Page 55 of Cactus Heart
The next hour was the longest hour known to man. By the time Tommy sailed through the front doors to the station, my boot was hitting the sidewalk. I beelined for my truck and started it up, my pulse racing as I drove down the street toward Levi’s.
Flirting had always come naturally to me. I loved flirting. I loved making people blush. I loved a good challenge, too.
Levi felt like a challenge. A really hot, hard, muscled challenge.
I was really doing this. I thought about Levi’s expression when he saw me and Avery. The heat in his pretty eyes, the blush that crept into his tan cheeks. He’d looked like he was ready to get on his knees right then and there.
Or maybe I just wished he had.
I slowed as I turned onto Armadillo Lane. I pulled into the drive and hopped out, glancing across the street at Avery’s little house. She’d really turned that place into a home since moving in. I remembered when I first came to Whynot and it was just a sad house that’d been on the market for who knew how long.
The house Levi was renting while he was here was an Airbnb that’d been flipped by a couple who’d moved to Colorado. They’d made it nice, though, and I was constantly surprised at how many people rented it to visit our dusty corner of the world.
I didn’t bother locking my truck and headed to Levi’s doorstep. The door was painted bright yellow and there were a couple of pink pots with dead plants in them. I raised my hand to knock, but the door swung open, Levi filling up the frame with his massive shoulders.
I opened my mouth to speak, but found myself at a loss for words.
Levi was shirtless and in jeans. But over his bare chest and denim was a pastel pink apron with lacy frills and hearts.
“I have so many questions,” I finally said.
Levi grunted and stepped to the side to let me in. Heat crawled up my spine as I passed him, the two of us squeezing into the foyer as he closed the door. He twisted the lock and planted his hand on his hips.
“So my muffins are failing,” he sighed. “I bought baking soda instead of powder, and didn’t realize it until now. You’d thinkfor someone who has a fucking degree in math and keeps about twenty different spreadsheets, I’d be able to bake.”
The scent of blueberries filled the house. I kicked off my shoes next to his boots. “Did you say you have a degree in math?”
“Yep. Shocking, huh?”
“A little. And spreadsheets?”
Levi smirked. “I love them more than anything else. They keep me organized.”
“Uh-huh. I see.”Interesting.It was probably too much that the first thought that crossed my mind with that new information wasI bet he has a kink spreadsheet.“I can’t say I’m much of a baker, either. But I’ll still happily try your muffins.”
“The thing is that they’re protein muffins. I’ve been trying to avoid completely derailing how I eat. I used to get some from a little bakery down the street from my apartment, and this was my half-assed attempt to bake them here.”
Now, I made a face. “Like healthy muffins?”
“Yep. I tried. I don’t think they’ll be very good.”
“I’ll still try them.” Although I was growing less and less enthusiastic about the muffins.
Levi led me from the hall through the living room at the front and to the kitchen. He felt very out of place in this house, like a giant living among glass breakables. I wondered what his apartment back in Minnesota looked like as we entered the kitchen, and then all thoughts blanked as I was presented with a blueberry muffin mishap.
I clapped my hand over my mouth, stifling a laugh. I wasn’t sure if this was really just a baking soda issue or whatever the fuck he’d said. The muffins had blown up into a gooey disaster all over the pan, blueberries leaking out, protein powder scattered across the tiled counter.
All I could say was, “You made quite the mess.”
“I did,” he groaned. “You’re laughing at me.”
“I am . . .not,” I choked out. Levi crossed his arms and stared at the muffin pan like it was the most disappointing thing in existence. I fought another laugh, doing my best to keep it in check. “Those look pretty bad.”
“Want to taste one?”
“Not really. I think those might possibly be the worst muffins ever.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
