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“And Levi’s been busy with his own work lately,” I continued. “He received a promotion at work that he’s been working toward for a long time. He’s the head project manager, and he finds it really rewarding. Now, the company can take on more projects than ever before.”
I was unable to resist bragging about him just a little. I was so proud of him.
The doorbell rang again and I got up off the couch to answer it while Levi finished preparing the food. I didn’t even bother looking through the peephole, knowing that it had to be my parents. This would be their first time seeing our apartment.
“Hi, guys,” I said, as I opened the door. Mom had a covered pie dish in her hands and I grinned. “Pecan?”
“Are you going to let us in if I say no?” she asked wryly, raising an eyebrow.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then, we’re lucky it is,” she replied, handing it over. I held the door open as they entered, and Dad looked around while letting out a low whistle.
“This is nice,” he said, crossing to the big living room window to look out at the view. We were able to get a place on the twelfth floor, so we could see for miles and the city was teeming with life at all times. I loved it.
“Let me take you guys on a quick tour,” I said, placing the pie on the kitchen island. It didn’t take long to show them the entire apartment, starting with our bedroom and ending at my rehearsal space.
“Wow. I can tell you decorated this space yourself,” Dad said, eyeing the bright yellow rug in front of the loveseat I’d added to the room in case Levi wanted to hang out while I practiced.
“I like bold colors,” I shrugged. “And I spend a ton of time here. I was in here all afternoon, preparing for the concert this weekend.”
“Will Connie be back in time for that?” Mom asked, and I felt a warm happiness in my heart. Connie was Levi’s mom, and it meant a lot to him that my parents had reestablished their relationship with her as well.
“Yeah, she’ll be home Saturday. I just hope that she’s having fun on the cruise.”
“It’s a singles cruise,” Dad pointed out. “Probably nothingbutfun on one of those.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Eww, Dad. Don’t talk about sex with me. Please.”
He just let out a guffaw of laughter as I led them back into the main common area of the apartment, the open floor plan space with the living room, kitchen, and dining area. The table was already set, and I saw that Levi had put the food on the kitchen island. Everyone helped themselves, filling their plates with all the various dishes before settling in around the table. Levi pulled out a chair for me at the head of the table, and I took a seat. He settled in beside me, his hand resting on my knee under the table.
I tensed, knowing that he wasn’t just going to leave it there.
I started eating, only to nearly choke on a roasted potato as he slid his palm up. When he reached my upper thigh, I was glad that I wore jeans, because if I was in a skirt or dress and he was stroking my bare skin, I wasn’t sure if I could hide my lust-filled reaction.
I swallowed my food and glared at Levi, but he didn’t look my way. Instead, he chatted easily with Faith on the other side of the table, as if nothing was going on. As if he wasn’t touching me so intimately.
Why was that so hot?
But I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away, bringing it up to the table. He flipped his hand over and intertwined our fingers while the side of his mouth twitched up in a half grin. He wassogoing to pay later for messing with me like that while my parents were here.
I got distracted as I was pulled into a conversation with my mom, who filled me in on all the recent family gossip. Time flew, and before I knew it, an hour had passed and everyone’s plate was empty. I leaned over to press a kiss to Levi’s cheek.
“The food was delicious,” I told him.
“Well, I’m a man of many talents,” he said.
“Okay, lovebirds. No grossing us out with your lovey-dovey stuff,” Michael chimed in, and I stuck my tongue out at him childishly.
“You know, maybe this is a good time to tell everyone,” Levi suggested in a low voice only meant for me to hear.
Excitement blossomed inside of me, and I stood. All eyes turned to me as Levi got to his feet beside me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small black box that he’d been holding onto for me all evening.
“I know that I said I wanted to have everyone over tonight to catch up,” I started, “but that’s not entirely true. I brought you all here to make an announcement.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Levi as he opened the box and pulled out a square-cut diamond ring with a white gold band. Faith gasped.
“Levi proposed to me three days ago,” I said, holding out my left hand so that he could place the ring on my finger.
The reaction was explosive. Dad let out a happy whoop and clapped his hands while Mom got up out of her seat so fast that her chair fell backward against the floor with a bang. She threw her arms around me while Michael came over to shake Levi’s hand.
“I knew you two were up to something,” Faith said, flashing me a huge smile while my mother squeezed me so hard it was difficult to breathe.
“This is great news,” Dad added, lifting his wine glass into the air. He shifted his gaze to Levi. “Welcome to the family, son.”
My heart swelled with love for my dad as Levi took in a deep breath through his nose, something that I knew he did when he was feeling emotional. Those words meant the world to him, since these days my dad was the only paternal figure in his life.
Everyone settled back around the table for dessert and discussion about the wedding. I wasn’t too far along in the planning yet, but I knew I wanted it to be next summer, here in New York.
Not that I had anything against destination weddings. If it wasn’t for Michael’s decision to tie the knot on a tropical island, I never would have found this happiness, never would have reconnected with Levi. Pompeo Island would always be the place where I found love, and I was going to hold onto it forever.
