Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,111

are you settling in?” he asked.

She blushed. So he did know she was back in town and was only now reaching out to him. “I would have called or texted, but...”

He lowered his head. “I get it.”

What did he get? Her heart raced as he smiled up at her. The look in his eyes suggesting that she didn’t need to vocalize it. He knew she was there to let him down easy.

She took a deep breath. “No, I don’t think you do.” She stepped forward and reached for his hands.

The look of surprise on his face gave her courage.

“I didn’t call or text because I wanted to say this in person.”

He searched her face for a clue of what was coming next. Hesitant, but hopeful.

Just say it. Quickly. Before her natural instincts kicked in and she ran out of the room. “I’m in love with you. That’s why I came back. It wasn’t because I was out of a job and had nowhere else to go. Or because I missed my family. Or because I was tired of LA. And you’re not a fallback guy...” she said. What else had Selena mentioned that she needed to clarify?

He gave a strangled-sounding laugh. “I would never have assumed that.”

Right. Of course not. Her friend was getting an earful.

“But um...can we just back up a little? You’re in love with me?”

She nodded. “Madly.”

He laughed, drawing her closer. “Madly, huh?”

“I’ve been watching a lot of sappy movies and there’s always the big gesture. When someone is in the wrong and they need to make things right. I know this isn’t exactly big, but this is it. My...big...gesture.”

“I like the influence Selena has on you,” he said, releasing her hands and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her into his body and she cuddled into him. A sigh of relief escaping her. This felt right. Real. Exactly where she wanted to be. This moment and always.

“I’m sorry about everything before,” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head. “There’s nothing to apologize for. These last few years have been rough on us both. I’m just happy you’re back.”

She knew he meant more than just physically. More than just being home in Wild River. Back to the person she’d been before, the person she’d lost for a little while, the person she’d forgotten she was.

She looked at him and their eyes met and held. “In case you were wondering, I’m still madly in love with you too,” Levi said, lowering his head to hers. “I always have been and I always will be.”

His lips were just an inch away and Leslie stood on tiptoes to meet them. They were soft, warm, and welcoming and he deepened the kiss as his grip on her tightened.

When Levi kissed her, it was like everything familiar and nothing familiar all at once. He was so much of her past that she felt secure, safe in his arms, but experiencing him in this new way was different, exciting...terrifying.

She knew him. Every little detail. Yet he was showing her a new side that she never imagined was there—passionate but controlled, strong but vulnerable, open yet guarded. He was both the Levi she knew and a man she wanted to get to know better. And it wasn’t a shared tragic past that had her feeling this way. It was him. The man he always was, the man he’d always been for her and the man he always would be.

His lips savoring hers and his arms holding her tight told her he’d never hurt her or let her down and she wanted to be that same safe place for him. And maybe that was enough to give this a chance, see where years of friendship could lead, what they could turn into. They didn’t owe anyone anything—not an explanation, not an apology. They weren’t doing anything wrong by being together. Dawson was gone and she missed him every day, missed the life they were supposed to have had—should have had—together, but she couldn’t bring him back. Her pain and guilt could never bring him back and she was tired of living as though she too had died that day on the highway. She wanted to live again, laugh again, feel love again and be loved.

And right now Levi was making all of that a reality for her. His touch, his kiss, his caress all brought her back from the brink and she couldn’t get enough of the life he was breathing into