Well Played by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 15
Presley
Warm lips touched my bare shoulder as I stood at the kitchen sink. When I turned, Levi was licking his lips. “Why do you taste salty?”
“Umm…that’s dried sweat you just had your mouth on. While you were busy sleeping in until almost ten, I finished painting the last of the living room moldings, scrubbed the floors, and polished a set of black candlesticks until they turned silver again.”
He grinned and tugged a wayward piece of my hair hanging in my face. “I did sleep pretty late. Must’ve been all the exercise I got yesterday. You know, if you’re already sweaty…”
I felt warmth bloom in my belly, yet I nudged Levi back with a laugh. We’d almost gotten caught a few times over the last week, and we needed to be more careful. “Alex is outside riding his bike. He could burst in at any second.”
Levi pouted. It was adorable. “Fine. I guess I’ll go to Home Depot to get mollies for the pictures you want me to hang in the living room, then.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Thank you.”
“You need anything while I’m out?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
He winked. “Be back in a little while.” But he stopped as he reached the kitchen door, looking into the living room. He held out a hand to me. “Come here.”
I walked over and stood next to him. “What?”
“Do you remember what this place looked like when you got here?”
“Yeah.”
“Look at it now. Take a good look.”
I studied the living room. It looked incredible, if I might say so myself. The walls that had been peeling were freshly painted, old, scuffed-up floors had been sanded and refinished, soot-stained stones on the fireplace had been scrubbed and polished until they sparkled, and colorful new window treatments and matching throw pillows on the couch lit up the room.
I sighed. “It does look pretty great, doesn’t it?”
Levi nodded. “It does, and that’s all you. I think I was about ten the last time this place looked like this. It even smells awesome. You’ve done an amazing job, Presley.”
I smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
Levi looked into my eyes. I thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “I’ll be back.”
A few minutes after he left, my cell phone rang. Seeing Harper’s face on the screen, I plopped down on the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table with a smile.
“Hey, I was going to call you later today,” I said.
“I wish you would’ve called me a half hour ago. I might not have thrown my trash at the new intern.”
“You threw garbage at an intern?”
“It was an accident. I was walking by what’s usually an empty cubicle while arguing with someone on a call, and from the corner of my eye I mistook her for a wastepaper basket.”
“You thought a human was a wastepaper basket?”
“She’s skinny and was just sitting there, not moving.”
I laughed. “I miss hearing your daily mishaps.”
“Well, you could remedy that pretty easily. Call more.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just been…busy.”
“Does that mean The Palm Inn is almost ready for the grand opening?”
I looked around again. “It’s getting there. Two days ago, I quietly started an ad that directed people to our new website, and a few more nights have already been booked for late next month.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re ready, because I think we’re going to be able to sell you out.”
My brows furrowed. “How?”
“I got you a two-page spread in Southern Living magazine.”
“Are you joking?”
“Nope. One of the guys who used to work for me works there as an editor now. We keep in touch, so when I came back from my visit to you, I emailed him a couple of photos I’d taken of The Palm Inn and asked him to keep us in mind if he ever had an opportunity for a feature. He said he would, but I wasn’t sure anything more would come of it. Then this morning, he called and said they’re running a feature on landmark B&Bs, and one of the buildings they’d planned to showcase fell through at the last minute. He can give it to us with a two-page pictorial!”
I sat up. “Wow!”
“There are two catches, though. First, they’re on a tight deadline, so they need a full photo shoot within twenty-four hours.”
“Well, I can do that myself, if they’re okay with it.”
“I figured you’d say that, so I just sent a link to your portfolio over to them. I should hear back pretty fast.”
“Okay. What’s the other catch?”
“They want Levi Miller in at least one of the photos.”
“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with that.”
“But won’t that be helping you, and lessening his chances of winning the bet you have going?”
I’d actually forgotten about our bet. “Things have…sort of changed between me and Levi. That’s what I was planning to call you about this afternoon. He’s not pushing me on selling it anymore.”
“Well, that’s a good thing.” I heard a knock at the door through the phone, and Harper said, “Hang on a sec, will you, hun?”
“Sure.”
I listened to the muffled sound of a woman speaking in the background. “Sorry to interrupt, Harper. But your ten-thirty appointment is here. You also have Lyle Druker from the Chicago Tribune on line two.”
“Thanks, Liz. Just give me a minute.” Harper came back on the line. “Sorry about that. I also have a few other things I was able to get lined up for The Palm Inn, but I have to run right now. Maybe we can catch up tonight?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“How much time do you need to check with Levi before I can tell Southern Living we’re a go?”
“He should be back in a half hour. But I really think he’ll be fine with it.”
“Sounds like things have improved between the two of you.”
“Yeah…I, uh, we slept together.”
“What?!” My best friend screamed so loud, I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Hang on.” I heard the muffling of the phone once again and then, “Liz!”
“Yes?” came a voice in the background.
“Tell Lyle Druker I’ll call him back in an hour. And my ten thirty is a prospective new client. Can you tell him I have an emergency and to get started on the new client intake form so he isn’t just sitting there, please?”
“Sure thing.”
“Give me fifteen minutes. Don’t interrupt unless the building is on fire. And it better be a big fire, not a little toaster oven.”
“Uhhh…okay.”
“Thank you. Shut the door behind you.” Harper came back on the line. “Start talking.”
For the next fifteen minutes, I filled her in on everything that had transpired since the night of Alex’s camping party.
“So what are you going to do about Tanner?”
“I’m not going to do anything, because he’s never going to know. In less than a month, Levi will be back in Colorado, and that will be it. This was just… We have a strong physical connection, and we let ourselves get carried away.”
“So it’s just physical? You don’t have feelings for him?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter if I do. It could never be more for so many reasons.”
“You mean Tanner?”
“Well, yeah. But that’s not the only reason. Levi leads a very different lifestyle than I do. He’s a pro athlete who travels half the year, and I have a son who is in school here, and planting roots for him is my priority. I also don’t want to confuse Alex.”
“I don’t know, Presley. That all sounds logical and smart, but the heart doesn’t always do logical and smart. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t.” I couldn’t say the words with enough conviction to believe them myself, so I knew Harper wouldn’t buy it.
“I have to go, but I’m calling you later so we can talk about this more.”
I smiled half-heartedly. “Okay.”
“Let me know what lover boy says about the shoot.”
I laughed. “I will. And thanks for everything, Harp.”
***
“Why don’t I go pick up Alex from camp so you can keep doing what you’re doing? I’d say I’d take over, but my idea of decorating is a few footballs and some signed jerseys pinned to the wall.”
I smiled. Not only had Levi agreed to be in the photo shoot, he’d also spent the entire afternoon helping me stage bookcases and mantels so they’d look good for the photos. We painted Mason jars and filled them with fresh flowers, went to the used bookstore and bought color-coordinated books to display on shelves, and now I was busy trying to fill in the nooks and crannies with the best pieces from all over the inn.
I set a pale blue vase on top of the mantel, then shook my head and took it down. “Thanks. That would be great. This is going to take me a while.”
“No problem.”
“Do you mind if I move things around in your room after I finish up here?”
He shook his head. “Have at it. Leave anything heavy that needs to be moved for when I get back.”
“Okay.”
The plan was to do the photo shoot first thing tomorrow morning. Harper and I had gone back and forth over text and decided the best areas to focus on were the living room, the outside front of the inn, and my bedroom and Levi’s. So after I figured out what would go where in the living room, I took some leftover shelf décor to Levi’s bedroom to see what I could do about dressing it up. A Broncos duffle bag sat on the dresser, so I grabbed it and went to zip it closed, figuring I’d hide it in the closet for now. But as I rounded the zipper at the corner, a box stuck out. I attempted to tuck it neatly inside, only to realize it was a giant box of condoms. Not only that, underneath the mega box was a second box the same size. Both unopened.
My heart sank. One of these boxes would have lasted me the past five years. Actually, that was being generous. I could’ve probably stretched the box to last the final year Tanner and I were together and the years that followed. It was a stark reminder of just how different my lifestyle and Levi’s really were. He probably blew through these in a month while on the road. That made me feel a little queasy, yet I just stood there, staring down at the box.
I was so lost in my head that I didn’t hear Levi until he was in the doorway.
“Hey. Alex wanted to eat over at his friend Kyle’s. I texted you, but you didn’t answer, so I made an executive decision and dropped him off.”
I turned with the box of condoms still in my hands. “Exactly how long does this supply last you? Just preseason, or a few weeks in?”
Levi’s eyes dropped to my hands, and his brows dipped. “You think I’m stocking up for when I get back on the road?”
I shook my head. “It’s none of my business. I really don’t want to know what you do on the road.” Suddenly feeling awkward, I shoved the box back in the duffle bag. It still didn’t fit. “I wasn’t snooping. I tried to zip the bag to put it in the closet, and they were sticking out.”
Levi walked over. I’d been avoiding looking at him, but I felt his eyes on me.
“What?” I finally said.
He gently took the box from my hands and tossed it on the bed. “I bought them today. I wasn’t stocking up for when it’s time to go back to work. I figured I should hide them since Alex already found a belt and asked questions.”
I shrugged. “Whatever. It’s none of my business.”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, it’s none of your business?”
“When you bought them and what you plan to do with them is your business, not mine.”
Levi held my eyes as he reached into his back pocket. Taking out his wallet, he shuffled through until he found whatever he was looking for. He unfolded a small paper and held it up for me to see. “CVS receipt from today. The date is marked at the top. Is that the only thing you saw? Just the condoms?”
“Yes.”
He dug into the bag and held up a small bottle. “I think this will tell you exactly what my plans were when I made the purchases today.”
I glanced at the bottle and back to him. “Lube?”
“Look closer.”
I squinted. Peach flavored.
“I thought it would be funny,” he said. “But then again, I didn’t think I’d be showing it to you while you were accusing me of buying them to get ready to fuckother women.”
The anger in his voice pulled my eyes to meet his. “I didn’t. I mean…I don’t… I wasn’t sure if…” I shook my head. “We should probably stop anyway.”
“Do you want to stop?”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“Wasn’t asking about right or wrong. Was asking if you wanted to stop. Because I’m pretty sure the size of the two boxes I picked up today tells you that stopping is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“But…we’re in business together.”
He took a step closer. “Don’t care.”
“You’re leaving pretty soon.”
He took another step. “I’m right here, right now.”
“Alex…”
His eyes dropped to my lips as he took another step. “…isn’t home.”
My entire body started to tingle. “This town is so small. Someone will figure it out.”
Levi licked his lips as he stared at my breasts. “They can watch, for all I care.”
He took another step until we were toe to toe. Arching a brow, he asked, “You done telling me all the reasons us having sex is so wrong?”
I wanted to say no and continue to recite all the reasons we should keep our distance. But he smelled so damn good, and my body felt a magnetic pull to his.
My breathing grew labored, and I groaned. “One more time. I mean it. This is it.”
The wickedest grin spread across his face. “Right…” He wrapped a hand around my neck and squeezed as he pulled me close. “Now shut up and kiss me, and let me show you all the reasons it’s right.”
