Read Online Melodies of the Heart: A Pinewood Grove Sweet Romance by Sarah Paisley - Free Book Online Page B

place.”
    “Won’t the kids come down here now?” he asked as he tucked his sunglasses away. “They’re probably itching to have some fun after church.”
    “Nah,” she assured him. “They’ll all head to ShopMart or go home to their Xboxes. No one really comes out here anymore. Anyone old enough drives up to the state park where there’s a real beach and fire pits and stuff.”
    “Gotcha,” Levi said and Kassidy took a seat behind him on the moss covered log. It wouldn’t be good for her dress, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to be close to him.
    “Any word from Murph?” Kassidy asked as she fumbled with her fingers. Her gloves were suddenly too hot, too constricting on her fingers, and she took them off and shoved them in her pocket.
    “Not yet,” he told her with a shrug. “So how was bingo last night?”
    To her own surprise, Kassidy laughed at that. “It was good,” she told him. “Only one fight broke out.”
    “A fight?” Levi asked, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.
    “Don’t think like some sort of fist fight,” she laughed back. “But there is always someone who accuses someone else of cheating. To be fair, Mr. Grant does cheat a fair bit. They normally just accuse each other of it and then yell across the room until Mary Alice puts her foot down. Once someone even threw a dabber at someone else.”
    “And the retirement home still lets you guys do bingo?” he asked her.
    “Of course,” Kassidy told him. “Honestly, they love it. The fighting is the best part. They need some excitement in that place and we give it to them. To be honest, Mary Alice riles them up on purpose.”
    “I’m not surprised,” Levi laughed at that. “She’s a fun old bird.”
    “Well, she had nothing but nice things to say about you,” Kassidy told him.
    “Oh?” Levi asked, the laughter stopping.
    “Yeah, she thinks you’re pretty okay,” Kassidy told him. In truth, Mary Alice thought Levi was a lot more than okay. While they ran the bingo game, she’d made it clear that she thought very highly of the rock star who was sleeping under her roof. She was the only woman in town who would tell Kassidy that she would be a fool not to go for him, which only made Kassidy love her more.
    “Well, tell her I think she’s pretty okay, too,” Levi said. “And so are you.”
    “Sorry?” Kassidy asked, though she knew exactly what he meant. Nerves flared up in her belly and she was paralyzed. Even as Levi put his hand on hers, she couldn’t move even though she’d been dreaming about what she knew was about to happen since she first laid eyes on him.
    Her heart was pumping hard in her chest as Levi leaned in closer to her. His brown eyes, soft and beautiful, met hers and she so badly wanted what he was about to do. She’d imagined his lips on hers half a hundred times already, but now that it was about to happen, she didn’t know what to do.
    The moment was perfect. The babbling creek beside them, the shade of the trees above. The little grove was one of her favorite places in town and she was showing it to someone she truly felt that spark with. He felt it too, that much was clear, and he wanted to kiss her.
    But she couldn’t do it. As Levi leaned in, his perfect lips so close to hers, Kassidy forced herself to turn away.
    “Is something wrong?” Levi asked, backing off immediately when she moved away from him.
    “No,” she lied. “Yes. I don’t know. Levi, I... I want to, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t want to get attached only to have you leave in a few days when your bike gets fixed.”
    “I understand,” he said. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he let it go again. “How about I walk you home?”
    “Okay,” she said with a nod, but the excited nerves in her belly were already transforming into something else, something darker. Regret and worry filled her as Levi walked with her out of the brush and back toward the bakery.
    Luckily, the roads were