When Life Happened by Jewel E. Ann

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Don’t fuck this up,” Levi mumbled to himself as his hands wrestled with his blue tie tugging it in one direction and then another. He held out his hands. They shook. He fisted them and pinched his eyes shut. No woman had ever had that effect on him.

Parker thought they were fragile. Levi thought she was already cracked. Why? He didn’t know.

Taking a deep breath, he finished tying his tie. She liked blue. He hoped she’d like his three-piece blue suit, crisp white shirt, and blue tie with white dots. It was his mom’s favorite.

Levi ran his hand through his hair in three different directions; it did its own thing no matter what he tried. Why did he try?

“What do you think?”

Rags cocked his head to the side.

Levi brushed off his sleeves that had already captured a few souvenirs from his new furry friend. “We may have to buzz you down.”

Rags turned and ran out. Levi chuckled, shaking his head as he followed him out. Just as he glanced up from one last tie adjustment, the door to Parker’s room opened.

Knock. Out.

His lips parted but words were extinct.

Parker’s eyes gleamed, inspecting him from head to toe before settling on his gaze. “I love blue.” She grinned.

If he weren’t already unconscious on the floor, that smile would have done it. “I think I knew that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You …” He pressed his hand to his chest and shook his head. Red looked stunning on her. The thinnest strip of material around her neck seemed to hold the whole thing from falling right off her. There wasn’t much to lose. The simple, sexy piece ended several inches above her knees. The material kissed her body; it didn’t hug it. It showed so much, yet left so much to the imagination—nothing short of perfect.

Parker tucked her silky hair behind her ear on one side as a small blush settled on her cheeks.

Beautiful. Stunning. It all seemed too cliché.

“The sunset here … it’s quite something. I would have said unforgettable. Until …”

Parker rubbed her glossy red lips together, her nerves as palpable as his. “Until?”

“Until you opened the door.” He sighed, giving his eyes permission to commit her to memory. “What sunset?” he whispered.

Parker pressed her hand to her stomach, a nervous smile beneath her tear-filled eyes. It wasn’t his intention to make her cry.

She blinked them back, taking a deep breath. “So many butterflies.”

Levi grinned, offering his arm. Parker took it, her matte gold high heels clicking on the stone floor.

*

Parker kept onehand pressed flat to her stomach and the other clasped to Levi’s arm as they walked a short block to the restaurant. The sun slid behind the building on the other side of the street, giving them a little reprieve from the Arizona heat, but not enough to keep sweat from beading between Parker’s cleavage.

“You’re catching a lot of eyes in your dapper, blue suit.” She glanced up at him.

“Only one set of eyes I’m trying to catch.” He opened the door for her.

She jerked when he pressed his chest to her back and whispered in her ear, “Besides, I’m certain they’re looking at you, not me.”

Her hand gripped his thigh, steadying herself as she wobbled a bit on her heels.

“You can’t grab me so close to my …” He groaned in her ear as a cheery blonde approached them.

“Then stop breathing into my ear,” Parker gritted her teeth in a low voice.

“Levi!” The fifty-something blonde smiled. “Where have you been, handsome?” She typed something into an iPad and then grabbed two menus.

“My um …”

Parker’s heart hurt for No Lie Levi.

“Uh …” He cleared his throat.

The blonde’s smile faded.

Parker slid her hand into Levi’s and interlaced their fingers, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

“My sister and her husband were killed in a car accident, in Iowa.”

“Oh no!” The blonde’s hand moved to her necklace. “I’m … so sorry, dear.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, it’s nice to see you again. Would you like a booth in the corner by the window?”

“Please.” He tightened his grip on Parker’s hand as they wormed their way to the booth at the far end of the restaurant.

Busy hands and clanging pans from the open kitchen caught Parker’s attention. She liked watching the food preparation almost as much as she liked the dim overhead lighting and the sea of flickering candles on all the tables. The soft hum of evening conversations played like music in the background.

“Here you go. Mario will be right with you.”

Parker and Levi said thank you in unison as they scooted into the booth.

“Are you okay?”

He looked at the menu. “No.” Then he sighed and set the menu down, giving her his attention. “See …” He tugged his tie a bit. “That’s what I mean. When people say, ‘How are you?’ I should be able to say, ‘Fine, thank you,’ even when I’m not. When you ask if I’m okay, I should be able to say, yes even if I’m not. Because we are here on a date, and I just want to focus on the part of me that is okay instead of the part of me that’s still standing over their graves thinking, ‘How the fuck did this happen?’ The truth doesn’t always set you free, and lies are not always deception. But I don’t have a choice.”

Right there. Levi unknowingly gave Parker permission to never tell him the truth about her and Gus or Sabrina’s affair. Parker could lie, but she didn’t want to, not with Levi. She wanted something true in her life. Something untainted. Something real.

“Hi …”

They both turned.

“Hey.” Levi moved out of the booth and hugged his mom and then his dad.

“Where was our call that you got home safely?” His mom pressed her palms to his face.

She had a spark of life to her. A different Stephanie than Parker met in Iowa.

His parents turned their attention to Parker, eyes wide with recognition.

“You remember—”

“Parker, yes.” Joe nodded, sharing a genuine smile.

“Nice to see you.” Stephanie grabbed Parker’s hand that was resting on the table. “I never got a chance to thank you for what you did.”

“Oh, Stephanie, it was nothing.”

“It was everything, dear.”

Immersing herself in the Paige family wasn’t comforting. It only flared the guilt.

“So … are you here for a visit?” Joe’s lips pulled into a curious grin.

Parker’s gaze shot to Levi.

“She chased me down the street when I went to leave.”

Her jaw unhinged waiting for him to tell the truth. He couldn’t lie. Then it hit her—it wasn’t a lie.

“Parker’s never been out of the Midwest, never even seen the ocean. Since she’s between jobs, I invited her to come for a visit. Maybe she can find the right fit out here.”

The truth. Every bit. The “right fit” was an interesting choice of words. Was it in reference to a job or a person?

“In my defense…” she kept her eyes on Levi for a few seconds before giving her attention to his parents “ …he invited me before the ‘chasing him down the street’ part. I declined, but then I changed my mind.”

The waiter cleared his throat. “Will you all be sitting together this evening?”

“Oh … no. We just wanted to say hi,” Joe said.

“You should join us.” Parker expected her comment to be met with a cringe from Levi.

“Absolutely,” he said, gesturing to his side of the booth. When he glanced at Parker, she couldn’t detect anything but gratitude.

If he didn’t want them to stay, he would have said so. There was an upside to No Lie Levi.

When he sat next to her, she started to move over to give him more room, but he rested his hand on her bare leg, keeping her close and uncomfortably aroused.

After they had placed their drink and dinner orders, while chitchatting about the highlights of Levi’s and Parker’s road trip, Joe lifted his wine glass. “To Parker, may you enjoy your time here in spite of our crazy son.”

Everyone lifted their glasses as clinking and laughter filled the space around them. Maybe she didn’t need to clear her conscience. Maybe Sabrina’s and Gus’s memories were best left unmarred.

*

“If you needhelp finding a job, just let me know. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I have plenty of connections.” Joe hugged Parker as they said their goodbyes by the exit.

“Thank you. It’s my first day here. I’m too overwhelmed to think about staying or going. But I’ll let you know.”

Joe ushered Stephanie out, and Parker followed them. Levi rested his hand on the small of her back.

She grinned.

As they waved to his parents, who headed in the opposite direction, Levi moved his hand from her back and interlaced his fingers with hers.

She grinned even bigger.

“Thank you for inviting my parents to sit with us.”

“They’re really great.” Through his family, Parker saw the Sabrina that Gus must have married. The Paiges were kind, funny, and welcoming.

“We’ll have a redo first date tomorrow night.”

“I don’t know, I think this was a lovely first date.” She took a deep breath, relishing the warm but not suffocatingly humid evening air.

“Dinner with my parents qualifies as a first date?”

“It became an irrefutable first date when I opened the bedroom door and saw you in this suit. This blue suit.”

“I only have one blue suit. I might have to buy more since the bar has been set so high.”

They nodded to the new guard on shift standing by the elevator to his condo.

“Dinner was amazing. The wine was too.” Parker filled time with nervous chatter as end-of-the-date expectations drew near.

“So was my date.”

The doors opened. Still holding her hand, Levi led her to his condo and opened the door. Rags made his best attempt at tackling them. Parker’s gentleman of a date stepped in front to guard her against the attack that might have left her dress with a few snags and holes.

“Hey, buddy.” Levi hunched down and scratched behind Rags’s ears so he wouldn’t jump up anymore. I’m going to take him out. I’ll be right back up.”

“Okay.”

He grabbed the leash then stopped at the door. “Leave that dress on.”

Parker stepped out of her heels. “You worried about returning to me naked on your sofa?”

Levi’s brows perked as his lips parted, tongue slowly wetting them.

“Go.” She laughed. “I’ll keep my dress on, but the shoes are staying off.”