AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Old shame squirms in my belly as I lead my ex boss into our living room, to our sagging sofa and scratched coffee table, but I push those feelings away. Of all the things I’m ashamed of when it comes to this man, the fact that we have less money than him is not one of them.
He sets the pizza box down on a side table, then turns to face me, his face solemn. A horrible thought pops into my head.
“Wait. I’m not breaking the restraining order if you come to me, am I?” I scratch at my forearm, suddenly agitated, because we cannotafford legal fees right now. “Maybe we should go outside—talk in public? I can put a coat over my pajamas. Sorry, I’m not trying to be difficult, I just, I don’t want to get in trouble, and I don’t know how these things work and…”
I trail off, because Levi is staring at me, and he looks…
Devastated.
“There’s no restraining order,” he scrapes out when I’ve fallen quiet. “I never got one. Never should have threatened one at all, and—Georgina.” He steps forward, floorboards creaking. “I’m so sorry, sweet girl.”
He’s sorry?He’ssorry? My head spins, and I lean over to smack my laptop shut on the coffee table. The steady stream of curses and kitchen noises cuts off, and we’re left in the quiet of an empty apartment. In the bathroom, the leaky faucet drips.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. Is there?” I fiddle with the hem of my pajama top, and man, what I’d give to catch a break. Why couldn’t I be wearing a blazer or something when he came? Or jeans and a t-shirt at the very least. “Has something else happened?”
Maybe this is his way of warning me. Maybe I’m about to get arrested for corporate sabotage or something. Is that a crime? Probably.
“I read your letter.”
My letter?
…Oh,thatletter. Well, this is humiliating.
“It was an early draft.” The fabric of my top twists between my fingers. “I was going to make it better.”
Levi steps forward again, and now there’s half a rug between us. If I stretched out an arm, I could brush his chest with my fingertips. “It was good already.”
“It was a mess. With ink everywhere, and that stupid bunny doodle—”
“I liked the doodle.”
He did? What about the rest of it? For the first time in three days, an ember of hope sparks to life in my chest—but I press my fist against it, like I’m trying to smush it out.
It hurt so badly, being sent away. Even though I deserved it, even though I don’t blame Levi at all… I’m not sure I could bear that again.
Because I’m not Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. I’m squishy and vulnerable, and my heart is already a sore lump in my chest. It’s fucking raw, as Gordon would say.
“I should have listened to you.” Levi’s words make the tiny hairs stand up on my arms, and when he comes to stand close, when he wraps his arms around me, I can’t breathe. Can’t breathe. I bury my face in his chest, panting against his fancy shirt; I grip his waist hard enough to leave fingerprint bruises. “You tried to explain everything, but I didn’t listen. I said I would, but I didn’t. And I said such cruel things to you in return.”
My tongue is thick in my mouth. His shirt button jabs into my nose. “That’s okay. It’s fine.”
“It’snotfine,” Levi growls, and his face rubs against my hair. His hands roam over my back, warm and greedy, and I’m home. Oh god, I was exiled and now I’m home. “I always want to listen to you, and I never want to be cruel. Just like I always want you to tell me the truth. We can be better, Georgina.” He squeezes me tightly, then eases off. “We can be better for each other. Tell me you agree.”
Is he kidding? Over the last three days, I’ve thought of nothingbutall the things I should have done differently. All those chances I had to come clean when I kept silent. All my worst mistakes.
Levi’s right: he deserved better, and I did too. From ourselves and from each other. “I agree.”
He pulls back, green eyes bright with triumph, and the kiss he plants on me is strong. Decisive. It brooks no argument. It says: this is happening, and this time, we won’t be idiots about it.
I sigh against his mouth, all my troubles lifting away.So good. So right.
And my feet scuff over the rug as he steers me back, past the coffee table, all the way to the sofa. Levi is all-boss at this moment, taking control, guiding my dazed, flushed body to sit.
“Open,” he says, kneeling in front of me and nudging my knees apart. I slide my legs wide with a muffled squeak, my bare thighs trembling. “These pajamas are fucking fantastic, by the way. I want you to wear ice cream cones on everything from now on. Want to lick mint choc chip out of your belly button, Georgina. Christ, you’re too sweet to be believed.”
I’m too sweet? The girl who infiltrated his company for vengeance? Levi must see my raised eyebrow, the doubt on my face, because he squeezes my knees firmly.
“You are. Fresh start, remember?”
