Page 38 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Levi

My Girl

L evi knew it would be tough being back in Atlanta after all the coverage on him signing with Tampa and speculation over why.

And it was clear the majority of Atlanta fans thought he’d betrayed them by leaving.

Fans didn’t realize most of the things they thought they knew about him were made up.

It didn’t even matter that he’d cleared his name as Sara’s baby’s daddy.

He was just seen as the Bad Boy who slept with his teammate’s girlfriend and then ruined their favorite team by leaving and signing with Tampa.

It shouldn’t matter, because he’d rarely be in Atlanta after this event, but this had been the team he’d worshipped as a kid. His dad’s favorite team, and the one he’d let turn him into something he wasn’t, just so he could be a part of it.

“Hey, is something wrong?” Missy asked as they sat in the café at the art museum in Atlanta’s art district.

He’d wanted to try to keep her in bed most of the day, but since they didn’t have the chance to really date, he planned to pack in as much as they could in the thirty-six hours they were together.

Missy’s event wasn’t until later that night, and then he’d have to head back to Tampa the following afternoon.

Her nerves were a bit on edge but walking through the museum of old works of art seemed to help ground her.

“It’s strange being back in Atlanta. You know I lived here for nine years.”

She reached out to rest her hand on his leg, where she sat next to him. “I’m sorry I’ve been so focused on the show. I didn’t even consider how hard this trip would be for you. I didn’t really get how famous you were until yesterday.”

He laughed. “I’m not famous, only a couple thousand baseball fans would even be able to pick me out of a lineup.”

As if on cue a young man working in the café stepped up, “Hey, Mr. Bad, can I get your autograph?”

“Sure.” Levi took the kid’s pen and signed on a napkin from the museum.

“You think you’ll stay in Tampa, or you just waiting for Atlanta to make you a better offer?”

“Oh no I’m in Tampa for good. Who’s your team?”

“I’m a Boston fan, so that is good news to me, but Atlanta fans hate you now.”

Levi nodded. “So who’s the autograph for?”

“My manager—he’s off today, but he won’t believe you were here. He’ll be so pissed he missed meeting you.”

“Great, maybe you can get a day off with that.”

The kid laughed and Levi stood.

“Are you ready?” he said to Missy, recognizing their private stop at the café was over.

“Sure.” She grabbed her cup of tea and accepted his hand.

“We can go back to the hotel if you want. We don’t have to be out,” she said.

“Nah, probably not a lot of die-hard Atlanta fans at the art museum today,” he said, gripping her hand.

“Do you still have a place in town?”

“I had it listed last week. Speaking of, I think I found a place in Tampa you’ll like. The top floor has a sunroom and there are views of the water.”

“You don’t have to buy a place with an art room. I mean, I can paint just about anywhere.”

“But I want you to crave painting in my house, so you’ll come visit me a lot. And then when you’re ready you can just move in.”

Missy was holding his hand but stopped in her tracks just inside the impressionist exhibit.

“I know it’s a big step but why would we want to have two places—then we have to cart stuff back and forth, two toothbrushes to keep track of,” he said dramatically.

And she laughed but still shook her head. “I was thinking I’d visit next weekend, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely. I’ll get us a room in Tampa so we can explore the city together.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the rooms and he watched, riveted, as Missy sketched a few statues in one of the ornate galleries. There were pieces of art hung on every corner in the two-story room.

Once they got back to the hotel they made love again and got ready for her big night. Her cousin was coming, and so were Gran, Dalton, and Brooke. He was counting on the art world not crossing with baseball so he could have an easy night supporting Missy and then not returning to this town again.