it a whole lot more if they could actually do more than just making out like horny teenagers.
“Willow, sweetheart. There you are!”
She jumped at the sound of her mother’s voice and spilled white wine down the front of her.
Levi was quick to get her a handful of napkins to help her clean up, and all it really accomplished was giving her a few extra minutes before greeting her parents properly. Once she was somewhat dry, she looked up at her parents and smiled.
And noticed their focus was fully on Levi.
“Hey, Mom. Hi, Dad,” she said, kissing them each on their cheek. “How are you?”
“We’re fine, dear. Just fine,” her mother said, her eyes still trained on Levi. Finally, she held out her hand. “And you are…?”
“Oh, um…”
“Levi Sullivan,” he said, reaching out and firmly shaking first her mother’s hand and then her father’s. “It’s nice to finally meet both of you. Willow’s told me all about you.”
It was a miracle how he said that like he meant it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Levi. I’m Marilyn Andrews, and this is my husband, Paul.” Then she turned her attention back to Willow with a small frown. “At least it wasn’t red wine.”
“Do you want me to take you back to the house so you can change?” Levi asked, and she had never been more thankful for anyone in her entire life.
“That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“Is that really necessary, Willow?” her father said in his usual disapproving tone. “We all know you’re prone to spills, and it’s not going to be an obvious stain. You don’t want to ruin your grandmother’s party by leaving.”
“We won’t be gone long,” she murmured. “Gammy’s house is less than ten minutes away. I’ll be back before the salad is served.”
“It’s nonsense,” her father stated firmly before taking a sip of his own wine. “So tell me, Levi, how long have you been dating my daughter.”
Willow groaned and hoped Levi would stick to the script and…
“We’ve been together for three months, Mr. Andrews. Your daughter is an amazing woman. But if you’ll excuse us, I know she’d feel much better if she could change into something dry.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll see you both at dinner.”
She was speechless and offered her parents a small smile before they walked away.
“We should let Gammy know where we’re going so she doesn’t worry,” he said to her with a confident smile.
And at that moment, he absolutely solidified himself as her knight in shining armor.
They walked across the room and gave Gammy a quick update and were out in the parking lot before she knew it. It wasn’t until they were in the car that she spoke. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Levi, you…you…you totally got me out of an awkward situation without letting my father intimidate you. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Most people just kowtow to him.”
“One thing you should know about me, I don’t kowtow to anyone.” He grinned. “Okay, my Nana is probably the only one I would, but…she’s barely five feet tall and intimidating as hell. I tend to do whatever she asks.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s kind of adorable.”
“Glad you think so.” They pulled out of the parking lot and began heading back to the house. “Do you even have another outfit to change into or are we just going to drive around to kill some time and let your father stew a bit?”
And that just made her laugh harder. “Oh, my goodness! I never would have even thought to do that!” Playfully swatting at his arm, she admitted, “I actually brought three different outfits with me.”
“Three? Seriously?”
“Mm-hmm. I wasn’t sure what kind of mood I’d be in and I wanted to have options.”
“Okay then. New outfit it is!” They drove in silence for several minutes. “Are you doing okay?”
“What? Sure. I appreciate you helping me like this!”
“No, I meant…about before. Your parents. You doing okay with all that?”
“Pfft…that was nothing. The real challenge will be while we’re sitting at dinner. No doubt we’ll end up sitting right by them. Did you see how long that table was? Around twenty people are coming and I can guarantee that we’ll still be right beside them.”
“I can make sure that doesn’t happen…”
“Levi, I can’t avoid them all night. Trust me, I’ve tried that tons of times before and it never works.”
“You never had me with you.” He winked at her, and for some silly reason, it made her feel better.
“Maybe we need a codeword.”
“For what?”
“For