Test Drive - Samantha Chase Page 0,51

parents caused this level of anxiety that she was awake at four in the morning obsessing over it. But the other part of him wanted to encourage her to go and stand up for herself. She hadn’t done anything wrong; she had simply voiced her own disapproval with their behavior rather than the other way around.

“You shouldn’t have had to deal with it at all…”

Rolling her onto her back, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Hey, I went into this whole thing with my eyes open. You never held back on all the possibilities we might have to deal with where your folks were concerned. We are in this together, Willow. I promise.”

He heard her soft sigh. “Levi,” she began quietly. “I don’t want you to think…you know…because of…um…this, that you need to do more than you already have. You’ve been amazing. And not just…you know…here.”

Wait…what the hell was she trying to say?

“Willow…”

“I just want you to know that I appreciate you and I don’t expect anything more from you. What happened here tonight between the two of us was…well, it was incredible, but I’m not asking for any promises or for any extra…how can I say this…like extra boyfriendy things when we’re around everyone at brunch or…whenever. So if you wanted to skip brunch, that would be okay too.”

Pushing off of her, Levi sat straight up. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could make her out in the moonlight. “What are you saying, Willow? That you don’t want me around your family tomorrow? Today? Whatever the hell day it is!”

Sitting up, she clutched the sheet to her chest. “I just don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, that’s all. I just didn’t want you thinking the sex tonight changed anything.”

Mentally counting to ten, Levi did his best to calm down before he spoke again. “I hate to break it to you, but the sex did change things.”

“Oh,” she murmured.

“As a matter of fact, it changed everything.”

“Oh.”

Why did she sound so miserable? Was it possible he had read all the signs–and orgasms–wrong?

He figured he might as well ask while they were having this…whatever this was…kind of talk. “Can I ask you something?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Swallowing hard, he asked, “Would you prefer if I didn’t touch you again? Was tonight just about…curiosity or passing the time? Did it mean anything to you?”

She was quiet for several moments. “That was three.”

“What?”

“Questions. That was three questions.”

She was the most infuriating woman sometimes…

“Can you answer at least one of them?” his voice was so low and so gruff, he barely recognized it himself.

The silence was deafening, and it took everything he had not to rush her.

“No. No. Yes.”

It took a minute for him to realize what she meant.

Relief washed over him in waves. “Okay, then.”

“I’d really like it if you touched me now,” she whispered, and Levi was one thousand percent on board.

11

“Isn’t this nice? All of us together for brunch!”

“Mother, we were all together at your party last night,” Paul said wearily, rubbing his temple. “I had to reschedule to a later tee-off time because you pushed back what time you wanted us here.”

“Well,” Gammy said, not looking the least bit put out, “I stayed up later than I had planned and didn’t get home until after eight this morning. A girl needs some time to get ready, you know.”

Paul groaned while Willow and Levi fought the urge to laugh.

Although, there had been an awkward moment earlier when Gammy had first gotten home that wasn’t the least bit funny at the time.

Levi took his turn in the shower after Willow had finished, and when she walked out into the living room as Gammy was walking in the door, it was hard to say who scared who more.

“Oh my goodness, Gam, you scared me!” Willow had cried, hand over her heart.

“Did you and Levi finally get to have sex last night?” Gammy asked, breezing across the room.

“What?!”

“Don’t even try to deny it. You’re all glowy right now. I knew you wouldn’t do it if I was in the house. Donald was such a dear to let me stay with him.” She paused and chuckled. “Although I did thank him properly, so I don’t think he minded too much.”

“Gams,” Willow said with a sigh. “TMI. I keep telling you, stuff like that is TMI.”

“Nonsense! There’s no such thing!” She fluttered around the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. “I saw the way you and Levi were looking at each