Page 80 of Levi

CHAPTER20

Levi

“Ibet you didn’t suspectyour day was going to end this way when you woke up this morning,” I tell Jules.

“Err... that’s the understatement of the century.” Her voice trembles. “I still haven’t been able to pick up my jaw from the floor. I can’t believe what just transpired in the conference room.”

I brush her long hair behind her shoulders. “I told you, your dad was close.”

“Wow,” she shakes her head. “Shane and Collin Dennison are going to be my business partners.”

“Hey, what about me?”

She laughs, reaching out to cup my cheeks. “You’re more than a business partner. You’re my guardian angel,” she affirms before dropping a soft kiss on my lips.

I wrap my arms around her, tightening my hold as I pull her body close to mine. Our tongues dance together, and she moans into my mouth.

For a few long beats, we’re both lost to this blazing kiss.

“We need to celebrate!” I tell her as I break our embrace.

“I agree!” she says. “It’s too bad Shane and Collin can’t join us.”

“Something tells me there will be many, many opportunities for us to celebrate. That said, you’re right, it would’ve been great to hang out with them.”

I never expected the Dennisons to be here for five hours. The second they tested the CycleThonix and understood the concept behind the app, they were hooked. Our brainstorming session was so all-encompassing, I had my executive assistant order a late lunch and lots of coffee from one of our favorite caterers and had it delivered to Jules’s office. The energy was too high for us to take a break. Given how incredible this afternoon was, I would’ve invited the guys to celebrate with us, but they had prior engagements. They’re emceeing a charitable gala.

“Why don’t I drive you back to your place so you can pack an overnight bag, and we’ll go to my place?” I suggest. “I have some superb prime Angus steak. Collin and Shane hooked me up with friends of theirs who have one of the top grass-fed Angus ranches in Montana. I order a couple dozen at a time and freeze them. It’s expensive, but worth it. Once you taste that meat, you’ll never want another steak in your life. I can marinate the steak and whip those up pretty quickly on the barbecue. I’ll also throw in large shrimp I have in the freezer. Kind of like a surf and turf. I have an incredible bottle of vintage champagne we can pop open. On the way to my house, we’ll stop to buy dessert. There you have it! Celebration for two!”

Jules stares at me, dumbfounded.

“You want me to come back to your place and have dinner with you?”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “Spend the night with me.”

Her eyelashes flutter like crazy.

“I don’t usually invite women to my place—”

“I heard you last night.” The hurt in her voice stabbed into me. “You don’t do relationships. I get it.” Her words are as cold as ice.

I let out a long sigh. “About that—”

“It’s okay, Levi—”

“Let me finish, Jules.”

She considers me.

“Okay,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest before resting her back against the seat.

Her defenses are up.

“I didn’t see you coming, Jules Salinger. I couldn’t stop thinking of you last night and what I said. The attraction I feel towards you is unsettling. It might not have come across that way last night, but you make me reconsider so many things.”

“Like what?”

“Like the reason I closed my door to relationships,” I say honestly. “Until you came along, I never wanted more with a woman. You throw me off my axis.”