43. Ivy
Chapter 43
Ivy
H ank is avoiding me. He’s not exactly subtle about it, but then again, I’m not making it hard for him. Especially since Holt and I are down in town, getting drinks at the coffee shop while he’s on shift at the firehouse.
I’m not sure how I’ve become the kind of girl who hangs around waiting on her boyfriend, but here I am, sipping tea and wondering what happened to my life.
“You’ve got that look again, CG.” Holt grins, his eyes playful as he leans back in his chair, balancing on two legs in a way that makes me nervous and impressed.
“What look?” I feign innocence, but I know where this is going.
“The one that says you’re thinking about Hank.” He winks, and I roll my eyes, trying to play it cool.
“Maybe I was thinking about you, hotshot,” I counter, though we both know he’s right.
He laughs, a sound that’s both comforting and infuriating in its confidence. “Nah, I know when I’m on your mind. You get that dreamy look.”
I snort, a sound I didn’t know I was capable of until recently. “You mean the look that says I’m wondering if I’ve lost my mind?”
“Nah. It’s this faraway look in your eyes like you just can’t believe how lucky you are. Then you bite your lip and I know your thoughts have taken a naughty turn.”
I bite my lip to hold back a laugh. Holt’s eyes flare with heat and he drops his chair onto all fours, leaning in.
“You thinking naughty things now, baby? Because we can take this somewhere more private and I can show you just how much I’ve been thinking of you.”
I feel my face heat, but I roll my eyes to cover it. “We’re in public, Holt. Try to keep it in your pants for five minutes.”
Holt smirks, unbothered as ever. “Five minutes? That’s all you think I can hold out? Because I vividly remember waiting weeks, weeks for you to come to your senses and let me touch you.”
I shake my head, sipping my tea just to have something to do with my hands. He watches me over the rim of his coffee cup, eyes sharp, amused. He’s always looking like he knows exactly what I’m thinking before I myself do. It’s infuriating.
I glance toward the road that will take us back up the mountain. I can’t avoid Hank forever.
The thought twists something uncomfortable in me.
Holt must catch it, because his playful expression softens. He nudges my knee under the table. “He’ll come around, Ivy.”
I sigh, tracing the lip of my mug. “And if he doesn’t?”
Holt doesn’t hesitate. “Then we keep going without him. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”
I want to believe him. Really, I do. But there’s a nagging part of me that isn’t so sure. Hank doesn’t seem like the kind of man to change his mind once it’s set. And, honestly, I’m not sure what I’ll do if he does. After how he reacted, what he said? I don’t know if I can forgive him.
“Wyatt said he’ll be back in an hour,” Holt says, blowing on his coffee. “Should give us plenty of time to get to the doctor’s appointment.”
I smile at the thought, excitement bubbling up in a way that still catches me off guard. A few months ago, my biggest worry was picking the right shoes for some fancy event. Now, I’m sitting here, debating baby names with two stubborn, infuriating, wonderful men.
And today, we get to see the heartbeats. Holt and Wyatt will be seeing them for the first time and something about that makes this all feel so much more real.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” Holt asks, his voice teasing but with an edge of seriousness.
“For the doctor? I think I can handle it,” I reply, playing along.
He gives me a look, one that’s both amused and pointed. “You know what I mean. The babies. Us. Hank being a broody ass.”
I hesitate, wondering how much of my heart I’m ready to show. “I’m ready for the babies,” I say, and it’s the truth. “The rest...I’m figuring it out.”
“Good.”
I lean back against the booth, letting the warmth of the tea seep into my hands as I watch the world pass by outside. Main Street is quiet, the kind of sleepy morning lull where shopkeepers are just starting to unlock doors and a few early risers trudge down the sidewalk, bundled against the cold.
I’m feeling relaxed, happy. Until a massive, gleaming SUV rolls up outside. The windows are tinted so dark you can’t see who’s inside and it has an obnoxiously expensive finish. The vehicle is so out of place it’s like spotting a unicorn grazing in a parking lot.
I blink. Then blink again.
Holt frowns, following my gaze. “What?”
I shake my head, convinced I must be hallucinating. “Uh...are vivid delusions a pregnancy symptom?”
My hand drifts to my belly, now showing the slightest hint of a curve. The doctor said twins might show earlier, but she didn’t mention anything about delusions.
He follows my gaze, and his eyebrows shoot up. “Whoa.”
I take a breath and turn back to the window—just in time to watch a pair of thousand-dollar heels step onto the icy sidewalk.
“Oh no,” I whisper, feeling the panic rise. It’s not a hallucination. It’s my mother.
She steps out, perfectly coiffed and dressed in a tailored outfit that probably costs more than some of these people make in a year. Even from a distance, I can see the familiar set of her jaw, the determination in her stride. She’s on a mission.
Unfortunately, that mission is me.
“What’s she doing here?” I say, more to myself than to Holt. My voice sounds small, even to my own ears.
Holt looks from me to her, then back again. “You want to get out of here?”
I can’t move, frozen in place as my worlds collide. She wasn’t supposed to find me. Not yet, maybe not ever. I was supposed to have more time to figure everything out, to decide who I am without the spotlight, or my family’s demanding ways.
“Ivy?” Holt’s voice is gentle, the teasing edge gone. “Talk to me.”
I drag my gaze away from the impending storm that is my mother and focus on Holt. He’s watching me carefully, concern etched into his features.
“That’s…that’s my mother .”
He reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You want me to run interference? We can hide in the firehouse. She’ll never find you in there.”
I almost laugh, but it comes out more like a strangled sob. I shake my head, trying to pull myself together. I’m not the girl she thinks I am, and I’m not going to let her make me feel that way. Not anymore.
“Seriously, Ivy,” Holt says. “Say the word, and I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
I look at him, at the warmth and sincerity in his eyes, and for a moment, I consider it. Running. Hiding. Letting him and the others shield me from everything I left behind. But I know my mother. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants.
“No,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “No, I’ll deal with it.”
“You sure? We can make a break for it, get lost in the woods for a few days.”
I manage a shaky smile. “Tempting. But she’ll just send a search party.”
He grins, but there’s an uncertainty behind it, like he’s not sure if I’m joking or not. “All right. But I’m coming with you.”
I nod, grateful. He stands, offering me his hand and I don’t hesitate. Those eagle eyes spot me the second I step outside. And, the conversation goes south the second my mother opens her mouth.
“Ivy, darling.” My mother’s voice is as smooth and polished as the SUV she arrived in, but there’s an edge to it that sends a shiver down my spine. “I think it’s time to stop playing house and come home.” She looks at me like I’m a child who’s run away to join the circus, and I feel my resolve slipping as fast as my heart is racing.
No. I’m not going to let her steamroll me the way she always has.
“Mother,” I say, standing up and trying to find my footing. “What are you doing here?”
She raises an eyebrow, a perfectly manicured challenge. “I could ask you the same thing. This little tantrum of yours has gone on long enough.”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I’m torn between disbelief and anger, and I don’t know which one will win.
“We’ve all been very patient,” she continues, her gaze flicking to Holt with a hint of disapproval. “But it’s time to come back and take care of your responsibilities.”
I stare at her, the shock slowly giving way to a simmering fury. “Responsibilities?” I echo, my voice rising.
Her lips press together like she’s holding back a sigh, the way she always does when she thinks I’m being difficult. “Yes, Ivy. Your family. Your career. Caleb.”
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Caleb? The same Caleb who very publicly cheated on me?”
She waves a dismissive hand, as if infidelity is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. “Caleb made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s time to be an adult and work through them.”
My jaw drops, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. The world tilts, and I feel Holt’s hand on my back, steadying me. I thought I was prepared for this, but clearly, I was wrong.
“It’s time to get back to your life, Ivy.”
“My life ?” The fury that’s been simmering ignites into something sharp and scalding. “You mean your life. Your career. Your reputation. Because that’s what this is really about, isn’t it? You don’t care about me. You care about what I can do for all of you. Without me, you don’t have your precious spotlight.”
“Ivy, that is not fair,” she huffs, exasperated. “You’ve been acting irrationally since this whole thing happened. You have to stop thinking about yourself and do what’s best for everyone.”
I want to scream, to cry, to curl into a ball and disappear, but instead, I find my voice. “I’m staying,” I say, the words stronger than I feel. “And I’m not coming back.”
“You’re being childish,” she says, her voice colder now. “Ungrateful. After everything we’ve done for you.”
“Ungrateful?” My anger flares, hot and consuming.
“Do you hear yourself?” My voice cracks, and I clench my fists, trying to hold onto the last fraying threads of control. “I spent my entire life being exactly what you wanted me to be. I smiled when I was supposed to, played the perfect girlfriend, the perfect daughter. And where did that get me? Alone. Humiliated. Betrayed.”
Her expression doesn’t change, and that’s what makes me snap.
“I am done being a pawn in your perfect little world,” I seethe. “You can have it. Caleb. The fame. The money. I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it.”
Wyatt chooses that exact moment to step around the corner. His brows furrow at the sight of my mother and the barely restrained rage on my face. He looks at me, then at Holt, who is hovering at my side, ready to step in if I need him.
I don’t give my mother a chance to recover. I reach for both of them, lacing my fingers with Holt’s and turning toward Wyatt. “We’re done here.”
“Ivy—”
I don’t look back. I just keep walking, my heart pounding as I snag Wyatt’s hand, too, and lead them both toward the doctor’s office.