Page 19 of Code of Heart

Owen cheekily offered, “If it makes you feel better, I’m confident you could throwhimdown a flight of stairs. But because I’msuch a good friend, I’d even help you cover it up and make it look like an accident.”

That earned a real smile from Levi, but it left as quickly as it appeared. “What do you think about the matchmaker idea? It screams desperate to me.”

“Youaredesperate,” Owen drawled. “I say do it and have an adventure? It can’t possibly be worse than Lana, and if it is, then you have someone else to blame.”

“Oh my god, can westopbringing up Lana?” Levi exclaimed.

“Maybe we should go visit her—I bet she’s lonely in jail,” Owen quipped. Levi leveled a murderous glare at him. “Plus, Ivy sent me the matchmaker’s information a couple of hours ago, and I already vetted them. Go get yourself a wife.”

Levi threw a stapler at Owen, who had barely enough time to throw himself off the chair and out of the way. He rapidly picked it up and hummed it back at Levi, who caught it with one hand.

Owen stood up, fixing his clothes on the way out as he said, “I also went and applied for my license online, so I’m ready to officiate whenever this poor girl agrees to tie herself to you.”

He quickly shut the door to Levi’s office, just in time to avoid the stapler that came flying after him again.

CHAPTER 8

Levi

The next morning, Levi found Owen propped up in his bed, fully clothed, watching him sleep. It startled Levi so much that he instinctively yelped. Unknowingly tangled in his blankets, he fell back and off the bed, his pillow falling with him.

Owen howled with laughter. He peered over the edge of the bed where Levi was sprawled on the floor and drawled, “Rise and shine, sugar lips, we’re fixin’ to git you hitched.”

Owen quickly rolled away as the pillow came flying towards his head. Levi untangled himself and managed to stand up.

“Thank thegodsyou’re wearing underwear! I don’t want to look at Little Levi,” Owen chirped.

Levi was seriously contemplating where he could hide Owen’s body after he murdered him when he said, “Ivy got blueberry muffins from that bakery you like, plus some other stuff.”

Levi perked up a bit. Blueberry muffins were his favorite breakfast food. Owen sauntered towards him and took a strong sniff. Scrunching his nose in mild disgust, he said, “Definitely take a shower before you come down. There’s a mustiness to you that could be considered an appetite ruiner. Everyone’s already here,” before he jogged out of the room and out of harm's way.

Levi sighed and looked at the clock. It was only 5:45 AM, and his blood pressure was already climbing.

This is a foreshadowing of things to come, he thought to himself as he entered the bathroom and started the shower.

After his shower, Levi joined everyone in his kitchen.

Yesterday, Ivy worked her magic and managed to get him a priority appointment withPerfectly Paired Matchmaking. He was officially a client. Everyone decided to take a couple of hours off from work this morning to help him rally for the assessments he would have to complete.

Ivy promised she would bring breakfast, and she followed through as promised. Levi’s mouth watered as he eyed the massive spread of breakfast foods, juices, and coffee on the large island.

It was an early morning grazing board of breakfast foods; the rainbow-colored assortment stood out against the glittering black quartz countertops. There was nothing Levi loved more than a smorgasbord of food options.

“All this foodalmostmakes up for me finding Owen in my bed,” Levi said, placing one of the last blueberry muffins on his plate. He was lucky there were any muffins left at all.

Owen grinned at him widely, mouth full of raspberry danish as he leaned against the counter opposite the island, stuffing his face. Isaac was beside him, looking slightly more civilized, using a napkin instead of a plate.

“Having the keys to your house is the biggest perk of being your security guy,” he garbled through the food in his mouth. “I’m probably the most attractive person you’ve woken up next to in months, and for your information,good sir, you wouldn’t be the first to fall off the bed after waking up to me either.”

Isaac gave Owen a long-suffering glance. “I think months is a bit of an exaggeration…and they probably fell off the bed in horror.”

Owen gasped in mock outrage at Isaac’s rebuttal while Levi scowled and threw a handful of grapes at them both. “I need new friends and new locks.” Levi scooped up the remainder of his food before joining the ladies at the table.

The kitchen was the heart of the home and where his friends preferred to gather. His favorite place to lounge was at the large kitchen table within the eat-in breakfast nook, nestled against large windows with the best views of Joia City. He never used the formal dining room.

There was a concerning amount of paperwork spread on the dark wood-stained table. With empty plates set before them, Ivy and Grace—Isaac’s wife—were chatting over half-finished coffee. They must’ve been here longer than he initially thought.

Ivy gave Levi a once-over, carefully examining his face, no doubt assessing the level of exhaustion that still lingered there. “You look a lot less like hell than you did yesterday,” she said, eyes sparkling and promising nothing but trouble. “So, eat up, buttercup. You're going to need the energy for this.”