Chapter 14
fourteen
IVY
Nerves ran through Ivy from head to toe. She was completely thrown off by the fact that Nathalie wanted to go out tonight, all of them, and the fact that she’d just slept with their nanny. And fuck, did she want to do it again. She got wet just thinking about it. Greer had been insanely protective and caring and did everything in her power to make Ivy come so many times that her head was spinning not even an hour in.
She’d never thought that Greer would randomly show up at her house that night, that she’d just walk into the living room and find Ivy two fingers deep in her own pussy, or the fact that Greer would immediately want to join without even talking about what had happened.
And it wasn’t like they’d really talked about it afterward, either.
Greer had been gone by the morning, having an early wake-up call for Nathalie, and Ivy hadn’t found time to talk to her without kids around since. And that wasn’t a conversation she could have when anyone else was in the room.
“Earth to Ivy!” Lachlan’s sweet tones hit her.
Ivy winced again. She bit her lip and focused on her friends. This was why she was here, to be with them, not to be thinking about and dreaming about whatever encounter she was going to have next with their nanny—with Greer.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit distracted,” Ivy said, snagging her wine glass off the table. She risked flicking a glance to Nathalie to see how much had been truly shown on her face, and she was glad to see that none of it reflected back at her.
“That’s why we’re out tonight,” Nathalie answered, her tones smooth and deeper. She was using her commanding voice, the one she typically reserved for patients who weren’t doing what they said they would. It had a slight condescending air to it, but not so much that Ivy felt like she’d been run over a time or two. “We’re here to get our heads back on straight.”
“You sound like Greer,” Lachlan said, her lips curling up. “Which, by the way, have I mentioned how much I love having Greer around.”
“You have,” Nathalie said.
Ivy pressed her lips together tightly. Lachlan had, in fact, mentioned it already twice that night. Once in the car right after they left the house, and once when they’d arrived at their table and Greer had sent a picture to the group text with all of the kids playing together. Ivy had enjoyed those texts even when her kids weren’t the ones in the photos.
“She’s so sweet with the kids, and she’s really gotten everything into shape lately,” Lachlan continued, playing with the stem of the glass of wine that she was drinking. “And she’s cute too. I think she needs a boyfriend or something.”
“I don’t think Greer’s attracted to men,” Nathalie chimed in, sipping her water and looking around the room as if she was trying to find a waiter.
“You don’t?” Ivy asked, her stomach tightening. Greer hadn’t slept with Nathalie, had she? Then again, Nathalie was also interested in women and men, so perhaps it was just a gaydar type of thing or perhaps they’d talked about it.
“No, not at all. She’s a lesbian.” Nathalie flagged down a waiter. “I think we’re ready to order.”
They ordered their food, and as soon as they were alone again, Ivy couldn’t stop thinking or questioning what Nathalie and Greer had been talking about that would lead to that kind of conversation. Because Nathalie wouldn’t sleep with the nanny—she had morals that Ivy didn’t.
“A lesbian?” Lachlan asked, frowning slightly. “What’s it like to be attracted to women?”
Ivy tilted her head up, saying, “I imagine it’s a lot like being attracted to men.”
Nathalie cocked her head to the side, sliding her gaze from Lachlan to Ivy. “Since I’m the only one at this table who finds both attractive, Ivy’s right. Just like any person, however, there are different qualities that attract me to them, regardless of male or female.”
Lachlan finished her first glass of wine and stared at Nathalie with an open mouth. “So it’s not any different?”
“Any attraction is different. Whether I’m attracted to you or the waiter. Each individual bears their own weight in that. It’s more just appreciating people for who they are and how they make you feel,” Nathalie finished with a sip of water.
“Sexually, of course?” Ivy raised an eyebrow at Nathalie. “Because you don’t do relationships that involve emotion, so you’re purely talking about sex.”
Nathalie’s jaw tightened and her lips thinned impossibly, to the point they almost disappeared. “There is an element of emotion wrapped up in sex, Ivy. There always is.”
“But you don’t want a relationship?” Ivy pushed.
“No, I don’t want a relationship.” Nathalie rolled her eyes and turned to Lachlan. “Why all the questions?”
Lachlan shook her head. “I don’t know. It just popped into my head.”
Ivy narrowed her gaze at Lachlan. That wasn’t a thought that just popped into someone’s head. That was something that Lachlan had truly been thinking about. “Are you wondering if you’re attracted to women?”
Lachlan paled. “Not wondering, no.”
“You know you are?” Ivy asked, her hand flat on the table as she leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Are you serious?”
Lachlan shrugged a little, flicking her gaze from Ivy to Nathalie. “I’m best friends with you two. Why would that be so out of the ordinary?”
“It’s not.” Ivy turned fully to face Nathalie and see if she was on the same page that Ivy was. “But you’ve always been adamant that you’re the straight one in our little friendship.”
“Not always.” Lachlan sighed heavily, as if coming to a resolute decision. “Not in the last three years.”
“Three years?” Ivy squeaked out.
“Quit giving her the third degree, Ivy,” Nathalie interjected. The waiter came over and refilled their wine glasses and Nathalie’s water. “If you want to explore, then find someone to explore with. I don’t think there will be any harm in figuring out more of who you are.”
Ivy frowned. “I wish I had time to explore relationships.”
“You can if you want,” Lachlan answered.
Shaking her head, Ivy frowned. “No, I can’t. I’m too scared that Penny will use it against me in the divorce, since I’m not actually divorced yet, and I can’t stop thinking about everything that she’s doing to you two. She really is a bitch, isn’t she?”
Lachlan giggled, her eyes lighting up. “Oh my, have you finally come around on that one?”
Ivy wrinkled her nose. “No, I knew it. I think I just didn’t realize how deep it ran in her veins.”
“Penny wants control, and you choosing to divorce her, you choosing to leave her—that ended the control. She’s clawing her way for what she might have left.” Nathalie stared directly at Ivy. “You can’t give her any control that she doesn’t deserve.”
“Well, she doesn’t deserve any,” Ivy replied. That had been the one thing that she was most certain about. She was tired of fighting just to exist and live in the world as she wanted to. “But I’m sorry that she’s dragging you two into this. I tried so hard to keep you out of it.”
“Of course she is.” Nathalie set her glass down and reached over to touch Ivy’s hand lightly. “We’re your allies, and we’re your strongest support system. If she attacks us, it’s because she sees us as a threat. And quite frankly, Ivy, we are a threat. Because I won’t let her take you or us down.”
Ivy’s lips quirked upward at that. She smiled, genuinely, staring into Nathalie’s eyes. God, she loved that about Nathalie—the fierce protectiveness that she seemed to always have when it involved the people that she loved. Not that she’d ever admit to loving her and Lachlan, but it was right there in her actions and in her words. Ivy just had to look to see and hear them.
“Do you think she’ll go after Greer? Like she did some of the others?” Lachlan asked.
Ivy froze. And Nathalie must have seen the pure fear race across her face because she didn’t turn away to look at Lachlan. She focused entirely on Ivy, but her glance morphed from concern into curiosity.
“She probably will,” Nathalie said, still not looking over at Lachlan. “It depends how much she views Greer as a threat. Is there something we should know, Ivy? Something that would tip Penny off that Greer is more intertwined into our little family unit than she should be?”
Ivy shook her head slowly and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, realizing far too late that her panties were wet and that her entire body was heated with arousal—not just from thoughts of Greer, but from that intense look that Nathalie kept giving her. “No, nothing.”
Nathalie hummed, but she didn’t say anything beyond that. Instead, she finally focused on Lachlan. “I imagine Penny sees Greer as a threat simply because we’ve hired her to be a nanny, and typically nannies are easy targets—as we’ve seen with Penny in the past. However, I strongly suspect that Greer can hold her own against Penny.”
“I think she can,” Ivy murmured, her voice carrying across the table but not much farther than that. “I’ve seen her stand up to Penny.”
“But the question is, will she continue to do that as time moves on?” Nathalie had asked the question that Ivy didn’t want voiced. But it had to be.
How much damage was Ivy doing keeping Greer in her life? How much harder would it be when Greer decided she’d had enough and wanted to leave? Because Ivy’s life was crazy. It was filled with drama and pain, and no one deserved to be stuck in the middle of that. Not even her. But she was because there was no other option at the moment.
"I think we need to do everything in our power to keep Greer from leaving. She’s figured out the craziness of working with three families, and she’s figured out how each of us work individually. She’s amazing in that way.” Lachlan finished her second glass of wine. “Like I said, I really like her.”
Was it just because she was really fucking good at her job? Ivy wondered that, and the more Lachlan talked about it, along with being attracted to women, the more Ivy wondered if there was a bit more there than simply admiration of job abilities. But she wasn’t about to bring that topic back up, not with the way Lachlan had gotten defensive and shut down.
But Nathalie had been right, they did need a night out with just the three of them. “I’m glad you thought to put this together,” Ivy said to Nathalie.
Nathalie shook her head. “I didn’t, actually.”
“You didn’t?” Ivy furrowed her brow.
“It was Greer’s suggestion.” Nathalie set her glass down and moved out of the way as her food was set down in front of her. They all remained quiet while the waiter was there and asking them if there was anything else they needed.
“Greer?” Lachlan said.
Nathalie nodded. “She thought we needed time together.”
“She wasn’t wrong. But how did that even come up in conversation?” Ivy desperately wanted to know now. Surely, she hadn’t said something that would tip Greer off to the fact that she needed this. Maybe Lachlan had? No way was it Nathalie.
“She sat me down in the kitchen one night about a week ago and told me I needed to plan something.” Nathalie took a bite of her steak as if the conversation that she’d had with Greer was the simplest conversation on the face of the planet.
“That’s it? She didn’t say why she felt this was needed?”
“She said you two were struggling.” Nathalie glanced over at each of them. “And she wasn’t wrong.”
“She wasn’t, but still. I didn’t think it was that obvious. Especially to an outsider.” Ivy bit her lip and glanced down at her food. How much had she accidentally let Greer in instead of keeping her at arm’s length?
“She’s not an outsider.” Nathalie took another bite of her steak. “She’s been integrated into our lives for months now. That’s what makes her so different from the other nannies we’ve hired in the past, and why I’m not willing to let her go any time soon.”
“But what do we do about that? I mean I don’t want Penny?—”
“Would you stop worrying about Penny?” Lachlan interrupted her, her voice forceful in a way that Ivy hadn’t heard in a very long time. “Seriously. You’re letting her control your life even from a distance. I think we’re all tired of it.”
“I…” Ivy stopped. She had been doing that for so long, but she’d thought in this last week that she’d managed to take at least one very important step away from it. Which led her right back to Greer. They really did need to talk and figure out what they were doing beyond just one night of very hot sex. “You’re right,” Ivy agreed. “That’s something I’m working on.”
“And you…” Nathalie pointed at Lachlan. “Could take a dose of your own advice.”
“What?” Lachlan paled. “What are you even talking about?”
“Just because Baylor didn’t want you doesn’t mean that there isn’t a world of people out there who do want you. Stop trying to cover up how much that rejection stung.” Nathalie gave her a very firm look.
“Fine.” Lachlan frowned. “You’re right. I do need to stop living in the past.”
“We all do,” Nathalie answered before taking another sip of water. “Tonight is about the present. Which is where we’ll reside from now on.”
Ivy smiled. She snagged her wine glass off the table and held it forward for each of them. “To the present.”
“To the present,” Lachlan echoed.
When they were settled again, Lachlan said, “So about tonight… when we get home, we’re going to continue this, right?”
“Yes,” Nathalie agreed. “Greer said she’s putting the kids to sleep in the playroom, so you two will have empty houses tonight.”
“So when we get home, are we going to pull Greer into our little girl’s night?” Lachlan slowly lifted a piece of her potato into her mouth. She flicked her gaze between Ivy and Nathalie. “Since it is a girl’s night.”
“I think that sounds like an excellent idea,” Ivy added, looking directly at Nathalie—who she knew would be the last holdout on this one.
Nathalie pursed her lips and stared down at her plate. “Fine. We can invite her to join us.”
“Perfect.” Lachlan grinned, her eyes lighting up again in that way that Ivy loved to see. “Because I want to get to know her better.”
“Crush much?” Ivy mumbled under her breath.
Lachlan glowered.
Ivy shrugged. “I just call it like I see it.”
“I don’t miss that about you.”
Laughing, Ivy went back to eating, and her wine. She was determined that this was going to be a good night.