“Mom,” he whispered, reaching for her. “Don’t cry.”
“I can’t help it. I want to go after Jane for you and fix this myself.”
“Okay, but you won’t, right?”
She both cried and huffed out a laugh against his chest, and he realized that while maybe his family didn’t always understand him, he’d never taken the time to understand them either. He never imagined that his moving away would bother them so much. At the time, he’d been desperate to find his own space, so much so that he’d unintentionally cut the people who loved him right out of his life.
And wasn’t that what he just accused Jane of doing?
Shit.
Legs weak, he dropped onto the couch and realized everyone was giving him a moment, offering silent support. “I really am an idiot.”
His mom started to open her mouth, but Tess gave her a subtle shake of her head and his mom pinched her mouth together.
Progress, he supposed. Too bad he couldn’t appreciate it with the taste of failure swamping him. Why had he pushed Jane so hard? Why push a truth she hadn’t wanted to hear, making her face her past and inadvertently playing off her worst fear—being walked away from. She’d done the walking, but still. He’d definitely pushed her into it.
He hated that, and at the moment, hated himself too. He needed to prove to her that it was real between them. “I made mistakes.”
“Well, who hasn’t?” his mom asked. “You’re a fixer, always have been. It hurts you when you can’t fix something. Like what Cal took from us. Or when Amy died—”
“Mom—”
“No, baby, listen. There are always going to be things in life that can’t be undone, no matter how badly you want it. But there are also plenty of things you can fix. Like you and Jane. I know you can fix this.”
Mateo nodded.
Tess nodded.
Hell, even his dad nodded.
Peyton opened her hand and offered him a melted chocolate kiss.
What the hell. He popped it into his mouth. “How?” he said. “How do I fix this?”
“Whoa.” Tess looked amazed. “He’s asking for advice. Quick, someone write the date down.”
His mom ignored this. “The fix isn’t easy,” she warned him. “You’re going to have to listen to your heart, which already has the answer.”
Great. Because Levi had no idea how to listen to his heart—which was pounding at the moment, so hard and fast that it hurt. “I might actually be having a heart attack.”
“Or . . . ?” Tess prompted.
“Or . . .” He swallowed hard. “Or I love her.”
“For such a smart guy,” his dad said, clapping a hand onto his shoulder in a rare display of affection, “it sure takes you a while to catch on.”
His mom was smiling. “Proud of you, baby.”
Levi moved to the door. “I’ve gotta go.”
“You’re going to go ask her to be your girlfriend for real, right?” his mom asked his back.
“I suggest groveling,” Tess said.
“Ditto,” Mateo said.
“Good luck, son,” his dad said. “You’re going to need it.”
Chapter 29
Jane pulled off the road for two reasons. One, because her defroster was on the blink and swiping her sleeve across the inside of the windshield to see the road better wasn’t working. Two, she was crying. Which might be why she couldn’t see the road.