Leveled: A Novella (Saints of Denver #0.5)(113)

She was waiting for me at the front door, holding it open. With a wave of her arm, she said, “Get in here.”

It sounded serious. Nas was rarely short with me and right now, she seemed annoyed. I made my way up the steps and as I crossed the threshold of her home, I stated, “Something’s wrong.”

She puffed out a long breath, walking through to her dining room and taking a seat. “Yeah, something’s wrong, Lev.” She jerked her chin, motioning for me to take a seat, so I did.

“What is it?” I asked carefully.

Nas sat back in her chair and uttered softly, “Do you love Mina?”

My face turned hard. What an idiotic question. “Of course I love Mina.”

What was this about?

My heart pounded. When things came to Mina, I didn’t mess around. “What’s going on, Nas?”

Then she said something I wasn’t expecting. Here eyes sad, she muttered, “I’m a little disappointed in you.”

The pounding in my chest increased. “Why?”

My sister shook her head. “The public proposal was cute, Lev. It was you down to a T.” She shook her head. “But I was hoping you’d step outside your box, get down on one knee and ask Mina in a way that would make her feel special.”

I lowered my face, momentarily lost in thought and when I raised my head to look at her again, I asked, “Do you think Mina would like that? A proposal?”

Nas smiled gently and told me, “Every woman wants a proposal she can tell her kids about.”

Children? With Mina?

I liked that idea.

Yes. A proposal.

I could do that.

My mind made up, I leaned forward slightly and queried, “What do I need to do?”

Nas grinned then. “I thought you’d never ask.”





Chapter FiftyOne

Mina



Something was up.

I wasn’t sure what exactly but Lev was acting distracted and kind of off, even for him.

When I asked him what was wrong, he shook his head and muttered something about having too much on his mind. I told him he could talk to me and when he turned to me and smiled, he stated that he would talk when it was needed.

I trusted Lev with every piece of me and if he told me not to worry, I would try my hardest not to. But I loved him, which meant I would go ahead and worry anyways.

It was Sunday and after having a predictably late Saturday night at the club, Lev woke to get his workout in and although part of me wanted to be the early bird, the other part of me didn’t give a flipping flip if I got the worm or not.

I was tired and because of that, I slept my way through to eleven thirty, and Lev would be arriving back from his run at anytime now.

Walking my sleepy ass down the stairs, I shuffled into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I’d taken the first sip when Lidiya came into the kitchen, an empty Sippy cup hanging from her hang while the other one rubbed her tired little eyes, and she whined. “No nap. No nap.” Then she stomped one little foot.

Mirella followed her in. “Lidi, sweetheart, you’re tired. And when you’re tired, you need a nap.” Mirella rolled her eyes slightly and smiled in a way that read ‘kids, huh?’

Lidi was already at my side, holding up her arms and without hesitation, I picked her up, rocking her from side-to-side and kissing her forehead lovingly. Her eyes were already starting to close when Lev walked in from the back door. And when he spotted me, holding Lidi, rocking her grumpy self to sleep, his eyes went warm.

He made his way forward and kissed her chubby cheek before turning to me and kissing my lips, feather soft. A now sleeping Lidiya dropped her sippy cup to the kitchen floor with a clang and clap and she jolted but didn’t wake.

Lev pulled her out of my arms, held her close and walked her to her bedroom where she could nap in comfort. I followed him upstairs so I could watch him undress and when I arrived back to our bedroom, he already had his tee off.

“We have the night off,” he threw out into the silence.

My nose bunched. “What? Why?”

Lev looked over at me, his hands on the waistband of his sweat pants. “Because you deserve it.”

I liked the club. It was my home away from home. I enjoyed it there.

With a light shrug, I uttered a sincere, “That’s okay. I don’t need a night off. I love club nights, besides, it’s only three days a week.”

He blinked over at me, seeming surprised that I wouldn’t want a night to myself. “I thought we could go to dinner. To that Russian place you like.”

Ooh.

Blini and Pelmeni. I didn’t think I could pass that up but it was a work night. We could go anytime.

The he added something that would have me giving up my fight. “Like on our first date.”

My smile was slow to form and catlike. “You want to have a date night?”

He nodded. “Yes. Just the two of us.”

Shit, that was sweet.

How can I say no to that?

“Okay.” I smiled harder. “But, just so you know, for you, I’m a sure thing, baby. Always.”

His lip twitched and he threw down his sweats, leaving him in the nude. I let out a low whistle of appreciation and his body shook in silent laughter. Then I followed him into the bathroom to watch him bathe because… well… I could.