Page 115

“He . . . won’t.”
“Really? You trust him that much?”
I thought about how he was out late two nights ago, and the person he’d been messaging.
“It’s not a huge deal.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That’s not a direct answer.”
“Emma,” I begged. “You’re more important.”
“No,” she hissed. “You have to stop with this. You matter.”
“I know I do, but you do too. And you need it more.”
“I’m still not taking your car. It’s not an option. I’ll figure something else out.”
I frowned, wondering if there was a way to convince one of the most stubborn people I knew to accept my help.
And as she stared me down, I came up with nothing.
I didn’t always watchfor Levi’s car, but I wondered if he would leave work early in an attempt to help with Emma. He didn’t need to. I had things handled, but he dropped everything whenever it came to me, and I didn’t understand why.
He pulled in right at three. Emma noticed his arrival too.
“So, how do you greet your husband when he walks in?”
“With a kiss, like a normal person. But since you’re here, I’ll forgo it.”
“Even though I find you kissing a man gross, don’t stop on my account. You’re newlyweds. Act like it.”
“Emma,” I hissed, but she raised an eyebrow and I realized what she was doing. She was seeing if she could find a hole in my story.
And I wasn’t going to let that happen. When he walked in, I stood.
“Hi, darling,” he said. “I hear we have a?—”
I pulled him into a kiss before he could stop me. He froze for a moment before his hands came to rest on my back, pulling me closer.
When I moved away, he stared at me intensely.
“We do have a guest. But I couldn’t skip my favorite thing to do every day.”
“Right,” he said slowly. Then he stepped away and turned to Emma. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” she said. “Sorry to cramp your style.”
“You’re not an imposition. I heard you had a rough morning.” He turned to me. “And you too. Are you feeling better?”
Emma’s eyes shot to me, as she usually did when someone mentioned my health.
“Did something happen I should know about?” she asked.
“I was worried about you. That’s what he’s asking about.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Sure. Because worry never leads to anything more.”
“I’m not the one who had the car issues today. Your day was far scarier.” My voice came out louder than it needed to, but I couldn’t let her keep talking about this. The last thing I wanted was for Levi to catch on and think I couldn’t follow through with the revenge due to my health.