Levi Warner is an established, older man—wealthy, powerful, and above all, respectable. Then Levi meets Daisy, an uninhibited 24-year-old dance instructor and artist, not exactly the kind of woman Levi is accustomed to. But the young, free spirit, brings out something in him he only experienced in fantasies. When their scorching affair turns into something unexpectedly deeper, Levi finds himself torn between preserving his reputation, and exploring a wilder and much more satisfying kind of life.
Excerpt:
Levi had tried to ignore it, that growing need
he felt every time he thought of her. She’d texted her thanks for the roses and
the wrap and he’d nearly called her to ask her to dinner. But he hadn’t and now
he sat, all by himself in his office at eight on a Friday night like an idiot.
“Why are you here?” Jonah came in and sat.
“Finishing up some stuff. I’m leaving in a few.
What’s up with you? Where’s Carrie?”
“Spending the night at a friend’s house.” Carrie
was Jonah’s daughter.
“Want to get dinner?”
“Yes, I do. I just got back from the mediation.”
Levi winced. “ Long- ass day.”
“I need a few drinks before I can process it.
I’m brain- dead.”
He and Jonah were close. More like best friends
than brothers most days, though they had their moments.
So it seemed sort of natural to bring Daisy up
once their steaks had arrived. The Metropolitan Grill’s large booths relaxed
him nearly as much as the scotch in his glass. “So I started seeing someone.”
Jonah looked up, interested. “Yeah? Who is she?”
“She’s twenty-four.” He blurted it out like a
shameful secret.
But Jonah only laughed.
“Goddamn, Levi. Good for you.”
“Her name is Daisy. She’s an artist. Mixed-
media stuff. Fucking stunning. Smart. Funny.”
“And twenty- four. Is it as awesome as I seem to
recall?”
He was going to pretend he didn’t know what
Jonah meant but he was too tired to. “Her body. God. She’s a dance instructor
too so she’s . . . flexible. And she’s got a lot of energy. All in all, yes,
awesome is a word I’d use.”
He wasn’t talking out of school. He knew Jonah
would keep it all to himself and it wasn’t as if he was disrespecting Daisy or
anything. But he needed to share or he’d explode.
“Flexible? Is that a nice way to say she’s bendy
during sex?” Jonah raised his glass.
Levi laughed. “Among other things, yes.”
“When do we get to meet her?”
Levi blew out a breath. “Yes, I can just see
that family dinner. Hey, Mom and Dad, this is Daisy. She’s twenty- four. She
has tattoos and pierced nipples. Oh and she’s an artist. They’ll love it.”
Jonah laughed. “Yes, I can see that. So is this
like a fling? A midlife crisis? Will you be trading in your BMW for a Porsche?
And how did you meet this woman?”
“I don’t know what it is. Other than new. I’ve only
known her a few weeks. I went to that damned dance class thing. I ended up in
the wrong room but she was one of the instructors and well.” He shrugged. “I
didn’t leave right away but I did eventually. And then I bumped into her and
learned she was an artist too.” He shook his head. “Anyway, again at the
grocery store until I gave in and asked her for dinner. Only we ended up at her
place and she made dinner for me. We went out again on Monday.”
“That’s when you found out how bendy she was?
And I do love a woman with tattoos and piercings. Sexy.”
Levi laughed. “Asshole. She’s a nice girl.
Christ. Girl.” He scrubbed his hands over his face.
Jonah shrugged and took a bite of his steak. “So
what? Are you fucking her and making it good for her? Do you respect her?”
Did collaring a woman’s throat during sex count?
“I’m not having a midlife crisis. And yes, I
respect her. Jonah, you should see her work. She’s incredibly talented.”
“Has she asked you for help?” Jonah’s gaze
narrowed.
He shook his head. “No. And she doesn’t need it
anyway. She donated a piece to me for an auction. She’s selling her work. Her
grandmother owns a gallery she helps run. She doesn’t need me. Not for that.”
“Then who cares if she’s twenty-four? Unless she
talks in baby talk or some shit. ’Cause that’s where I have to draw the line.”
“What sort of women are you getting involved
with that these things come to your mind?”
Jonah’d been married for fifteen years. He had a
fifteen- year old daughter who lived with him. His ex-wife had decided she got
married too young, had dumped their kid and their marriage and moved to New
York City where she spent Jonah’s money and barely paid attention to her old
life. Jonah was a good father. Better than their own. Carrie got great grades.
She had friends and worked hard, she even managed to handle Liesl. But he
rarely brought any of the women he was with around. Levi knew he kept his
relationships extremely casual. He told Levi he had no plans to get serious
with anyone, especially not until Carrie had finished school.
“Not the kind who baby talk. Then again, none of
them have been twenty- four. I’m totally full of shit to try to lie and say I’d
draw the line at baby talk. If I got my hands on some twenty-four year old
tits, and their owner baby talked, I suspect I’d just pretend not to hear it.”
Levi laughed, feeling a lot better. He needed to
just call her and ask her out again.
I cannot wait for this book!!! I love the concept of an older established man with a younger woman!!
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