Chapter 13
Jade
Jade opened the door to her loft apartment and welcomed her future sister-in-law inside. Cleo would be arriving a little later, but that suited Jade fine. She had something to ask Ivy without her big sister there to offer her own opinion. Not yet anyway.
She closed the door behind Ivy, and they made their way over to the soft leather couch that sat under the stairs to her bedroom on the mezzanine.
“How’s things going at the coffee shop?” Jade asked Ivy as they both turned slightly to face each other.
“It’s going great! Did Cleo tell you Lucas is thinking about opening a new drive-through model over by the airport?” Ivy asked, face alight with excitement.
“Seriously? That’s huge!” Jade grinned. Ivy and her best friend, Lucas, shared ownership of the flagship store for his multi-franchise coffee company. They had worked together to build it from the ground up over the past decade, from a simple coffee cart to now multiple locations across the city.
“I know, right?! I mean, obviously it’ll take a lot of work and planning before he even approaches the banks, but I think it’s a great idea. I hope I’ll be as hands-on with creating that model as I was with the shops,” Ivy said, hope and excitement emanating from every cell.
“That’s great, Ivy, I hope it all works out for you both.
Especially since you’re going to be busy with wedding planning at the same time.
” Jade started. “You know as well as I do that Cleo’s going to have you making most of the decisions about the wedding because she’ll overthink everything and nothing will get done.
I love my sister, but sometimes she needs to just relax a little and enjoy life, you know?
!” Jade smirked at Ivy, who raised an eyebrow in agreement while she motioned zipping her mouth closed and locking it with a key.
Jade laughed, encouraging Ivy to do the same.
“Actually, Ivy, before Cleo arrives, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something? It’s kind of personal.” Jade picked at a thread on her torn jeans absentmindedly.
“Of course, whatever you need.” Ivy leaned over and rested her hand on top of Jade’s to help settle her.
“You saw Cleo for a long time before you spoke to her. What was it, three years?” Jade looked up. Ivy blushed slightly but smiled and nodded, encouraging Jade to continue. “How did you go that long with only her in your mind, not knowing a single thing about her other than what she looked like?”
“Well, it wasn’t that I only knew what she looked like.
I don’t know how much she’s told you about that time, but what caught my eye was her reaction to a video chat she had with Sophie.
” Ivy smiled with a distant look in her eye, as if she was re-living the moment again in her head.
“Her whole face lit up, and it was so full of love for whoever it was she was talking to. I knew from that reaction she had to be a good person, with a huge heart, and that I wanted to find someone out there who would look at me that way. Then, over time, I realized that any other woman I looked at I was comparing to her. That’s when I realized that it was her that I wanted to look at me like that. ”
“Wow, I never heard you talk about the details. I just knew it was three years between you seeing her before you crashed into each other and finally started talking.” Jade laughed, then slowly exhaled.
“I’m guessing you may have your own mystery woman, going by that look on your face?” Ivy asked gently.
“Something like that. She’s a different kind of mystery from what Cleo was to you though.
” Jade turned her body to completely face Ivy, bending her knee and tucking her foot under herself.
“We met five weeks ago at a bar when I was out with Emily. Her name is April, and she’s incredible.
It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I forgot to give her my number, or get hers for that matter, and I’ve not been able to get in touch with her ever since. ”
“Oh Jade, that’s great that you’ve met someone who clearly had such an impact on you! I’m sorry about not being able to get in touch with her though. Have you tried checking the socials?” Ivy suggested hopefully.
“That’s the thing. During the entire night we kept a bit of mystery going and agreed at the start not to talk about our jobs, families, or swap surnames to not put pressure on her because she’s not out.”
“Oh!”
“Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about her though, that’s completely new to me.” Jade admitted.
“I know you don’t usually see anyone for longer than a couple of dates, and I know you’re going to roll your eyes at me because it’s your sister I’m talking about.
” Jade exaggeratedly rolled her eyes and laughed, then held her hands up to apologize and let Ivy continue.
“But, when you meet the person whose face you see when you close your eyes at night and whose voice makes your heart skip a beat even when it’s over the phone, there’s not another feeling like it in the world.
” Ivy paused, "Cleo and I both went years without love in our lives because of the pain we carried in our hearts. When we finally went on that first date? I’ve never felt so whole, so quickly.
I knew after that first date that she had been worth the three-year wait. ”
“So, I’m not getting carried away by thinking anything even remotely close to that after our first evening together?
I mean, I think it was a date? It definitely felt like one, even if the evening didn’t start out that way.
” Jade had thought about that a lot over the weeks that followed that night.
She had also decided that if she ever managed to find April, she’d let her decide whether or not it was their first date.
She really hoped it was though, given how absolutely perfect it felt.
“Sometimes those are the best kind. The unexpected, slightly messy, but completely magical ones.” Ivy said, almost knowingly.
“That’s exactly what it was,” Jade replied. “We walked around the city for over five hours talking about everything, well, almost everything. I kissed her. I didn’t know until after that it was her first kiss.”
“With a woman?” Ivy asked.
“With anyone,” Jade answered.
Ivy’s eyebrows rose slightly, then her face relaxed. “Well, when I went on the picnic with Cleo, that was my first ever date. So, I can somewhat relate. And so can Cleo. I know you don’t like opening up to her very much, but she might be able to give some insight into that part for you.”
Jade pouted slightly for effect, “I’ll think about it.” Then she smiled as she thought of those kisses with April again. “There’s just one problem though.” She added with a sadness she could no longer fight.
“Which is?” Ivy asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
“What’s the point in talking to her about it if I’ve no way of getting in touch with April?” Jade dropped her head against the back of the couch.
“I think you’re looking at it all wrong, Jade. The real question you should be asking yourself, is whether you want to try and find her, to make this work, even with her not being out and having a world of firsts ahead of her.” Ivy gave Jade’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“I do, Ivy. I really do.” Jade said, looking her future sister-in-law, and current close friend, straight in the eye. “I think she’s it for me, I don’t know how else to explain it, but I can’t get her out of my head. All I know is that even if I could, I don’t want to.”
“Then tell me all about her, and we’ll see if we can figure out a way to find her from there.” Ivy looked at Jade with an enthusiastic smile. “Make it quick though, Cleo will be here soon, and you know how she likes to interrupt.” Ivy winked, and Jade began describing her night with April.