Chapter 42 Isaac
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
isaac
We break the news of our fake marriage at dinner that night. Elena calls her agent so she can begin negotiations with the production company based on this new development.
My family’s reactions are about what I expect. My mom is quiet but nonjudgemental. Willow is skeptical. Sutton wants to be a bridesmaid.
Wyatt worked through dinner, so Ivy passes the information along, and I drop by their house the following day to see if he’s disowned me yet.
When I get there, Ivy’s got her laptop open, a Pinterest board pulled up with tabs labeled things like “Sage Green Ranch Wedding Aesthetic” and “DIY Mason Jar Centerpieces.”
I know this because she immediately begins showing them to me the moment I step into their kitchen.
I take off my hat and take a seat beside her. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about Elena’s—
“Wedding?” She breaks in excitedly, turning her laptop screen to face me. “Because I get that it’s mostly for show, but I think we should consider—”
“Whoa, hold your horses, city girl.” I hold a hand up to stop her before she gets completely carried away. “I was going to say work schedule.”
She smiles. “You’re worried about her.”
“Well, yeah. The doctor says with her hypoglycemia, she’s a prime candidate for gestational diabetes and it’s important to—are you crying? Why are you crying?”
She dabs her eyes. “I’m sorry. My hormones are a mess. I just love how much you care about her. I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d ever—”
“Hey, I’m a caring person. Who taught you to drive the side-by-side? And made sure my idiot brother pulled his head out of his ass before he lost you?”
“—settle down,” she finishes with a grin. “You are very sweet, Isaac. And very charming. You just always seemed a little…restless.”
She’s not wrong about that. I’ve always felt restless. “Yeah, well, people change, I guess. Look at Wyatt. He even smiles sometimes now. Still creeps me out a little.”
I’m mostly kidding but truthfully, when I think about the guy, I was a few months ago, I don’t even know him.
I can’t recall what he was thinking most of the time, or if he was thinking.
When he was, it was with the wrong head.
And it was mostly just chasing a thrill, both a work and in my personal life.
Thrills that were fleeting and always left me feeling empty afterward.
“We’ll be mindful of Elena’s condition, both with her blood sugar and her pregnancy moving forward,” Ivy assures me. “I’ve got meetings coming up with Wes and Darren about writing her pregnancy into the script as well.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I stand. “Thank you. I appreciate you looking out for her. She’s stubborn and will work herself into the ground if we let her.”
Ivy grins. “Good thing she has you then. Making sure she’s taken care of.”
I snort. “She doesn’t love that as much as you think.”
She tilts her head. “It can be hard at first, to adjust to someone caring so much. And in this family, a lot of someones. Especially for someone as independent as Elena. But she’ll get there. You’ll see.”
“Let’s hope. And hey, about the wedding,” I pause and wince at Ivy’s computer screen. She’s been researching Hispanic wedding traditions also. “I have some news you may not love.”
Her hazel eyes widen. “What is it?”
“The ceremony is going to be in New Mexico,” I say gently. “Small. Just her immediate family. Elena’s dad is not doing well. He’s not in any condition to travel and it’s really important to us that he walk her down the aisle.”
For a beat, Ivy blinks. Like someone pulled the plug on her enthusiasm and left the room a little dimmer.
“Oh.” She swallows. “Yeah, no, of course. That makes total sense.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, genuinely wishing I didn’t have to rain on her wedding parade.
She waves me off, a too-bright smile returning. “Please. It’s not about me. It’s about you two pretending to get hitched for legal loopholes and emotionally complicated reasons.”
I let out a laugh, grateful she’s keeping a sense of humor about it. “Exactly.”
She narrows her eyes. “Though I do feel robbed of my slow-motion bouquet toss moment. I had a playlist and everything.”
“How about you help me pick out the ring? Willow would rather die than be reminded of anything wedding-related or hell, wedding-adjacent. And Sutton’s taking a summer class and babysitting for a family neighbor. Seems like your department.”
That perks her up immediately. “Can we go now?”
An hour later, I’m somewhere I never imagined I’d be. Like not in my entire life.
At a jewelry story looking at engagement rings. Because I now live in an alternate universe.
Ivy holds two velvet ring boxes side by side.
One’s simple. Classic solitaire, she tells me.
The other’s vintage, some kind of signature piece with delicate scrollwork and a large rose-cut center stone surrounded by smaller ones.
The matching band has diamond petals intricately wrapped around it.
They’re pointy at the ends, almost like thorns and they make me think of my guarded girl with barbed wire around her heart.
Good thing I have rough hands that can handle it.
Ivy and the saleslady say some shit about cut and clarity that makes zero sense to me.
I should be thinking about budget and believability.
Instead, I’m thinking about how the vintage one looks like something Elena would choose to wear and I would prefer she never take this off.
Ever, if I can help it.
I stare at it a little too long.
“Ding ding ding,” Ivy mutters, lowering the box. “We have a winner.”
“Perfect.” I motion to the lady who’s been helping us and let her know I’m ready to pay. It’s about three times what I’d planned on spending, but thanks to the cowboy training camp, I can afford it.
Once we’ve listened to her spiel about the ring I chose, which apparently has a name—who knew diamonds had names? Not me.
It’s not like I’m ever doing this again. Hell, the one time I am doing it isn’t even real.
“You okay?” Ivy says as we leave the store. “Want to grab some food and talk about it?”
I blink. “What?”
“Don’t what me.” She nods at the very small, very expensive bag in my hand. “You love her.”
“This isn’t about—”
“Love? Yeah, okay. You might have everyone else fooled, but you’re giving off emotionally compromised energy.”
“I’m just trying to make this easier on her. That’s all. At least if the ring is decent, she won’t feel like she’s getting a cheap imitation of a husband. Even if she is.”
Ivy’s eyes soften before she glares at me.
“You’re not a cheap imitation of anything Isaac Logan.
Maybe this isn’t the future either of you saw for yourselves, but you both need to admit how you truly feel.
I’m begging you. When you give her that ring, be honest with her and with yourself about what it means.
For both your sakes. And mine. And Wyatt’s.
We have to live with you if you spend the rest of your life moping. ”
I shake my head. “I’d hate to inconvenience the two of you with my despair.”
She nods. “Then don’t. Please.”
I exhale. Hard. “She’s leaving, Ivy. Even if the production company doesn’t fire her, she’ll leave when filming wraps. She’ll go where her career takes her.” And take my heart and my child with her.
It hits me then: there will be two of them to miss.
Fuck me.
“She hasn’t left yet.”
“She will.”
“So, ask her to stay. Preferably before you have to chase her down on horseback like Wyatt did with me,” she says with a wry smile. “Though, for the record, that was wildly romantic. Inconvenient and impractical, but romantic.”
I glance back down at the bag in my hands.
It’s supposed to be temporary.
All of this is.
But damn if I’m not wishing it were permanent.