Running into Love
Page 43
“Is it Tamara’s mom?” I ask hopefully.
“Juan,” he says, making me feel worry and relief all in one instant.
“Where is he?”
“You know I can’t tell you that, baby,” he says, stepping toward me and wrapping his arm around my waist. “I don’t know when I’ll be home,” he says quietly. I nod, then lay my head against his chest and wrap my arms around him.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” I say, wanting so badly to tell him I love him.
“Be good and send me a text when you get to and get back from the showing.”
“I will,” I agree, feeling his lips on my hair right before he uses the tips of his fingers to tilt my head back so he can kiss my mouth. “Be safe.”
“Always,” he agrees, taking hold of my face. “You look gorgeous, baby, and you owe me a date where you wear this dress so I can take it off you when we get home.”
“Sir, you owe me a date where you give me a reason to wear this dress.” I smile, and he shakes his head, kissing me once more before letting me go. He heads for the door.
Turning to look at me with his hand on the knob, his eyes scan over me, making me feel light-headed. “I’ll plan something for next weekend,” he says, opening the bedroom door and disappearing without another word, making my heart fill with worry. It’s hard to see him leave for work whenever he has to go. Being a police officer has never been a safe occupation, but with the added tension between the police and the public right now, I worry about him whenever he wears his badge.
“Either Levi’s a five-minute man or you two didn’t have sex,” Libby states, walking into my room and plopping down onto the bed. I roll my eyes at her, then turn and dig through the closet for my ankle-length coat.
“What?” I ask when I turn to find her staring at me with wide eyes.
“You look . . . you look amazing. Holy shit, what have you done to yourself?”
“I didn’t do anything. I just straightened my hair—you’ve seen it like this before,” I say, and she shakes her head.
“No, it’s not the hair . . . it’s you . . . You look . . . you look really happy.”
“I am really happy,” I say softly, and she blinks at me, then widens her eyes.
“You’re in love.”
“How can you tell?”
“You just look happy, happier than I’ve ever seen you. Don’t worry, I doubt anyone else will notice.”
“Notice what?” Mac asks, coming into the room, and I wait to see if she sees the same thing as Libby. “You’re in love,” she states, and I feel my heart beat a little harder.
“How can you tell?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“Do you think Levi can tell?” Mac sweeps her eyes over me.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “But I do know that the guy who just left a few minutes ago looked pretty fucking happy to me, and if I’m not mistaken, he may also be in love with you.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah,” she says as her face softens. “You’re easy to love, Fawn. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s in love with you, too.” God, I hope he is in love with me, because the idea of him not caring for me the way I care for him is enough to make me feel sick.
“He told me today that he wants us to move in together.”
“And you’re sitting here questioning if he loves you or not?” Libby says, shaking her head. “No man would want to live with a woman unless he’s in love with her. Trust me, if I didn’t love Mac, I sure as hell wouldn’t live with her.”
“Oh, please, you love living with me,” Mac says, and Libby rolls her eyes, then looks at her watch. “We should probably go if we’re going to make it on time.”
“Yes, let’s go. I don’t want to spend too much time overanalyzing this,” I say as Mac’s phone starts to ring. Pulling it out, she looks at the screen, rolls her eyes, and shoves it back in her coat pocket.
“Who is that?”
“No one.”
“Seriously, are you still on the whole I’m not telling you anything gig?” I ask, studying her.
She presses her lips together, then mutters, “Fine. It’s Wesley.”
“So you do know him. Ha.” I point at her, and she lets out a loud huff.
“Yes, we know each other.”
“And?” I draw it out, and she crosses her arms defensively.
“And nothing. I know him, that’s all.”
“You’re so full of crap. Are you sleeping with him?” I ask, and her cheeks turn a dark shade of pink. “You are, I can tell you are.”
“I’m not sleeping with that man.”
“Oh yes, you are, I heard you when you came home last night.” Libby glares at her, then looks at me. “She was all, ‘Stop it. My sister’s here. You need to leave before she finds out about us,’ blah, blah, blah. Seriously, either we need a bigger place or I need to get a place of my own.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Mac breathes, and Libby crosses her arms over her chest, raising a brow.
“Really, and what is the point of you hiding your relationship with him?”
“I’m not in a relationship with him, I’m just having a little fun.”
“Whatever. You two are together all the time, and do not even try to deny it, because I know it’s true.”
“It’s complicated.”
“How is it complicated?” I ask softly. Mac looks at me, wringing her hands together.
“It . . . him and me.” She tosses her head back toward the ceiling. “God, I don’t know. I really like him, but I just don’t know. After what happened with Edward, I just don’t know if I can put myself out there again.”
“I don’t want to point out the obvious, but Edward was kind of a dick.”
“Not kind of, he was a dick.” Libby shakes her head.
“I know, I’m just afraid I’m going to be let down.”
“You won’t know unless you try, and Wesley seems nice and genuine. I think he deserves a real chance.”
“You’re right,” she agrees, pulling in a deep breath.
“And I, for one, would like to know how you met him.” Mac presses her lips together.
“Oh, me, too,” Libby says, wiggling her brows.
“I know.” I look between the two of them. “How about we skip the showing and go have sushi at our spot?”
“Yes,” Libby cries, and I laugh, then say goodbye to Muffin and lead my sisters out of Levi’s apartment. We get into a cab and head downtown to our favorite sushi spot, where we eat way too much and drink sake while Mac fills us in on everything that is Wesley.
“I’m so full,” Mac groans as we walk out of the restaurant a couple of hours later.
Smiling at her, I pull out my cell phone when it rings, feeling my stomach melt when I see Levi’s calling.
“Hey, honey, we—”
“Fawn,” says a voice I don’t recognize, and my step falters.
“Yes.”
“Shit. This is Wesley, I . . . Fuck.” He pauses, and I can hear that he’s upset, which puts me immediately on guard. “I need you to come to Lenox Hill Hospital,” he says. My stomach drops, and my hands start to shake.
“What happened?”
“Levi was shot. He’s in surgery now.”
“No,” I breathe, feeling my sisters get close. “Please tell me you’re lying.” My eyes close, and I wait for the inevitable to come as I feel my heart split open.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says as Mac slides my phone out of my hand.
Hearing Mac tell him we will be there soon and that we don’t need a police escort, I lean into Libby as she leads me to the sidewalk and puts out her hand for a cab.
“It will be okay,” Mac soothes, and I nod my head, praying she’s right. I don’t know what I will do if Levi’s not okay. I don’t even want to think about what I will do if he’s not.
“Juan,” he says, making me feel worry and relief all in one instant.
“Where is he?”
“You know I can’t tell you that, baby,” he says, stepping toward me and wrapping his arm around my waist. “I don’t know when I’ll be home,” he says quietly. I nod, then lay my head against his chest and wrap my arms around him.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” I say, wanting so badly to tell him I love him.
“Be good and send me a text when you get to and get back from the showing.”
“I will,” I agree, feeling his lips on my hair right before he uses the tips of his fingers to tilt my head back so he can kiss my mouth. “Be safe.”
“Always,” he agrees, taking hold of my face. “You look gorgeous, baby, and you owe me a date where you wear this dress so I can take it off you when we get home.”
“Sir, you owe me a date where you give me a reason to wear this dress.” I smile, and he shakes his head, kissing me once more before letting me go. He heads for the door.
Turning to look at me with his hand on the knob, his eyes scan over me, making me feel light-headed. “I’ll plan something for next weekend,” he says, opening the bedroom door and disappearing without another word, making my heart fill with worry. It’s hard to see him leave for work whenever he has to go. Being a police officer has never been a safe occupation, but with the added tension between the police and the public right now, I worry about him whenever he wears his badge.
“Either Levi’s a five-minute man or you two didn’t have sex,” Libby states, walking into my room and plopping down onto the bed. I roll my eyes at her, then turn and dig through the closet for my ankle-length coat.
“What?” I ask when I turn to find her staring at me with wide eyes.
“You look . . . you look amazing. Holy shit, what have you done to yourself?”
“I didn’t do anything. I just straightened my hair—you’ve seen it like this before,” I say, and she shakes her head.
“No, it’s not the hair . . . it’s you . . . You look . . . you look really happy.”
“I am really happy,” I say softly, and she blinks at me, then widens her eyes.
“You’re in love.”
“How can you tell?”
“You just look happy, happier than I’ve ever seen you. Don’t worry, I doubt anyone else will notice.”
“Notice what?” Mac asks, coming into the room, and I wait to see if she sees the same thing as Libby. “You’re in love,” she states, and I feel my heart beat a little harder.
“How can you tell?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“Do you think Levi can tell?” Mac sweeps her eyes over me.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “But I do know that the guy who just left a few minutes ago looked pretty fucking happy to me, and if I’m not mistaken, he may also be in love with you.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah,” she says as her face softens. “You’re easy to love, Fawn. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s in love with you, too.” God, I hope he is in love with me, because the idea of him not caring for me the way I care for him is enough to make me feel sick.
“He told me today that he wants us to move in together.”
“And you’re sitting here questioning if he loves you or not?” Libby says, shaking her head. “No man would want to live with a woman unless he’s in love with her. Trust me, if I didn’t love Mac, I sure as hell wouldn’t live with her.”
“Oh, please, you love living with me,” Mac says, and Libby rolls her eyes, then looks at her watch. “We should probably go if we’re going to make it on time.”
“Yes, let’s go. I don’t want to spend too much time overanalyzing this,” I say as Mac’s phone starts to ring. Pulling it out, she looks at the screen, rolls her eyes, and shoves it back in her coat pocket.
“Who is that?”
“No one.”
“Seriously, are you still on the whole I’m not telling you anything gig?” I ask, studying her.
She presses her lips together, then mutters, “Fine. It’s Wesley.”
“So you do know him. Ha.” I point at her, and she lets out a loud huff.
“Yes, we know each other.”
“And?” I draw it out, and she crosses her arms defensively.
“And nothing. I know him, that’s all.”
“You’re so full of crap. Are you sleeping with him?” I ask, and her cheeks turn a dark shade of pink. “You are, I can tell you are.”
“I’m not sleeping with that man.”
“Oh yes, you are, I heard you when you came home last night.” Libby glares at her, then looks at me. “She was all, ‘Stop it. My sister’s here. You need to leave before she finds out about us,’ blah, blah, blah. Seriously, either we need a bigger place or I need to get a place of my own.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Mac breathes, and Libby crosses her arms over her chest, raising a brow.
“Really, and what is the point of you hiding your relationship with him?”
“I’m not in a relationship with him, I’m just having a little fun.”
“Whatever. You two are together all the time, and do not even try to deny it, because I know it’s true.”
“It’s complicated.”
“How is it complicated?” I ask softly. Mac looks at me, wringing her hands together.
“It . . . him and me.” She tosses her head back toward the ceiling. “God, I don’t know. I really like him, but I just don’t know. After what happened with Edward, I just don’t know if I can put myself out there again.”
“I don’t want to point out the obvious, but Edward was kind of a dick.”
“Not kind of, he was a dick.” Libby shakes her head.
“I know, I’m just afraid I’m going to be let down.”
“You won’t know unless you try, and Wesley seems nice and genuine. I think he deserves a real chance.”
“You’re right,” she agrees, pulling in a deep breath.
“And I, for one, would like to know how you met him.” Mac presses her lips together.
“Oh, me, too,” Libby says, wiggling her brows.
“I know.” I look between the two of them. “How about we skip the showing and go have sushi at our spot?”
“Yes,” Libby cries, and I laugh, then say goodbye to Muffin and lead my sisters out of Levi’s apartment. We get into a cab and head downtown to our favorite sushi spot, where we eat way too much and drink sake while Mac fills us in on everything that is Wesley.
“I’m so full,” Mac groans as we walk out of the restaurant a couple of hours later.
Smiling at her, I pull out my cell phone when it rings, feeling my stomach melt when I see Levi’s calling.
“Hey, honey, we—”
“Fawn,” says a voice I don’t recognize, and my step falters.
“Yes.”
“Shit. This is Wesley, I . . . Fuck.” He pauses, and I can hear that he’s upset, which puts me immediately on guard. “I need you to come to Lenox Hill Hospital,” he says. My stomach drops, and my hands start to shake.
“What happened?”
“Levi was shot. He’s in surgery now.”
“No,” I breathe, feeling my sisters get close. “Please tell me you’re lying.” My eyes close, and I wait for the inevitable to come as I feel my heart split open.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says as Mac slides my phone out of my hand.
Hearing Mac tell him we will be there soon and that we don’t need a police escort, I lean into Libby as she leads me to the sidewalk and puts out her hand for a cab.
“It will be okay,” Mac soothes, and I nod my head, praying she’s right. I don’t know what I will do if Levi’s not okay. I don’t even want to think about what I will do if he’s not.
