“I love food trucks,” Ollie said, settling on her seat. “We went to Mackinaw City and there was a dessert food truck. That was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Everyone laughed and the tension in his chest loosened. Became bearable.
“Yes. And someone let you try one of everything,” Jillian said, shooting her dad a pretty good side-eye.
Mr. Keller winked at his granddaughter. “No regrets, right, peanut?”
“Nope.” Ollie looked at Levi. “Will you have desserts?”
He smiled at Jilly’s daughter, seeing enough similarities that his heartstrings tugged, tying a new knot.
“Some. Let’s get started. I’m going to drop off sample platters with an assortment of items. Don’t be shy. I want to know what you think. I’m looking to fill a void in Smile’s offerings. Not that there are many,” he said, knowing his audience and the locals’ love of supporting their own. “Think about what’s easy to grab on a lunch break, at a festival, or at the Sunday market. I want my food to be different but fit the vibe of a town we all love.”
“Let us try it, son,” Gramps said. He ran a hand over his bushy gray beard, smoothing it down.
Grayson and Beckett got up to help him grab the pre-plated platters he’d already set up in the kitchen. He’d made two differentchicken sliders, one breaded, one baked; a smaller version of his secret-recipe cheeseburger (barbecue sauce and cheese mixed right into the meat); homemade hash browns; three kinds of fries (sweet potato wedges, sea-salted wedges, and thick-cut regular ones). He had some lemon ricotta pancakes with a blackberry coulis he’d been playing around with, but he wasn’t ready to share that yet. The breakfast foods might be a touchy spot since locals often liked their favorite standbys and he wasn’t sure he wanted to operate breakfast hours.
Using four cheeses, he’d made a grilled cheese on thick-sliced bread. Of course, there were two different kinds of biscuits that his sous-chef had assisted with. She’d been a kick in the kitchen. He’d had to slow his timing and take a couple of breaths, reminding himself he wasn’t looking for perfection. He was happy that Ollie only seemed to grow more comfortable with him as they worked. She’d helped him with a couple of vegetarian options including zucchini sticks and loaded baked potatoes. Telling his friends he had the rest, Levi returned to the kitchen, giving himself a minute. His gaze landed on the dessert.
He wasn’t sure he’d offer it on a truck but he’d wanted to serve it tonight as a nod to the past, with the Keller siblings, and to the future he hoped to have with Jillian. Her brothers loved her and thought he was great. So, his friends wouldn’t be opposed to him asking her out on an actual date. Would they?
He figured Ollie, if she was anything like her mom, would love it, too. Levi was more concerned with getting her kid to like him than he was worried about her brothers having an issue.
Either way, he had some hurdles to jump and looked forward to it, because the more he thought about it, the more he and Jilly made sense. And the more he thought about her, the more he wanted to act on the undeniable chemistry between them. Kissing her was like nothing else he’d ever known. Other than cooking,it was the only thing that ever made him feel like the rest of the world disappeared.
When he was a kid, his mom had read romance novels with half-naked guys on the front. He and Beckett had snuck one and found some of the spicier bits. At the time—they were maybe eleven or twelve—they’d laughed their asses off at the proclamations of love the guy professed. Now, he understood why people wrote love stories. How the hell was anyone supposed to feel so much and not share it? And he hadn’t taken her on an actual date yet.Shit. You should take her on an actual date, you idiot.
Murmurs of delight and exclamations traveled to him in the kitchen, and Levi pushed down on the emotion coursing through him. This mattered. Their thoughts, his success. He wanted this badly. Tonight was a big step toward making it happen. He and Jilly had looked at food trucks on his iPad the other day and he’d learned that she was incredibly smart and savvy when it came to business decisions.
“Stop procrastinating, Bright. Get out there.”
He sat next to his mom, adding a couple of small things to his plate. His stomach wouldn’t settle; he hoped his mom wouldn’t mention his lack of appetite. The platters were all but empty. Laughter and chatter filled the room along with the delicious aroma of sauces and spices.
“Oh, Levi. This is delicious,” Mrs. Keller said from across the table as she grabbed another hash brown.
“I don’t remember you loving to cook when we were growing up,” Gray said, grabbing a grilled cheese square and setting it on Ollie’s plate.
“Sure he did,” Beckett said. “We couldn’t go anywhere without him and his backpack of homemade snacks. What was that sandwich you made when we were thirteen?”
Levi grinned, breaking a biscuit in half and spreading somehoney-lime butter on it. He’d forgotten about that sandwich. They’d been hanging out at the Keller house and Beckett complained there was nothing to eat so Levi had rooted through the fridge and cupboards and made something up.
“That was gross, man,” Levi said.
Beckett picked up a slider. “It was awesome. He used leftover chicken Mom made, added mayo, lettuce, onions, and crushed-up Doritos.”
Levi’s mother laughed. “Him and his sandwiches with chips on them.” She shook her head and sent him a warm smile.
“I don’t know about his sandwiches,” Jilly said as she added a couple of each type of fry to her daughter’s plate while the others chose their favorites. “But he made the best s’mores of any of us.”
Levi’s chest constricted almost painfully. She remembered.
“Hey,” Beckett said. He and Presley were sharing a plate, which he’d give his buddy a hard time about if it wasn’t absolutely fucking adorable. His friend was deeply in love. “My s’mores are fantastic.”
“Agreed,” Presley said, leaning her head against his shoulder.
Beckett kissed the crown of her head and Levi’s gut clenched. Somewhere in the middle of achieving all of his dreams, he’d realized what he was missing. Levi wanted what he saw right in front of him: a partner. Someone to lean on, love, fight and make up with. Someone to grow old with. How would he define the kernel of energy and desire that lit him up from inside when he looked at Jillian Keller? Whatever it was, whatever he called it, she was the only one, then and now, that made it ignite into an all-out inferno.
Jillian’s arm brushed his as she shifted in her chair. He turned to her, surprised at the duality of his feelings. It was weird to feel so excited near someone who also made him feel so comfortable.
