Page 54 of Code of Heart

He softened a little, his gaze flicking briefly to her parted lips before meeting her eyes again. She was so unbelievably sexy, and his laughter was quickly replaced with a different unstoppable emotion. “Why doyouhate it?” he asked, quieter now. He was sincerely curious.

He also wanted to see her lips move some more.

The laughter seemed to crack an inner wall, bringing them back to the honesty they’d promised each other with no pretending, no posturing.

Only them.

CHAPTER 28

Aurelia

Laughing wasn’t at all how Aurelia expected Levi to react to her hating his house.

Yet there he stood, laughing his ass off anyway.

Having been more than a little nervous to admit it, she was relieved he wasn’t angry with her. An unnatural reaction she knew would take a long time to correct.

The surprise she felt when he admitted his hatred of his house, and asked to hear her reasoning was a quiet reassurance she hadn’t realized she needed.

It was only surpassed by that fleeting moment where his hunger-filled eyes flicked to her mouth and lingered. It was so brief that she was sure it was a figment of her imagination.

“It’s so…sterile. It’s white wallseverywhere,” she began hesitantly. She shifted on her feet, eyes darting around the space. But the more she thought about it, the more reasons came spilling out. Her voice grew steadier and braver as she ticked each one off on her slender fingers.

“It doesn’t look like anyone even lives here.”

She lifted her arms, animatedly gesturing to the furniture and walls. “There are no pictures of family, friends, or at a minimum of something you like. I can yell down the hallway, knowing the only thing I’ll hear is the sound of my voice echoing back at me. So, unless you have a secret passion for yodeling—” she glanced at him suspiciously, praying he didn’t harbor an undisclosed love for the singing style, “—then it’s plain creepy.”

Levi stood there, hands casually in his pockets, watching her with a broad smile as he listened. “I’ll admit that the views and location are stunning,” she conceded, gazing out the largewindows that led to a small personal balcony. She glanced back at him, her eyes briefly catching on how his shirt clung like it had been tailored to his torso, which looked annoyingly sculpted beneath the fabric.

She didn’t think it was possible, but Levi’s smile seemed to stretch even wider. Her face went up in flames.Focus Aurelia!

“When was the last time you walked out here? I mean, sat on this balcony, and enjoyed a cup of coffee or unwound after a long day with a drink?”

His smile slipped, and her gut twisted. “It feelsempty.I guess I don’t see the point in having a place like this unless you have enough people constantly here to fill it with…life.”

Realizing the sheer volume of words she dumped on him, Aurelia winced and turned back towards the balcony window, hugging her arms around herself protectively.

Aurelia never talked this much, and she wished she hadn’t, at least to save herself from feeling so self-conscious, replaying every word she said back in her head. The internal berating was interrupted by two large, strong hands, gently grasping her upper arms and caressing them.

Before she could stop it, her body instinctively leaned back into him, enveloping her in his scent and warmth. His hands paused on her arms briefly and then resumed as he whispered into her ear.

“That’s why I hate it too.”

Levi

Levi’s heart pounded as he rushed to throw together a couple of days’ worth of clothes and toiletries.

He hadn’t imagined it, the way she leaned into him minutes ago. Levi had let himself savor the feel of her body pressed lightly against his for a heartbeat before she pulled away.

The absence of her touch was jarring, cold, and immediate, like walking into a room and forgetting why you were there. Though it was the strange sensation of persistent emptiness that followed that threw him off balance.

Now she stood outside on his balcony, silhouetted by fading light, her thoughts miles away as she rested against the iron railing. That wild, colorful hair was intensified by the sunset and electrified by the gentle breeze. Her gaze was fixed on the distant horizon, and her quiet stillness made something deep in his chest tighten.

He meant to tell her he finished packing five minutes ago. But instead, he remained rooted in place, captivated by the sight of her.

Estrella had bragged about her match success rate like it was gospel. She had been insulted when he even hinted at doubt. But Levi couldn’t help but wonder…Was it like this for every couple she matched?

Because being with Aurelia already felt oddly natural...alarminglynatural. Like she had always existed in the background of his life, and only now he finally noticed.