Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
I slapped the hand towel over my shoulder. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about our conversation earlier.”
I took a seat across from her at the kitchen table. “Okay…”
“What you said definitely made some sense, but my gut is still telling me selling The Palm Inn isn’t the right decision.”
Damn. The first part of her statement had gotten me excited for a moment; I’d thought she was coming around.
“It’s one thing if you think it’s a lot of work for me. That’s my problem, and shouldn’t be a concern for you. But I do understand your worries about lack of demand. Still, I feel like you could be wrong.” She licked her lips nervously. “So, I have a proposition.”
My brow lifted. “What is it?”
Presley rubbed her hands together. “Once we get this place presentable, if I can sell out the first month, I think that will be a good indicator of how things will go. So, what I’d like to propose is that if I can sell out August…you agree not to sell.”
I twiddled my thumbs as I thought about it.
She prodded. “We can always sell later if we need to, Levi. At any point.”
It didn’t make sense to invest too much in making this place nice if the developer was just going to tear it down anyway. But he wasn’t pressuring me to close the deal fast, so I had some time to let Presley have her way—for now. In any case, this was going to be the easiest win ever because there was no freaking way she could sell out the first month. I felt completely confident in agreeing.
“You got a deal.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.”
Presley got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around me. “You’re the best.”
Something happened to me in that moment, as I felt the warmth of her arms around me, smelled her sweet scent. I hadn’t been hugged by a woman in God knows how long. I’d kissed plenty. Screwed plenty. But this? Just having someone’s arms around me? It felt foreign. And nice. It felt nice.
And I had to wonder whether it was the hug or the woman giving it.
Either way, I needed to check myself before I wrecked myself. What the hell are you doing even thinking about your brother’s ex this way, Levi?
I pulled away. “I, uh… I’m actually late. Supposed to be meeting some of my old high school buddies at Dale’s Pub.”
Disappointment crossed her face. “Ah. Okay.” She took a few steps back and smiled. “Have fun.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Now, I’d have to call my friends and actually get the hell out of here. I’d completely made that shit up to avoid the tension in this room.
CHAPTER 5
* * *
Presley
Levi agreeing to my proposition left me on cloud nine for the rest of the night, so much so that I had the worst time sleeping. Well, it wasn’t only Levi’s decision that gave me insomnia. Alex had also come to my room and fallen asleep in my bed. He’d had a nightmare and asked if he could lie with me. While I was always happy to let him do that, my son was a restless sleeper and kicked a lot. So anytime he slept in my bed, I had to accept that I’d be awake most of the night.
I did need to get at least a few hours of sleep since I had a full day of house chores and errands tomorrow. I decided to leave Alex here and move to the empty bedroom I’d cleaned out earlier today.
As I lay my head down, I realized Levi was right—this mattress was definitely pretty comfortable compared to others in the house. It didn’t take long for me to fall right asleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, though, a train in the distance woke me up again. Except this time, when I rolled over, I felt something next to me. It took a few seconds to realize it was a warm body.
Someone’s in the bed!
My first instinct was to scream. After my loud yelp, the body jerked and fell to the ground in a loud thud.
“Ow, what the fuck?” I heard him growl.
I grabbed my phone and activated the flashlight. I pointed it to find Levi rubbing his head with one hand and his knee with the other.
Levi? What was he doing in bed with me?
Not only that, he was virtually naked aside from his tight boxer briefs.
My pulse raced. “What are you doing in here?”
“Me?” He stared up at me, his eyes groggy. “What the hell are you doing in here? This isn’t your room, either.”
“I know. I couldn’t sleep because Alex is in my bed. So I came in here.”
He stayed on the ground and kept rubbing his knee. “I must have had too much to drink because I didn’t even notice you in the damn bed. I came back from the bar and decided to sleep in this room since I hadn’t had a chance to swap mattresses yet. The damn lights in here don’t work, so I couldn’t see you.”