“But not too much. We’ve seen what happened when I try small talk.” I squeezed him into an unexpected hug, and he stopped our movement to hug me back. Here we were in the center of town, hugging like it was nothing. I wondered if it bothered him to have the rumor mill seeing this. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. Thank you,” I said.
He stiffened in my arms and made a soft sound of understanding. He didn’t need to speak, he just needed to know that I was thankful for his kindness.
“Areyoudoing okay?” I asked, looking closer at him.
“I’m okay.” I waited for him to expand. He looked around the town and collected his thoughts. “It’s been a while since I camedown here to hang out. Nothing more than a quick job to help someone or get groceries.”
“A lot of people seem happy to see you,” I said. It was true. He’d been treated like the prodigal son.
“This town cared about my mom,” he said.
“What was her name?” I asked, hoping this question was okay. He was so reluctant to talk about her. He pulled me a little closer with no excuse given, just mutual comfort.
“Lily. She was one of those rare people who was genuinely kind. Genuinely unbothered by the trivialities of life.” He started rocking me to the slow tempo again. “Not like me.” He added the last sentence like a confession.
“Not like me either,” I admitted. “My whole life, I feel like I’ve shown up for a class halfway through the semester. I’m so envious of people like your mother. It’s like they understand some big secret and are waiting for the rest of us to work it out.” I smiled.
He nodded, his throat bobbing as he looked over my shoulder. “Yeah. Exactly.” He cleared the tightness from his throat before asking, “What are you working on now? You said you finished your story?” His voice stilted with repressed emotion.
I studied him for a moment but decided to allow the subject to change. “I don’t know actually. I’ll probably get some edits back here soon, but that won’t take too long. I need to find my next project. Usually, I don’t know I’m into my next story until it’s too late.”
“Too late?” he asked.
“Sleepless nights. Obsessive research.” My fingers tapped a wave pattern on his strong shoulder. “You’ve not seen me at my worst. Don’t make that face,” I said when his eyebrows shot up skeptically. “You’re catching me at a pretty even keel time. This is ‘normal’ Claire.”
“You’re far from normal,” he said. I must have frowned because he added, “Thankfully. Anything inspiring you here?”
“Not unless Farmer Nelson has a secret racket of cheating for the biggest pumpkin prize,” I teased.
He tensed and forced out a laugh.
“Oh my God, does he?” I lowered my voice and got close enough that his exhales brushed my cheek. “Because if there is some secret injustice, I will sniff it out and bring it to light,” I added faux menace to my voice.
“I don’t doubt that.” His forehead wrinkled when I leaned back to study him. “How about we just dance?”
I lowered my head to the planes of his hard chest with a dramatic sigh. “If I must.”
His chuckle rumbled through me. He pulled me closer yet. The front of him was pressed warmly against me. A heady heat spread through me, making my breasts feel heavy and making me want to press even harder against him. He smelled so good. Being held by him wassogood. I was all melty inside and wanted to just spread my body all over his. I wanted to taste him and be tasted by him. I wanted to hear what sort of noises I could get him to make and find out the secrets of his desire.
God, I was really, reallybored.
When the next song ended, we broke apart, and after collecting my souvenirs, he led me to a firepit on the outskirts of the town square instead of toward the truck. A small family, with sleeping kids in their arms, spoke quietly that they were leaving.
I settled next to the fire as he stoked it back to life. To my surprise, yet again, instead of seating himself on the opposite side of the fire, he took the spot right next to me and covered us both in a blanket that had been left on the chair. We were close enough that our elbows touched. Maybe because of the hushed environment, or perhaps because he was enjoying our closeness as well, but Levi hadn’t seemed in any hurry to leave.
My heart raced like we were teenagers about to share a first kiss. This attraction to Levi was intriguing and refreshing. Maybe he was just as “bored” as I was.
It was Levi who broke the silence first. He mumbled something that sounded like “at your worst.”
“What?” I leaned my shoulder into him and looked up with wide eyes until he was forced to turn his head to me. Our faces were so close. “Ex-squeeze me, baking powder?”
“Claire.” He shook his head. The smile melted off his face as his gaze moved over my features. He glared back at the fire with a swallow. “You said that you’re at your worst when you’re into your work. I was just curious who told you that?”
“Oh.” My silly mood abated. I watched how the light of the fire sharpened the line of his jaw and strong nose. He was very lovely to look at. “Nobody, I guess. I just get so focused that the rest of the world fades away. I’m not a very good partner.”
“Do you stay like that forever?”
“Eventually, I crawl out of my cave,” I joked. “Unshaven, blinking back at the bright light, grunting for food.”
