Conceited Concierge: A Hero Club Novel by Renea Porter (little readers txt) 📕

“Oh, I see it. You’ve already proven that.”

“Our chemistry is off the charts. And if I remember correctly, we clicked pretty well back in Las Vegas.”

“Did you bump your head at all today? Because you are talking craziness.”

“Nope. Las Vegas is a four-hour drive. We could drive there and be back in Temecula by Tuesday.”

“No. No way. No.” I couldn’t stop telling him no. He was completely crazy and it was scaring me shitless. “I think I need some fresh air.” I took off out of the restaurant and I wasn’t sure where I was going. But anywhere but here sounded good. Back on the beach, my toes in the sand, I was able to catch my breath. Where was Aubrey when I needed her?  Pulling out my phone, I scanned my contacts. I didn’t want to bother her, but she was the only one that would know what to do.

“Hey girl. Having fun?” Aubrey said into her phone.

“Oh my god. You didn’t tell me Levi was batshit crazy.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, Levi asked me to marry him. He’s talking crazy and it’s freaking me out. Like I’m ready to bail on the rest of this trip.”

“Levi is quite smitten with you.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“I’m on yours. I promise.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking calling you; you are supposed to be on this romantic getaway. I’m sorry.” I was almost in tears at this point.

“No, it’s fine. Chance is having a shower and he takes, like, hour long ones. So, it’s fine, girl. What do you want?”

“I was coming around to the idea of being with Levi. I mean, I said I was in, whatever this was between us. And then bam, he’s asking me to marry him. He’s crazy. I’m legit thinking about leaving and heading back to Temecula.”

“Don’t do that. Talk to Levi. Tell him how you’re feeling.”

“I don’t know.” I walked past the house and continued walking along the shore-line, letting the water swoop over my feet.

“Take a breath.”

I took a deep breath.

“You need to stop running when shit gets hard. We both know you’ve done that since college.”

She wasn’t wrong. My first thought was to flee. And I really wanted to flee.

“I can’t go back there. I can’t do this with him. I made a mistake thinking I could get involved with him.”

“Rylee.”

“I gotta go, Aubrey.”

I pressed end on my phone and started searching for an Uber. I needed to get back to Temecula. I needed to clear my head. I was coming to a realization that marriage scared the shit out of me. The sound of the ocean was starting to calm me down, so I stopped to look out into the distance, while the moon hung overhead. I wasn’t quite clear where I was at. And Levi was the last person I wanted to see right now.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I saw Levi sent me messages but I didn’t read them.

Questions consumed me. Was I overreacting? Was I really ready to get married? When do you know you want to get married? Hell, I wasn’t even in love with Levi yet. But I knew I could get there in time. Any other woman would jump at the chance because Levi seemed like a good guy. He was sexy, smart, worked hard, and made his own way. Maybe he did know what he wanted.

How do I know what I want?

“Rylee!” I heard Levi’s voice in the distance and saw him jogging toward me.

“I can’t do this, Levi.”

“Why are you so upset?”

“Because how can you know what you want? You barely know me. You’re a kid.”

“Rylee, will you stop calling me a kid? If I were in my mid-thirties and you were in your forties, age wouldn’t be an issue. So, stop making it an issue.”

“I’m waiting on an uber to take me back to Temecula.”

“You were gonna leave and not tell me?”

“I was really considering it. Things will be awkward now. How can we go back to the way it was?”

“I’m sorry. Give me one more chance. Please.”

The guy got down on his knees and looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes.

“Levi.”

“Rylee. Please. You have nothing to lose. You don’t even know if you are staying in California. So, if you don’t fall in love with me, you can go back to whatever life you had before me.”

I took a deep breath.

“I know what I want. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be trying this damn hard with you. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“Get up. I’m sorry.”

An Uber pulled up, interrupting me. I looked to the Uber and then to Levi and repeated it.

“Don’t go.”

“Fine.” I walked over to the Uber and said he was no longer needed. Levi had the hugest smile on his face.

“Thank you.”

“You’re not off the hook yet. We need to talk.”

“I agree. I’m sorry I tried to rush things.”

We headed back toward the beach house and were silent while walking back. I needed silence to gather my thoughts. And if I was honest, I didn’t want to run away from this. I was tired of running away whenever something became hard to deal with.

Chapter Fifteen

LEVI

I insisted on sleeping on the pull-out couch last night because I wanted to give Rylee space. She had issues to work out on her own. However, I was not going to give up yet. Any other man would have. But there was something about her. I knew we would be good together.

Thanks to Aubrey for letting me know that Rylee was about to run away, Rylee and I talked until nearly two a.m. as