just did.”
Growling, Willow forced herself to calm down. “I don’t know what to say to him!” she cried. “I believed everything he ever said to me and now…”
“Now you don’t know if you can.”
“Exactly.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Honestly? I don’t know,” she admitted miserably. “I miss him so much, but…I’m afraid, Gams. We all know I make a fool out of myself on a daily basis just by being a klutz. I don’t need anyone else doing it for me.”
“Oh, Willow…”
Unable to help herself, tears began to roll down her cheeks. It wasn’t anything new; she’d been doing it for a week now. Wiping them away was almost pointless, but she still tried. “What do I do, Gams?”
“And you haven’t talked to him at all?”
“No.”
“Have you answered any of his texts?”
“No.”
“Willow…sweetie,” she said sympathetically. “Levi doesn’t strike me as someone who’s going to chase after you forever. He’s a good man…”
“Who lied!”
“Yes, but…it wasn’t exactly a terrible lie. It’s not like he killed his family or had them chained in the basement somewhere,” she reasoned. “You met two of his sisters, and they were nice, right?”
“Technically, I only met one, but…yeah. She was very nice.”
“And the people who work for him at the pub? Do they like him?”
“Well…yeah. Anthony said he was the best boss he ever had.”
“Then maybe you should hear him out. Give him another chance.”
“But what if…what if I’m wrong? What if he lies again and breaks my heart?”
“What if he doesn’t, and he’s the greatest love of your life and you let him go because you were afraid to let yourself be happy?”
“Ugh…you did not just bring that around full circle.”
“Actually, I believe I did.”
“Gams…” Her phone vibrated in her hand with an incoming text. “Can you hold on one sec?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.” Looking at the phone, she saw the text was from Levi and it was a picture. Putting the phone back to her ear, she said, “He sent a picture. If I lose you while I’m trying to see what it is, I apologize.”
“Oooh…do you think it’s a sexy text? Like one of those…” She cleared her throat. “You know, those pictures of his privates?”
“Oh, my God! Stop it!” she cried, horrified. “And hold on!” Pulling the phone away from her ear, Willow swiped at the screen to try to pull up the text. When she finally got to it, she stared at the photo for a solid minute before she realized what she was looking at.
“Willow?” she heard Gammy ask.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
“Willow? Are you all right?”
“Oh, my God,” she said a little louder and with a small laugh. “Gammy, I have to go! I’ll call you tomorrow! I promise! I love you!”
“Love you too!”
Tossing the phone down on the sofa, Willow jumped up and ran to take a shower.
It was time to go and see Levi.
Staring down at the receipt in his hand, Levi had to wonder if it would have been cheaper to go and see a shrink.
How was that for irony?
Still, he had to hope this was going to work. If it didn’t, he was out of options.
He’d tried every romantic gesture in the book and never got a response. Maybe he should’ve just taken the hint, but…he wasn’t ready to give up.
At least, he hadn’t been.
Right now? He wasn’t so sure.
“You sure about this, boss?”
Levi turned his head and gave Anthony a small smile. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
“For what it’s worth, I think it’s great. Way better than all those cliched things you’ve been doing.”
Eyes wide and jaw on the ground, he said, “What? Why?”
“Dude, anyone can send flowers and candy. The cupcakes were a nice touch, but…” He shrugged. “They’re kind of empty gestures. Easy. But this? This is going to speak volumes.”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t responded yet.”
“Maybe she’s busy and hasn’t seen the text,” Anthony countered. “Not everyone sits around with their phone in their hands all day.”
“I don’t…”
“You have, and you do, and you need to stop. If it wasn’t the newest iPhone, I would totally smack it out of your hand right now.” Then he laughed. “But I like my job and can’t afford to replace it, so…”
“Good to know that’s the only reason you’re not doing it,” he murmured before walking away.
He walked around the pub, straightening chairs, making sure every table had what it needed. The lunch crowd was thinning out and Saturdays were a little slower, so he was a little at odds with himself on finding something to do