“You love that house, don’t you?”
Could he feel her heartbeat galloping? “I do. But, Levi—”
He didn’t let her finish. He reversed their positions so he was poised over her, staring down into her eyes. Her fingers curled around the back of his neck and she wondered if he could feel her awe. This man was more than a dream come true. He was everything.
“No buts, Jilly. I mean it. I want a life with you. Pete’s place is cool but I really want a full kitchen. And I didn’t mean to go behind your back or anything and everything is up for discussion and I’m fine with whatever you want to do as long as I get to be part of your future but your parents and I got to talking.” He took a deep breath, let it out.
Once again, her patience paled in comparison to his. “About?”
“There’s four bedrooms without the basement. Two floors, good-sized kitchen, and a den. We wouldn’t really need the basement. It’s already got a bathroom. My dad’s company can do the work to make it a great suite for your parents. Then they’re close, they don’t have to move. And we make the rest of the house ours. We could renovate a bit. Update some things? You really seem to like that tub.” He tilted his head in the direction of the soaker tub.
It felt like something heavy was sitting on top of her lungs. She couldn’t pull in a full breath. Taking baby breaths, she held his gaze until she could gather her words.
“Is that what youwant?”
Levi grinned at her in a way that had stolen her breath as a teenager and did exactly the same thing now. He’d only gotten better at making her stomach and her brain spin.
“I wantyou.We can live there, at Pete’s, here. Hell, I’ll buy the food truck and we can live in that but it’ll be crowded.”
She laughed with him, surprise and excitement creating a kind of hopefulness inside of her that she barely recognized.
“Their house really is great for raising a family.”
“Turns out I have one of those now,” Levi said, his fingers trailing down her neck, along her collarbone. “One beautiful, funny, incredibly smart, and cautious woman, and an adorable, quick-witted, smart-as-hell nine-year-old.”
Laughing, she leaned up to kiss him. “Don’t forget two loud, opinionated brothers and a sweet and persuasive soon-to-be sister-in-law who will all undoubtably be up in our business all of the time.”
Pressing a soft kiss to her mouth, he brushed his lips over her cheek, trailed to her ear. “That sounds perfect.”
Jillian hugged him close. “I’d rather have real than perfect. I love you, Levi.”
He pulled back, smiled at her so brightly, it lit her up inside.“This is as real as it gets, Jilly. I love you.” Then he kissed her again, more demandingly, urging her closer before he turned them so she lay on top of him. “I apologize in advance.”
Her heart hiccuped. “For what?”
He cupped her cheeks with both of his hands, his smile a mix of teasing and sexy. “Because you’re going to be so tired on your first full day back tomorrow.”
Laughing her way into the kiss, she whispered, “Totally worth it.”
Thirty-nine
It was all hands on deck—or, more specifically, luggage—the next day as the lodge opened for the season. Levi shouldn’t have been surprised by the efficiency and hospitality of the Keller family, but he was. They moved like a well-oiled unit, checking guests in, showing them around, organizing activities and events. For his part, Levi pitched in where he could and kept things running in the kitchen with Chef Shane. They’d chatted a fair amount and the older man was looking forward to this being his last summer at the lodge. Though, he did say he might bring his husband for a couple of weekend getaways.
Levi and Jilly had woken early this morning, and after greeting the day in a way that felt more like a dream than reality, they’d re-dressed the room and made it to the staff meeting with time to spare.
The lodge was fully booked for the entire first week and many of the weeks after that, with check-ins and check-outs overlapping each other. Mr. Keller and Grayson took care of ferrying guests over while Jilly and Ollie got everyone to their rooms. Mrs. Keller helped one of their high school students answer phones and work the front desk. Mateo, who seemed to do a littleof everything, helped bring dishes in from the dining room after the lunch service.
Levi thanked him as the kid switched gears to take a group on a short hike. Ideas swirled in his head for how to streamline what they offered for each of the three meals and snacks. Shane was making him a list of suppliers that he currently used.
“Busy day,” Shane said. “Once those muffins come out of the oven, we’ll put them aside for snacks. Between those, your granola, and the individual snacks Jilly picked up, there’ll be enough for guests who get hungry in between.”
“This place is amazing,” Levi said, tossing a cloth over his shoulder. They’d served an easy lunch of sandwiches on homemade bread with an assortment of salads that were packed with protein for those heading on the hike.
“There’s no stopping the Keller siblings when they set their minds to something,” Shane said with a pseudo-fatherly pride.
“It’s pretty inspiring,” Levi commented, starting to clean the counter. They’d do a family-style dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread, and apple turnovers for dessert. He had a lot to learn about creating larger quantities while still putting his own twist on things. He’d cooked for more people at one time—one of the dining rooms he’d worked at sat 150 people—but this was different. People wanted hearty, solid meals that provided comfort and tasted delicious.
Not wanting to get in Chef’s way as he took the muffins out of the oven, Levi took the hallway down to the laundry room. He had a load of dishcloths in the dryer. Once that was folded and put away, he’d see if he could help in another capacity, since he was prepped for dinner. He was changing a few things in the small office off of the kitchen that Shane used, making it his own. If no one needed help, he might take a look at the suppliers and vendors. A few changes could cut costs and make things more locally sourced. A lot of what they used could be ordered online, so he wanted to set up accounts. Shane was old school, preferring to head to the mainland, but Levi didn’t want that time commitment.
