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Which meant he needed to do some backpedaling of his own.
“How late are you working?”
“Shift change is at seven.” She gave him an odd look and added, “Same as always.”
Yeah, he’d known that, but obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. “You want to go to dinner?”
“With you?” Her eyes widened, big green gems beckoning to him with the power of an enchantress.
“I’m not asking for anyone else, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He chuckled wryly, ignoring that looking at Madison had him feeling a little crazy. Had him wondering if she was going to say no. Had him wondering what it would feel like to kiss her.
Her mouth bowed, her lips almost pouty. How could he ignore how full and lush they were? How downright kissable? How downright nibble-able? He wanted to sink his teeth in and…
“Okay,” she agreed, her irritation melting away and her smile illuminating her pretty face, making his ribs tighten around his lungs to the point he could barely catch his breath. “Thanks for asking. That would be nice.”
Nice. There was that word again. A word that had guilt dredging up deep in his soul.
Yes, he wanted a more settled relationship with Madison, a committed relationship, but what if that didn’t work out? Then what? He should be upfront and warn her just in case?
If what he’d overheard was true, would she even care if he was more like Jonathan Fielding than he would have ever thought possible? And if she were that woman, then why had he chosen her as the woman he wanted a more serious relationship with?
Because Madison felt different.
Everything about her felt different from any woman he’d ever known.
Maybe he’d heard wrong that day. Maybe she really was the innocent he sometimes thought he caught a glimpse of.
Maybe he should give her the opportunity to come clean, to tell him once and for all what type of person she was.
“Madison?”
Her gaze lifted to his, all soft and expectant, making him hopeful that she’d tell him to go to hell, that he couldn’t have her without giving her his heart first. “I should warn you…” he leaned in closer to her. “…I’m not a nice guy. Not when it comes to women, and particularly not when it comes to you. Think you can handle that?”
Madison stared at Levi, trying to figure out why she felt like he was saying one thing and asking another. Wondering at his hot/cold attitude. Was he trying to scare her off? Or was he truly just warning her not to expect anything of him? Not to think that she was any different from other women?
That was the great thing about being a player. Madison no longer thought she was different from any other woman. Just as he wouldn’t be different from any other man…only he sort of was.
But that was probably just because she wanted him so much physically. Because he was the first guy she’d chosen to try out her new persona.
“I’ve heard that about you.” Even to her ears, her tone was hardly condemning, more of an acceptance of who he was. Did he think his way with women a secret? Hardly. She’d heard tell of the irresistible Dr. Fielding from Karen prior to even starting at Angel Creek.
“Normally, I’d say you shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” he drawled lazily, his to-die-for-hot-fudge-sundae eyes not leaving hers, “but in my case, maybe you should.”
Madison gulped down the baseball wedged in her throat. “Because you’re not nice to women?”
A startled look passed over his face. One that held a hint of darkness that surprised her, but almost as fast as the look appeared it disappeared and his gaze took on one of possession.
“Oh, I’m nice.” His eyes defined nice in a way that made her inner thighs clench. “It’s just that in the past, women have always wanted more than I was prepared to give.”
Which said it all.
What woman could be with Levi and not want more? More of everything him? Was she a fool to think she could really be a player with someone like Levi? Was she a fool to have ever thought she could move to a different town and start over as someone new? Someone who was impervious to having her heart broken? Would she end up just wanting more from Levi, too? Recalling how badly she’d wanted him to kiss her on Saturday night, she admitted she already wanted more from Levi than he was prepared to give.
Which was the absolute last thing he’d want to hear her say.
The absolute last thing a wise woman would do would be to want
more from Levi.
