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

she explained she would flee when things got hard. I explained she was worth fighting for. If she were any other woman, I would have given up by now.

I woke up early and got started on a hearty breakfast. We had a few cinnamon rolls left as well. I had all day today and tomorrow to spend with Rylee, and I didn’t want to waste a second.

With coffee brewing, I set the table with fancy table settings; Aubrey had told me where everything was. Once Rylee came out, she looked shocked.

“You did all of this?”

“Yes. Why do you seem so surprised?”

“I thought after last night…” She trailed off as she looked at how fancy the table was with piles of food on it.

I didn’t let her finish her thought because we needed a fresh start and I didn’t want her to feel bad for last night. “Today is a new beginning. Does that seem fair that we start all over?” I moved close to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. Tears were filling her eyes.

“I’d love that. I’m sorry I got so carried away last night.”

“Let’s forget about it.”

She blinked several times to keep her tears from falling and leaned into me letting me hug her. “Okay. This looks amazing, though. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Chapter Sixteen

 

 

RYLEE

 

I didn’t deserve Levi. Not at all. But for some reason, he refused to give up and I refused to run away. We faced the issue head on last night. We made a lot of progress. Levi held my hand while we sat on the couch talking all night. I felt horrible for acting the way I did instead of talking it out in the first place. But like Levi said, today was a new beginning.

“You are spoiling me with your cooking.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

I couldn’t help but still feel guilty for almost bailing on him last night. For almost giving up on him completely. He was right about everything he said. And yes, if this were several months or years down the road, I might have said yes to his question. But I explained I didn’t want to mess up whatever we could have and rush into things. And he totally understood what I was saying. Plus, I didn’t want to hurt him or get hurt myself.

“I’m starving. I know that,” I admitted.

“Would you want to check out the pier today? It goes over the water. It’s nothing fancy but it’s something to check out.”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Cool.”

“I’ll clean up since you made all this.”

“No. You go get ready. I’m all ready to go. It’ll only take a few minutes to clean this stuff up.”

“Are you sure?”

He smiled. “Yes. Go, woman.” He practically shooed me away.

Smiling, I headed off to get ready, but I didn’t know what to wear. So, I grabbed a denim skirt, and my black and white striped crop top that showed off a little bit of my midriff, then I grabbed my white sandals.

With my hair half up and half down, I met Levi back in the kitchen. “I’m ready.”

“Great. I’m putting the last dish in the dishwasher now.”

“Thanks again for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.” Even though it still felt a little awkward, he smiled, and I felt at ease.

Walking down the beach, we fell into an easy conversation about normal things. “I’ll admit, I’m gonna miss this when we go back to Temecula,” I admitted.

“Yeah. Same. But it really doesn’t take that long to get here.”

“That’s true. But it’s a good getaway. Can I?” He held his hand out, asking if he could hold my hand.

“Of course.” I smiled wide, knowing today was a fresh start for us. “You don’t have to ask. Also, can I say one thing about yesterday and we can be done with it?”

“Sure.”

“The thought of getting married did freak me out. But after some deep thought, I would marry you if we knew each other longer. Marriage is not something I want to rush into. Even if you are the one. When I get married, I want it to be forever.”

“I absolutely get that. And I want the same. I want my marriage to last forever. But you think I’m the one?”

Of course, he wasn’t going to let that slide. I playfully bumped my shoulder against his. “I’m still trying to figure that out, Conceited.”

“You wouldn’t tell me if you thought that anyway.”

He was right. I wouldn’t tell him, not at this stage of our relationship.

“Please don’t give up on us, okay?” he told me.

“I won’t. I’d like to give us a fair shot.”

He stopped while still holding one hand and pulled me close with his other hand. He pressed his lips to mine in a nice peck. But no matter what kind of kiss we had, it made me dizzy and made my heart skip a beat.

“Are you gonna sleep in my bed tonight?” I questioned.

“You would be so lucky.”

“Yes, I would.”

“We’re almost at the pier.” He pointed, and my eyes following the direction.

“Wow. That goes way out over the water.” I noticed you could even walk underneath it because it was so tall.

We made it onto the pier, and once we got halfway down, Levi stopped. “Let’s take a selfie.”

This would be our first photo together as more than friends. “Say cheese biscuits,” he said, which made me laugh.

“Cheese biscuits.”

He showed me the photo. “There.”

“Perfect. Text me a copy.”

Levi made me feel more at ease. I turned to face the water while he texted me the photo. Once he was done, he reached for my hand and I willingly gave it to him while we continued further down the pier.

Once we got to the