Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
Heath
Our first stop is the pet store to get food, toys, and a litter box for Bagel. The moment we walk out of the store with a whole bag worth of groceries seems to ease Ivy’s mind a little, and I can visibly see the weight slowly dropping off her shoulders.
“All done?” she asks as we hop inside the car.
“Not yet,” I reply, driving off.
“What else is there?”
“I’ve gotta stop by a car dealer,” I reply, racing through the streets.
She holds the car door. “Not so fast.”
“Sorry, can’t help it. Learned from the best.” I wink.
“Who?” she asks.
“My dad,” I reply, though I’m definitely not eager to see him.
When we finally get to his car dealership, I get out and open Ivy’s door for her just like before.
“Were you always this chivalrous, or is this your way of apologizing for your behavior?” she says.
I close the door and snort. “Please. Me? Apologizing?” I laugh. “Don’t be delusional.”
She rolls her eyes. “Figured.”
“I’m not opposed to begging for forgiveness, though,” I add while on the way to the shop.
She stops abruptly like she just couldn’t believe her ears.
But I meant every word.
“Are you coming?”
She clears her throat but doesn’t ask me anything. Instead, she follows me inside the shop, where it smells like expensive leather and untouchable metal. Like, for real, if anyone touches these cars, they’re dead. At least, if my dad catches them in the act.
“Heath, that’s a surprise, seeing you here.”
My dad walks out from behind his desk in his fancy suit. He doesn’t have to work here because he’s got a ton of companies under his name, but he still prefers to be hands-on at his favorite job, which is working directly with the cars.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Dad asks.
“Save it. I just want my old license plate back. Do you still have it?”
He frowns. “Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes,” he replies, leaning on the desk as he casually swoops his dirty blond hair aside. “If you’re going to do stupid shit, I’d like to know about it.”
With a smug smile, I reply, “Too late.”
His face drops. “Tell me what you did.”
“I’d rather eat shit,” I reply.
“Heath …” He groans, rubbing his forehead. “Listen, you can’t just come here and rope me into whatever.”
“You’re the last one to lecture me, Dad,” I grit. “It’s not like you and your friends were such Goody Two-shoes in school.”
His pierced brow rises. “That was different.”
“You were young,” I retort. “Now you’re not.”
“Wow.” He makes a fist and stomps his own heart. “Right in the chest.”
Ivy snorts behind me but quickly uses her hand to hide her laughter.
“Who’s this fine young lady?”
“No one you have to know about,” I reply.
“Well, you’re here in my car dealership, trying to get your old license plate back. I think you’re not in a great position to bargain,” he quips, with a nasty grin that reminds me way too much of what I look like in the mirror.
Dammit.
“So, who’s this lovely lady?” my dad asks, looking at Ivy.
Ivy steps forward. “Hi. My name’s Ivy.”
He shakes her hand. “Caleb Preston. Nice to meet you. Are you his girlfriend?”
I nearly choke on my own spit. “Jesus Christ, Dad, no!” Ivy looks mortified, so I shove my old license plate in his hands to change the conversation. “You’ve met her now, can I please have the old one back?”
“Fine, since you asked nicely this time.” He winks, embarrassing me all over.
Goddammit.
He goes to the back of the shop where the supplies are kept.
“So, that’s your dad, huh?” she mutters.
“Yup.”
“You two sure are alike.”
“Fuck no,” I growl, folding my arms.
She chuckles right when he comes back.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asks.
“Nothing,” I reply.
“I’m just impressed at how much you injected your genes into him,” Ivy muses.
“I know, I’m proud of my best work,” he says, patting me on the shoulder. “If only he didn’t get himself into so much trouble.”
I swat his hand away and snatch the license plate from his fingers.
“Would it kill you to hate me less?” he asks.
“Yes. It would,” I retort, and I promptly turn around and wave. “See you later.”
“Stop by the house some time, Heath. Mom misses you,” Dad calls as we make our way outside.
“She’ll be fine,” I yell back.
“Why do you talk to him like that?” Ivy asks.
“We’re not on the best of terms right now,” I reply.
“Why?”
I pause. “Do you have to pry like that?”
She puts her hands against her hips. “Like you’re prying into my life?”
Touche .
I open the car door, but she refuses to get inside until I finally speak up. I sigh out loud and run my fingers through my long hair. “He and my mom decided to ship my sister off to a boarding school and didn’t tell me until it was too late to say goodbye.”
The look on her face softens. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Now you do. Well, I had one, because she hasn’t contacted me ever since.”
She steps inside and I shut the door before fixing the plate on the back of the car. Then I hop behind the wheel. It’s quiet for some time as I start up the engine, but after I’ve driven off, she starts chewing her lip.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what?”
“It must be tough for you.”
Is she … pitying me?
“I’m fine,” I reply, grinding my teeth.
I don’t need pity, especially not from her.
“You obviously love your sister a lot,” she says, eyeing the bottle of pills still lying on my dashboard.
I swiftly snatch them off and tuck them into my pocket.
Still, she can’t look away. “You only have one family, Heath. Please, be kind to them.”
“Don’t concern yourself with mine when you’ve got your own shit to deal with,” I retort.
“I don’t have any,” she replies.
I frown, glancing her way between driving. “What do you mean?”
She averts her eyes. “I’m alone with Cora. I haven’t seen my mother in a long time. I can’t even remember the last time I saw her happy.” She sighs.
“What about your dad?”
“He’s dead,” she answers abruptly.
Oh. Fuck.
I did not see that one coming.
I swallow back the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry.”
She nods. “I’m just saying, don’t take the family you have for granted.”
Maybe she has a point.
And now I feel stupid for lashing out at her instead.
She’s done nothing to draw my ire. Nothing that involves my family, anyway. I grab her hand, squeezing it softly.
She briefly glances up at me, and a small smile tips up her lips before it immediately disappears again, and she pulls her hand away from mine, her cheeks flushing with heat.
“What size of clothes does Cora have?” I ask.
“Huh? Why do you ask?”
“I think it’s about time we put this baby to use.” I slap the steering wheel. “Now tell me where to drive, and I’ll take you there.”
After we’ve finished shopping for Cora, I put everything in the trunk of the car, then take Ivy to one of the high-end boutiques in Crescent Vale City.
Nothing is more satisfying than watching her put on twenty or more outfits to see if they fit. Her figure really shines in these gorgeous Chanel dresses, and I can’t keep my eyes off her.
Every time she exits the changing room, she looks like a completely different person, chic, daring, provocative, luxurious, all of it combined. And even though she has no clue how to wear the dresses, the dresses fit her to a T.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“They look lovely, but …” She turns around in the mirror and finds the tag, her face losing all its color. “That price tag, my God.”
I tap my fingers impatiently. “What about it?”
“It’s too high. I can’t pay for this,” she says.
My brow lifts. “How high?”
“Ten.”
“Million?”
Her pupils dilate. “God, no. Thousand.”
I snort. “I thought it’d be more.”
Now her mouth widens too, southward. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I can’t take this.”
She immediately goes back into the dressing room, and I sigh, rubbing my eyes.
When will this girl accept there is no saying no to us?
“Heath, can you help me?” she asks after a while.
I get up and approach the curtain she’s hiding behind.
“The zipper is stuck.”
I push open the curtain and find her half-dressed, with the golden dress drooping over her shoulders, the curve of her breasts clearly visible through the fabric, barely hiding the nipples.
And my God, does it make my mouth water.
I pull the curtain closed behind me and bring my hands up to her dress, slowly zipping it down. Wherever my fingers go, goose bumps follow in their tracks as my eyes connect with hers through the mirror.
“You look gorgeous in this dress,” I mutter.
She blushes. “Thank you.”
I pause near the crevice in her back while she clutches the dress close to her body, almost as if she’s afraid of revealing what’s underneath even though I’ve already seen every inch of her delicious body.
But I want more.
So much fucking more.
This girl who has taken ahold of Max’s heart is fiery and brave, and I want nothing more than to steal her heart away before she gives it to him.
But is it already too late?
I brush along the sides of her arms, barely grazing her skin, and all the tiny little hairs on her skin come to life under the palm of my hand despite it being the smallest of touches.
“What did you mean when you said I stole something from you that wasn’t mine to take?” she asks, still looking at me through the mirror.
She looks so fucking beautiful in this dress.
More beautiful than anything I could’ve ever imagined.
And all I want to do is tear it all off and take her right here, right now.
I lean in to whisper into her ear, “You stole something precious from me… something I kept to myself…”
I place a soft kiss underneath her ear and watch her reaction in the mirror as I slowly draw a line down her neck all the way to her shoulder. She tilts her head sideways.
She sucks in a breath, clearly struggling with being so close to me. “Is this because of … Max?”
My eyes bore into hers.
No.
Not now.
Not him.
Me.
I have her now. She’s mine. And if he wants her so badly, then I’ll make her want me instead.
So I grip her face and force her to turn as I slam my lips onto hers.