Page 89 of Picking Daisies on Sundays

“Oh. I thought, maybe you could stay with me.” I must’ve looked panicked because he picked his sentence back up. “I can sleep on the floor—”

“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.”

“But if it would make you comfortable—”

“We can share a bed, it’s not a big deal.” His eyebrows shot up. Never in my life did I think I would say those words to a man before, let alone to Levi. “Bella just told me that I was rooming with Aparna, so I assumed your family wasn’t comfortable with us sleeping in the same room.”

“If it’s not a big deal for you, then there’s no problem,” he said with a smirk. He was testing me; he knew thatI knewit was a big deal. But I refused to be wrong. I may have told him I love him, but that didn’t mean my competitiveness from our high school friendship had disappeared.

Two hours later though, I’d eat my words. It was most definitely a big deal. A big deal in the shape of Levi’s shirtless torso getting into bed where I was expected to lie beside him without blushing.

“Can you like, scooch over?” I asked him, my arms crossed over my baggy t-shirt that read:Florals? For Spring? Groundbreakingwith Miranda Priestly’s face underneath and a bunch of flowers doodled around her. She’d be horrified by my collection of garden-inspired dresses, let alone my ratty flannel pants.

Levi was in bed, shirtless, as I mentioned before, with a bookon his lap and his glasses on his face. I was flushed head to toe seeing him in this state—glasses, abs, book, messy hair. A woman’s dream. I imagined the equivalent for men would be a woman in one of those racy magazines you could only buy by asking the man behind the counter for them.

I startled Levi with my request. He was sitting in the middle of the bed indulged in a book, not second guessing this arrangement at all. I couldn’t make it any more obvious that I was nervous.

He looked up at me in surprise and moved over without a second thought. “I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor, it’s carpeted.”

“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.” I pulled back the covers and slid in, careful not to touch him. Why was I being weird, you may ask. Well, the short answer was I’ve never been this close to a man that was this attractive. Sleeping in the same bed as him felt as if I was setting myself up for failure. What if I snored? What if I was one of those people who stole the blankets in the middle of the night or had a little bit of drool on the side of their faces when they woke up?Oh my gosh he’d smell my breath in the morning.What were the chances I could sneak out of bed in the morning before he woke up to brush my teeth?

“Daisy,” Levi said, catching my attention. He closed the book over his thumb, his focus on me now.

“Vi,” I replied, fixing my shirt.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes soft.

There was no sense in lying to him, he’d be able to tell from a mile away. “I’m nervous,” I pursed my lips.

“What for?”

“What if I snore?” I asked, almost sounding like a whining

child nervous for a doctor’s appointment.

He laughed. “Well, the last time I checked, you do.”

My jaw dropped. “What?How would you know!”

“You dozed off for a second duringPrincess Diaries,” he smiled.

Kill me. I groaned through my hands. “I’m sleeping outside.”

He laughed again. “They were cute, tiny snores. Don’t worry.”

“You’re horrible at lying,” I muttered, but couldn’t help but laugh once hearing him snort.

He pressed a kiss to my temple, causing my laughter to die down, pulling me into his arms. I rested my head against his chest and breathed in the smell of his clean soap as the beat of my heart came to a slow rhythm. My muscles relaxed and the lights turned off and my mind lulled. I dreamed of running across the beach in my orange dress collecting seashells in the sand as Levi kicked his shoes off. He spoke in French, and it sounded the same as the tune of a piano during a waltz.I’ve never felt this conscious of the beat of my heart before, it was like it was sleeping without you,he whispered. I swore it was real. The sun was warm, and the breeze was just right.

I woke up the next morning holding onto that sunshine.

40

I was weaker than I thought

“What’s this?” I asked. When I reentered the room after finishing straightening my hair and applying some light make up. There was a garment bag on the bed that wasn’t there before.

“A dress,” Levi responded, tying his tie. He looked so professional in the black suit I had altered for him weeks ago; his legs looking longer than usual, and his curls organized in a glamorous fashion. Maybe Iwasgood at my job.