“He’s always loved you,” Bri says, “and I love him, so it only makes sense for me to love you too. Besides, you earned your stripes with me by letting me tag along with you guys when all the other older kids tried to ditch me. Not to mention the whole lifesaving thing at the lake.”
I skip over the last comment because I don’t know how to address it. I just did what was right in the moment. “You were always fun to have around. It was their loss.”
“Do you, you know, have feelings for Levi?”
My heart squeezes hard. “Of course. I always will.”
She nods. “I know you’ve got an amazing life, traveling all over the world, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish you and Levi could be together again. He’s never loved anyone the way he loved you, and he deserves happiness.”
I agree, he does deserve happiness. And maybe, I think for the first time in longer than I can remember, so do I.
13
Levi
Every time movement catches my eye near the parking lot, I look up, hoping to see Laiyla. I’m hyperaware of her whereabouts at the marina, although I really don’t understand why. It’s probably just so I can look at her, since it’s really the only unscripted time we have together. I’m either talking to her about the project or I’m not talking to her at all. Somehow, knowing where she is still makes me feel connected to her or something. I’d never voice these feelings because I’d look like the pathetic soul I am.
Putting distance between us is a good idea. An essential idea. I know I hurt her the other night on the boat, which I didn’t plan or want. But I still find myself wanting to know what she’s wearing, if her hair is up or down, if she’s happy or sad, whether or not she feels as shredded inside as I do.
It’s Decker’s day to pick the music, so country floats around the marina. Not my first choice, especially when my heart hurts. I’d rather hear some heavy metal, but it’s not my day.
Inside the Celia Rose, I pry my gloved fingers behind the loosened plastic paneling and start stripping it from the wall, foot by foot. At least I have manual labor to work off pent-up heartache and desire.
I haven’t been able to think about anything but sex with Laiyla since she stepped foot back in town. Part of me, a big part, thought the need would ease after we had sex, sure my imagination embellished the memories and that, in reality, the sex would be like it is with other women: fine, but not particularly memorable.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
When I reach the end of the panel, it sticks beneath a rusted metal lip, and when I yank it free, a piece breaks off, flies out the open door, and hits KT in the arm, drawing blood.
“Ah, shit,” I say. “Sorry.”
She doesn’t flinch, just gives me a really? look, shakes her head, and returns her attention to the engine beneath the decking.
I’ve got five guys working with me today, stripping boat interiors, prepping for renovation. KT always seems to be underfoot, working on an engine of one type or another. She’s easy to get along with, swears like one of the guys, and fits in with my team effortlessly.
I’ve had to school my men on behavior, because KT is also incredibly attractive with long, dark hair, light blue eyes, a sweet face, and an athletic body that draws attention in anything she wears.
With three beautiful women around all the time, I’ve got guys fighting to get in on this job.
I drag the plastic out and drop it on the pile of debris on the dock. Movement in the parking lot draws my gaze, and I’m finally rewarded with the sight of Laiyla’s car. Some sort of tension I don’t understand leaves my body, and I rest my hands at my hips, watching her climb from the car.
She meets my gaze and hesitates, as if she’s trying to decide whether or not to talk to me, but we don’t have anything more to talk about, not at this stage in the process.
Chloe walks off the dock and meets Laiyla at the car, and they speak for a moment.
“Where are you taking your lazy ass?” KT yells.
Chloe lifts her yoga mat. “Making friends in town. I’m introducing them to hot yoga. You should try it.”
She laughs. “Hard pass.”
When Chloe slips into the other car and zips from the parking lot, Laiyla glances at me again then heads toward Roxie Blue.
I shake off this awful feeling, a mix of longing and anger and confusion, and head back into the boat.
“It’s never gonna get better if you don’t work on it.”
KT’s comment draws my attention, and with my mind back on work, I don’t know what she means. “What are you talking about?”