The tiniest flicker of wariness crossed his expression. “I know it’s a little soon, but… yeah. I love you, June Caldwell.”
June bit her lip. “I love you too,” she admitted. “And maybe it is kind of soon, but it’s also right and true. I love you, Levi.”
“And I love Benjamin,” he told her, cupping her face in his hands. “And I love singing with you. And I love this town. And I want to be where you are, always.”
At that point, June decided, there was nothing left to do but seal things with a kiss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I guess there was never any chance of news not getting out immediately,” Levi joked to Tyler Meadows when Tyler called to give him the final headcount for that night’s dinner at Riverstone Kitchen.
It wasnotgoing to be a small party.
"Oh, yeah, no,” Tyler said with a laugh. He and Levi had become fast friends. Levi enjoyed being with the group of guys, and they had welcomed him kindly, especially since that first hike had been consumed with Levi gushing, at length, how wonderful June was.
Fortunately, the others were of a similar mindset about each of their own women. Anthony had shared the triumphant story of his surprise proposal to his new fiancée, and Garrett had bragged about Eleanor’s bookstore.
Eventually, Jeremy, the only one of them who wasn’t comfortably settled into an adult relationship, made them all stop.
“Enough, guys!” he protested with a laugh. “Have some pity for those of us who don’t have perfect lives yet. Sheesh.”
At that, they had pivoted to talking about baseball and the upcoming spring training session, which had turned into adebate between the native New Englanders, who all supported the Red Sox, and the transplants, who rooted for various teams closer to their cities of origin. A few nights later, Levi had met up with Shane and Jeremy to have a drink at a local sports bar, where they’d taken the opportunity to good-naturedly tease all the Red Sox fans who weren’t there with them… until Tyler had arrived to pick up some takeout and totally caught them all in the act.
This was when Levi had let slip the news about his and June’s plan to write an entire album together. By his reckoning, it had taken about forty-five minutes before the entire town knew.
And maybe theentiretown wasn’t going to meet them for dinner that evening, but it seemed close enough. The Meadowses would all be there, as would Diana, Anthony, and Eloise. Miriam, Eleanor, and Garrett were carpooling, and Shane and Winnie were giving Jeremy a ride, as uncle and nephew, avid outdoorsmen, had gone for another hike that day.
Well, the more the merrier, as far as Levi was concerned. He was ready to shout their relationship, both professional and personal, from the rooftops. He could hardly wait for the official announcement from the label, even though that wouldn’t happen until after the full album was finished recording.
“Okay, well, we’ll meet everybody there at seven,” Levi told Tyler on the phone now. The dinner itself isn’t a surprise, but June and Benjamin don’t know it won’t just be the three of us, so make sure everybody is there by six forty-five if they want to be in on the big surprise.”
“I will get everybody wrangled if it’s the last thing I do,” Tyler promised jokingly.
“With this group, it might be,” Levi replied with a laugh.
They hung up so Levi could get ready, but the warm feeling of community lasted through the whole time that he grabbed a quick shower, put on a suit, and tidied and dried his hair. Hehadn’t owned a blow dryer before moving to Magnolia Shore, but he’d learn to be a winter guy eventually. He figured that his wet hair freezing on his head would slow down that progress, though.
Levi knew he was getting ahead of himself as he drove to June’s house and imagined a future where he wouldn’t have to go anywhere to find her and Benjamin… a future where they would all be together, as a family. He might feel in a rush for the album and everything that brought them closer together, but he knew he couldn’t rush that part. He intended to honor June’s past, including her loss, as all of that made her part of who she was today.
And he loved who she was today.
So, he would let her take the lead when it came to moving forward. But he was allowed to daydream.
Happy musings on his hopeful future brought him all the way to June’s house, where he checked the lay of his tie before exiting the car and knocking. June opened the door a few moments later, and Levi had to admit that having to drive to pick her up did have its merits, if he got to open the door to her looking likethis.
She was wearing a deep blue dress that sat wide on her shoulders before delving into a vee in the middle. The dress was fitted, nipping down into her waist before skimming over her hips down to about knee length. With her high heels, she looked a little old-fashioned, but in a way that was very, very appealing.
“Wow,” he said. “I make my living writing more eloquent things, but all I’ve got is… wow.”
June teasingly fluffed her hair, which was curled around her ears, but the blush that crossed her cheeks revealed her genuine pleasure at the compliment.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said. “Very nice, actually.”
“I’m dressed up too!”
Benjamin came skidding into the foyer wearing a navy suit that made him look so grown up that Levi felt a little choked up about it. He was, he knew, a total goner. He’d only known Benjamin for a few months, and he was already feeling emotional about how quickly the kid was growing. He could only hope that he got to see him turn into a young man.
“You look very dapper,” Levi praised Benjamin, pushing aside his swell of feeling.
