I shake my head. “I’m not sure if you’re making it worse or better.”
“How can it be worse if the hedgehog finds its favorite being on the planet and they live happily ever after?”
He is impossible to resist. “I do like the sound of that.”
His grin makes me feel a little like I can fly. “How do you feel about the sound of hanging out here until we’re sure the kids are asleep?”
He actually looks nervous and… is that fear in his eyes? “I’m guessing you aren’t the favorite anymore?”
He sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t know how you do it. I thought they were happy and fed and then Emily asked to camp out with the reindeer and—”
I press a finger to his lips. “Nope. I don’t want to know yet. Let’s find a quiet place to look at the stars.” My stomach grumbles. “After we find some food.”
“I’ve got cold pizza and Thai,” he says. “And chocolate. I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten or not, and I really don’t want to go back to the farmhouse.”
“Should I be worried they’re causing trouble for Josephine?” I ask.
His shoulders drop. “She was the one who suggested I leave and give everyone a chance to cool off.”
I laugh, still on a high from painting, and loving that I’m not the only one who finds my sisters impossible to deal with sometimes. “I love cold pizza and Thai leftovers.”
He grabs the bag from the SUV, along with a blanket, and laces his fingers through mine. “Let’s find a good place for a midnight picnic.”
The street’s quiet, with only the occasional car drifting by slowly every few minutes. Most people are at home in bed, preparing for another day of work tomorrow.
“I haven’t had a vacation since Mom left three years ago,” I say.
Levi squeezes my hand. “I need a vacation after spending just six hours with your sisters. I don’t know how you do it.”
“If we’re going to do this for real, you’re going to have to spend time with them. There’s no way around it.”
He chuckles. “They’re good kids. I probably shouldn’t have taken them on a two-mile hike without asking if they even liked hiking.”
“Wow. I can’t believe they went. How’d you manage—” I slap a hand over my mouth. I’m doing it. I said I wouldn’t do it, and I’m talking about the kids again.
Levi stops and pulls my hand slowly from my face. “They’re your family and a huge part of your life. I know I’m going to beseeing a lot of them and that you’re going to talk about them. They’re important to me because they’re important to you. Don’t ever apologize for that.”
I drop my head into my hands. “I am not girlfriend material.”
He steps closer and pulls my hands from my face again. “You are the perfect girlfriend material.” He kisses my lips gently. “You’re perfect for me, and you never have to apologize for anything you want to talk about.” He kisses me again, and I lean into it, so, so hungry for him.
Unfortunately, my stomach rumbles, ruining the moment. I am so bad at this romance stuff.
Levi pulls away with a laugh. “Let’s get you fed.”
He leads the way to a small park two blocks away.
“How’d you know this is here?” I ask.
“I might have given myself a tour of the town while I was waiting for the kids to get out of the movie.”
“You know, they’re old enough to fend for themselves. You could have just taken them back to the farmhouse and let them hang in their rooms all afternoon.”
“What would be the fun in that?” he asks. “Also, I didn’t know I could leave them alone. Liza didn’t tell me that when I offered to entertain the kids for the afternoon.”
My heart warms. “Regretting your choice?”
“I regret nothing other than you not being there. It’s really gorgeous up in the mountains. I wish you could have seen it.”
