Damn. His mouth immediately watered. Samantha was a phenomenal pastry chef, and her macaroons were amazing. Those little delights were a bribe he couldn’t resist.
“You may enter.” He stepped back so Samantha could walk inside, then blocked the way again, his gaze taking in the glass dish covered in foil that Katrina was carrying. “What do you have?”
Katrina, with her purple-tipped blonde hair and an arm covered in colorful butterfly tattoos, flashed him a knowing grin. “Chicken enchiladas, extra cheese.”
His favorite, of course, and on cue, his stomach growled hungrily. He glanced at Tara, and she automatically lifted a gallon jug of orange juice as her offering, which was his drink of choice.
“You ladies do not play fair,” he grumbled good-naturedly as he let Katrina and Tara into the house, as well.
“Every man has a weakness, and we just happen to know yours,” Katrina said as she passed by.
The delicious scent of Mexican food teased his senses, and he followed the girls into his kitchen, realizing just how ravenous he was. He hadn’t eaten anything since having a late breakfast, which had only been a bowl of cereal, and he was suddenly grateful that they’d brought food with them.
Samantha set her plate on the counter and shooed him toward the adjoining living room. “You’re supposed to be resting. Go and make yourself comfortable on the couch, and we’ll bring the enchiladas to you.”
He wanted to argue that he was fine, that despite the occasional pain from the fractured ribs, he was more than capable of taking care of himself, and he could certainly serve
up his own plate. He’d been fending for himself since he was a kid under far more traumatic circumstances, but his sister-in-law was giving him a firm look that clearly stated she was now in charge, and he did what any intelligent man would do. He went and settled himself on the couch, with his legs up on the ottoman, and waited for dinner to come to him.
He didn’t have to wait long. Ten minutes later, the trio came out of the kitchen, each of them carrying something different. Katrina gave him the plate with the steaming chicken enchiladas, and Tara set a tall glass of orange juice on the side table so it was within reach. Samantha placed the pastries on the coffee table for later, then settled on the sofa next to him, with the other two girls sitting around him, as well.
As he took a bite of the soft corn tortillas stuffed with savory goodness, he had to admit that having three women fussing over him wasn’t half bad. But it also made him all too aware of the fact that Clay and Mason were lucky enough to have Samantha and Katrina in their lives every day, as their best friends and partners in all things, and he was suddenly the odd man out and feeling more alone than ever.
He was truly happy for both of his siblings, but he’d definitely noticed a shift in their relationship now that Clay was married and Mason was engaged. He saw his brothers less often and didn’t talk to them as much as before. They were living their new lives, just as they should . . . while he was living the same day-to-day existence. A life that was routine and predictable and safe, just how he liked it.
He’d always been a loner, and he definitely enjoyed women, but he’d never met one that made him want to share everything with her, including his past, the present, and the future. Because of all the shit he’d been through in his life, that was too much of a vulnerable place for him to venture. Ever. He had too many jagged, broken pieces inside of him, and he couldn’t imagine any woman in her right mind who would take a chance on a lifetime commitment to someone so irreparably damaged. Even if somehow his brothers had managed to find special women, Levi didn’t see the same happy ending for himself.
While he ate his dinner, the girls asked him questions about the shooting, and because they’d arrived at his place with the best kind of gifts, he regaled them with all the details, until they were all staring at him wide-eyed and in awe. And then they finally got down to the real reason they’d stopped by. To interrogate him about the mysterious woman whom Clay and Mason had met but Levi had remained tight-lipped about.
“So, tell us about Sarah, the girl you saved,” Samantha said, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.
Saved was a little dramatic when he’d just been doing his job. “What about her?” Levi responded, being deliberately vague as he finished the last bite of his dinner, then set the plate on the side table.
“Clay said that she was in your hospital room when he got there with Mason,” Samantha explained as she tucked her legs beneath her on the couch.
“She was,” he replied, and gave her the most logical explanation. “She wanted to make sure I was okay and rode over to the hospital with me in the ambulance.”
“Wow, that’s kind of romantic,” Tara said, and while she was the most level-headed of the three, he didn’t miss the teasing glimmer in her gaze that told him she was totally yanking his chain. Such a smartass.
“It really wasn’t a big deal.” He took a drink of his orange juice, praying that the conversation about Sarah ended. Like, now.
“Mason told me that when he walked in, you were holding her hand, but she was quick to pull hers away,” Katrina said, and Levi nearly choked on his juice. “He said she had that whole caught-in-the-act look in her eyes, like she was hiding something . . . like the two of you being together.”
His brother was such a big-mouthed fucker, and now Levi was 99.9% sure that Mason had encouraged Katrina, probably along with Samantha and Tara, to come over to find out the nitty-gritty details.
Mason was constantly giving Levi shit about his lack of female companionship, but getting laid, when he wanted to, wasn’t an issue for Levi. He was just more discriminate about his extracurricular activities and didn’t broadcast or flaunt his affairs. He always kept them private, therefore Mason thought he was celibate, and compared to his brother’s past exploits—before he’d settled down with Katrina—Levi supposed he was like a monk.
Samantha picked up the plate with the macaroons and handed them to Levi, and just as he was close to putting one in his mouth, she ruined the moment by asking, “Are you two dating?”
Goddamn, he really wanted to indulge in one of the light, airy, crème-filled cookies, to have a quiet moment to savor the salted caramel and almond pastry as it melted in his mouth. But all their personal questions were making it impossible for him to enjoy himself.
Placing the macaroon on top of the others, he put the dessert aside for later, then looked at the trio, who were all waiting anxiously for his answer. “I’m sorry to disappoint all three of you, but no, we’re not dating.” It wasn’t a lie. They weren’t going on an official date until tomorrow night.
“Oh,” Samantha said in quiet disappointment. “We were just kind of hoping . . .”
Levi scrubbed a frustrated hand along the stubble on his jaw and narrowed his gaze at his sister-in-law. She couldn’t just say something like that and leave him hanging. “You were hoping what?”
“That maybe the two of you were an item and we’d get to meet her,” Tara said, answering before Samantha could.