Page 103 of Broken Vows

“I would have liked a message from you today,” I say. “A text. After last night…it would have been nice to know you hadn’t skipped the country or something.”

Levi goes still.

“Message,” he repeats, like he’s filing the word away somewhere important. “Right.”

I nod, suddenly embarrassed by my own honesty, and head for the shower.

When I come out, he’s already gone.

The house is locked. Fifi is asleep in her bed. On my nightstand sits a tall glass of water and two ibuprofen, with a note in Levi’s messy scrawl.

Drink. Take the pills. Sleep.

I stare at it, smiling despite myself. I crawl into bed, body still buzzing from the heat of him, and smile into the dark.

He really is sweet.

29

LEVI

I’m sitting in Dean Carter’s chair behind his big fancy desk at The Savoy.

I’ve been here plenty of times before. I know the layout like the back of my hand.

My intel said Dean would roll in around ten. I slipped in early, planted my ass in his chair, and now I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes.

Rude.

I swing my boots up onto the desk and lean back in the chair, getting comfortable. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the skyline stretches out in the distance. Not a bad view.

Carmen drifts into my head again. She’s been doing that a lot lately, and it’s inconvenient as hell.

I pull out my phone and stare at her name. She wants messages. She said so last night. A text.

I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to say.

You good?

Too lame.

I’m thinking about you.

Absolutely not.

I rub a hand over my jaw and glance at the door.

She wants to know she’s on my mind. Fine. I am thinking about her. Constantly. She should know that. But women apparently need the words.

Before I can overthink it, I start typing.

Want to see you

My thumb hovers.

Stupid. I delete it. She wants romance. Romance is honesty, probably. Saying the thing directly. Letting her know she’s gotten under my skin.

Levi: Thinking about you makes me feel like there’s something wrong with me