Page 55 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Gentry

Three Weeks Later

L evi pulls me back in against him as he leans against my front door. He’s wearing sweats and a t-shirt, and he’s in no hurry to leave my warm house on this sunny November Sunday.

“I told you to wear a coat,” I say. “You’re going to freeze to death out there.”

He kisses me long and hard. I want nothing more than to drag him back up to bed, but my sisters and I are supposed to be having a girls’ fun day, something we started shortly after Dad left, and I don’t want them to catch him here.

It’s been three weeks since we got back together, and he’s slept over here at least three times each week. So far we haven’t been discovered, but there’ve been one or two close calls.

We haven’t heard from our father since he left, which might have something to do with his being in jail.

Turns out he was financing his loan sharking with a handful of scams Trisha was running on an Internet donation site.

The stories Trisha and my dad concocted to bring in money were truly heartbreaking tales of loss, illness, and violence.

The stories were good enough to bring in tens of thousands of dollars. I can’t imagine what Dad and Trisha might have accomplished if they’d used their talents for good.

They shut down all the pages as soon as the police started looking into Dad in Cheyenne, but started them back up once they were in Iowa. If they’d left them dormant, they might never have gotten caught.

Levi swears he didn’t point the police in the right direction, and I believe him. I suspect it was one of the people he loaned money to at exorbitant rates.

“I’ll be fine,” Levi says against my lips. “I’ve just got to make it to my truck and five minutes home.”

We woke up early for some quiet, hurried sex, but he’s somehow already growing hard against me again. If this were an ordinary Saturday, we’d have until at least ten before we needed to worry about my sisters being up and about.

“I wish we had another hour,” I say as I slide a hand between us and palm his erection through his sweats.

“Good morning, Levi,” Emily says in a singsong voice as she skips down the stairs. “You should keep that in the bedroom. I’m too young to be exposed.”

I press myself against my boyfriend so Emily doesn’t see any more of him than she needs or wants to. “Morning, Em,” Levi says in a raspy voice. “And Sophie.”

I drop my forehead against his collarbone and suppress a groan.

“I was just stopping by to say good morning to your sister. I should probably get going.”

“We know you slept here,” Sophie says. “We aren’t complete idiots.”

“Or deaf,” Emily says in a disgusted voice.

I spin to face my sisters, still in front of Levi, though it’s probably safe now. Emily’s giving me a familiar smirk, her eyes alight with mischief. It’s so good to see her looking like her old self again.

She’s had a rough couple of weeks, and she still has moments of sadness, moments when it seems like she’s reluctant to trust anyone.

I get it. I often feel the same, and I suspect Sophie does as well.

But the three of us are closer than ever, and Sophie and I are trying to be here for Emily in every way we can.

It seems to be helping.

Which will hopefully make up for the bad influence I’m being right now. “I’m so sorry,” I say. “I never meant for you to hear anything or to make you feel uncomfortable in your own home. I hope you both understand that Levi and I are in love and are seriously committed to each other.”

Levi rubs my back as I speak, offering silent support.

Emily groans. “We know all that, Gentry. We’re not six.”

“And we know he’s been staying over for like weeks,” Sophie says.

I gasp. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you’d act like this.” Sophie gestures with a wave of a hand in our direction. “And we didn’t want you to chase him away.”

“We like Levi,” Emily says. “And we want you to be happy.”

“Thanks,” Levi says. “I like you, too.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” I say. “But Levi won’t be staying over again. It was a mistake to sneak around, and I need to—”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Sophie says, holding up a hand. “We want Levi to stay over.”

“We like Levi,” Emily says. “And if he’s over here more, I won’t have to video call him when I need help with my math homework.”

“Plus, he’s a way better cook than you,” Sophie says.

My heart jumps into my throat, and joy thrills through me. I’d love nothing better than for Levi to be in my bed every night. The more time we spend together, the more I love him. “Are you sure?” I ask my sisters. “You aren’t just saying this because you want me to be happy?”

Emily snorts, and Sophie rolls her eyes.

“We aren’t self-sacrificing enough to put up with someone we can’t stand,” Sophie says. “We like Levi being around.”

Emily nods in emphatic agreement.

I spin in Levi’s arms to face him, nervous and excited and so happy to have him in my life.

He smiles down at me with so much love in his eyes that my brain turns to mush, and I take a moment to get my words organized. “Levi Sullivan, I’d love for you to visit us any time you want and to stay for as long as you want. No pressure.”

“Yes, pressure,” Emily says. “All the pressure.”

Levi chuckles. “I’ll be here so much you’ll be sick of me. I’m honored you’d ask.”

Doubt and worry sneak in as my sisters cheer. Does he really want to spend more time here with me and my teenage sisters? He doesn’t really know what school mornings are like, because he’s usually gone before the chaos starts. What if he changes his mind?

Levi kisses me. “Stop worrying,” he says against my lips. “Nothing will make me happier than waking up with you in my arms every morning. I won’t change my mind.”

“I hate that I’m so easy to read,” I say.

He kisses the top of my head and hugs me. “I’m just glad I’m the lucky man who gets to know you well enough to be able to read you.”

“Levi should come with us on our girls’ day,” Sophie says.

I step out of Levi’s arms to face my sisters. “This is our day. I want it to be just us.”

“But today’s special,” Emily says. “We’re celebrating Levi sleeping over.”

“He’s part of the family now,” Sophie says.

I can’t say no to the kids when they look so happy. “Want to have breakfast at the diner and catch the early showing of True Love before Sophie has to head to her gymnastics class?” I ask Levi.

He grins. “I can’t think of a single better way to spend my day.”

We get dressed, head out, and have an excellent breakfast, filled with good conversation and laughter, at Tate’s Diner. We’re leaving the diner when Levi pulls me by the hand toward a man wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses sitting on a bench and staring intently at the diner.

“Deacon?” Levi asks. “What are you doing?”

“Shut up and go away,” Deacon says. He smiles up at me. “Hey, Gentry.”

“Hi, Deac—”

“Please leave,” Deacon says sweetly.

Instead of leaving, Levi sits on the bench next to his brother, pulling me down with him. Emily and Sophie wave and wander off to look in shop windows.

“Please, Levi,” Deacon says in a low voice. “For once in your life, go away.”

Levi doesn’t move, but scans the windows in front of us. There are several people easily visible where they’re seated next to the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows. I recognize Amelia Burns, but I don’t recognize the man she’s sitting across from or anyone else.

“Why the hell are you spying on Amelia?” Levi asks. “Is Sebastian meeting her here or something?”

Levi has, of course, filled me in on Deacon’s weird plan to set Sebastian up with someone. Levi is firmly convinced that Deacon is falling for Amelia, or Dogperson158 as she goes by on the dating app.

“I’m not spying,” Deacon says too loudly. He lowers his voice. “I’m not spying, Levi. I’m just keeping an eye on her to make sure she’s okay.”

I look back at the diner to see Amelia laughing at whatever the man across from her is saying.

“She looks fine to me,” I say.

“She’s fine now,” Deacon says. “But that man is her ex-husband, the father of her daughter. He claims he’s showing up to be back in his daughter’s life, but we all know there’s no way any man on earth can resist Amelia. He’s going to make her fall in love with him.”

“And that would be bad because then you wouldn’t stand a chance with her?” Levi asks.

“Yes,” Deacon shouts again, causing a person walking their dog to glance our way. Deacon lowers the brim of his hat and ducks his head. “I mean, no. It will ruin Sebastian’s shot with her, and she’s perfect for him. He’ll treat her, like, a thousand times better than her ex will.”

“If he’s that bad of a guy, Amelia won’t get back together with him,” I say. “She’s not stupid.”

“Of course she’s not stupid,” Deacon says. “She’s brilliant. But look at the guy. Do you see that jawline? The way his biceps bulge under that fitted t-shirt he’s wearing? You don’t dress like that to meet your ex unless you want a shot at winning her back.”

“Are you sure you aren’t interested in him ?” Levi asks.

Deacon bumps his shoulder against Levi’s, but Levi doesn’t move. “This is why I don’t want you here. You’re an asshole, and you’re drawing attention to me. I don’t want Amelia to know I’m here.”

“Who cares if she knows?” I ask. “Sebastian is who you’re setting her up with, right?”

“Exactly,” Deacon says. “And I can’t have her thinking that Sebastian’s brother is a creepy stalker.”

“Uh-huh,” Levi says. “Maybe you should just ask Amelia to meet up with you and tell her how you feel about her.”

Deacon turns to his brother and lowers his sunglasses to look Levi in the eyes. He looks genuinely confused. “How do I feel about her?”

Levi chuckles. “Clearly, that’s a question you should ask yourself. Gentry and I are going to the movies.”

“Good,” Deacon says, attention back on Amelia. “Get out of here.”

Laughing, Levi and I catch up to my sisters, and the four of us go see a movie where I get to snuggle up to my boyfriend. And, at the end of the day, he has family dinner with us and stays over without having to sneak around.

I never thought I could be so happy.

Thank you for reading The Love Ambush!