About as much as a sliver in my ass.
Levi
I won’t ask how it got there. See you soon.
Beckett
Awesome.
Levi’s fingers hovered over the screen.Oh, by the way, is your sister dating anyone? Mind if I ask her out?He shook his head. “That would go over well.”Are sisters still off-limits?A laugh burst out of him as he pocketed his phone. “You know the answer to that.”
Two things never failed to clear his head—making an excellent meal, and running. Since his dad had bitched and complained about the grilled chicken and rice he’d made the other night, Levi was in no hurry to cook him another healthy meal. Running it was. If he ran into Jillian, so be it. He grinned as he stretched, remembering that this was Smile and there was always a good chance of running into someone, whether you wanted to or not.
With his muscles loose, he started with a slow jog off of the docks, letting his mind wander. No surprise, it zipped back to Jillian. Waving to people he passed, he cut down a back alley between two of the shops along Tourist Lane, hoping it still led to a trail he remembered. Thankfully, it did.
AirPods in, his pulse matching the beat of some old-school AC/DC, sweat pooling at his spine, Levi slipped into the zone. Would have stayed there, too, if he hadn’t looked to the left and kept looking, because what he saw made his pulse race faster than the exercise. In the middle of the green space, several women—though there was only one who captured his attention—were bent into some very awkward-looking positions he wouldn’t even attempt on a dare. Jillian’s hair was twisted into a pretty braid down the back of her pale blue tank top that showed off toned arms, soft curves, and tantalizing skin that…
He heard a muted “Dude” seconds before his shin came into direct contact with something cold and hard. He caught air before he felt the rough slide of crushed gravel abrading the skin of his knee, thigh, and hands when he landed. He would have gladly concentrated on the stinging, burning pain but Anderson—freaking do-it-all Anderson—was in his face, checking him out, telling him not to move, even as the women hurried over. Reaching him first, because it wasn’t bad enough that he’d tripped over a cooler—in front of people—or that he’d have cuts all over him, was Jillian, the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about.
“He’s okay. Just some cuts and scrapes,” Anderson said, pushing their shoulder-length hair back from their face. “I’m so sorry. I tried to get your attention, Levi. You were in the zone.”
“Oh, honey. You fell ass over cooler,” an older woman who looked familiar said.
Levi’s gaze was locked on Jillian. Her expression of concern morphed into one of mild amusement at the woman’s comment right before she crouched down next to him. God, she smelled good. How could she be out in the sun, bending into pretzel shapes, and smell so good?
He was quite certain the same couldn’t be said of him.
“Sue likes to state the obvious,” she said under her breath, touching his knee, her brows furrowing.
Her fingers on his skin sent an electric charge through his whole body, making him flinch. She pulled her hand back, looked at him.
“Did that hurt? You might need to go see one of the Doc Williamses and make sure you didn’t break anything.”
Levi gave a rough laugh, remembering that there were two general practitioners in Smile and they were married to each other. The Williamses. It was the female Doc Williams who’d putfour stitches in his chin the night he left. Levi pushed to his feet. “Pretty sure you can’t break pride.”
Jillian rose with him, her top lip pulled between her teeth, and it took all of his effort not to stare. Not to wonder what it would be like to…
“She’s right, sweetie. We should get you checked out.” Sue, whom he still couldn’t place, took his arm.
Anderson held out a bottle of water, dripping with condensation. “On the house.”
“Thanks.” Extricating himself from the older woman’s grasp, wishing he could walk away and pretend the last three minutes had never happened, he opened it, swallowed down half the bottle.
When he lowered his chin, he caught a look in Jillian’s gaze—he wasnotthe only interested party here—that made his skin sizzle all over again.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Anderson asked.
He didn’t usually lie, but looking at Jillian and knowing he wasn’t going to be able to sidestep his feelings so easily, he had no choice. “Completely. I’m absolutely fine.”
“You could join us for yoga,” said one of the older ladies, with her gray ponytail tucked through the back of a ball cap. “That’ll stretch those muscles.” Her gaze wandered down his length and back up before she whistled, shook her head. “You’re going to be sore tomorrow.”
Jillian pressed her lips together but they quirked anyway.
Sue, whose gray hair was cropped into a stylish bob, clapped her hands. “Yes. That’s an excellent idea.”
“A good Downward Dog never hurt anyone,” Anderson added.
Levi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. This time Jillian wasn’t hiding her laughter. Neither were the other ladies.
