Pace froze, and his gaze flicked between the two of us. I bit the inside of my cheek.
Levi sighed. “Ignore her. She’s got the humor of a teenage boy.”
Pace let out a cackle, far more authentic than his practiced laugh had been. “Wouldn’t you know, so do I? So what do you say, Miss Claire Wells? Would you like to leave Recluse Ranch and make a night of it?”
I wasn’t notorious for reading subtext, but I got the impression that Pace was laying it on a little thick, even for the natural charmer he seemed to be. This was Colorado, not the South, yet any moment, I expected him to start to call me ma’am in athick Southern accent and wink before mounting a horse that appeared out of nowhere.
I snorted out loud at the visual and quickly covered my mouth. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
To my surprise, instead of being hurt by laughing in his face, Pace just shrugged his shoulders and laughed it off. “Never hurts to ask.”
“I better get back to—” I started to make an excuse that would bring me back to my fortress of solitude.
“Let’s go,” Levi said loudly.
Pace’s expression surely matched my own, eyebrows high, mouth forming anOof surprise.
Levi cleared his throat. “To town. The three of us, I mean. We’ve been cooped up because of the snow. It’ll be good to walk around a little.”
“For the love of gourds,” I said, unable to hide my giant smile.
Levi’s gaze snagged on me; it bounced from my neck and chin and lips, before returning back to my eyes, softening some of his hard edges as it flitted around my face.
Pace shifted, creaking a board on the deck. Levi and I blinked, unlocking our gazes, and looked at him. “All right, sounds like a plan.” Pace clapped his hands together once.
“I really need to get out of the cabin for a bit.” I started talking because the way Levi looked at me was doing something to me again. He had that same lovely, gooey look in his eyes. “I’m as introverted as it gets, but I’ve begun to have whole conversations with my reflection, and it’s starting to feel a little too normal.” Iwas still talking. Why wasn’t someone stopping me? “I’ll go grab my bag. Should we take both trucks?” I asked, already worrying about who I would ride down with and wondering if I should just drive myself. My car hadn’t been driven since my last visit to Cozy Creek, and it probably needed to be started. None of these racing thoughts mattered when, a second later, Pace stopped, abruptly snapping his fingers and sucking in a breath.
“Dang. You know what?” he said.
Levi stilled. The smallest flare of his nostrils was the only indication he’d heard his friend at all.
“I just remembered I told Ruth that I’d go help with the Aubergine Room before I went down to the fire station.”
Levi opened his mouth to speak.
Pace held up a hand. “Yes. It is a funny story, Levi. You’ll have to tell Claire about it.”
Levi turned to me and shared the story with little emotion. “It used to be called the eggplant room, but too many people were making jokes about it. When Ruth found out what the emoji meant, she changed the name.”
“I would have had a field day,” I said.
“You would have loved it,” Levi said at the same time.
Our eyes met, and we shared a quick smile before we both looked away. “That’s it. That’s the whole story,” he finished.
Pace looked between us, his eyes bright and smile almost as large as mine could get. “Yeah, well, sorry to suggest it and dash like that. But you two go. Have a great time.” He was already backing toward his truck to leave. “Give Ripley a smooch. Wait. Better yet.” He pulled his lip and made a high-pitched whistle. “Why don’t I take her for the night so you don’t have to worry about her in the crowds or getting back too fast? Plus, she loves the attention she gets down at the station.”
Before Levi could answer, Ripley bolted out of the house and right into Pace’s arms. “Good girl.” He laughed as she licked all over his face. Once he wasn’t trying so hard, I found I liked Pace much more.
Levi was motionless. His eyes narrowed on Pace, but he didn’t stop him.
“Thanks, Pace. It was nice meeting you,” I said.
He waved as he and Ripley got in his truck.
I didn’t want to worry if this was pushing Levi outside his comfort zone. If he was still pretending either of us was following his rules. The rules would need an addendum soon.
Levi
