Three Grumpy Groomsmen

34. Ivy

CHAPTER 34

Ivy

It would really suck to go through this alone.

That thought keeps going through my head on repeat.

I give a shudder because even being casually interviewed by FBI agents, knowing I had done nothing wrong, it was still a little unnerving.

But I had Harrison and Ford standing by my side through this whole debacle, and I’m so grateful for that. They’ve been reassuring me, talking to a lawyer, and holding me at night.

On top of the way Liam left, I need their arms around me even more.

As we sit in Raw, the interviews done, and the searches concluded, I feel better that none of Brad’s mess is going to land on me, but I’m agitated that I don’t have my phone. They confiscated it to do further electronic analysis to make sure I wasn’t aware of Brad’s illegal activities.

Because of that, I don’t even know if Liam made it back to L.A. or if he’s trying to reach out to me or Harrison or not.

I’m sure he is. Even though we all got frustrated and angry and Liam left Honeysuckle Harbor upset, it wouldn’t be like him to not be in touch.

Without my phone, though, I have no idea.

It’s making me incredibly anxious.

Harrison asked his father to text Liam for us to let him know what was going on, and yet we haven’t heard anything, so all we can assume is that he’s still upset with us.

“You need to eat something,” Ford urges me, as I sit at the bar with his father on one side of me and Harrison’s father on the other.

“Listen to my son,” Ford’s dad, Greg, says. “You look pale.”

“I’m not sure I can eat.”

“I don’t blame you. It’s not every day you have the FBI on your ass,” Bill comments, gesturing to the two agents who are still in Raw, tucking into a seafood platter while they pour over documents.

Harrison, who is on the other side of the bar, serving himself a snifter of bourbon, eyes his father. “Helpful, Dad, thanks. Why are you here again?”

“We just wanted to make sure you kids are okay and that you’re not being bullied without benefit of legal counsel. You’ve got a lawyer right here, you know.” He gestures to Ford’s father.

“We are very much aware of that.” Harrison sips his bourbon and sets it down. “You know we’ve run everything past him, and we did reach out to the lawyer we’ve used for the restaurant since Greg is retired.”

Ford rubs my back. “I’m going to go get you some soup. You need to eat.”

“Okay, thanks.” I muster up a smile for Ford. “I appreciate you taking care of me.”

“Always,” he says simply, leaning in to give me a kiss.

When he heads into the kitchen, Harrison works a martini shaker. “When I see Brad, I’m going to knock him out cold. This is all bullshit. We haven’t been able to order any supplies without our computers and Chef has been scrambling to come up with creative dishes based on what food we have in stock.”

“You could have just closed for a few days.”

Penelope Fraser, who is in her eighties and eats lunch at the bar every single day, pipes in from her usual stool three down from me. “I’d starve without Raw,” she proclaims dramatically. “Thank you for not closing.”

Harrison pours her a martini and hands it to her with a flourish. “I’d never let that happen to you, Penelope. Over my cold dead body.”

What I think is incredible is that if someone has dined in Raw in the last few days and didn’t have cash to pay for their meal, Harrison has just been writing it down in a notebook and telling them, “we’ll settle up later.”

He’s been paying the servers tips out of his own pocket.

When I suggested he might never get some of those tabs settled, he and Ford both laughed.

“People here aren’t like that,” Ford had assured me. “They’ll all pay.”

“That’s a small town for you,” Harrison had shrugged. “No one wants to screw over their neighbors.”

It’s yet another reason to love living here.

Penelope giggles at Harrison’s comment now. “You’re a sweetheart, Harrison. You always have been. Come here.”

He leans in obediently and she pats his cheek. “Don’t let this nonsense get you down. I can tell you’re fretting.”

“I’m fine,” he says in protest. “I can handle the Feds. I’m just worried about Ivy.”

And Liam.

That is what really has pinched his mouth and given him shadows under his eyes. He told me and Ford he heartily regrets the way he handled Liam’s decision to go back to L.A. Without his phone to reach out, he’s been tossing and turning in the middle of the night. He thinks he’s hiding it, but we know him.

When I suggested he borrow a phone and call him, he’d said that if Liam wanted to talk to us, he would have responded to his dad.

“Well, this business seems to be wrapping up. They told the boys they would have their phones and Raw’s computers back by tonight.” Greg lifts an oyster. “Since they didn’t find any connection between them and Brad.”

“I’ve never been so grateful to have severed business ties with someone,” Harrison says, pouring the remaining liquid from the shaker into another glass. He adds an olive and pushes it in front of me. “Here you go, sweetheart. I’m sure you could use this.”

“I do need this.” I take a tiny sip, letting the vodka slide down my throat and warm my insides. “And I’m glad Brad and I never shared bank accounts. Though I’d like to think if we had, I would have noticed huge deposits of money and called him out on it. But maybe not.”

Because honestly, I’m not sure I would have. Brad always had money, and he did paid appearances and made tons of money from the show and the restaurant. If money had appeared in our personal account, I’m not sure I would have questioned its origin.

“Five million is a bit hard to explain away,” Bill says.

Even though that number is mind-boggling to me, I still shrug. “Brad is a good liar.”

Hell, he convinced me he loved me.

But the depth of his deception is a little overwhelming. He was using the restaurant for an elaborate money laundering and Ponzi scheme. He was taking investor money and using it for personal expenses, as well as creating fake businesses and invoicing the restaurant for services that were never rendered, like electrical work and a new commercial kitchen installation.

It was bold and reckless and I sat there as the agents explained some of it to me, words like “federal mail fraud” and “racketeering” being thrown around.

“Brad is a crook,” Greg says. “I feel terrible for the Richardsons. They invested in him opening that restaurant.”

That makes me reach for my martini glass. “Oh, no! Do you know how much?”

“I think about a hundred grand.”

I chew my bottom lip as Ford emerges from the kitchen. “I’m going to pay them back then with the money from the house sale. I can’t just keep that money and have them going into retirement out that much cash.”

“It’s not your responsibility but that is definitely the honorable thing to do, Ivy,” Bill says, nodding in approval. “Good for you.”

Harrison is frowning.

“What?” I ask him.

“Well…that’s kind of like me paying the Richardsons back since I bought your house and I feel guilty I didn’t already think of that.”

It makes my heart twinge. Harrison is still caught up in thinking all he brings to the table is money. “We’ve had a lot going on. Obviously. You can’t think of everything.”

Harrison looks slightly sheepish. “I should think of everything.”

Everyone eyes him. “Is there something else you want to say?” I coax.

“You’re going to make me say it?”

“Yes.”

Harrison sighs as Ford emerges from the kitchen and moves in beside Harrison. He puts a bowl of bisque in front of me.

“I should have handled Liam needing to go back to work better. I was an asshole.”

It’s hard for him to admit that, and I appreciate it. I squeeze his hand.

“It wasn’t any of our finest moments,” Ford says. “But yes, you were an asshole.”

Harrison’s nose wrinkles, and he lifts his bourbon to his mouth. “I realize that now. I’m sorry. I really am. I just…”

“Love them,” Bill fills in the blanks.

“Yes. I love you, and I love Liam. I want you to stay here.”

I pick up my spoon. “We all need to work on our communication. This is new. But we can do this, right?” I ask, earnestly. I need to hear he’s committed to making this work.

He nods and puts his hand over mine, massaging my fingers. “Yes. One hundred percent. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve already lost Liam. I can’t lose you too, Ivy.”

“Why do you think you’ve lost Liam?” Bill asks. “Didn’t he just go back for his job?”

“I don’t know. He went back to California really upset with me.”

There is a pit in my stomach. “And me. I shouldn’t have said there was nothing in California for me. I hurt him.”

“So just talk to him,” Bill says, like this is the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m sure y’all can work it out.”

“Dad, he never answered you when you texted him that we don’t have our phones. I think that’s a pretty clear message that he’s still not ready to talk.”

“That shouldn’t stop you,” Ford’s father says.

I look at Ford. In a way, this is what Ford originally wanted—me with him and not Liam.

Yes, he’s been sympathetic to my upset, but maybe he’s secretly happy it’s working out like this.

But to my delight, he’s nodding firmly. “Dad is right. This isn’t over until we’ve all talked through our relationship. Liam belongs with us and we need to try to make this work. For all of us.”

My heart squeezes. “Thank you,” I tell him. “I love you.”

Ford smiles. “I love you too.” Then he turns to Bill. “Text him again. Tell him we urgently need to talk to him.”

Bill obediently pulls out his phone and his reading glasses. He scrolls through his phone, then frowns. “Oh, shit. Look, I typed up the message but then I forgot to hit send.”

“ What ?” Harrison roars, reaching over the bar top and yanking his father’s phone out of his hand. “Dad! What the fuck?”

“Sorry, son. Sometimes I forget to do that.” Bill makes a face like he forgot to get milk at the store, not that he forgot to tell our boyfriend we desperately miss him and want to talk to him but we’ve had all our electronics confiscated by the FBI.

“Oh, my god!” Harrison runs his hand through his hair and sets the phone down on the bar. He hits send on the text. “William must think I’m a complete insensitive bastard. Even more than he already did.” He turns and puts his palms on the back counter, bending over like he’s trying to gather his thoughts.

I’m reaching for the phone to just call Liam when a laugh rings out at the table where the agents are seated. I’m momentarily distracted by the fact that Ford’s sister, Frannie, is doing a hair flip as she puts down yet another dessert plate in front of the muscular agent.

“That agent has had at least four desserts,” Penelope comments. “What a hungry fella.”

“I don’t think he loves just the pastries,” Bill comments. “He’s been eyeing Frannie and vice versa all day.”

“What?” Ford exclaims, his eyes widening as he studies the interaction.

“That’s consorting with the enemy.”

The new voice coming from behind us makes me jump a little. I turn. “Oh good grief, Sam, you scared me.”

Harrison’s grandfather must be the oldest ninja in existence, because I had no idea he had come into Raw.

“Having the Feds on your ass would make anyone jumpy,” he says, sounding almost exactly like his son, Bill. Or maybe Bill sounds like him.

At any rate, it only serves to make Harrison even more agitated. “Why is everyone being so fucking casual?” he demands. “This is a disaster!” Then he turns to Penelope. “Sorry for the language, ma’am.”

His apology for using a word he uses two dozen times a day is adorable to me.

“No offense, Harrison. Love brings out strong emotions.”

“Love?” Sam asks. “I thought we were talking about Brad Richardson being a crook.”

“We were but we’re also discussing how these kids need to work out their poly relationship,” Greg says. “What with Liam decamping to California and all. They’re not going to be happy until they’re all together.”

Harrison has his father’s phone to his ear. “Liam isn’t picking up.”

My heart sinks. What is going on with Liam?

The pastry loving and flirting-with-Frannie FBI agent has stood up and walks over to us. He sets two phones down on the bar. “Harrison and Ford, your phones have been released.”

“Thank God.” Harrison grabs his and does facial recognition to unlock it. “I’m calling Liam.”

“And my phone?” I ask. I have the definite feeling I’m not getting mine back.

“I’m sorry, miss. Yours has been sent to the field office for further analysis. But you’re not under suspicion. We just need to see if there is anything useful to our investigation. And you’re sure you don’t have any idea where Brad might have gone?”

I shake my head. They’ve already asked me this ten times. “I honestly have no idea. Brad obviously didn’t come here and I have no idea where he might go.” My initial thought was Mexico but that’s only because it seems the easiest. I have no basis for thinking that, so I’ve kept that to myself. I don’t want another round of probing questions I don’t have answers for.

“Thank you all for your help and for lunch.” The agent gives us a wave. “We’ll be in touch.”

“What am I going to do without a phone?” I ask to no one in particular. I feel sick to my stomach about Liam.

“I already ordered a new one,” Ford says. “It should be here any minute. I got one hour delivery.”

“His phone is going straight to voicemail,” Harrison announces.

Sam is fiddling with his own phone. “Oh, that’s because he’s in the air. He has a layover in Denver.”

“What?” I gape at him. “Why is he going to Denver?”

“I talked to him yesterday. Told him what was going on. He tried to get a flight last night but they were all booked. He’s on a flight now to Denver, then he has a five-hour layover, then he lands in Charleston at…” Sam peers at his phone. “Nine-oh-seven tonight.”

Liam is flying back to Honeysuckle Harbor.

Hope surges through me.

“That’s great! Oh my god, I’m so relieved.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that last night?” Harrison asks his grandfather.

“I didn’t want to interfere in your love life.”

Harrison snorts. “Ivy, grab your purse.”

“What? Why?”

A delivery man walks into the restaurant. “Ivy Scott?”

“That’s me.” I sign for a package. My new phone.

When I look up to see Ford and Harrison are exchanging a look.

“You in?” Harrison asks him.

Ford nods. “All the way.”

“On what?” I can’t keep up with what’s happening.

“We’re flying to Denver,” Harrison says, breaking out in a grin. “To get our William. You in?”

“Fuck yes,” I exclaim, leaping off of my stool. “Sorry, Penelope.”

Penelope looks up from her drained martini. “Hmm?”

The dads and Harrison’s grandfather all grin at us. “Go get him!” Bill shouts, giving a fist pump in the air.

“Grandpa, we’ll talk about why you didn’t tell us sooner a bit later. Right now, we have a plane to get on.” Harrison launches himself over the bartop, spinning his legs and dropping to the floor.

“It would have taken an extra two seconds to walk around, son,” Bill says.

“That’s too much time to wait to see the love of my life,” Harrison declares.

Ford nods. “I agree.” He follows suit over the bartop. Then he glances at his own ass. “Oh, shit, I ripped my pants.”

I laugh in delight and lock arms with two of my three guys. “Let’s go get our man.”