Savannah surveyed the little girl’s outfit. She had on a pair of jeans with a slight flare at the cuffs and a mint green sweatshirt with a hot-pink-and-white daisy printed on the front. “This is a super-cute outfit. What happened?”
Levi pulled up a chair next to hers. “When I told her the mosquitoes might be an issue, she wanted to wear her sweatshirt over her princess dress. We compromised with jeans and the sweatshirt.”
“Good call.” Savannah gently tugged on a strand of Wren’s hair. “You’ll be much happier with fewer bug bites.”
Wren twisted around to face her. “Can you make my hair into a pony? ’Cause Lee-by can’t.”
“Hey, now.” Levi gave them both the side eye. “It’s not that I can’t. We lacked the necessary supplies.”
Savannah tried her best to conceal her amusement. “Such as?”
“A hair thingy,” Wren said.
“And a positive attitude,” Levi added quietly.
If Wren heard the comment about attitude, she must’ve decided to ignore it. “Will you, Sabby? Make me a pony?”
Wren’s hopeful expression and her word choice for the classic hairstyle sent Savannah reaching for her purse. “Absolutely. I bet I have an extra hair thingy in here.”
Sensing the curious looks from their classmates at this oh-so-domestic arrangement, Savannah’s fingers trembled as she carefully freed some of the tangles. A few minutes later, she’d secured Wren’s hair in a high ponytail with the pink elastic band she’d found in the depths of her purse.
“There.” Savannah patted Wren’s shoulder. “A pony. Just for you.”
“Can I see?” Wren wriggled off her lap. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“I’ll take you.” Savannah stood, then glanced back at Levi. “We’ll be back soon.”
Something that resembled appreciation flickered in his eyes. Her cheeks warmed under his gaze. All pretend, remember?
She took Wren’s hand in her own and led her toward the Jacksons’ back door. People would stare and probably speculate. But wasn’t that what Levi wanted? For the word to get back to Tori that he’d happily moved on?
Levi had never wanted to win a three-legged race so badly in his life. Yet with Savvy’s leg tied to his and her arm looped around his waist, he was tempted to go extra slow, stay at the back of the pack and enjoy the warmth of her beside him, the scent of her shampoo or lotion or something—floral and sweet—teasing his senses.
He could tell by the tightness in her jaw and her furtive glances that she’d rather be anywhere else than here right now. Not that he could blame her. Since he and Wren had arrived in the Jacksons’ backyard, their classmates had not been as fun to hang out with as he’d hoped they’d be. Maybe he was too optimistic. Or maybe he’d been so focused on his relationship with Tori that he hadn’t bothered to pay attention to the lack of meaningful conversation among some of his former classmates, how the casual small talk never segued to genuine interest in one another’s lives. Sure, he socialized from time to time with his childhood friends, and several of them came in the store occasionally. He’d describe those encounters as friendly. But he hadn’t made much effort to stay truly connected to the guys he’d grown up with.
If he’d had a strong network beyond Tori and his parents, would fostering Wren be easier? Guilt nipped at him like a stealthy fox on the prowl.
The first heat of the race stumbled across the makeshift finish line on the Jacksons’ front lawn, then collapsed in a heap of laughter and limbs. Candace and her husband quickly claimed victory.
“Of course,” Savvy said, heaving a deep sigh.
“This race is just getting started.” He nudged her gently with his shoulder. “They haven’t seen what we’re about to bring.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.
Candace and her husband pushed to their feet, hollering and exchanging high fives. Yeah, he definitely wanted to beat them both. Candace’s husband was a decent guy, but Candace had overplayed her cards one too many times. And he hadn’t forgotten about how she’d spoken to Savvy in the store when Savvy had first come back to Opportunity. The woman couldn’t be trusted.
Wren sat on the front-porch steps, eating another cheese quesadilla under Mrs. Jackson’s watchful eye. Which meant Levi could focus his full attention on Savannah.
Man, he really wanted to kiss her. Which was absurd because this whole relationship thing was supposed to be fake. Tori hadn’t broken up with him all that long ago.
Savannah had only been home for about a week.
He’d noted the skeptical glances. A few whispers behind hands when Savannah fixed Wren’s hair before dinner. He’d never been able to hide so much as an ear infection or a common cold in this town, much less pull off pretending to date Savvy in the wake of his crushing breakup. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying. And his attraction to the beautiful redhead whose leg was currently tied to his seemed oh so very real.
He cleared his throat and tried to focus. “What’s your strategy here?”
She wrinkled her nose. “To not die of embarrassment.”
“Oh, come on. That’s a little negative, don’t you think? This is supposed to be fun.”
The edges of her lips twitched. “Perhaps. Just keeping it real, though.”
“My objective is to win. Yours is to avoid crushing embarrassment. How can we work together to achieve a common goal?”
She stared up at him. “Wow, Levi Carter. You might have a promising career in school administration, because that was brilliant.”
It was his turn to smile. “I have absolutely no interest in being a principal or a teacher. Although, I wouldn’t mind being a referee.”
“That does look fun. You’d look handsome in stripes.”
His heart kicked against his ribs.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks flushed, and her gaze skittered away. “I don’t know why I said that. You’d be a great referee.”
Buoyed by her unexpected compliment, he stood taller. “A lifetime of trying to keep Jasper from cheating has taught me a few things.”
“Oh, there’s a lot to unpack there.”
