The Fall Up (The Fall Up, #1)(19)

“Did you know it was me all along?”

“What? No! I would have immediately tried to have sex with you if I’d known,” he answered frankly.

“Great. Is that supposed to be reassuring?”

“No, it was supposed to be a joke, princess.”

I leveled him with a glare. “Don’t.”

He laughed and threw his hands up in surrender. “Hey, you were trying to get in my pants way before I was trying to get in yours.” Then he grinned something so beautiful that my eyes dropped to his mouth before I could even stop them.

“Can we just go eat?”

Quirking an eyebrow, he fought a smile. “Is that disappointment I sense? Levee, do you want me to try to sleep with you?”

“No,” I scoffed, looking away.

When my gaze drifted back to his face, he was sporting another huge grin, and just like it had earlier, it did some seriously warm things to me.

“Then I won’t.”

“Good,” I replied quickly.

“Good,” he repeated, but his eyes bounced to my mouth and his smile spread confidently.

“Oh God, can we just get some food now? This is getting awkward,” I huffed.

“More awkward than making out with your stalker?”

I swayed my head in consideration. “It’s getting there.”

His shoulders shook as he chuckled until something caught his attention over my shoulder. “I think you’re being summoned.” He pointed to the headlights flashing at us across the parking lot.

“Yeah, that’s Devon, my um…bodyguard.”

“Soon-to-be ex-bodyguard?”

“Uh, no. He’s been with me for years. I hated him at first, but now, he comes to my house for Christmas dinner. I’m not firing him for respecting my decisions.”

He huffed. “All right. All right. I get it. He’s your Kevin Costner.”

“Wow. You were so much more charming from behind my shades.”

I actually adored that he wasn’t acting stiff or freaking out on me. He was just…Sam.

“You’re full of it.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes. There was no use arguing with him. I really was full of it. Sam was even better now—and he was already intoxicating. Thankfully, that remained locked in my own head.

“Come on. Devon can drive.”

He rested his hand on my lower back. Only, this time, I didn’t even pretend not to arch into his touch as I returned his flirty wink.

Leaning forward, he brushed my hair off my shoulder and whispered, “Game on,” into my ear as he slid his hand down a fraction of an inch, moving it from respectable territory to just above my ass.

But, as far as I was concerned, not nearly low enough.





AFTER MEETING HER hulking bodyguard—who, thankfully, didn’t resemble Kevin Costner in the least—he drove us both the mile and a half to Raíces. When he parked us out back, I tried to open the door to lead Levee inside, but he slammed it in my face. Levee laughed and informed me that Devon needed to “scope it out first.” The man would let her wander up the side of a bridge nightly, but God forbid she walk into a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant where the biggest worry would be stumbling down the steps after too many sangrias.

However, I didn’t argue. I assumed they had a system. And besides, Levee was curled up under my arm with her head resting on my shoulder. As far as I was concerned, we could have waited in the back of that SUV all night. During those twenty minutes, we didn’t talk much. I’d drawn circles on her arm, and even though she later denied it, she’d fallen asleep at one point. I was absolutely in no rush.

When we finally made it inside, Raíces was strangely empty. The place wasn’t usually packed, but it was never a ghost town. I had a sneaking suspicion Devon wasn’t paying for our dinner as he stood with the owner, swiping a black American Express.

I gave Levee a suspicious glance as she peeked up at me through her lashes, embarrassed. Tossing her a reassuring smile, I kissed the top of her head. It wasn’t like I was going to complain about some quiet time.

Two beers, three sangrias, and an order of mofongo and plantain chips later, I was sitting across the table from one of the biggest celebrities in the music industry.

But that wasn’t why my cheeks hurt from smiling. Or why my hands itched to touch her. Or why I had forgotten about the entire world outside that restaurant.

Of course I’d been shocked when Levee had pulled her sunglasses off, but really, I’d been just so f*cking relieved that her life wasn’t nearly as hard as I had speculated over the last week. It was a huge burden off my shoulders for me to know that she had the money and support system in place to take care of her issues. She wasn’t some lonely woman navigating life alone. Kidnapping wouldn’t be necessary. I could focus on getting to know the real person behind the shades. The one I had so fiercely connected with over the last week.

“You can’t hold that against me. I mean, I like your music too. I was trying to be honest.” I laughed as her mouth hung open in mock horror.

Clinking her glass of sangria against my beer, she said, “I can’t believe you like Henry more than me! Well, I guess the good news is that Henry would probably prefer you over me too.”

“Hey! I’m not gay. I just said I like one of his songs. One.” I waved a single finger in her direction.