Beep, beep, beep, beep.
Levi yanks himself away at the sound of the smoke detector, leaving me blinking, lips swollen, and chin slightly burning from the friction of his beard. He lifts me off the towering boxes like I weigh nothing at all and sets me back down on my feet.
“I forgot about the burgers,” he says sheepishly, his chin dipping down toward his chest.
Which I, of course, find utterly adorable.
He walks to the kitchen, and a few seconds later I hear the stove click off even though the smoke detector is still blaring.
“Well, these are inedible now.”
I rouse myself enough to follow him and find him scraping charred and blackened beef patties into the trash can. I grab a dish towel and search the ceiling for the source of the obnoxious beeping. The detector is mounted in the center of the kitchen, so I move to stand under it and use the dish towel as a fan. It takes a good while, but the beeping finally stops.
“How does cereal sound?” Levi’s still wearing that sheepish expression as he fills the skillet with water to soak in the sink.
I grin. “I love cereal for dinner.And maybe while we eat, we can talk?”
He opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by the doorbell. His mouth closes, and his brow furrows. “Who can that be?” He moves around me toward the front door.
I guess talking—and any more kissing—will have to wait.
18
He’d kissed her.
Levi’s feet moved on autopilot toward the front door as his mind continued to replay what had just happened in his living room. He hadn’t planned to do it, but he’d kissed her. That euphoric thought was replaced by the one that still had him shaking his head in disbelief and in complete and utter exhilaration. Against all odds and logic, she’dwantedhim to kiss her.
He could still feel the press of her soft mouth across his lips. They continued to tingle in the echo of her touch. Whatever nerve receptors he had there were dancing a happy little jig. He licked his lips, not even a little surprised to find the aftertaste of her still heady on his tongue. The sensory inputs of her kiss had not ceased the moment they broke apart. She’d imbedded herself under his skin, taken up residency in the space of his mind, and set up a direct line to his heart.
He gripped the knob and ripped open the door. “What do you want?”
Levi winced at the harshness of his own words as soon as they left his mouth. Man, he really had become a grouchy old man, hadn’t he? Besides, the woman and little girl in front ofhim had no idea that they’d shown up at such an inopportune time.
“Sorry.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, his conscience pricking. It was time to start making an intentional effort to be a bit more friendly to those around him. “What I meant to say was, hello, how can I help you?”
The woman in a lightweight flannel blinked in surprise, while the little girl in uneven pigtails beamed up at him. She held a cardboard box in her arms, and she seemed to be nearly humming in excitement. “You’re funny,” she laughed.
He hadn’t thought he’d said anything particularly humorous, but he remembered thinking farts were the most hilarious thing in the world when he was about her age, so obviously the bar for jokes was low for kids.
The girl’s mom cleared her throat. “We heard Hayley found some orphaned kittens that the two of you are taking care of. We brought over some supplies that might come in handy if you need them.”
“A coyote got Mittens in the spring. I had to be a step-mama to her babies, but I was a nice step-mama, not a mean one like Cinderella’s.” The girl readjusted the box in her arms. She tilted her head as she peered up at him. “Are you gonna let us in, or are you gonna just stand there like a bump on a log?”
“Anna Leigh!” the woman cried in horror, her eyes wide as dinner plates as an embarrassed red hue tinged her cheeks. “That’s not the way we speak to our elders.” She moved her gaze to Levi with contrition written in every line of her face. “I am so sorry. We can just leave the supplies and get out of your hair.”
“But Mama!” Anna Leigh whined in protest. “I want to see the kittens! Plus, we need to show him how to make the kittens go to the bathroom.” She pursed her lips at Levi like she’d sized him up and wasn’t impressed with what she saw. “Bet you don’t know that mama cats lick their baby’s behind to makethem go potty, did you? And you probably didn’t know that as a step-daddy, it’s your responsbability to do it now, did you?”
Levi rolled his lips between his teeth to keep from smiling. Something told him this little munchkin expected him to take his new responsbabilities very seriously and wouldn’t find anything she’d just said a laughing matter. He opened the front door wider and took a step to the side in a silent invitation to come in. “You’re right. You better show me how to be a good kitty step-daddy. I don’t want to get anything wrong.”
Anna Leigh didn’t need any further encouragement. She bolted through the open door and into the house, disappearing down the hall.
“Sorry about her,” her mother said. “She doesn’t have a filter, though Lord knows I’ve tried to install one in her brain.”
Wouldn’t that be a crying shame. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m Shelby, by the way. I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced.” She held out her hand.
Levi shook it, motioning her into the house.
