Sweet Soul (Sweet Home #5)(51)

Relief extinguished my nerves, and I looked up at Levi’s worried face through my lashes. “You want to take me out, for my birthday?” I asked, making sure I had this right. He slowly nodded his head and I rocked on my feet. “No one has ever taken me out for my birthday.”

Levi swallowed. I could see sympathy in his face, but more than that, I could see that he wanted this. That he desperately wanted to do this for me.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” I whispered, excitement building in my stomach.

“Yeah?” Levi questioned.

“Yeah.” I smiled.

Reaching down, Levi took my hand in his and we turned to his family. Levi’s hand tightened in mine when they were all watching us.

As if seeing our discomfort, Austin said, “Right, guys, think that’s our call to leave.”

We all piled out of the box, Levi keeping hold of my hand, only releasing me once to quickly speak to Austin. Each of Levi’s family hugged us goodbye and we headed for the Jeep.

We had just reached the door, when a voice shouted from behind. “Alabama! Wait up!”

“Shit,” Levi swore under his breath. I frowned, confused at what had him so annoyed. I followed Levi’s eyes to two boys around his age who were jogging toward us, a blond girl and a red-haired girl closely in tow.

Levi came close to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders pulling me close. I saw the surprise on the boys’ faces as he did.

“Alabama,” the blond one in the front said, then looked to me. “You’ve been keeping this quiet. What the hell? You got a girl and you didn’t say?”

Levi shrugged, then said, “Elsie, this is Jake. Ashton is the dark haired one behind.” Jake and Ashton threw their hands up in a wave. I gave them a small smile.

The two girls arrived to stand beside the boys, and as the red-haired girl’s eyes fell upon me, I felt Levi pull me in just that little bit tighter. In an instant I understood why, because once her eyes had inspected me, they landed on Levi, and not once did they leave him after that. Jake, the blonde, tipped his head in the light haired girl’s direction and said, “This is my girlfriend, Stacey.” He turned to his girlfriend. “Stace, this is Elsie, Alabama’s chick.”

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, Levi,” Stacey said.

Levi’s hold froze, but then relaxed when he said, “Yeah. I do.”

A lightness filled my heart as he told them, proudly, that I belonged to him. His girlfriend.

His.

“I’m Harper,” the redhead said, and held out her hand for me to shake. I glanced to Levi, but then offered my hand when he nodded that she was okay. With her hand still in mine, she asked, “What was your name again?”

She waited for my response, but my throat had lost all its use; no words came out. I pulled back my hand, panic and anxiety like poison in my veins. She was too like those girls, looked too much like Annabelle.

“Elsie,” Levi said, rescuing me from drowning. “Her name is Elsie.”

I turned to Levi. Seeing a crooked calming smile on his lips. I melted into his chest, inhaling deep, filling my nose with his spiced scent. Levi pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I knew what that simple kiss meant: he had me.

“So you coming to the dinner in two weeks, Elsie?” Ashton asked.

Keeping my cheek pressed against Levi’s chest, I shrugged. Ashton nodded, but I could see questions written all over his face.

Jake laughed. “Seems like you’ve found a chick that likes to talk about as much as you, eighty-four. She’s perfect for you.”

My heart plummeted, feeling like I was embarrassing Levi, when he said, “She talks plenty, man, she’s just shy meeting new people, that’s all.” I heard Levi’s heartbeat increase, my right ear at his pec, then he added, “But yeah, she’s pretty perfect for me, you got that part right.”

Levi nodded, then exhaled a deep breath. “We gotta go, guys. I’m taking my girl out.”

Jake stepped back, but asked, “It’s probably a no, but we’re having a party tonight and…” Jake trailed off. Levi laughed.

“Nah, man. But thanks. Catch you next week.”

Levi immediately opened the Jeep’s passenger side door and I stepped inside. Before he moved to the driver’s side, he leaned in to press a gentle kiss to my lips. As he pulled back, I gave him a questioning look. That familiar redness coated his cheeks, and he said, “Just like calling you my girl, that’s all. It sounded real good on my lips.”

Levi was in the driver’s seat before I even realized he’d moved. Truth was, I liked him calling me my girl too. I liked that I was his.

Levi’s girl.



*



Levi took us to a restaurant on the waterfront. It was a small Italian, very secluded and private. He held my hand as the server led us to an outside table overlooking the Puget Sound. There were heaters at the top of the table making it comfortable to sit out in the dry night air.

We had barely sat down when a man came out smiling, aiming directly for Levi. “Ciao, come stai, Levi?” the man said, obviously speaking Italian.

My heart stopped. No, almost burst when Levi stood looking handsome in his team suit and shook his hand.

“Bene, Carlo, et tu?”

My mouth fell open as I listened to Levi talk in fluent Italian with the manager, his soft shy voice bold and colorful as his tongue wrapped around the consonants and vowels.