Shelby!” His voice rose.

It stopped Shelby mid-word. Her heart stopped—until she looked into his eyes and saw no ounce of anger there.

“Yes. I said yes. Of course you can stay there. You don’t need to convince me. I think it’s a great idea.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as she asked, “You do?”

The left side of his mouth turned up, and his delicious dimple made an appearance as he assured her. “Yes. I do.”

“Oh, okay. Good.”

That had been easier than she had anticipated. Which was a good thing. So why did it feel like the butterflies that had been having one heck of a dance party in her stomach had kicked things up a notch and were now engaged in a full-blown mosh pit?

Chapter 9

‡

A
tenant
. Levi shook his head as he looked around the cabin. Who in their right mind would have someone move into a place they were renovating?

Since the moment Shelby had shown up in Hope Falls, Levi hadn’t been acting like himself. He’d been doing things that surprised him. It started when he’d willingly let her dress him up as a toilet paper baby. Then he’d hired her. Then he’d agreed to let her move into the cabin he was renovating.

It was like, where Shelby was concerned, the word “no” did not exist. That wasn’t entirely true. He told
himself
“no” concerning her all the time.

No. Don’t tell her how good she smells.

No. Don’t tell her that you can’t stop thinking about her.

No. Don’t tell her that every time you close your eyes, all you can see is her.

No. Don’t tell her every time you see her that it takes every ounce of self-control that you have not to kiss her full, tempting lips.

But when it came to her asking for anything, wanting anything, needing anything, Levi was helpless to resist. Even if it cost him his sanity. Even if he was positive that, at this point, he had to be in the running for having blue balls for the most consecutive hours. Even if she would never know the physical and emotional strain just being in her presence caused him.

He would do anything for her, to protect her. Not that she wanted his protection. She’d made it clear by her actions that she was independent. She didn’t even like asking for help when the bar got busy. He’d never thought he would meet someone whose work ethic equaled his, but he had.

He’d met his match.

And what was he going to do about it? Not a damn thing. He was going to continue keeping his distance.

Which was probably the main reason he felt so…off. Levi had always been a straightforward guy. If he wanted something, he went after it. He didn’t hide his feelings or intentions. Ever.

Until recently, that is.

After stepping closer to the window, Levi opened the curtain and lifted the glass pane. The room Shelby would be staying in was in really good shape, but he wanted to air it out before she arrived.

As the fresh air drifted in, Levi inhaled deeply and realized that his actions might have seemed out of character for him, but they actually made sense. The reason he was telling himself “no” when it came to anything Shelby-related was because he knew that that was what she needed. Even if she didn’t know it.

He had to admit that, when he’d shown her the cabin and they’d had the moment he couldn’t stop replaying, his resolve had almost slipped like he was a bobsledder shooting down a luge. It wasn’t just the fact that he’d
needed
to taste her lips again and they’d been mere inches from his face. It was also that the flare she’d gotten in her eyes had held a confidence that had been missing since she’d shown up at Tessa’s baby shower. Levi hadn’t wanted to do anything to douse that spark with something she could interpret as rejection.