The Family You Make (Sunrise Cove #1)(75)

“No. No,” he repeated softly, reaching for her hand. Well, okay, yes, he regretted asking her to be a part of this farce, but only because he wanted it to be real. “I don’t regret anything, most especially the times I’ve spent with you, including what happened up at the Tahoe Rim Trail in my truck. I smile every time I get into it now, like Pavlov’s dog.” Not to mention, get a hard-on . . . “That night will go down in history as one of my favorite nights ever. The other is last night.”

She snorted, because long after they’d made her grandma’s bread with her grandpa, after he’d taken her home and had gone to bed himself, they’d started texting, playing phone truth or dare. He’d learned that the little scar on her chin was from jumping off her grandparents’ patio roof to see if she could fly. And that she’d skipped her last year of high school and graduated early. He’d also learned that she’d never brought a guy home before.

And then she’d dared him to come over—where they’d continued the truth or dare in person. In her bed . . .

“Zero regrets,” he repeated, holding her gaze, willing her to believe him.

She drew a deep breath. “Then what is it? It’s something, I can feel it.”

“Remember that night on the gondola?”

“The one I still have nightmares about?” She gave a wry smile. “No, not at all.”

Okay, she was trying to be funny, but he had a feeling it was also true about the nightmares, and he hated that. They’d circle back to that. “When I called my mom that night and told her I had someone in my life—”

“Because you thought we were going to die, and you were trying to say goodbye and realized how much she loved you and that all she’d ever wanted was for you to have love in your life . . . Yeah, I get it, Levi. I mean, I don’t exactly have personal experience with a family like yours, but I’ve seen the Hallmark movies. And honestly? It’s sweet, the lengths you’d go to for your family.”

“Yeah.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Let me tell you the rest of it and you’ll probably revoke that understanding. See, after that night, they started hounding me about meeting you.”

“Hence why I’m here,” she said. “Wearing real jeans and not yoga pants that have never seen a yoga class.”

He smiled. “I love the jeans. The jeans make me want to play truth or dare again.”

“Hey, how was I supposed to know that daring you to remove a piece of clothing would turn on me and that you’d remove a piece of my clothing?”

“You were commando,” he said reverently. “I’m never going to stop reliving that.”

“Focus,” she said on a laugh. “Your family was hounding you about meeting me and . . .”

“And I kept stalling, so . . .”

“Oh my God,” she said. “You’re the slowest storyteller on the planet!”

“And four weeks was too long for them. They didn’t have that sort of time.”

She covered her mouth with her hand. “Is someone sick? You should’ve told me. I’d have come sooner!”

“Not sick,” he said. “At least not physically.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Because you’re normal.” He sighed. “They got impatient. My mom is Shirley, the nosy woman you met at the humane society. My sister is Tess, the nosy woman who forced you into being friends with her. And my dad is Hank, the guy creating the libraries for the hospital and clinics.”

Jane’s mouth fell open and she just stared at him.

His heart kept skipping beats. “If you want to get up and walk away right now, I’ll understand,” he forced himself to say.

She blinked. Closed her mouth. Opened it again.

Nothing came out.

“Jane?” He slid closer, a hand on her leg. “Say something.”

She was still for another very long beat. Then she slowly shook her head. “They did all that for me?”

“You mean stalked you? Yes, they did. They inserted themselves into your life under false pretenses, and I’m sorry.”

He had no idea what she would do next, but he was stunned to see her suddenly smile and whisper, “Wow.”

“Jane,” he said, completely undone. “You should be running for the hills, not looking like you just won the lottery.”

“Are you kidding? I was so freaked out about meeting your family, about somehow messing it up for you, because the only thing I know about close families like yours is what I’ve seen on TV or in the movies.” She laughed. “But I’m not the one who messed it up!”

He softened and cupped her face. “You’re not upset?”

“Well, I have nothing to compare this to because no one’s ever searched for me or ever gone through that much trouble to find me before. But your mom and dad and sister did.”

Just like that, his amusement was gone and he felt like a total asshole. Here he was, embarrassed by his nosy family, when he was talking to a woman whose own family had completely deserted her, tossed her out like yesterday’s trash. Wrapping his arms around her, he brushed a kiss to her temple. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“I do, you told me that last night when I was—”