At least that’s just ten minutes away from Verona.
When Levi shakes his head, I start to feel confused.
He looks at me again, then says, “I bought a farm.”
My eyes go wide as saucers. “You did what?”
“Well, technically, I bought the farm for you.” He gives me a lopsided grin that looks so cute, my heart melts. “I’ve been fixing up the house for the past couple of weeks, but the place still needs a lot of work.”
When I recover from the initial surprise, I gape at him. “You bought a farm? For me?”
He lowers his head, and his teeth tug at his bottom lip before he lifts his eyes to me again. “If you ended things between us, I would’ve given it to you, but seeing as you’re giving me another chance, I’m kinda hoping it’s a project we can work on together.” He gives me a hopeful look as he adds, “Maybe we can make the farm our home. When you’re ready, of course.”
While I was trying to decide what to do, Levi bought us a farm, which tells me he never gave up. He made a big financial commitment to our future, not knowing whether we would even have one together.
He begins to look unsure, then says, “I needed to do something. I couldn’t sit still while I gave you the space you asked for.”
“So if I said things were over between us, you would’ve given me a farm? Why?”
“Because I want you to be happy, Kelcie. Even if it’s not with me.”
That right there is why I love him and couldn’t give up on us. Levi might have gone the wrong way about it, but at the end of the day, everything he’s done has been for me.
I dart forward and wrap my arms around his neck, and he doesn’t miss a beat as he returns the hug.
I inhale his cedarwood and citrus cologne, which is mixed with his natural scent, and press as close to him as I can get. Levi shifts on the couch, pulling me onto his lap, and I position my legs on either side of him.
His fingers grip my jaw, and he nudges my face up. When I see the love shining from his eyes, emotion wells in my heart until it feels like it might burst.
“I love you, Kelcie.” His gaze lowers to my mouth, and it makes anticipation spark to life in my abdomen. “I never want to be separated from you again. I won’t survive it a second time. Without you, there’s only darkness.”
We move at the same time, and our mouths collide with so much longing and heat, I gasp. Levi kisses me as if I’m his beginning and end, as if he’ll cease to exist without me.
I feel the same way. He’s rescued me from the claws of despair. He’s the glue that keeps the shattered pieces of me together. I’m only whole because of him.
Like I’ve said before, I learned a hard lesson to appreciate every single moment I have with a loved one because they can be ripped away from me in a heartbeat. I don’t want to waste a single second with Levi.
As we kiss, things feel right again.
When he nips at my mouth and pulls back to press his forehead to mine, I say, “Thank you for buying us a farm.”
A symbol that even when I walked away, he didn’t. He kept his promise to me that he would only leave if I asked him to.
“I think you’re going to love it so much. We even have a lake.”
I let out a chuckle. “Yeah?”
He nods and gives me another gentle kiss. “And there are no neighbors close to us.”
Laughter bursts from me. “Perfect.”
I lean back so I can see his face, and my smile fades as I ask, “How have you been? Have you heard from your mother again?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t call her that. She’s not my mother.”
I see the pain in his eyes, and my heart squeezes for him. “Did seeing her trigger you?”
Levi glances away and brushes his palms up and down my thighs. “She touched me.” His features draw tight. “I sat in a hot shower until the water ran cold, and it still didn’t remove the feel of her hand on me.”
