Levi stopped at the shopping centre not too far from his place and wasted too many minutes trying to decide what to get Liam and Eden.He didn't know what married people liked or needed. Hell, other than Liam, all his buddies were still flying solo.Unable to decide between a pop-up toaster and a fancy kettle, he grabbed both and stopped at the toy store next. There, he knew what to get. After all, he was a big kid at heart.Ten minutes later, he was at Liam's penthouse.Dave, his pal's longtime butler, buzzed him in, almost crushing him to death with his enthusiasm as he gave him a gigantic hug. "If it isn't the young Mr Van Holt, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!""It's great to see you, too, Dave." Levi swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in his throat when bittersweet memories of all the days he'd spent at Liam's childhood home in Glen Eagles stirred to life."Come in." The older man ushered him inside and led him to the open plan living area.For a bewildering moment, Levi thoug

They stopped on Long Street and grabbed some takeaway pizza from Joe's Pub.Amber was in the living room painting her nails and watching reruns of some daytime soap when they got home. She helped them settle Jamie down on the three-seater couch for his afternoon nap, and the three of them huddled around the kitchen table for an early supper.Two hours later, they sat on the bleachers in the soccer field of Natalie's old high school. Amber had declined to tag along, and Casey was only too happy to take her spot beside Natalie.For ninety minutes, they cheered every time Sparrow Beach High scored a goal and booed whenever the away team got the ball, but the game ended in a draw, much to Jamie's disappointment.They made their way to the beach for the post-match get-together. The bonfire was already raging, and the party was in full swing when they arrived. Jamie drifted off to hang out with his crew while Natalie caught up with a few old friends. Suzanne and Emily, both self-proclaimed

Levi checked the time on his Apple watch and frowned.Fifteen minutes into the meeting and he was ready to rip everyone's heads off. So far, the beta testing team hadn't told him anything he wanted to hear. Instead, they'd given him too many reasons—no, too many excuses—for the poor results.To say the results were bad wasn't entirely true, though. The real issue was the sampling. The team had decided to focus on the male players instead of going for a fifty-fifty split like they were supposed to.Tired at last of listening to their rambling, Levi got up and threw off his jacket, the team growing as silent as church mice as he approached the front of the room.He paused in front of the screen and shot an icy glare at the numbers guy. "Bring up the data on female gamers across all the gaming platforms."Within seconds the screen changed as various data graphs came up."Out of the estimated forty-one percent, how many play Chassis Games?" he demanded.The screen flashed again, and everyo

Natalie immediately wanted to take back her words; she hated seeing Levi so crushed."Why not?" Mark took over the questioning."Well, the only female characters I've seen when my brother plays are bikini-clad NPCs. They do nothing but wave flags at the starting line and cheer the guys at the finish line. There are no playable female characters. Yeah, I know motorsport games appeal to males more, but can't females also be race car drivers? I'm pretty sure they can be badass it too.""What kind of game would you like to play?" Levi asked, his voice as gentle as it was back in his car when he almost ran her over, and that all too familiar feeling, like they were the only two people in the room, was back again."I don't know. I guess a game where females are not objectified. and they can fight and get shit done," she said, blanching at her choice of words. "I mean, I'd like to see strong female characters who are capable of running solo missions, and maybe sometimes save the guys instead

"Those two are so cute," Elektra said, placing fresh cups of red lattes on the table. "They recommended these. Apparently, it's the only thing they drink from here."Good to know, Levi smiled and safely filed away this piece of information."Where were we?" she asked, clasping her hands, her eyes shining with excitement."On Dreams.""Oh, right! The only reason I signed up is that all the potential dates are already screened, you know, so I don't have to sit for hours sifting through the gunk. I know the clients I get won't waste my time."Levi was tempted to point out Dreams was hardly a dating site, but he sipped his overly sweet red latte and nodded at her to carry on."What about you?"I'm looking for my sister, he thought but didn't say it out loud. Mark was very specific about what he could and couldn't say on the first date. He had to stay clear of any mention of Colleen at this point.He brushed off her question with a smile, returning all the attention to her. The least he sa