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“Not anything more important than you.”
I only had a second to ponder what the fuck was going on before Levi opened the door and I scrambled to follow him. I could tell his employees had eyes on us, and I couldn’t bear to look at any of them.
“This is ... Am I dreaming right now?”
“You’re not.”
“Then what the fuck is happening?”
“Go big or go home,” he said as we got into the elevator. “And I don’t think I want to be home right now.”
He was on a mission, all of my questioning falling on deaf ears. I followed until we got to the parking garage. Then I broke out into a run to get between him and his car so he would fucking listen to me.
“Levi.” I put a hand on his chest. I tried to ignore the way my heart sputtered when his eyes met mine. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to.”
“That . . .What?”
“I know you’re not used to people doing things for you, but you seem to like conviction. So get in the car.”
The shock of him knowing me way too well almost made me listen.
“First of all, I don’t follow orders.”
“Should I tack a ‘please’ on at the end?”
I ignored him. “And second of all, have you lost your mind? This is afakemarriage. You don’t have to buy me a ring or do anything other than show up to say some vows.”
“It needs to be real for everyone else,” he said. “Now, are you gonna keep asking questions or are you getting in the car?”
He leaned close and I froze. What was he about to do? Kiss me?
And then the door to his car opened.
“For the record, I’m getting in the car only because it’s the natural next step of this conversation. Not because you told me to.”
“Whatever makes you feel better.”
What would make me feel better was some distance between us, though, when I was in the car, I was still baffled beyond measure.
We pulled out into the streets of downtown Nashville, and I marveled at the big buildings that had popped up over the last decade. It was better than thinking about how close Levi had been only a few minutes ago.
As a local, I didn’t spend much time in downtown. None of us did. The most interesting things, other than the Ryman and concert venues, were all outside of it. Downtown Nashville didn’t even have a bookstore, for crying out loud.
And as time went on, the look of the city scenery changed. More high-rises had been built to accommodate the new growth, and slowly, the city I knew had disappeared.
I had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I was happy people were seeing Nashville for what it was, but on the other, I wished I could see the old skyline in person one last time.
“Your employees must hate driving in,” I muttered.
“Some don’t mind it,” he replied. “A lot live in the nearby area, though. The ones in the suburbs can work remotely if they ask.”
“Really? Most places prefer for their employees to be in the office these days.”
“Luckily, you won’t have to worry about that in your role. That’s one hundred percent remote.”
“What? Being your fake wife?”