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“I-I need you to go,” I said, hating the wounded look on his face as I said those words, but I couldn’t think clearly with him here staring at me. It was too much, his presence was too powerful. I was more likely to sleep with him again than make a reasonable decision, and I couldn’t do that. I had to be rational, even though nothing about my recent behavior felt logical.
That was why he had to go.
“Okay,” Levi replied stiffly, standing and pulling on his discarded clothes.
I became uncomfortably aware of the fact that I was the only one still naked, but if I got out of bed to get dressed, I’d be exposing myself to his eyes, and now that the heat of our passion had faded, my modesty had returned.
So, I sat there, watching him and fighting the urge to tell him to stay. When he was fully dressed, I expected him to storm out of the hotel room. Instead, he walked around the bed until he was at my side. Reaching out, he cupped my cheek.
“I’ll go for now, but you need to know that what happened between us tonight changes things,” he said earnestly. “I’m not giving up on having you back in my life permanently.”
My breath hitched as I saw the truth of his words burning in his eyes. He was determined to pursue this...relationship? Was that where this was going?
An undeniable flutter of excitement erupted in my belly. Levi dropped his hand and bent to place a chaste kiss on my cheek. Then, he was gone, and I was left in my room with a hell of a lot to think about.
* * *
“Summer,you should really try the eggs benedict,” my mom said the next morning when I joined my parents at their table in the hotel’s restaurant. They’d already started eating, but I slept in this morning, last night’s conversation with Levi keeping me awake later than usual.
I picked up the breakfast menu and scanned the choices, but my mind was consumed with the information Levi shared last night. I had thought about it for a long time after Levi left me, and if he was telling the truth, he was just as much a victim of his father’s greed and deception as my own dad was. I thought about telling my parents, just to see if they could be open to hearing him out, but I was nervous to bring up the subject—especially since they didn’t even know that Levi was also on the island.
The waitress appeared at the table before I could get the nerve to say anything, and I placed my order for the eggs benedict my mom recommended. As she left us to put in the order for the chef, the chair beside me was pulled out, and I turned to find Michael taking a seat. I was surprised to see him since he’d been so distant with me last night.
Sitting down, he didn’t look in my direction as he addressed our parents. “So, did Summer tell you who’s here on the island with us?”
“Michael—” I started, but his next words cut me off.
“Levi Grant,” my brother finished, ignoring me.
So much for finding the right way to approach the subject.
I wanted to be angry with Michael for blurting it out without talking to me first, but I understood that he was furious with Levi and that was driving his actions. Hadn’t I just had a similar reaction to seeing him here just a few days ago?
I wasn’t sure when my feelings on the matter changed. Maybe it was last night, but now that I was open to the possibility of reconciling with Levi, I realized that I had been slowly softening toward the man since that ridiculous encounter on the beach. There was just something about him that cut through my defenses.
“Levi?” My dad repeated, a slight frown on his face. “Are you sure?”
“Saw him with my own eyes,” Michael confirmed.
Dad’s shoulders slumped, and his eyes were cast down to the table. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“That man is a snake, just like his father,” Mom said, her voice laced with unmasked rage.
“I agree,” Michael replied, his eyes darting to me for a second before focusing back on my parents.
I wanted to defend Levi, to tell everyone that he was duped by his father. But I knew that wouldn’t go over well with them, nor would they believe me. I was stuck in the middle, between the family I loved and the man I’d always wanted.
Dad had become sullen while Michael and our mom complained about Levi and Harold. It was tense and uncomfortable. I couldn’t just sit here and listen to it.
Pushing my chair back, I stood.
“Where are you going?” Mom asked. “Your breakfast will be here any minute.”
“Michael can have it.”
I turned away and left the restaurant, ignoring her calling out for me. When I reached the lobby, I pulled out my phone. I didn’t even know where Levi was staying, so my only option was to reach out and hope he responded.
I had blocked his number three years ago, cutting him off completely. But as I went into my contacts and undid that, I was able to read multiple messages that he sent to me back then. I hadn’t looked at any of them before, and as I scrolled through, my heart clenched.
