Love Me Tomorrow (31 page)

Jake smiled at that, he couldn’t seem to help himself. Setting aside the fact his sister sounded completely ludicrous using the word ‘bestie’, let not the fact his love life was currently in shambles interfere with Julia’s social schedule in any way.

She started to close the door, then popped her head back out. “You okay?”

He sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “Will be.”

“Sorry, sport,” Julia said, pooching her bottom lip out. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Jake said, relieved when she finally retreated back into the bedroom. He sucked down the remaining bourbon left in his glass and stood, deciding a scalding hot shower and some time to himself would do him some good. He needed to think about what he wanted to do and when would be an appropriate time to do it.

Tonight, he’d give Levi the space he’d asked for and tomorrow Jake could begin a new day with a clear head. From there he could figure out a game plan for the rest of his life.

Chapter Fourteen

Sighing in relief, Levi looked out across the noisy party-goers in the Rainbow Palace, realizing that while the party was beginning to kick into high gear, the hard part was over. They’d finally finished clearing away the last remnants of dinner and Armand and his cake-posse were currently in the process of hacking the monstrous beast into tiny-plate-sized pieces for the guests to enjoy at their leisure. The massive cake had been wheeled out to a resounding approval of gasps, oohs and ahhs and finally a round of applause.

Levi had been not so politely asked by Armand to stay a minimum of ten feet away from the cake at all times in the wake of the ‘grotesque mishap’ that occurred during the tasting last month.

Smash one teeny-tiny cake and I’m marked for life as the destroyer of baked goods
.

It was irritating, especially considering Armand’s cake Nazis had been ordered to keep Levi in their sights at all times, as if he were some sort of pastry assassin. However, he bit his lip and decided it was worth submitting to any level of bizarro behavior if it meant Armand would continue to work with him in the future—no matter how ridiculous it seemed in the moment.

The dance floor had begun to see a few couples take to floor now that the big band was in full swing and the crowd went wild when they spotted Alec Altman walk out onto the stage. Alec was the star-du-jour on the theatre circuit, starring in the revival of
On The Town
at the Hudson Grand Theatre, which Julia had been raving about for weeks now. She adored Alec who, as chance would have it, had gone to college with Levi. They hadn’t been close friends, but they had shared a few, which made side-stepping agents and publicity reps for that initial contact easier.

Personal connections aside, they’d still paid through the nose to have Alec race to the Rainbow Palace after closing the show in order to sing one song, but Gregory had insisted, his anniversary gift to Julia.

In terms of what to get the gal who had everything, Levi had to tip his hat to Gregory over this one. Julia was beaming, which was likely all the proof Gregory needed to know he’d hit this one out of the park. He led Julia across the dance floor as Alec began singing the Irving Berlin classic,
They Can’t That Away From Me
. According to Jake, that song in particular held a special meaning for the couple, who’d suffered through a few turbulent years after they were first married.

Levi smiled, watching the two of them dance, unable to fathom they were ever anything other than who they appeared to be now—completely in sync with one another—everything Levi imagined a couple should be.

Julia and Gregory were a team.

And I’m still just the team of me.

That familiar sense of sadness swept over him and Levi found himself surveying the crowd trying to spot Jake—who he discovered was staring back at him. Levi suffered yet another tiny little death inside, wishing things were different—that Jake was his. His heart already belonged to Jake and consciously Levi was aware that he needed to take it back, but deep down he didn’t want to. A miserable pang of loneliness came over him, and Levi quickly turned his attention back toward the happy couple, trying in vain to bury that longing deep inside himself.

“You did notice who isn’t here?” Valerie asked, sneaking up behind Levi and nearly scaring the crap out of him. “Interesting development.”

“Never sneak up on me like that again,” Levi demanded, still clutching his chest, “and I saw Victor earlier today, he likely got called away on business. That apparently happens a lot in his line of work.”

“Who are we talking about?” Angelo asked, coming up on Levi’s other side and scaring the crap out him once more.

“Are you two in cahoots now?” Levi asked. “Gonna give me a freakin’ heart attack.”

“I was mentioning that Jake’s love-vah doesn’t appear to be in attendance this evening,” Valerie said, utilizing a hoity-toity tone.

Levi rolled his eyes, locking gazes with Armand who was standing next to the cake table, still giving Levi the stink-eye.

“That man really doesn’t like you,” Angelo said, grinning over the fact.

Surprisingly, Levi found himself grateful for Armand’s hatred, considering it had just changed the subject.

“Almost as strongly as Jake Freeman seems to want you and all your naughty bits,” Valerie said, drawing all of their attention back over to Jake who was still watching Levi intently.

Levi scowled, glancing back and forth between Armand and Jake. “Odd how there seems little difference between expressions of hatred and desire.”

“Unless Jake hates you now as well,” Valerie said, smiling greedily as Levi squelched the urge to strangle the life out of her.

It annoyed him more to see she enjoyed the negative attention.

“We could teach them both a lesson,” Angelo cooed into Levi’s other ear, “I could bend you over the cake table and—”

“Seriously, not the time,” Levi said, cutting Angelo off before he could even get started. “Christ, it’s like I’ve got an evil angel in one ear and a slutty angel in the other.”

Angelo laughed and Levi wondered what he’d done wrong in a past life to find himself surrounded by so many sadomasochists in this one.

Applause erupted as Alec finished his song and he bowed several times before hopping down the steps to the dance floor to shake hands with Gregory and give Julia a hug. Levi smiled, thrilled by how happy Julia seemed. It was odd that he found himself so protective of her in such a short amount of time—but if he’d had a sister, Levi would’ve wanted one just like her.

“Ugh, what a sap-fest this party is,” Valerie sighed, frowning.

Levi rolled his eyes, thinking with his luck, if he’d had a sister he’d have likely gotten a demented Valerie and not a sweet Julia.

“There’s a lot of hot guys here though,” Angelo said, mischievously leering at a prime piece of tuxedo-wrapped beefcake as he passed by the three of them.

Make that a demented Valerie and her slutty twin brother, Angelo.

He glanced down at his watch, thinking he’d give Julia and Gregory another thirty minutes or so before sneaking them out of the party and whisking them away for their surprise. Looking around the room, he gave himself a pat on the back for successfully pulling off yet another major event. He was two for two now with large social events like the Cancer Gala and now Julia and Gregory’s anniversary. Considering the jam-packed schedule Goode City had moving into the New Year, Levi would have many more opportunities to prove himself and build upon the solid foundation of his new reputation.

He locked gazes once more with Jake, unable to keep himself from thinking how any success he was enjoying now was tempered by the one thing missing from his life. Strange that something he’d never had before and hadn’t even missed until meeting Jake, now managed to be the single linchpin that might otherwise hold his own happiness in place. As it was, Levi felt lost, adrift in his own life.

Everything felt far away in that moment—like some piece of history uncovered during research—something that had happened to him once upon a time.

Ruby’s words from several weeks before, about how he would feel in the twilight of his life—left with nothing but regrets, had managed to become lodged inside his head, playing on a loop. He hated that this sadness had managed to stay with him, hanging overhead like a dark cloud. Especially considering the immediate forecast appeared to call for nothing but cloudy skies ahead.

“You okay, boss?” Valerie asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

Levi nodded, forcing a smile. “If you two think you can handle things, I might go home after abducting the happy couple?”

“Absolutely,” Angelo said, patting him on the back. “It’s mostly just overseeing drunken partygoers at this point, anyway, right?”

Valerie nodded in agreement. “Feel free to take off whenever you’re ready.”

“Great,” Levi said, “I’ll go find David and sign off on the bill as it now stands.”

“I can handle payment later,” Valerie said.

“Fair enough, I’ll go take care of that now,” Levi said, giving each of them hug. “Great work tonight, both of you.”

“We know,” Valerie said, matter-of-factly, causing Angelo to burst out laughing.

Levi shook his head, thinking he’d better enjoy the short bout kindness and concern he’d managed to illicit from her while it lasted and took off through the crowd to hunt down David. He didn’t turn to confirm it, but he could feel Jake’s eyes watching every move he made, and Levi reminded himself the torture was nearly over.

* * * *

David had helped Levi lead Julia and Gregory into the Wilde City Tower elevators that were hidden away back in the employee staging area. They had since descended the eighty-plus floors down to the basement lower-levels. From there, Levi was able to sneak the couple back across the street using the secret underground tunnels that connected Wilde City Tower to the Harper Grand—typically reserved for the Secret Service and visiting presidents, royalty or the famous musicians who stayed in the hotel and took gigs in the Palace. Levi made use of the tunnels now, keeping his clients’ exit under the radar. There were no doubt photographers from the local media still skulking about along the sidewalks outside; hoping to catch candids of drunken local celebs as they left the event.

Levi waved a goodbye to David as they made the final turn and headed up a set of concrete steps before entering a back of house corridor in the hotel. They were greeted by Marilyn, the catering and events coordinator for the Harper Grand, who quickly led them down the hall past the kitchen and staff dining room, and then through a maze of hallways that ran behind the hotel meeting rooms and ballrooms.

Marilyn was a petite little thing with a soft, raspy voice who was perpetually outfitted in a skirt and jacket—always professional looking and forever smiling.

“And here we are,” Marilyn said, motioning toward a door. “You remember how to find your way back out, Levi?”

Levi smiled at her. “I do and thank you again for all your help.”

“Anytime,” Marilyn said, before turning and heading back the way they’d come, her heels clicking against industrial-tiled floor.

“Is anyone going to tell us what is going on?” Julia asked, appearing to have finally reached the end of her patience with all the intrigue.

Levi laughed under his breath at the two of them. Gregory looked excited while Julia was not having any of it. Gregory put his arm around her waist and she leaned into him, rolling her eyes like she was aware that she was getting irritable.

“Thinking back to that night we first met at the Cancer Gala, there was something you said that stuck with me, Julia—something to the effect that expecting any semblance of romance on your anniversary was a lost cause.”

She sort of smirked, nodding her head before glancing up at her husband, who looked less than pleased. “Sorry, love, but we both know it to be true.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s all right to just throw in the towel and give up on the idea,” Gregory said, giving his wife a squeeze. “How depressing can we get?”

“That was sort of my thought as well,” Levi said, placing his hand on the door. “I made it my mission to prove you wrong, and with the help of your brother, we’ve put something together for the two of you… or rather had something put together for you.”

“Intrigue, I’m all aflutter,” Julia said.

“Now, I understand how important privacy is to you both, so as you head inside the room here, keep in mind that myself, Jake, and Darius Wertz, the artist I enlisted to help us, are the only ones who have seen this, and that will remain the case—the two of you being the only exception.”

“Now I’m nervous,” Julia muttered.

“I wanted something on a huge scale that the two of you could experience together,” Levi said. “This is my gift to the two of you.”

Julia smiled hearing that, and Levi laughed at her, recalling that Jake had mentioned how much she enjoyed getting presents.

“Just go inside and follow the path. When you come out on the other side there will be someone waiting to whisk you away to Glennellen where you’ll spend a romantic weekend without all your relatives around.”

“How did you manage that?” Gregory asked, seeming mistrustful that such a thing might even be possible.