Sun-Kissed - Frankie Love Page 0,88

toast is good," I say, slathering on some butter and jelly. The whole time I'm thinking about spreading Lucy’s knees and licking her sweet jam.

"Would you like to try some of my crepes?"

I lift my eyebrows. Shake my head. "Hard pass," I tell her.

Just then, I see her, walking down the sidewalk, long hair blowing in the desert wind. I stand and call out her name, and she looks up, her eyes widening as she realizes it's me.

"Levi?"

I wave at her to come inside the restaurant and she smiles, nodding. A minute later the waitress is leading my girl to the table and I wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tight, making her squeal. Damn, her voice is the best sound to start my day.

"That was a friendly hello," she says, laughing as she pulls out a chair at the table.

"Good. Because I have every intention of getting even more friendly with you, Lucy."

"Is that so?" she asks as the waitress walks over and offers her a cup of coffee. She shakes her head.

"Not a coffee drinker?"

"Not a breakfast crasher."

"I want you to stay. Have you eaten? You look hungry."

She shakes her head, laughing. "I haven't eaten. Was gonna grab a bagel. I was only coming down to the strip because I forgot to grab my tips last night. Was a little.... distracted."

"Oh yeah?" I pull out the slot machine ticket. "You forgot this too."

She blows air out of her cheeks, looking so sweet when she does.

"I can't take it, Levi."

"How about this, you stay and have breakfast with me and if you can manage to keep your hands off me, it's your reward."

She twists her lips. "Why do I feel like this is a trap?"

I laugh. "It's not. It's just, I like you, Lucy. A lot. And I want to keep you around."

"Even after what I told you last night? About... my rules?"

At this, I grin.

"Why is there a cocky look on your face, mister mountain man?"

"Because I just wonder about those rules, considering when you were with me last night you broke one. I'm betting you'll break one again."

"Not the big one," she says, her voice softer now. "I mean it. I really, really want to be a virgin on my wedding night. It's always been important to me."

"I love that."

"You do?" Her big blue eyes meet mine.

"I do. I like that you know what you want. I'm not implying women are doing things wrong if they aren't doing things like you, but I respect it, Lucy. Your values."

"What about you, do you have values I should know about? Things that really matter to you?"

I lean back in my chair, considering the question as a waitress comes over and takes her order. I smile, liking that Lucy is staying put for a little while at least.

"I have some values. My brother matters to me a lot. He's the only family I got; our parents died when we were teenagers, so we kinda got through some shit together."

"I lost my parents young too. When I was four. My grandparents raised me on their farm,” she tells me.

"They still alive?"

Lucy's face falls. "Granny is in an assisted living home now. It's not looking good and the place isn't very... well, it's not home."

"I'm sorry, Lucy," I say, reaching out for her hand, and our fingers brush together, sending a current through me, and from her shiver, I am sure she feels it too.

"I wish we could have kept Granddad's farm, that she could have stayed there, but she needs more help and we had to sell so we could afford the place she's at now." Lucy's eyes are looking past me, holding on to a memory. "The farm was out in the foothills of the Las Vegas desert. Granddad raised cattle and Granny and I took care of the other animals, looked over the garden. Canned fruit every summer and worked on a quilt together every winter."

"Sounds pretty perfect."

"It was." Lucy nods, thanking the waitress who brings her a lemon-glazed crepe, coated in powdered sugar, strawberries on the side. "It's been a few years since I spent my evenings on that big front porch watching the sunset with my grandparents. And now, that life is gone. Granddad passed away and now Granny is living in a facility that is not at all cozy or familiar. And here I am, rooming with three other cocktail waitresses, trying to make ends meet in a city that is everything I'm not."

"Why work