“How are you, angel? What a good baby you are...” Cassie’s words echoed in the October California sunshine as she pushed the stroller one-handed. She never sounded as sweet as when she had Grace in her arms.
He was going to take her up on that overnight soon. It was high time he had a real night off. He was still supposed to call Lily and arrange that date, but that wasn’t going to happen now. Everything had changed.
“Come out of there.”
At least his no-nonsense tone worked on Digger. He’d begun to respond to orders like a good enlisted man. Digger moved, his bulging eyes peeking from underneath the seat where he’d hidden. He crept out an inch at a time, like he feared he might soon face a firing squad.
“No one’s gonna hurt you, Digger.”
Great. Now he was talking to a dog as if he could understand English. Which meant he must be slowly turning into his grandfather.
“Aw.” Zoey appeared at his elbow.
“Hey, Zoey.”
She looked cute today, dressed in cutoff overalls and pink-and-white waders with strawberries all over them. Her dark hair was pulled in a ponytail high on her head.
“So... I heard about your engagement.” She winked and gave him a thumbs-up. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Right.” He picked Digger up, slapped the leash on him and handed him over to Zoey.
“You’re going to get a free bath, little one.” In two seconds, Zoey had led Digger away.
Levi made his way inside the hangar and to the Magnum offices to change. He found Stone and Matt hiding like a couple of scaredy-cats in Stone’s inner office. They were both already changed into board shorts and wore short-sleeved T-shirts with the Pilots and Paws and Mcallister Charters logos.
“What the hell? Why aren’t y’all out there helping?”
“It’s early.” Stone had his long legs stretched out on his desk as he fiddled with his phone. “We’re doing all the work once we get going.”
“Emily told him to get out of her way,” Matt said with a smirk.
“What’s your excuse?” Levi said to Matt.
“I was up late last night.” He leaned back in the office chair and closed his eyes.
Stone glared at him. “Do I need to hear this?”
“Because of Shackles, smartass.” Matt opened one eye. “He snores louder than I do. How would you like a dog that snores?”
“How would you like a dog that farts?” Stone said.
“Would either of you like a dog that pisses on your hand and is so tiny it comes up to your ankles?” Levi changed quickly into his board shorts.
“Let me get out my violin,” Stone said. “That dog is going to get you laid, not that you need any help.”
Matt nodded, head back, eyes closed. “Yup.”
“How’s that?” Levi asked.
“Lots of women love those silly little lapdogs,” Stone said.
“And then he’s got Grace. Women love babies, too.” Matt nodded in his sleep, apparently. “It’s actually kind of unfair to all the other single guys out there, when you think about it.”
If they only knew how Grace cramped his style. She was worth it, but he wouldn’t call her a chick magnet. And now there was Digger. The first time a woman got her hand pissed on by his cute dog, she might not be all that thrilled with either one of them.
“I think y’all are giving me way too much credit.”
“Yeah?” Stone arched an eyebrow.
“Neither one of you two were slackers when it came to picking up women. Just because you’re settled down now, don’t try to act all proper and shit with me,” Levi said.
A few minutes later, there was a brief knock on the door and Sarah let herself inside. “We’re ready for you.” She smiled at Matt and yanked on his arm. “Take off your shirt, babe.”
“If I had a nickel...” Matt stood and pulled it off, then threw it so that it hit Levi’s head.
“Hey!” Levi threw it back at Matt’s chest.
“We’ve already got a line forming. Women who want to see some skin,” Sarah said. “The more skin, the bigger the donation.”
They’d been experiencing an Indian summer that had stretched into October, and the temps were still in the low seventies with sun, just as the weather forecast had predicted. Sarah was right, and as he stepped out into a bright ray of sunshine, he noticed mostly women and one guy lined up with their pets. Big retrievers—his kind of dog—shepherds, beagles, poodles and...was that a pig?
The tubs were filled with sudsy water, and a short table near each one held all the pimping products. Levi scanned the area to find Grace and make sure she was still okay. She sat in her stroller, thumb in her mouth, staring with huge eyes at what appeared to be a bullmastiff. Digger was still off to the side with Zoey, who seemed to be giving him...a massage? Levi was officially in la-la land. Might as well get into this thing.
When in Rome... He pulled off his shirt.
“All right. Who’s my first victim?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
OH, BOY, HE’S so sexy.
He stood at the kitchen sink, holding a mug of coffee in one hand, facing the window. Shirtless. Even his back was drool-worthy, with a physique that was no gym rat’s. No, these were working-man-who-lifts-engines muscles. Her favorite kind. Natural. She curled her arms around his waist and pressed her face into a warm, solid, masculine back. This one was all man. Oh, and he smelled so good.
“Good morning,” she said to his back. Then she licked it, feeling his stomach tighten beneath her fingertips.
He groaned. “Didn’t have enough of me last night?”
“Never.”
He turned around in her arms to face her. “I can take care of that.”
Levi.
In one hand, he had a diaper, and in the other, a baby bottle. “Did you feed Grace yet? Did you burp her?”
No! No! Not sexy! Not sexy!
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph.” Carly rolled over and sat up in bed. “What’s wrong with me?”
Wrong? Oh, nothing other than the fact that Levi had put a few suggestions in her head that were still bouncing around. He’d been sitting right on this bed when he’d kissed the living daylights out of her. When he’d set his boundaries. No one would get hurt. Even when this whole thing ended. She was totally on board with not getting hurt, by the way. The last thing she wanted was to get tied down to any man when she was about to finally be free. What she’d do with all that freedom was still up for grabs.
Besides, between Grace and her website, it felt like Carly had babies on her brain 24/7. If she wasn’t working on the website, she was working with Grace. But even if what Carly really wanted was more dreams about Levi without his shirt on, she understood it wasn’t a great idea. He’d been right to set limits. Even if what they had was only pretend, it would be fun faking for a little while. She didn’t mind when he flirted with her and another orgasm would not be the worst thing to ever happen to her.
They had their stories straight. They had agreed they would pretend to have met first in New York and run into each other again when he moved to Fortune. From there, it had been one of those insta-love things no one believed in anymore. Neither did she, frankly, but it was going to have to work for their purposes. The only people who had to believe the story were Mr. and Mrs. Lane.
Carly had the meeting with Jenny scheduled via Skype in a couple days, and she’d see whether she could somehow work in a sales pitch of RockYourBaby. It was an opportunity, if nothing else, to tell her about the blog. To drop several hints that they might be interested in selling, in case Jenny knew of anyone. She worked to remind herself to contain the excitement. Jenny was a good contact to have in New York, and reconnecting with her could only mean good things ahead.
In the shower
, Carly reviewed her options for today. She had some work to do because there was no such thing as weekends or taking time off when it came to running a small business. While drinking her first coffee of the day, she answered emails. A new photo of Grace wearing a pair of lace-trimmed jeans and a matching denim-and-lace headband had become nearly as popular and well received as the first viral blog post. She had definitely turned a corner with RockYourBaby.
She had a voice message from Mrs. Lane, who asked about getting together for dinner, the four of them. Carly would certainly have to swing that by Levi first.
She stared at the accounts-payable pile on her desk and thought of all the bookkeeping that lay ahead. Mom’s favorite part. Facts were, Carly had several hours’ worth of work ahead of her with her mortal enemy, Excel. But today was beautifully sunny and warm, an unusual October day. She should skip the pet wash, but Zoey would be disappointed. So she dressed in a soft yellow summer shift dress and paired it with a cropped long-sleeved denim jacket and her favorite strappy sandals.
Later, Carly sat in her car in the Magnum Aviation parking lot. Why am I here? Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to show up where she knew Levi would be. It might be best to continue to keep her low profile, at least until the Lanes were out of town. Plus, she didn’t even have a dog, so why was she at a pet wash? Silly. She should be...doing something else. Anything else. Using her time wisely, for instance. Or she could go shopping for shoes with money she didn’t have.
But even though she sat a little frozen by the fact that she’d see Levi again—shirtless—the facts were that she was here to support Zoey and the pet adoption cause. Because as a general rule, Carly had always supported every charitable cause in Fortune. It had always been the Gilmore way. She was not here because Levi would be here. Not wearing a shirt.
The first and last time she’d seen that, her jaw had slackened and her tongue had disengaged from her brain. She hadn’t even known what it would be like to kiss him then, but now she did. Now she unfortunately realized that he kissed on par with what he looked like—not helpful knowledge for a woman looking not to get involved.
There was a knock on her window, and Carly turned to see Jill. “Are you getting out?” She cocked her head.
Carly stared from Jill to the leashed black Lab sitting next to her. Interesting, since Jill didn’t own a dog.
She rolled down her window. “Who’s this?”
“Henry.” Jill nodded as if introducing them. “I’m dog sitting.”
Carly grabbed her keys, hopped out of the car and bent to give Henry a pat on the head. He licked her from chin to forehead and nearly knocked Carly on her ass.
“Sorry. I should have warned you. Henry here is a licker.”
Carly used the tissue Jill handed her to wipe her face. “Who are you dog sitting for, anyway?”
“Don’t laugh, but it’s for this guy I just met. He’s low end of the Chris Scale but still a hunk and a half. I figured you met a Chris while babysitting. Who’s to say I can’t meet my own Chris while dog sitting? You never know—after the first kiss he might jump up several points on the Chris scale. It could happen.”
They walked toward the hangars, where just outside of one of them Carly noticed a line of mostly women with their pets. Most of them dogs, though there was at least one cat in the mix. Carly recognized many of the women, including Emily’s grandmother and some of her Pink Ladies genealogical society friends, Marci from the Drip, and her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Olson. Sarah stood at the beginning of a long line, taking donations. At the end of the line, it split in three different directions.
“It’s kind of luck of the draw which guy you get to wash your pet,” Sarah said when Jill handed over a twenty-dollar donation.
All three of the men were wearing nothing but board shorts. For what it was worth, they all seemed to be doing a good job of washing the pets—and being good-natured about getting soaked when the dogs shook all over them. She noticed Levi bend to take a sponge to a wet golden retriever, the sun glinting off his tight shoulder muscles. Carly stared at his perfect body, knowing those abs were as hard as they looked.
Jill pointed in Levi’s direction. “That must be him. Hot Dad.”
“Yeah. That’s Levi.”
She elbowed Carly. “I don’t blame you for watching the baby now. Good move.”
“I didn’t do it because of him.” Carly put her hands on her hips. “I needed the baby. Remember?”
Jill rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I remember now. The baby. You needed the baby.”
They moved up the line. Dogs were washed, toweled dried and primped. Off to the side, Zoey gave dogs massages. Emily and her sister, Molly, placed ribbons on the females and little plastic bow ties on the males. Hunter, Matt’s teenage son, was taking photos with an old Polaroid camera and giving them to the owners. The whole thing was freaking adorable. A marketing genius must have come up with the idea.
Ahead of them, Carly noticed a beautiful blonde she recognized to be Joanne, owner of the only bridal shop in town, flirting openly with Levi. Naturally she’d be here, as she and Matt were parents to fifteen-year-old Hunter. She wore a short dress that showed a lot of leg and a pair of wedges with a ribbon that wound up around her thin ankles. Her long blond hair was loose, and every time she smiled at Levi, she tossed the mane of hair over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Levi’s biceps, laughing when he squatted down to better pet the top of her toy poodle’s head.
“Is Joanne...still single?” Carly said out loud.
“I think she’s dating some semipro baseball player. Isn’t she?”
“That’s right.” Carly nodded.
“Wait a second.” Jill turned. “Hoo, boy. Look at you.”
“What is it?”
“You’re jealous.”
“No. I’m not.”
Totally not jealous when Levi laughed as Joanne said something near his ear and her stomach fisted double time. She was simply concerned that things could get complicated if Levi started dating someone else. Feelings could get hurt. Not hers. The other woman’s.
“I think you’re jealous. And why wouldn’t you be? He’s your fiancé.”
“Shh!” Carly hissed and turned to see if anyone had heard.
Carly noticed Irene in the distance, walking with a man who looked about ten years older than her. He wore dark glasses and had a white beard.
Oh, God. Irene was here. With Frank, she had to assume.
“Carly!” Irene spotted her and waved in her direction.
They both walked toward Carly. She tried to catch Levi’s attention, hoping she could send a silent DEFCON 4 warning, but he was too busy drying off Joanne’s dog.
“Help.” Carly pulled on Jill’s arm and jutted her chin in Irene’s direction. “Mrs. Lane is here. With her husband.”
“Uh-oh,” Jill said. “Just...act engaged.”
“How do I do that?”
“I have no idea.”
“You’re a big help.”
They were ready for this, sure, but a little warning would have been welcome.
“Excuse me, dear,” a female bystander interrupted. “I see you don’t have a pet with you. Would you mind watching Petunia for a minute? I have to get something out of my car, and I don’t want to lose my place in line.”
Carly looked down. The woman had a pig on a leash. “Um...”
“It’s all right. She’s a potbellied pig. Trained, just like a dog. Better than a dog. She loves her bath. Very smart.” As if to prove it, she told Petunia to sit.
And Petunia did, just like a dog.
“Sure.” Carly took the leash. It would give her something to do besides have a silent, nervous breakdown. “I’d be happy to.”
Carly waited with Petunia. Maybe Irene and her husband were afraid of pigs and would wait
until she could join them. It would be for the best if they could have any conversation away from any of Fortune citizens’ big ears.
“There you are, Carly, dear.” Irene walked straight up to her in line. “I want you to meet my husband. Frank, this is Carly, Levi’s fiancée.”
Frank grunted. “Pleasure.”
She didn’t know what she’d pictured for Frank Lane, but it certainly wasn’t this. He was dressed in Bermuda shorts and a loud, clashing polo shirt and appeared to have just walked off a golf course.
“What are you...you two doing here?”
“I read about the pet wash in the local newspaper and I love small-town stuff like this. It’s so Mayberry-like.” She glanced at Petunia. “Is this your pig?”
“No, I’m only helping the owner because she had to get out of line.”
“We’ll wait with you.” Irene planted herself next to Carly and away from the pig. “Did you get my message about dinner?”
“Yes.” Carly swallowed. “I...I need to ask Levi about when would be a good time.”
“While you women jibber-jabber, I’ll wait right over there.” Frank pointed toward a row of folding chairs that someone had set up under some shade.
“Fine, dear.” Irene patted Carly’s shoulder after Frank walked off. “He wasn’t as excited as I thought he’d be.”
How could Irene tell? The man looked like he had a permanent scowl etched on his face. “Why not?”
“Who knows?” Irene sighed. “He said something ridiculous like Levi would probably lie about this. Who on earth would lie about being engaged?”
Carly went still. “Jeez. Someone crazy, probably.”
“Or desperate.” Irene nodded. “Is Grace here?”
Carly pointed toward Cassie and Grace while simultaneously searching for Petunia’s owner as the line moved forward. Ahead, Henry had already been dried and received a bow tie. Jill chatted it up with Hunter, who had taken photos of the dogs and flapped them in the air to dry them. Carly moved up the line and wound up pushed toward Levi. Irene lagged somewhere behind her, talking with Mrs. Olson about the wonderful weather in California.
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