21. Ivy
IVY
FOUR YEARS AGO
N ancy’s peal of laughter blends with the upbeat, lively music and voices of the sixty-plus people crammed into her home, filling my ears with the joyful sounds of a full-on rager.
When Drew warned me that his mom’s birthday parties were all-out, I definitely underestimated it, but she has reason to celebrate every single day she’s on this planet after surviving cancer almost two decades ago.
And I’m glad Drew invited me.
Gave me this glimpse into his life and family.
Though, for the first time meeting his mom, this is a little…overwhelming.
Not to mention claustrophobic.
After three hours of revelry, my ears are ringing from the cacophony, and I need to get off my feet for a few minutes. Find somewhere quiet where I can get some fresh air, which is in short supply in the Usher house tonight.
I scan the living room, check the kitchen, and even wander down the hallway toward the bedrooms, searching for Drew to let him know I’m going to step outside, but I can’t find him anywhere.
He’s been running around, touching base with all their family friends to ensure no one needs anything and is having a good time. Playing the host with his mom and falling so easily into the role of the caregiver for everyone.
Exactly what he does day in and day out at the hospital.
And once he’s completed his residency, that’s where he’ll stay. Right in the middle of the hustle of the ER because he’s meant for this . Taking care of people. It’s what he was born to do.
His warm, generous heart and caring nature shine through in everything he does, and he would bend over backward to make sure his mom—and everyone else here—has an incredible night.
So, I won’t interrupt him.
He’ll find me eventually.
My heart does an embarrassing little flip-flop in my chest at the anticipation of that smile spreading across his face, the way he brightens every time he sees me.
It’s only been a few weeks.
Less than a dozen dates.
But tonight seems different.
And not just because I met Nancy for the first time.
The way Drew looked at me when I opened the door tonight—like I had stolen his ability to breathe—made my body and cheeks heat. Then he gave me the earrings, and I think all the breath may have rushed from my lungs the moment I saw them.
My fingers travel up to touch them at my ears now—peonies. Because he remembered my favorite flower and went out of his way to find these for me so I’d have something special to wear to the party.
Marlo thinks everything he’s done since the moment I met him is swoon-worthy.
Just wait ‘til she hears about this…
With a smile pulling at my lips, I make my way out of the sliding back door in the kitchen that leads to the backyard. As soon as I step out, the smell of the chlorine from the pool hits me, along with the scent of fresh wisteria and lilacs that line the fence around the yard.
I close the door behind me, sealing in the bulk of the raucous noise, and take a long, deep breath, already feeling better getting out of that madhouse for a few minutes.
The water ripples slightly in the light summer breeze, and I stare down at the bottom of the pool as I make my way to the back corner of the yard where a bench sits under a large willow tree that drapes down so low it almost touches the lush, thick grass.
Nancy really has a beautiful yard.
Nonni and Mom would have approved.
I settle onto the long wood bench and release a contented sigh. The light swaying of the branches creates its own melody, soft and sweet, relaxing as the stars start to wink in the patches of visible night sky.
A creaking sound from my left draws my attention to the front of the fenced yard as a gate swings open.
Drew steps through it, latching it behind him.
He walks toward the sliding back door I used to come out here, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m tucked away in this unlit corner of the garden.
“Did you need a break from that, too?”
He freezes mid-step and turns toward my voice, narrowing his eyes in the darkness. Even from here, I can feel the potency of his gaze. The way it rakes over me with each deliberate step he takes, like he’s memorizing every inch of me.
In his jeans and long-sleeve black dress shirt, unbuttoned at the neck to expose a hint of his tanned skin, the soft light from the pool casting its glow over him, he looks sexy as hell.
Since the first time we met, he’s always been breathtakingly beautiful, but tonight, there’s something different about him. A wildness. An untamed edge that I haven’t seen in him before.
Maybe it’s being in this environment. His home, even though he doesn’t actually live here anymore.
Maybe he’s just more comfortable here and can really let go in a way he hasn’t on our previous dates because we’ve always been surrounded by people in restaurants, the movies, the arcade, even mini-golfing.
But tonight, he looks so effortlessly hot as he approaches that it makes me squirm on the bench.
Drew ducks to slip under the willow branches, his focus never leaving me as it roams over my hair that I left loose and flowing down to my shoulders and the black and white polka dot sundress that pushes my breasts up to create the perfect cleavage and falls only mid-thigh, especially when I sit like this.
His eyes dip to my exposed legs and to the sparkly sandals on my feet, then come back up.
“Is that what you’re doing out here? Escaping? ”
I grin at him. “Maybe. You weren’t kidding about your mom’s parties.”
He smirks, and it is so devastatingly sexy and full of promise that my heart picks up speed, beating rapidly against my ribcage with each step closer he comes.
One of his brows rises slowly. “You’re out here all alone?”
I nod. “Yeah. I looked for you but couldn’t find you to tell you I was slipping out for some fresh air.”
He finally stops in front of me, close enough that I can see the searing heat blazing across his blue eyes.
His lips part slightly as he examines me, and he draws in a long inhalation, his muscular chest rising against the crisp material of his shirt.
“Have I told you how fucking beautiful you look tonight?”
My cheeks warm at the compliment, and I avert my gaze, adjusting the dress around my thighs, suddenly shy under his perusal. “Not like that.”
He snorts an incredulous laugh, then closes the few steps between us and lowers himself onto the bench beside me, spreading his right arm across the back of it. One hand dangling loosely over my shoulder, the fingers of his other one slide under my chin and tip it up until my eyes meet his.
The forcefulness with which he holds my gaze and the desire searing through his, along with his firm grip on me, makes me shudder in anticipation.
“I should have told you that a thousand times because you look incredible. His tongue slowly slips out across his lips. “Good enough to eat.”
Sweet mother of God…
Heat that was in my cheeks now flares between my legs.
Red hot.
Searing.
I press them together against the sudden throb ignited with those simple words that are clearly meant to hold a very sinful meaning.
And that I never expected out of Drew’s mouth.
He has always been such a gentleman, so concerned about ensuring he isn’t overstepping or rushing me into anything during our dates. The attraction has been there, though. This low, incessant buzz of energy that seems to have burst into flames in the last thirty seconds…
My tongue darts out, wetting my lips, and his gaze follows the movement. I try to dip my head to avoid his gaze, to prevent him from seeing what he’s doing to me, but he keeps a steady grip on my chin, refusing to let me look away.
Dark brows draw low over his eyes. “Why does that embarrass you?”
Shit .
“Um…” I bite my lip and shake my head. “I’m not sure.”
He dips his head closer until his warm breath floats over me along with something vaguely citrus that clings to his skin. “You need to learn to take a compliment. Especially when I’m the one giving them to you because I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
Something clenches around my chest, tightening around my heart with his words and the absolute sincerity in them. He meant every single one.
“I know.”
A tiny grin plays at his lips, filled with so much promise. “Good. Now”—he inclines his head toward the house—“would you like to go back into the party, or stay out here for a while?”
It’s such a loaded question with his hands on me, with my body buzzing the way it is. But he’s giving me a choice . And we both know what could happen if I answer yes to the latter.
I wasn’t completely sure where things were going with Drew before tonight.
All our dates have been incredible, the instant connection between us growing stronger with every hour we spend together, but this side of him is awakening something in me.
A burning, throbbing need for this man to take things to the next level, to get impossibly close to him even out here.
Walking back into that party would break this spell he’s cast over me.
It would sever this exquisite, pulsating hold Drew has on my body and heart.
And I don’t want to risk never finding it again.
Not when I see now where it could lead.
I shake my head gently, his grip on my chin keeping my eyes locked with his every second. “Definitely not ready to go in yet.”
His grin widens, a breath of relief rushing from deep in his chest, like he was afraid I would bolt instead of staying hypnotized by him. “Me. Fucking. Either.” He dips his head closer until his lips are a mere hairsbreadth from mine. “I just can’t get over how fucking beautiful you look tonight.”
I shiver slightly, though it isn’t from the light breeze shifting the willow limbs around us. This moment feels frozen in time. As if we’re in our own little world, completely separated from the one outside this bench, this shared breath.