Free Charitable Hearts by EJ McCay

their orders. When the waiter left, Levi didn’t let her finish the question.
    “Because I got tired of the press asking about my dating. Everywhere I went someone was asking and she needed a place to stay because she blew all of her money and she wasn’t getting any jobs. So we made a deal. She could stay with me and she would pretend to be my girlfriend; although, lately, she’s tried to do more than pretend.”
    Maggie’s mouth hung open. “So all this time, you’ve been pretending?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I mean, I guess I understand but, wow.”
    “So, she doesn’t know I’m here with you because it’s none of her business. In fact, she may be moving out soon.”
    “Oh.” Ohhhh…
    Levi smiled and ran his hand through his hair. Maggie smiled because no matter how many times he ran his hand through it, it still stuck up in spots. Levi chewed on his lip. He looked like he was trying to work up the courage to say something, but Maggie couldn’t figure out what he could possibly… oh no.
    “I need to tell you about Rachel.”
    Maggie sighed with relief on the inside. “No, you don’t. It’s okay.”
    “No, I need to. Please let me.” Levi watched Maggie. She nodded her head slightly. A small part of him felt like chickening out, but it was now or…well it was now. “Okay, so I’m sure you know I was married.”
    “Laura told me. I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t go looking for information.”
    “It’s okay. Anyway, Amelia was my sister.” Levi studied her expression. “You knew that too, though.”
    Maggie simply smiled. She wouldn’t betray Gary.
    “I won’t ask you how you know because I’m pretty sure I have an idea who told you. So, I met Rachel about a year before Amelia, well, before she passed away.” He frowned and looked away. I still can’t use the “d” word, he thought . Levi cleared his throat, and looked at Maggie again. “It was a pretty tough time for me.” Levi paused as the waiter delivered their food. They’d each ordered something the other had found interesting so they could share.
    Levi had ordered a burger with a side of Gouda mac and cheese and Maggie had gotten a fry bread taco with sweet potato fries. It was an odd combo, but it smelled delicious. Maybe more than it normally would because Maggie was beyond hungry when it arrived.
    “So, you were saying it was a tough year?”
    He more or less just pushed his food around on his plate. “Amelia started having complications. The lung transplant she had seemed to be working great for a while, but she kept getting sicker and sicker. I met Rachel while Amelia was in the hospital and I was having trouble dealing. Looking back, I knew my relationship with her was just a way of dealing with what Amelia was going through.”
    Maggie could hear the pain in his voice. It was a pain she understood too well. The way he was able to sit and talk about it made her look at him in a completely different way. It took a courage she didn’t possess.
    “So, when Amelia met Rachel she was livid. Rachel was superficial, obnoxious, and she didn’t love me. I was just an actor and she wanted her fifteen minutes of fame, but I just couldn’t let her go, ya know? I knew Amelia was…” Levi’s eyes watered. “I knew Amelia was dying and I was going to be alone.”
    “You had Gary.”
    “At the time, I was in a spiral. I knew I had my best friend, but I have never felt more alone in my life. When Amelia died, I asked Rachel to marry me. I overlooked so many red flags because I was hurting so bad I couldn’t think straight.”
    “I understand that.”
    Levi frowned and studied Maggie’s face. “You really do, don’t you?”
    Maggie pulled her eyes away from him. “So, what happened?” She asked, deliberately moving the conversation back to him.
    “I walked in on her having sex with another guy in our bed. I was supposed to be gone an entire week, but I got home early. I found out through the divorce she’d been having an affair