Lauren grimaced, and I knew the final blow had been dealt.
“Don’t be like her parents, Lauren. Be like her best friend. Like her sister. Like her family.”
Then I took out my wallet, left her some money for the bill, and headed for the door.
I hoped I had gotten through to her. I hoped that this would start us all down a path of healing, because all of this boiled down to family.
All we had to do was agree.
CHAPTER 32
LEVI
“What the fuck are you doing?” Liam asked.
I whipped around and stared at my brother as he strode to the porch.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked.
“I saw you leave the construction site, and you weren’t picking up your damn phone. Why the hell are you at Samantha’s?”
“Why the hell is that any of your business?” I asked.
“Because we all agreed to leave Samantha alone, that’s why!”
All I wanted was to fucking see her. It was driving me batshit crazy. Sunday was still two days away, and no one had heard a damn thing from her. No one had gotten a text or a call or anything from her. And I was worried about Sam. I missed Sam. I had no idea what was going on in her life or how she felt or if she fucking needed anything, and I wanted to talk to her. I just wanted to look into those beautiful eyes of hers and be at her side. We didn’t even have to fucking do anything. We could sit in a dark room and stare at the wall, and I’d be fine with it.
“So you followed me from work?” I asked.
“The hell else was I supposed to do? You cut out early without notice. You’ve been doing that shit a lot lately. Is this where you end up every time? At Samantha’s?”
“What are you guys doing here?”
I whipped my head over at the sound of her voice, and my heart started fluttering in my chest. It was insane, the way this woman made me feel. I’d never felt this way about anyone before, and it was crazy to me.
“We’re just leaving,” Liam said as he grabbed my arm. “Let’s go, Levi.”
“The fuck you think you’re doing?” I asked as I pulled away from him. “I’m sorry, Sam. I just wanted to see you is all. And apparently, Liam followed me like a creep from work.”
“Has he been coming over here after ducking out early from work?” Liam asked.
“Would the two of you like to come in?” Sam asked.
I could’ve sworn she was trying to bury a grin on her face.
I wrenched away from Liam and followed her inside. She stepped away and ushered us both in, and the sound of the door closing was music to my ears. I turned around and watched her. Took in her beauty as she stood in the hallway. I watched her shake her head as Liam approached my side, his glare stoic and his jaw set.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know we said we’d give you more time, but I needed to see you. Just to, you know, see that you were okay.”
“I’m good,” she said coyly.
“Yeah. You—you look good,” I said.
“I take it you guys want to talk?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “Not at all. I’m here to talk about anything or convince you of anything. I just want to spend time with you. Fuck, I don’t care if we sit on the couch and stare at the ceiling, Sam. I just want to be around you. Though I don’t know why Liam’s here.”
“I’m here to make sure you don’t make things worse,” he said.