Something felt… off, though. Levi squeezed her hand and she looked at him, tried to read his gaze. “We didn’t get a chance to talk before now.”
She smiled. “It was so busy getting everyone packed up. But this is okay. You’re welcome to stay for this.”
He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in a way that made her want to bury her face in his neck and get closer.
“I tried to chat with you this morning, Jillian. This definitely wasn’t meant to be a blindside,” Gray said seriously, pulling Jilly’s attention off of her very attractive boyfriend.
“What’s going on?” Presley asked, sitting up straighter. Like Jilly, her hair was in a ponytail and she wore cozy clothes.
“Levi?” Gray looked at him.
He turned his body so he was looking at Jilly. “Your brothers offered me a job at the lodge. It sounds amazing. I’d still get to make the food I want to make, I could be creative, I’d get to work with you and them, and I can cater on the side.”
Surprise had her opening and closing her mouth without making any sounds. It took her a second but she got her brain to function. “Oh. Okay.” She looked at her brothers. “We probably should have discussed this before.” It was Grayson’s lodge but they were all invested, emotionally and, in small portions, financially.
Looking back at Levi, she tried to smile as her brain worked out what this could mean. “This is something you’re interested in? We could talk about it after this, once we get things ironed out for opening next week?”
Levi’s expression blanked. She stared, waiting for him to say something, and then it clicked. Her heart hitched somewhat painfully. “You said yes.”
He took her other hand as well, squeezed them both. “It’s a chance to do what I love to do without the start-up risks.”
Jilly pulled her hands back, turned her head to look at Grayson. She felt Presley shift a little so their shoulders were touching; a silent show of support.
“All right.” Jillian clasped her hands together just as Ollie walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, peanut,” Beckett said, smiling despite the tension he could obviously see on Jilly’s face.
“Hi. Gramma said if I want milk before bed I better get my butt in here to get it.”
Jillian forced her smile as Grayson got up and grabbed a glass for Ollie, poured her milk. She thanked him, took a long gulp, and then looked up at him. “Mom wants me to go to summer camp but I told her you need me at the lodge.”
Grayson winced, looked at Jilly then back at Ollie. He crouched down. “You’re the best worker of all of us, kiddo. But you need to listen to Mom. Don’t worry, we’ll spend lots of time there together.”
Ollie’s expression shifted, her lips pulling down, her shoulders drooping.
Jilly didn’t mean to blurt it out, but it was in her DNA to try to ease her daughter’s sadness. “Levi’s going to work with us. When you’re there, you could probably help him.”
Ollie’s face lit up like a carnival at night. “Really?”
Levi looked at Jilly, his gaze uncertain, but he smiled genuinely when he looked at Ollie. “Really. I can’t wait. Maybe when there’s kids staying, you could help me come up with some food ideas.”
Jillian’s heart felt like it was being stretched out, pulled in opposite directions. Everyone started talking while she tried to process. This could be so wonderful. It could all work out so beautifully. All of them together. Even their parents, when they wanted to take part. But what if it didn’t all work out? What if she and Levi didn’t last and they had to see each other day in and day out? Part of what made it easier to get over Andrew was reclaiming her life and her space back in her own hometown.
If something happened with Levi, it was bad enough she’d see him all over Smile. She wouldn’t even have work as a refuge. On top of that, Ollie looked like she’d been handed the keys to a toy store with the news, which made Jillian nervous. What if they broke up and Ollie had to see him every day still?
She turned her head, saw Levi watching her, and realized what really concerned her, buried beneath all the rest of it, was the issue of why he hadn’t talked to her. They’d been busy, sure, but this was huge. This was a complete pivot in his life plan. The one he said he was committed to, excited about.
He was committed to and excited about them. If he could change his mind so easily about one thing, didn’t that mean he could rethink them, too?
Thirty-one
Levi sent up a silent prayer to whoever might be listening, while crossing his fingers, that the window he was about to toss rocks at was still Jillian’s. Letting go of the tiny pebble, he winced when the sound of it hitting the glass seemed to echo through the dark quietness of Smile.
Rustling the few stones he had in his hand, he counted to five then tossed up another one. A low light came on through the curtains after the third one.
Please don’t be her parents or Ollie.His neck was kinking from looking up at the second story. He heard the latch, the slide of the window, and the flutter of the curtains as they were pushed to the side.
Jilly leaned out the window and looked down. He probably had a stupid grin on his face but he couldn’t help it. She was so pretty it made the natural rhythm of his heart go wonky. He’d dreamed of doing this the night he left, stitches still stinging in his chin. He’d imagined getting her to come down and finally taking that first kiss before saying goodbye.
