by Foster, Lori
He said, “Marry me, Beth.”
She went still.
“You admitted to wanting me.”
Nervousness replaced her elation. “I do.”
“You admitted to liking my company.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone I’d rather spend time with.”
“Then marry me. Right now. The sooner the better.”
She wavered. Levi could see it in her eyes. She wanted to say yes, but fear of condemnation held her back.
Tentatively, she asked, “Don’t you think it’s a little too soon for that?”
“Not for me.”
“But…what will I say to everyone? I was just engaged to Brandon, and then poof—I’m marrying you.”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“Well, what about Brandon? Do you care what he thinks? How will he react to you, his best friend, wanting to marry me?”
Levi was about to reply to that when their phone rang. They looked at each other, Beth shrugged, and Levi reached out his arm to snatch up the receiver. “Hello?”
Beth watched him as he listened to the message from the front desk. Knowing she wouldn’t like this new turn, but that perhaps it was for the best, he held her gaze.
“Okay, thanks. Tell Ben we’ll be right there.” Levi hung up the phone. “You’re worried about Brandon’s reaction? Well, now’s our chance to find out what he thinks.”
Beth’s face went pale. “What do you mean?”
“Brandon’s in the lobby, waiting for us.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. And once again, your whole family is there. Seems they all came over to have breakfast with you. Only now they know that Brandon cheated on you.”
“Oh no.”
“Better yet, the desk clerk says it looks like Brandon tied one on last night, and he hasn’t sobered up yet.”
Beth rubbed her forehead. “Dad’s reasonable enough. He won’t meddle in my business.”
“No? Well what about Ben and Noah?”
Beth jumped up from the bed and made a mad dash toward her clothes. “Hurry, Levi. Get dressed.”
He narrowed his eyes and watched as she threw off her pajama bottoms and stepped into her jeans. He waited, but she turned her back to him before shrugging off her top and yanking on a sweatshirt.
“Are you so worried about Brandon’s welfare?”
While stomping her feet into shoes, Beth scowled at him. “Don’t be an idiot. I have no romantic feelings for Brandon anymore. It insults me for you to even suggest otherwise. But that doesn’t mean I want someone else trying to punish him.”
“You’re sure about that?”
Beth stopped dressing long enough to stomp over to Levi, bend down close and snarl into his face, “I know I’ve been a little wishy-washy here, but don’t insult my pride, damn it. Brandon burned his bridges as far as I’m concerned.”
“And what about me?”
“I want you.” Beth grabbed his ears and kissed him hard. “Only you.”
His tension eased. “Okay then.” In less than a minute, he’d pulled on a sweatshirt and socks, and tied up his boots. He took Beth by the hand. “Come on.”
Before they reached the lobby, Levi could hear Brandon’s loud drunken voice. The idiot. He picked one hell of a time to start drinking.
Worse, every word out of his mouth was an insult to Levi.
Looking down at Beth, Levi said, “Given his attitude, I’d say Brandon already knows about us.”
“But how?”
“You spent a weekend with me, Beth. Plenty of people could have seen your car there.”
She made a face. “Great.”
“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”
“My neighbors, so they would get my mail.”
“And they would have told Brandon if he asked. And he would have seen my truck out front.” So the cat was out of the bag. “Stay out of sight, honey.”
“Why?”
“Because neither of us wants Brandon to say something stupid to you. If he does, your family will maim him.”
“Oh, right.” Beth stayed around the corner as Levi went into the lobby.
“You miserable bastard!” Brandon staggered toward him. “You fiancée-stealing ass. You pretended to be my friend.”
Levi stepped in front of Brandon to keep his attention away from Beth. Normally well suited and groomed, Brandon looked like hell warmed over.
Levi felt sorry for him. After all, he’d just given up the very best thing in his life. “I am your friend, Brandon.”
“Bullshit!” He almost fell over with that outburst. “You stabbed me in the back.”
Levi glanced around and saw the fury gathering among Beth’s relatives. “Why don’t we take this someplace private?”
“After you just publicly took her from me? Why bother. Let’s settle it right here, you traitor. You Benedict Arnold. You—”
“Just calm down, Brandon. Let me explain.”
“Explain!!” Being drunk didn’t suit Brandon at all. “You’re not good enough for her and you know it.”
Levi stiffened. He could feel everyone looking at him.
“You’re a gym teacher, for God’s sake.” Brandon stuck his nose in the air. “She was going to marry me, a doctor.”
His anger sparked. “Until you cheated on her.”
“One time! Just that one itty-bitty time.” Brandon listed to the left, then caught himself. “It was only a little indiscretion. Marcia isn’t anyone important. She didn’t mean anything to me.”
The females in attendance all grumbled over that.
Hoping to divert the topic, Levi said, “You didn’t drive here drunk, did you?”
“Like you care?”
“Did you?”
Brandon hiccupped. “I came down here last night, but the desk clerk refused to tell me which room Beth was in. Then I saw your truck, and I remembered everyone saying that her car was at your place for the whole weekend.” He stabbed a finger at Levi. “Then I started drinking.”
Damned fool. “Because you thought that would somehow help?”
Brandon’s face fell. “Tell me that you didn’t touch her. Tell me, Levi.”
Levi clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
Brandon howled. “Where is she? I need to talk to her.”
“No. Not like this. Not while you’re crocked.”
“Beth still wants me, I know she does. She deserves a doctor. A man of money. An educated man.” He curled his lip at Levi. “She deserves a man who can give her anything she wants.”
She deserved love, but Brandon didn’t understand that. “She’s mine now, Brandon. Accept it.”
Screeching like a wet cat and looking just as pathetic, Brandon took a half-hearted swing at Levi’s head.
Levi dodged him, and then had to catch him so Brandon didn’t land on his face.
Brandon shoved him away, or more to the point, he shoved himself away and into a wall. “What do you mean, she’s yours?” Levi stood over him and gave him the truth. “I’m going to marry her.”
Brandon’s mouth fell open. “But…she loves me!”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“You’re lying. She won’t marry you. You barely make a middle-class income. You live in a cracker box, not a real house, not the type of house I was going to buy for her.”
“Shut up.”
Everyone turned to look at Beth.
Her hands were fisted at her sides and she looked furious.
“Levi has a beautiful house, and a very important job, and he’s a good man. An honorable man.”
Levi felt the stares intensifying. True, he couldn’t afford any of the luxuries that Brandon took for granted, but he knew those things weren’t important to Beth.
He knew Beth better than Brandon knew her.
“It’s all right, Beth.”
“No,” she said, “it is not.”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed with mean intent. “D
id you go to bed with him, Beth?” His voice rose to a high pitch. “Did you?”
Levi said, “That’s enough, Brandon.”
“You did!” Incensed, he took two drunken, wobbly steps toward Beth. “Why you little—”
Levi pulled him back before he got close to her, but Ben and Noah, having seen enough, started forward.
In the awkward position of defending Brandon now, Levi said, “Come on, guys. He’s had a hell of a blow.”
Noah stared at Brandon. “He’s a loud-mouthed idiot and he’s causing a scene.”
“And he’s insulting Beth,” Ben added. “Reason enough to toss his ass back outside. He can sober up in the snow.”
Just what Levi didn’t need: angry relatives. He glanced at Kent, but Beth’s father looked ready to take Brandon apart himself. Shit. He could think of better ways to spend this morning.
To Noah and Ben, Levi said, “Back off, I’ve got it covered.” His take-charge tone stalled everyone. “Look, Brandon messed up and he knows it. He lost Beth, and now she’s with me. He doesn’t usually drink, but you can see that he’s so hammered, he doesn’t even know what he’s saying.”
“I know the truth,” Brandon slurred while struggling to stay on his feet. “And the truth is that Beth wanted to hurt me, so she crawled into bed with my supposed best friend.”
On the surface, that was damn close to the mark. Levi leveled a warning look on him. “Shut up, Brandon.”
“All this time,” Brandon continued, too drunk to show common sense, “she’s been pretending to be a goody-two-shoes but she’s really no more than a—”
Levi slapped him. Hard.
Brandon’s head snapped back, and as if in slow motion, he started to crumble.
Cursing to himself, Levi caught him by the shirt collar to keep him upright. “Drunk or not, Brandon, you won’t insult her.”
Practically on his knees, Brandon blinked at Levi. “You slapped me.”
“Be glad I didn’t break your damn nose.”
Shrugging free of him, Brandon dropped to sit on his ass. “But you slapped me. Like a bitch.”
Levi glanced at Beth, saw her reddened face and narrowed eyes, and wanted to choke Brandon for upsetting her. “Until you get over it, I’m sticking you in a room and by God, Brandon, you’ll stay there until you’re sober enough to make your apologies.”
No one got in Levi’s way as he more or less hauled Brandon with him to the front desk where a clerk quickly assigned him a room. By the time Levi actually got Brandon into the room, Brandon was dead on his feet. Levi let him fall onto the bed, and Brandon didn’t move.
Levi pulled out his cell phone and dialed Beth. She answered on the first ring.
“Levi?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You okay?”
“I’m fine. How’s Brandon?”
Levi worked his jaw. “Passed out on the bed.”
“Good. I hope he wakes up with a killer headache. He deserves it for being such a jerk.”
“Look, honey, I want to talk to you. I want to be with you. But I don’t dare leave him. If I do, he might end up right back in the thick of things—”
“No, I understand.” There was a slight hesitation, and then Beth said, “Thank you, Levi.”
“For what?”
“For being you.”
She didn’t elaborate on that, so Levi asked, “What do you have planned today?”
“Christmas shopping. I have to catch up to you.”
He grinned. “Be careful. Think about my proposal.”
“Levi.”
“I’ll see you later on.” He hung up before she could say anything more, then looked again at Brandon. It didn’t look like he’d be stirring any time soon, so Levi turned on the television.
It was going to be a long, miserable day.
He fell asleep.
Levi couldn’t believe it when he opened his eyes and found the room empty. A glance at the clock showed it was time for dinner.
Damn, damn, damn.
He’d lost sleep the last few days, but that wasn’t a good excuse. If Brandon had found Beth and upset her again…
Or worse, what if she forgave him? What if she reconsidered her position?
In record time, Levi was out of the room and heading for the diner. He walked in on a crowd of guests and family alike. Servers bustled back and forth. The clink of forks on plates mixed with the drone of multiple conversations. A quick glance around the congested room helped Levi to locate Beth at a far table with her family.
Brandon stood before them.
As Levi cut through the throng toward them, he saw Brandon gesturing, and Beth nodding.
Fury boiled up.
When he was within a few feet of them, he heard Brandon say, “I got spooked every time I thought of settling down forever. I mean…forever is a hell of a long time, and I’d spent my whole life working toward a goal. There wasn’t time for fun, and finally when there was, everyone expected me to settle into married life.”
Levi pulled up short behind him. So far, no one had noticed him. They were all too busy giving Brandon the floor. Somehow, without waking Levi, Brandon had washed and dressed and he looked more like his old stylish self now.
He looked like a very respectable doctor, like Beth’s old fiancé.
Beth said, “Go on, Brandon.”
“I know that what I did to you is unforgivable.”
“Unforgettable, certainly,” Beth said. “We can’t go back, Brandon.”
Stoic and proud, he nodded. “I understand.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“No.” He cleared his throat. “No, of course not. I need to apologize for my display earlier, too. I’ve never before overindulged. It’s unfortunate that I did this time.”
“Very unfortunate,” Kent said.
“From what I remember, which granted, isn’t much, I was a total ass.”
Ben and Noah nodded—until their wives elbowed them.
Brandon ran a hand through his hair, and then he straightened his shoulders and looked only at Beth.
“I’d like to say, with what little dignity I can muster, that I’m the one who was never good enough for you. In the long run, I’ll make more money than Levi, but I don’t have half his character, honor, or fortitude. In every way that counts, he’s a much better man than me.”
Shocked at hearing such a statement, especially when he’d expected Brandon to be schmoozing his way back into Beth’s good graces, Levi snorted. “That’s bullshit.”
Brandon jerked around to face him. Beth and her family looked at him.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Brandon said, “No, it’s true, Levi. You’ve propped me up so damn many times I’ve lost count. But you’ve never needed propping. Not once.”
“Levi is a rock,” Beth said with a smile, and Brandon nodded.
“You’ve had your difficulties, Levi, but you always work through them.” He pulled his hands from his pockets and held them out in a conciliatory way. “Not to get sappy, but I admire and respect you more than any man I know. If I have to lose Beth—”
Levi took a step forward. “You have to.”
Noah and Ben chuckled at that.
“—then I’m glad I’m losing her to you. The one thing I remember saying that was true, is that she deserves the best.” Brandon nodded. “That would be you.”
Ben cursed, and when everyone looked at him, he shook his head. “I really wanted to hate the guy, you know? But I think his reasoning is starting to make sense to me.”
Both Brandon and Levi grinned.
Turning back to Beth, Brandon said, “I think I knew all along that we weren’t really meant to be. But you’re a special woman, and even if I wasn’t the right man, I hated to lose you.”
“Too late,” Levi said.
Brandon smiled, and turned back to Levi. “I concede the loss. And if you’ll have me, that is, if Beth doesn’t mind, I’d still like to be your best friend.”
When Levi looked at Beth, she nodded.
He held out a hand to Brandon. “Still friends.”
Brandon accepted the handshake with huge relief. “Not to push my luck, but I’d be honored to be the best man.”
Levi grinned. “Your friends won’t have a clue what to think.”
“Yeah,” Brandon agreed, a little sad, a little amused, and happy for them. “But who cares?”
Beth said, “Now wait a minute.”
Levi cut her off, saying to one and all, “She’s still resisting the idea of marrying me. But I love her enough that I won’t give up.”
Beth’s mouth fell open. “What did you say?”
Levi cocked a brow. “I’m not giving up.”
“No,” she gasped out, “the other part. About loving me.”
He shrugged. “I love you. But you already knew that.”
She shook her head. “No. I knew you wanted to marry me. But I wasn’t sure why—”
Rolling his eyes, Levi said, “Maybe it’s time for us to have that long talk.” He took Beth’s hand and pulled her from her seat. To her family, he said, “Excuse us.”
As Levi turned them away, Brandon dropped into her seat. Levi heard him say, “I know I don’t deserve it, but I would sure love a cup of coffee.”
Grinning, Levi tugged Beth through the mob of diners, out of the dining room, and down the hallway until he reached the privacy of their room.
Beth pulled back. “What are you doing?”
After unlocking the door, Levi urged her inside. “I’m going to convince you how much I love you.”
Beth closed the door herself, and then licked her lips. Levi saw the start of a smile.
“How much?” she asked.
He cupped her face and held her still. “More than anything else in the whole world.”
“Okay.” She gave in to her smile. “Since when?”
“Since forever. Since I first met you.”
“So even though we only got together because I offered myself to you—”
Levi shook his head in disbelief. “Think about it. Would I have run the risk of ruining a fifteen-year friendship just for a piece of ass?”
She started to chuckle. “Um—”
“And remember,” Levi said, “at the time, I didn’t even know what a hot piece you’d be.”
“Levi!”
