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Levi’s arm tightened. “It was perfect after you were gone.”
“You’ll have to send me photos. Gram’s old shack doesn’t usually clean up that well.”
“It’s not a shack,” I hissed, “it’s a house.”
“It’s something. I bet there are far nicer things that could fit on that land, don’t you think?”
“No. Families and memories are enough.”
“You’re so ... hopeful.” Calvin turned to Levi. “Is that what you saw in my dear sister? I can’t really think of anything else that would bring you two together.”
I gripped my water cup tighter. “Damn. You’re really choosing to be an ass tonight. I thought a part of this party was for the wedding.”
“It was on the invitation. I can’t help it that people came only for me.”
“For all your success, right?” I asked. “How’s your real estate business venture going, then?”
I smirked when he frowned. I couldn’t wait to see Levi’s face when he found out that they’d been shut down.
“I’ve hit a snag with the government, but I’ll get it sorted soon enough. It’s just a temporary pause.”
“Such a shame that the city cares about historic homes and stopped demolition,” Levi said.
“Yes, it’s—wait, how did you know?”
I could have asked the same question. I told him about the house—not the delay in demolition. Then my brain slowly caught up. Maybe he walked by the house and saw it.Duh.
“When my wife told me, I was shocked that they’d tear it down, considering the historical significance. I called the city to double-check and they said they didn’t have the required permits.” Levi took a sip of his drink. “Odd.”
Calvin’s eyes grew wide. “You called them on me?”
“Just out of curiosity. You know how it is. But they tend to look closer once they know you’re trying to fly under the radar. I hope you have everything under control and didn’t do anything unsavory to get that house.”
Calvin’s jaw ticked at Levi’s thinly veiled threat. He was good at this.
And as much as I wanted to revel in Calvin’s annoyance, a prickle of discomfort made its way up my spine. Sure, getting him mad was the goal, but good things didn’t happen to me when Calvin was like this. Usually, he made my life a living hell.
“We should let you say hello to your other guests,” I said, grabbing Levi’s arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll entertain ourselves.”
I dragged my husband away to the hallway where I took a deep breath. “What’s going on?” His hand touched my elbow. “Do we need to leave?”
“I forgot how scary Calvin can be when he’s angry. Sorry, I’ll be up for more revenge in a second.”
“Scary? Has he done anything to you?” Levi’s voice was low and dangerous. It made my skin tingle.
“He just finds a way to make me miserable, mostly. Like with trying to tear down that house and firing me. Apparently, it makes me nervous when I purposefully test him.”
“Whatever he does, we’ll handle together, okay?” His hand moved to my chin and he tilted my head up to look at him. “And if he hurts you, then he deals withme.”
“Levi, there you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” We both turned to see one of Levi’s practitioners coming down the hallway. “I wanted to discuss some business with you. Do you have a second?”
“I was talking to my wife about something.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine. It sounds important.”
Levi frowned. “But?—”
“Seriously, it’s fine. I’ll be outside, okay?” I walked off before he argued any further. I didn’t know what he was doing talking to me when he had so many other things to deal with.