Page 38 of Picking Daisies on Sundays

“You guys are going to move in together?!” Claire shouted from the end of the table, obviously only just joining the conversation. Her toothy grin was wide as she leaned over the table with joy.

“Does that mean you’re going to get married and have babies!” Rhea screamed.

“Um,”cough, “I,”cough, cough, cough.I think I’m choking. Probably the most convenient time to drop dead.

“Levi and Dani sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Rhea shouted.

“KISS! KISS! KISS!” Claire began chanting. I looked to Levi for clarity, but Trish caught my eye. She was smiling with pure joy; something I rarely ever saw when I had met her.

And he was noticing the same thing, gazing at her with equal surprise.

When I had met her eight years ago, she wore a sad smile and tired eyes, walking in late from work before climbing into bed. That was life after her husband died. Seeing a genuine smile from her was like spotting a hummingbird in your garden—wondrous and rare.

I was happy to hear that her career in real estate had been successful. So successful that they moved to the city. But there was still a lingering sadness that rested in her posture and the creases of her eyes.

My heart swelled with guilt, and I couldn’t suppress it. She was happy because Levi and I were together. How was she going to feel when I stopped coming over with no explanation?

Trish began chanting with Rhea and Claire, causing the entire table to join in.The entire table.I think I even heard Grandma Coldwell chanting.

On my right, Levi didn’t look nearly as panicked, but instead curious, as if he was actually thinking about kissing me. His eyes were focused on my face with a quiet clarity, and his head was tilted down at the perfect angle.

My mind was like a radio with a broken nob; nothing changed no matter how much energy I put into pushing down my loud thoughts.

This couldn’t be happening.

17

I’d be lying if I said I never thought about where my hands would

take me across your body

My thoughts were coming out quicker than the end credits of a film: I couldn’t kiss Levi; I couldn’t have the first time we kissed be in front of everyone; I couldn’t let him kiss me when hedidn’t even have feelings for me. That was the equivalent of getting addicted to a drug that wasn’t prescribed to you in the first place.

I’d pay millions to know what he was thinking as he stared back at me. His gaze was so heavy that it pushed mine away, right towards the glass of wine in front of me.

My next movement was so impulsive that I was thankful I didn’t give myself time to think through it.

“I’m so sorry!”I gasped.

Levi jumped out of his seat, his chair screeching against the hardwood. He whipped his head up at me in surprise before an audible light bulb went on above his head. A whimsical smile grew on his face, despite the glass of wine I just purposely spilled onto his shirt. His reaction made me burst out with laughter, while everyone else around the table was muttering the concerns or covering their gasps.

Between the look of surprise on his face and the way the wine managed to only hit his white shirt; I couldn’t keep in the giggles. And the way he looked at me... It felt like I had my best friend back by the look of awe on his face as I laughed with joy. The two of us were in our discrete bubble of understanding.

“I think that's going to stain,” I commented.

He scoffed and grabbed my hand, swiftly pulling me away from the table. “Oh, you’re helping me.”

I shrieked as he tugged me out of the chair, presumably pulling me towards the bathroom. My laughter began dying down as my brain digested the feeling of his hand in mine, and the fact that we were about to be in the—

He opened the bathroom door, pulled us in, and shut it behind us.

“You punk, I liked this shirt!” he shouted, joy evident in the way his hair was disheveled.

He waved a hand at his white shirt; it was soaked with swirls of red wine, as if his heart had been cut open.

“What did you want me to do?!” I leaned against the bathroom door catching my breath. Thinking on the spot wasn’t my best skill, but I was patting myself on the back for this one.

He rolled his eyes in amusement. He closed the toilet seat, sat down on it, leaned back, and spred his legs, unbuttoning his shirt.