Page 43 of Get Lost with You


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Jilly thought about it. “I don’t think I even remember. I went out with Kenny Hicks for two weeks in tenth grade. I don’t really have a storied history of relationships.”

“How about more recently? No dates that made you want to ask for more?” Levi asked, sipping his wine while he leaned back, gracefully relaxed.

Jilly shook her head. “Nope. I’ve been out with three men since Andrew. One started the date by asking if I minded if his friends joined us. That in itself seemed off. But when he spent the evening clearly flirting with the other guy’s date, I was just happythe night was done. Another asked if I’d mind a long-distance relationship because he was moving the next day. Which he didn’t mention prior to that. And then there was the guy who wanted to show me all the disasters he’d matched with on apps.”

Levi’s wince grew with each example. “I think I would have sworn off dating for good.”

Jilly smiled as she lifted her wineglass. “If I had, I wouldn’t be here.”

He leaned in, smiling widely. “Trust me, tonight won’t be like any of those.”

She mirrored his pose. “Trustme,it’s already the best one I’ve been on.” She figured it was wise to protect her heart a little, so she didn’t add,because it’s you.

Levi lifted his glass. “To the first of many.”

Letting their glasses touch, she took a swallow of the wine and hoped taking this leap of faith wouldn’t end poorly. It was Levi. She had to believe it wouldn’t.

Twenty

Levi had had one drink all night; that first glass of red wine. But he felt drunk all the same. Drunk on the scent of Jillian’s hair, the way she tipped her head back when she laughed, the way she fidgeted with the strap of her purse as he drove through the quiet streets of Smile.

He reached over, put his hand over hers, stilling it. “Do you want me to take you back to your place?”

Her head whipped toward him. “What? No. Why?”

Laughing at her tone, he kept his eyes on the road. “You seem nervous.”

Turning her hand so their fingers linked together, she ran the fingers of her other hand over his knuckles.

“I don’t want the night to end.” She said it like it was a secret she was scared to admit. He had no doubts about his feelings for this woman—they were snowballing in his chest so quickly, he worried they’d come tumbling out of his mouth.

“How about some pie?”

She looked over at him. “That sounds perfect.”

He hadn’t been to Petal’s Pie Palace since prom. They’d had the event at a hotel in Mackinaw City, and when the bus broughtthem back to Smile, all of them had been too restless and amped up to end the evening.

Holding the door for Jilly, he was grateful that the shop hadn’t changed much and it was relatively quiet. The overhead lighting felt harsh against the night sky through the windows. A couple of teens sat at a booth in a corner, the waitress chatting with them.

“You can sit anywhere,” she called.

He and Jilly moved toward the back of the shop, settled into the aging vinyl seats. He liked sitting across from her like this; had pictured it more than once as a teenager.

The waitress, with her short hair pulled back from her face in flower clips, brought over waters then pulled a one-page menu out of her apron. “These are our newest pies. They’re on special. Hey, you’re the three pieces lady.”

Jilly’s face scrunched. “I shared them.”

Levi laughed. “Do you have a closet pie addiction?”

“I’ll give you a minute,” the waitress said as she’d already started walking away.

Jilly picked up the menu, gave him an adorably haughty look over top of it. “Sometimes it’s hard to choose.”

Leaning back in the booth, he nodded. “I’m not arguing. Why don’t we get two different ones and share?”

They settled on peanut butter cream and French vanilla, both of which looked and tasted delicious. Levi took another bite of the vanilla.

“Hard to say,” he said, pointing his fork at the other one. “That one is a bit too sweet for me, though.”