eyes when she’d looked at him. He’d been right not to take advantage of the situation, but he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they could somehow find themselves there again, someday, with less hurt and more attraction between them.
And then he felt guilty as shit. He’d never made a play for Leslie because she was his best friend’s girl and now she was his best friend’s widow, essentially. That made her just as off-limits as before. Even more so.
His phone lit up and a glance at the caller display only amplified his conflicted state.
He sent Mrs. Powell’s call to voicemail, knowing there was no way he could sound normal that morning, let alone happy to hear from her or able to discuss Dawson in any way without his guilt destroying him.
The elevator doors opened on his floor and he stepped in. He wanted to see Leslie before he headed back to the station. Apologize for the night before and make sure she knew he was there for her anytime she needed someone, but he knew he’d have to quit trying so hard to force it. She’d come to him on her own time if she still wanted a friendship.
The elevator doors opened on the second floor and there she stood.
Again, wet and wearing a towel.
Was fate having fun messing with him?
“Levi!” Selena said, excitedly getting into the elevator. “So happy to run into you.”
He reluctantly pulled his gaze from Leslie’s flushed expression as she hesitantly stepped inside the elevator, her workout clothes and runners clutched close to her body. They didn’t help to cover the long, gorgeous legs or sexy shoulders and collarbone. He could still feel her hands on his chest and stomach and remember the way she’d tasted.
Damn, he hadn’t heard a single word Selena had said and now she was staring at him expectantly.
And so was Leslie.
Both expressions so completely different. Selena’s hopeful. Leslie’s murderous.
Shit. What had he missed? “Um...”
“I’m sure he has other plans,” Leslie said quickly.
So Selena had invited him somewhere.
“Um...”
“I’m sure he’d rather hang out with me...us,” the star said, shooting him a flirty grin that no doubt worked on most men. Unfortunately, she was not his type at all and the woman he was crazy about was standing right there for comparison, so the flirting had zero effect. Though the idea of spending time with Leslie appealed to his lack of common sense.
And if he had to pretend to agree to hang out with Selena to make it happen...well, maybe he would. “Actually, I’m not in a rush to head back to the station.” Damn, he was truly a sucker for punishment.
Leslie’s eyes widened and Selena smiled. “Great! And you can drive.”
He nodded. Drive where? Guess he’d find out.
The elevator doors opened on their floor and they stepped out. “Meet you in the lobby around eleven?” Selena said.
“Sure.”
Leslie hung back as the star disappeared down the hall. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Spending time with an interesting woman,” he said, staring straight at her.
Her mouth gaped as the doors started to close.
He stopped them, unable to help himself from saying, “And by the way, I’m digging this new towel fashion trend you’ve got going.”
CHAPTER TEN
“THIS IS WHERE you grew up?” Selena asked from the passenger seat of Levi’s truck as he pulled into the driveway of Leslie’s family home.
“Sort of.” Just the sight of the two-story, modest townhome had so many conflicted thoughts swirling through her. This was her home until she was fifteen. Until the arguments with her mother had turned unbearable and she’d gone to live with her grandmother. Until one of the toughest days in her life taught her that family wasn’t always supportive when you needed them to be.
Finding out she was pregnant had been terrifying. She was on the Pill and, sure, she’d forgotten a couple that month, but she and Dawson had had sex only that one time, before they both agreed they weren’t ready and decided to wait until graduation to do it again.
Telling her mother hadn’t been her choice. She’d walked out of her doctor’s appointment in a hazy fog, disbelieving, scared and unsure, and her mother had read the truth in her expression.
Their arguments went from bad to worse. Her mother had never approved of Dawson. After he’d been charged with vandalism with a group of boys in the few months that he’d fallen in with the wrong crowd, she said he was reckless and impulsive and his rich, privileged upbringing hadn’t given