He crosses paths with Keyon, pausing to shake hands and exchange a few words before he heads my way and drops a sweet kiss on my lips. “Hey, princess. Ready to take off?”
“Just gotta grab my purse.” I pause before turning away and look meaningfully at the bundle of baby cuddled up to him. “You did bring the car, right?”
Levi’s eyes widen in mock offense. “Babe, come on. What do you take me for?”
I raise my brows, then change the direction of the conversation. “So a Mohawk, huh?” I reach out to run a finger across the blond hawk running down the center of Chase’s round head, only to have my hand slapped away before contact.
“Never mess with a man’s hair, princess.”
Shaking my head, I turn and walk away. Levi and I have been married for ten months now, and I dare say I know him better than he knows himself. Still, as ornery and mischievous as the man is, I haven’t regretted a second of our time together.
The day we said our vows to one another was the day Chase entered the world. In true Levi form, he couldn’t wait and do things in the right order or at the right time. He proposed during the most brutal contraction, citing his cleverness in distracting me from the pain, and he pulled in a man from the hospital chapel who looked the part and had him marry us as I began to push. I never thought my marriage vows would be punctuated by panting breaths or a crying baby, but I have to give Levi credit. He certainly made the event a memorable one.
Mom was right, too. She told me he was a good guy, and he really is. When I first moved in with Levi, he was the bad boy, womanizing, son of a bitch I’d pegged him for. Now, he’s the sweetest, most charming, if not completely over-the-top wonderful husband I knew he could be.
A week before our son was born, Levi announced to the world that he would be taking time off to be with us, his family. He then made it his mission to get Marquis Rehabilitation some much needed recognition. Employing his connections in the sports world, he singlehandedly shoved the business into the limelight. In a few short months, my business has reached heights I never would have imagined possible. There’s even speculation that it might make Forbes.
So I guess you can say that I’ve learned to take help where it’s needed.
So now, while I’m working to build my dream, Levi is working on becoming father of the year—his words, not mine. I’d say he has that in the bag.
We hit the road and arrive at my mother’s townhouse a few minutes later. I gather the diaper bag while Levi removes Chase from his car seat. The door swings open before we reach the sidewalk and I see Mom step out in a pair of slim fitting red capris and white, off the shoulder sweater.
She certainly doesn’t look like a grandma.
“There’s my little man!” she squeals as Levi passes her the baby. “Oh, would you look at that?” she gushes, inspecting his hairdo. “That has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.”
“Levi’s bright idea,” I laugh. I move to step up onto the porch with her, but Levi’s hand on my arm holds me back. I pass him a questioning look as he relieves me of the diaper bag and passes it off to Mom.
“Are you sure you’re good for the night, Lara? We can swing by later on the way home?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.
“I have raised a child before. I think I’ll survive the night,” Mom cajoles. To me she says, “You two have fun tonight.”
I’m barely allowed the time to kiss Chase’s forehead before Levi is dragging me back to the car. Only it’s not the car he takes me to. I failed to notice his bike parked at the curb when we pulled up.
“What the hell is happening right now?” I ask again as Levi slings his leg over the motorcycle and hands me my helmet saying, “No time for questions, babe. Hop up on the bitch seat.”
I slap his arm is mock offense, and he smirks. “Who are you calling a bitch?”
“Not, you, princess. Never you,” he feigns innocence as he grasps my chin and draws my face to his for a placating kiss.
I shake my head when he releases me and stay put to allow Levi to adjust the helmet on under my chin…just like he used to do. We haven’t ridden this thing in…almost a year. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed being on the back of it until right this second. As confused and lost as I feel right now, because our plans for dinner at my mom’s house have apparently been cancelled, I can’t deny the thread of excitement creating butterflies in my stomach as I climb on behind him.
“Change of plans, princess.” Reaching back, Levi grabs my thighs and tugs me in for a tighter fit. “Tonight…we ride.”
I chuckle at his dramatic delivery. As he kicks his foot down and the bike rumbles to life, I decide that whatever he has planned, it’s not worth ruining the surprise. We get so few of them anymore. So I wrap my arms tight around his lean waist and hold on tight as we jet off.
We ride for what is probably a couple hours, but it still feels too short to me. I love the feel of the cool, crisp air in my face. I love the smell of Levi’s leather jacket in my nose. I should be mourning the distance from my little man, but I’m enjoying myself with my big man far too much. Feeling exhilarated, I allow my hands to wander a few times, groping Levi and laughing in amusement at the low rumble of frustration that vibrates through his chest.
That’s probably why he’s crossed state lines. At first, I was worried. Being in the dark, not in control, already had my head spinning. So when the sign indicating we were leaving Ohio flashed by, I definitely needed answers.
Answers I never got.
Entering Chicago was an even bigger mystery. We haven’t been back since Levi cleared out his apartment in the sky and we set up our new life together in Ohio, the adjustment made even easier when my mom moved to be closer to us.
Without a reason to come back, my mind immediately jumps to David. But that idea is quickly cast aside when I feel the firm bulge beneath my questing fingers.
If we were going to visit Daddy Dearest, I doubt Levi would be hard as a rock.
Just as I suspect, Levi has something entirely different in mind. Only, I couldn’t have predicted just what that was until he takes us down a road less traveled that holds meaning for both of us.
After coasting down the bumpy path, we climb off the bike and take a moment to soak in our surroundings.
“Well, the house is still here,” Levi comments.
I study the dilapidated structure. The first time I laid eyes on it, I thought it was creepy as hell. Now, it somehow feels like home.
“Come on.” Taking my hand, Levi leads us around back to the water’s edge and selects a spot that’s flat and covered in a light cushion of dark green grass.
“So what’s the occasion?” I ask, looking out over the pond. This was his place, someplace to let go of his worries for a while. I still feel privileged that he thought enough of me to share it. Come spring, the aging structure behind us will be gone, making way for construction to start on a new cabin where we’ll make new and lasting memories together.
Raising our combined hands to his mouth, he kisses the back of mine. “Does there have to be one?”
“No,” I chuckle. “It’s just not every day that we travel so far for a date night. Something is up. I can feel it.”
“Never could get anything past you,” he teases and pecks me on the nose. Drawing my arm across his lap, he pulls me into his side and wraps his strong arm around my shoulders. “It’s been a hell of a year, hasn’t it?”
I think about all that we’ve been through and how far we’ve come, and I can’t disagree. “Yeah, it really has.”