Levi was in a meeting with the executive committee, discussing Chassis' quarterly earnings, when Angela walked into the boardroom with a relieved smile on her face.She leaned closer and whispered for his ears only. "Mr Van Holt, Ms Taylor's just arrived, sir."Levi glanced at his phone and frowned.11:05 AM.He never clock-watched any of his staff, never really cared what time they came in or left as long as they produced results. But when the staff member in question was his girlfriend and didn't spend the night with him in his bed and in his arms, then he cared deeply."What about Emily Hart?" he asked quietly."They came in together."Levi nodded and forced himself to focus on the pie graphs splashed on the screen. But hard as he tried to make sense of the numbers floating in front of him, he couldn't.With his mind and heart already on the third floor, the last hour of the meeting went by at an excruciatingly slow pace.As soon as Mark wrapped up his sales report, Levi shot out o
Natalie didn't have high hopes for the weekend after their fight earlier. But promptly, at 3:00 PM, she followed Levi to his car parked in the basement and did her best to ignore the electric jolt shooting up her arm and all the way to her heart when their hands touched lightly as he held the door for her.She'd missed him last night, and she desperately wanted him to hold her and kiss her now. But she didn't have to be psychic to know there'd be no kissing this weekend. No cuddling either. Levi was furious with her, and rightfully so. She'd blatantly lied to him. But what other choice did she have? It was either that or risk losing Colleen's trust and have her vanish again—"Seatbelt," he said curtly, breaking through her inner turmoil.Natalie nodded quickly and snapped it on, sighing at the memory of their time in Sparrow Beach, back when he helped her put the seatbelt on, and she thought he was going to kiss her. It was hard to believe their trip was just a little over a week ago.
They were the picture of love and bliss as they snuggled and held hands. If Natalie didn't know better, she would have thought she was no longer in the dog box with Levi; that's how loving and attentive he was throughout their chat with his parents.Leviticus, though, seemed to smell their bullshit from a mile away, his frown darkening the longer he scrutinised them from beneath his bushy greying eyebrows."How long exactly have you two known each other?" he asked, looking at Natalie, but the question was directed at his son.Levi was about to take off with him again when she placed a gentle hand on his arm. She'd handle this."I'm sure you've already figured it out from the background check you ran on me," Natalie smiled sweetly at him. "But to answer your question—long enough to know he's the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."Levi gaped at her, stunned disbelief written on his face. Natalie was mighty pleased with herself, glad to see she could still surprise him."How
Supper was served promptly at 6:00 PM.As Ms Baker took her to the formal dining room where Levi and his parents were already waiting, Natalie wondered just how many dining rooms there were and the difference between a farm and a ranch. But the latter wasn't something she'd ask out loud. She'd google it, lest she sounded ridiculous. There was no reason to give Leviticus more reasons to look down on her.Levi held the chair for her, and she sat down.All the dishes decked out on the massive dining table looked scrumptious, but she couldn't understand why they'd cook so much food for only four people.Throughout their meal, Cynthia asked Natalie numerous questions, from her childhood to her hopes and dreams for the future.She answered them all with a warm smile and even pulled out her phone to show her photos of her siblings."Look at all that hair," Cynthia gushed when she saw Jamie's curly afro. Laughing, she patted Natalie's hand. "I wish my hair was as thick. Don't ever age, dear."
Levi's parents had retired to the drawing-room.They both looked concerned when he walked in with Natalie trailing behind him."Sit!" he glowered at her. Something in his eyes must have told her now wasn't the time to trifle with him. She sat in the armchair closest to his mom without kicking up a fuss."Levi, you have to be careful with Natalie from now on," Cynthia warned him sternly. "She can't be under any stress, so try not to upset her."She was right, but at that moment, Levi couldn't, wouldn't listen to reason. He was utterly furious with Natalie, disappointed beyond measure, too."Tell them," he said as he crossed the room and paused in front of the window overlooking the pond in the backyard."Tell us what?" Leviticus looked very pleased with this sudden turn of events. The glee in his eyes screamed at Levi, 'I told you so'."Colleen is back," Natalie murmured as she stared at her hands on her lap."Oh Jesus," Cynthia gasped. "Did you say Colleen's back?""What did you just
Natalie pulled out her phone, dialled Colleen's number, and placed the call on speaker.Emily answered instead. "What's up? You have no idea how much gun-toting crazy chick can eat!""Em!" Natalie laughed. "Stop calling her that.""She's taking a bath, oh wait, here she is. She still has the gun, by the way. Maybe ask her to put it away. Bye, love you.""Yo, what's up?" Colleen came on the phone.Cynthia covered her mouth with her hand to block out her sobs, her shoulders trembling violently.Leviticus's eyes were moist with tears.Levi thought he didn't have any more tears in him, but when he heard his twin's voice again, he couldn't have been more wrong.He couldn't articulate the feeling of relief he felt knowing his twin was alive and well, and nine months of searching for her had finally led them to this moment.He'd imagine numerous scenarios playing out, had even prepared himself for the worst. So to hear his twin's voice was a miracle he'd started to believe would never happen
The digital clock screensaver on Natalie's phone said it was just after 9:00 AM. It had to be wrong, though, because if her math was right, she'd slept for over ten hours, and she should be feeling well-rested, but she didn't.She was still so exhausted the very thought of getting out of bed sapped the life from her. But if she didn't dash to the bathroom pronto, she'd have a real problem on her hands. So she tried to sit up, only to have Levi pull her back down on the bed and drape his arm around her, locking her in place.He snuggled closer, spooning her, and for that blissful moment, everything was perfect.It felt good, being in his arms and knowing they'd lived through one of their ugliest fights and came out on the other side stronger than before—"Good morning," Levi whispered into her hair. "You slept okay?""I did," Natalie replied with a hint of a smile as she turned around to look at him, her heart hammering out of control when she caught the intense look in his eyes.She'd
They headed to Chassis offices straight from the ranch. Levi left Natalie in his office while he went to the R&D area to figure out the server issue with the devs.Mark was there, overseeing the whole operation."What's the ETA?" Levi asked as they stood in front of the TV screen, watching live feeds of all their game servers in several countries."Four to five hours," Mark replied. "How was the meeting with the folks? Did Natalie survive the in-laws?""Let's talk in there," Levi pointed at an empty meeting pod. The other was occupied by a crew of technicians, their faces and hands permanently glued to their laptops.Angela came in as soon as they sat down to deliver their refreshments."Did Natalie eat?" Levi asked."No," she shook her head. "Ms Taylor's not feeling well. She threw up again, and she's lying down now.""Take care of her for me," he instructed her. "I'll be up shortly.""Yes, Mr Van Holt," Angela smiled and excused herself.Mark turned to him when they were alone. "Wha