Protecting His Pregnant Lover - Leslie North Page 0,20
gone into teaching, but to hear she’d made that much of a difference in his life early on meant more to Olive than she could say. “I’m glad I could help.”
Levon’s gaze flickered to her lips, and her mouth tingled from the contact like a physical caress. Soon those butterflies inside her were fluttering for a whole different reason than joy. Then he looked away and she let out her pent-up breath. Lord help her, they’d only been back in each other’s lives for a few days and already she was back to drooling over him again. She’d even dreamed about him last night—the way he looked, the way he smelled like soap and fabric softener and warm clean male, the way he tasted when he kissed her.
She had it bad for Levon Asher and that wasn’t good.
Rather than give in to her nearly overwhelming urge to burrow into his strong, muscled chest and stay there a good long time, she turned back toward the kitchen again. “Sure you don’t want that tea before we go?” She checked her watch. “Last chance before I need to get to school.”
“No, I’m good, thanks.” Instead of following her, he walked over to the other side of the living room and began going through the pile of parts that she still needed to assemble into a crib. “But if we have a little time before we need to go, I could help you get some of these things together.”
“Uh, sure,” she said, filling the kettle and putting it on the stove, more to have something to do than because she wanted tea. Having him in her space was strange, but she was in no hurry to leave and have him drive her to work. People were bound to notice it if Levon Asher was suddenly giving her rides to the school. It probably would have been better if they’d kept their distance from one another during the day, but he’d refused to let her drive over here by herself this morning and she’d been too flustered to say no. Now, she couldn’t help wondering if it hadn’t been a mistake.
While she waited for the water to boil, she checked her appearance in the shiny reflection on her stainless-steel toaster again. Maybe she should have tried harder this morning. Then the baby somersaulted inside her, jamming what must have been a tiny foot or elbow straight into her stomach, and she feared she might toss her cookies in the sink. She leaned away and rubbed her belly. No. Whatever she looked like today, as long as she was clean and dressed, was fine. Besides, she didn’t think her first student would mind seeing her in a state of slight disarray. They met three out of five mornings before class during the week, and he had seen her looking far worse: her hair unbrushed, her brain under-caffeinated. Hell, he had even held her hair once through a surprisingly violent bout of morning sickness… although they had both agreed it was better they never mention that particularly revolting episode ever again.
Olive’s lips twitched in a fond smile at the thought of Franklin. Then the kettle whistled, jarring her back to the present. The present where Levon was busy tinkering with their baby’s crib and she was wondering whether she’d ever feel completely ready to bring new life into the world. Hands unsteady, she pulled a travel mug from her cupboard and filled it with hot water and a tea bag, then squared her shoulders. Ready or not, it was time to get on with her day.
“Time to go or I’ll be late.” She screwed the lid on her cup, figuring it could steep while they drove, then headed back to the front door. Levon beat her there, commandeering her suitcase while she grabbed the briefcase handle. Then they were out the door and on the porch, where he waited behind her while she locked up before trundling down to his truck. The sun was coming up now and the town was stirring as people got up and ready for work. They’d almost made it to the truck when a familiar voice called up from behind Olive. “Hey, Liv. Looks like you’ve got company today.”
Damn. She’d been hoping to avoid her nosy neighbors by coming here at the crack of dawn, but unfortunately, no. Levon tensed in front of her and she quickly tried to neutralize the situation. “Don’t worry. That’s just my neighbor, Tom Miller.”
“I always