Page 28 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Levi smiles my way from where he’s seated at the table, and my heart flips. He’s so handsome it makes my breath go tight.

“There you are,” Daphne’s mom says. “We need your feedback.”

I take the empty seat next to Levi and steal a roll off his plate. The bagel I ate for breakfast was burned up hours ago.

“Hey,” Levi says in a low voice as he leans in close. “Dress fitting go okay?”

Daphne takes her seat next to Brodie and immediately gets deep in conversation with her mother about whether to throw the bouquet at the reception. No one is paying attention to us.

I turn to Levi, so close our lips are nearly touching. “It was great. I actually like the dress. How was the tux fitting?”

He grimaces. “Your brother spent the whole time demanding I marry you this week.”

The bite of bun in my stomach turns to lead. “I’m so sorry, Levi. You know Brodie. He’s all bark.”

Levi’s smile is slow and sultry. “You’re worried he’s going to scare me away. You like me, Gentry. You really like me.”

Why does he have to be so dang cute when he’s being a smug asshole? “Maybe I just don’t want you to get any ideas.”

“Oh, I’ve got ideas,” he says. “All kinds of ideas.” He dips his head so that his lips are touching my earlobe. “Like how good your name would sound attached to mine. Gentry Sullivan.”

I jerk my head away, shocked and way too turned the fuck on. What is wrong with me that I like the sound of that so much? We haven’t even gone on an official date.

I must still be high.

“Sounds so much better than Gentry Lendew,” he says, still in a low voice, but this time not so close to my ear.

My laugh sounds forced even to my own ears. “You’re going to scare me away.”

Under the table, his warm palm lands on my thigh, very close to the part of me that starts throbbing every time he touches me. “I don’t think I am. Not even a little bit.”

“What do you think, Gentry?” Daphne asks.

I jerk my head toward her, irrationally certain she just overheard my conversation with Levi. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Will you be disappointed if I don’t throw the bouquet? Apparently, we have two distantly related family members who’ve asked me not to throw it, because their girlfriends have gotten excessively competitive for it in the past.”

“There was a brawl at my brother’s niece’s reception last summer,” Rose says, her eyes sparkling. “Daphne doesn’t want a brawl at her wedding reception, but it would definitely make a good story. And tradition is important.”

“How about if you catch the bouquet, Gentry, we’ll have our priest marry you and Levi at the reception?” Brodie says.

“We’re not getting married, Brodie,” I say.

Under the table, Levi squeezes my thigh and moves his hand higher up my leg.

I let out a squeak that has every head at the table turning our way.

“And I think you should get to have your bouquet toss if you want it, Daphne. Maybe your cousins’ girlfriends can sit this one out? ”

“Oh, we couldn’t do that,” Daphne’s mother says.

“Brodie and I could act as a brawl prevention team,” Levi says. “Just point out the troublemakers and we can keep them from starting something.”

Daphne’s mother’s eyes light. “Now, that is an interesting idea.” She turns to her two sons at the table. “Boys, do you think you could help with that?”

Eventually, we order lunch and the food is brought out, wedding decisions are made and laughter is shared. I can’t focus on much beyond Levi’s hand on my leg, his thumb stroking constantly against my inner thigh.

I should probably tell him to stop, but I like it too much. I like the way he leans in close to talk to me and the way he somehow manages his entire lunch with just one hand so he doesn’t have to stop touching me.

“Don’t order dessert,” Grandma Hester says near the end of the meal. “Grandpa and I brought the best homemade chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever taste.”

“Absolutely not,” Rose says. “We aren’t touching anything you two make until we’re back home where we know Sheriff Ekelston won’t arrest us for indecent exposure.”

“Now, sweetheart,” Grandpa Morris says. “We promised we wouldn’t put Mary Jane into anymore treats, and we won’t. We always keep our word.”

Rose crosses her arms over her chest and glares at her parents. “You promised no pot, but I was too high to demand you not use ‘shrooms or peyote either.”

“Rosie,” Grandma Hester says in a reprimanding tone. “’Shrooms are a part of nature, and folks put them in all kinds of everyday cooking. They don’t even count.”

Rose rolls her eyes. “No, Mother. Mushrooms are part of everyday cooking. ‘Shrooms are a drug that only old hippies like you think should be handed out like candy.”

Levi squeezes my leg and leans in close. “Want to sneak away for a bit?”

God, do I want that. “Won’t that be rude?”

“They won’t even notice. Get up like you’re going to the bathroom and meet me outside.”

I don’t even hesitate. Daphne’s family is nice, but every time there was a lull in the conversation, someone else asked if I was sure about not marrying Levi. They’re a lot, and I’ve reached the end of my social battery.

Outside, I find a bench on the sidewalk and sit in the sunniest spot, tilting my head back to enjoy its warmth on my face. It’s in the mid-fifties today, and it is lovely. The birds are chirping, and people are out, laughing and enjoying the weather.

I do my best to live in the moment and enjoy the peace of having nowhere to be and nothing to worry about.

The kids are at a movie together right down the street, and I’m free to just be me for a little while. It’s been so long, I’m not sure I even remember who I am without a million things to worry about.

“My daughter is a grade-A stick in the mud,” a scratchy, elderly voice says.

I look over as Grandma Hester sits on the bench next to me.

“There’s a lot of wedding planning to do today,” I say. “I can understand not wanting to get high. Whatever you put in the brownies was incredibly intense.”

She smiles, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “We got the good stuff for the family. Not that my daughter appreciated it.”

“Family is tough,” I say. And boy, do I feel that down to my bones. But it’s worth it. No matter how much drama it would involve, it makes me sad to think my parents will never see me get married.

She pats my knee. “Oh, I’m just complaining.

I’m a very lucky old woman, and I know it.

My kids and grandkids are good, kind, hardworking people, and I couldn’t possibly love them more.

” She sighs. “But a wedding is supposed to be a fun celebration, and they’re all worrying too much about every little thing.

So what if there’s a brawl at the wedding?

At least we can be sure no one will ever forget it. ”

I laugh. “You must have attended a lot of weddings.”

She purses her lips. “Is that a polite way of saying I’m old?”

She doesn’t fool me for a moment. She’s no actor, and her angry face is not convincing. “No, that’s my polite way of saying weddings are boring.”

The laugh that bursts from her is almost as delightful as the sun shining down on us. It’s bubbly and free and joyful. I want to be this woman when I grow up.

She slaps her thigh. “Oh, honey, you are a delight.”

“You’re very kind.”

“And that boyfriend of yours is a vision. Why aren’t you jumping at the chance to marry him?”

“We aren’t even officially dating yet. We just ho—, um, we just admitted we like each other yesterday.”

She nods with a knowing smile. “Uh-huh. Morris and I met at Woodstock. He was a looker back then.” She fans herself.

“We had the best chemistry and the sex…” She gazes off into the distance like she’s remembering.

“We got married a week after we met. I found out I was pregnant with Rosie about six weeks later. My parents and his parents disapproved and said we’d never last, but I knew we would.

” She pats my shoulder. “When you know, you know.” The pat turns into a surprisingly fierce grip.

“So do you know? Because a double wedding would certainly make this week memorable.”

I wish I had her level of certainty about life and love, but I’m not even sure I should have left the house without gloves this morning. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

She sighs. “Feel free to change your mind at any time, even if it’s during the ceremony. Daphne won’t mind.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

She shrugs and gets to her feet. “It was worth a try.”

She wanders off, and I lean my head back and close my eyes, trying to come up with one thing I can be certain about in my life. Maybe that’s what I need to be happy. If I could just make a decision and never doubt myself, everything would be so much easier.

“I hate to interrupt your peaceful moment,” Levi says. “But we need to go before they come out here and find us.”

I tilt my chin to see Levi smiling down at me with a fondness that makes me warmer than the sun. Maybe because he’s put me in shadow and the chill is hitting me.

He offers me a hand, and I take it, letting him pull me up.

He doesn’t let go, but pulls me tight against him, pressing a kiss to my lips.

When he tries to back away, I don’t let him. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve missed him. It’s like everything I’ve been fighting against feeling for him is hitting me all at once, and now there’s nothing to hold me back. It’s thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Not terrifying enough to keep me from gripping the back of his head to deepen the kiss.

Levi doesn’t even hesitate to meet me, his tongue tangling with mine. I can feel him hardening against me, and I wish more than anything we were somewhere else.

A loud whistle cuts through the air, and Levi curls around me like he’s protecting me, even as he breaks the kiss and looks up. I follow his gaze to see my brother slow-clapping our very public make-out session.

“Keep that up and I’m bringing a shotgun to my wedding,” he says.

Levi grins and laces his fingers through mine, stepping away only to give me a little tug. “Want to get out of here?”

“Yes, please,” I say.

Together, we hurry down the street, hands still linked like a real couple.