19. Ivy

19

IVY

Between the eventful morning I’d had with Marco, the daydreaming I’d done about our weekend, and the time I spent working on scheduling for the next month, I lost track of time.

As a result, I hadn’t done anything I should have to properly prepare myself for when the knock came at my door hours after Marco had come in to see me. And when Jules and Ava walked in, I jumped out of my seat and tried to hurry them out of the office.

“Oh, hey. Hi. I totally lost track of time,” I said after I’d grabbed my purse and moved toward them.

“What’s that?”

Damn. I knew it.

This was my sister and my best friend. Of course, they were going to notice something out of place, something that hadn’t ever been in my office before now.

Even if I already knew what they were questioning me about, I pretended I didn’t have a clue. “What’s what?”

Jules lifted her hand and pointed her finger at the tin on my desk. “That.”

I looked back at the tin, felt my heart squeeze, and said, “Oh, thanks for reminding me. They’re just some chocolate-covered cheesecakes. I want to put them back in my fridge.”

I moved back to the desk, picked up the tin, and walked it over to the mini refrigerator I had in my office—I had the fridge for those instances when I met with guests in my office, if they were booking our ballroom for a special event.

Once the tin was put away, I moved back toward the two closest women in my life and couldn’t avoid their inquisitive stares.

“Ready?” I asked, hoping they’d turn and leave.

No such thing happened.

Ava lifted her hand and pointed to the vase with the single rose in it. “What’s that?”

I pressed my lips together. “A rose.”

“I’m not an idiot, Ivy. What I want to know, what I’m sure Jules wants to know as well, is where the heck it came from.”

I feigned innocence. “Someone gave it to me.”

My sister’s eyes narrowed. “Who? And why?”

“Well, it is Valentine’s Day.”

Surprise washed over both of their faces, their brows shooting up, but it was Ava who spoke. “Who is your valentine?”

I shifted back and forth, my hands fidgeting. “I… I can’t…”

“Ivy,” Jules called.

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

My shoulders fell. I hated this. Jules and Ava meant the world to me, and in any other scenario, I would have called them long before I got to work today. In fact, it was likely I would have called them before I even went out on my date with Marco on Saturday. But now I was here in this situation with Marco, I wanted to enjoy it, and I didn’t know what to do.

Because there was the aspect of enjoying it with Marco, of being able to have the time to just be happy together before we had to contend with the very real possibility of some tension and turmoil in the family. And then there was the side of enjoying it with the people who meant so much to me.

The longer I stood there, taking in their curious and hopeful looks, the more difficult it became to not feel the overwhelming urge to share the truth with them.

If I told them, I knew Marco wouldn’t be upset about it. But I was sure he’d want to be the one to tell Cooper.

“Okay. I really want to tell you everything, but I need you to make me a promise first.”

“What?”

My eyes shifted between the two of them. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to share. Not a single soul.”

“You know I would never betray your confidence,” Jules said.

I gave her a nod of understanding and shifted my attention to Ava. “Not even Tate. I know he’s your husband now, and I’d never want you to keep secrets from him, but you can’t tell him about this. He’ll eventually know, but I have to be the one to share it with him.”

“You’re my best friend, Ivy. Tate knows that. And he’d never expect me to share private conversations that you and I have.”

I swallowed hard, bit my lip, and ultimately, broke out into a smile. “It’s Marco.”

“Marco?”

My feet carried me toward the flower. I lifted the slender vase, held it up to my nose, and inhaled. “We’ve been spending some time together over the last month. Ever since the attack. And this weekend, we went out on our first official date.”

Ava’s mouth fell open.

Jules blinked rapidly. “So, you’re… you and Marco are dating now? Are you together?”

I nodded slowly. “We are. We’re trying this out and seeing where it goes.”

My best friend managed to pull herself together. “Are you happy?”

Tears filled my eyes, my throat getting tight. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

She stepped forward and threw her arms around me. “This is the best news, Ivy. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Ava.”

Jules didn’t hesitate to share her feelings. “As much of a surprise as this is, I’m thrilled for you, too. Both of you. But what I don’t understand is why you need us to keep it a secret.”

I set the flower down, jerked my head toward the door, and said, “I’ll tell you on the way to lunch.”

With that, the three of us left my office, walked out of the hotel, and hopped into my sister’s car as she drove us out to lunch. On the way, I told them all about what had happened between Marco and me over the last few weeks. Then I explained why we’d decided to keep things quiet for the time being. By the time we were sitting down to eat lunch, I’d given them the full scoop and was ready to hear their thoughts.

Jules was beaming at me. “I am so excited for you, Ivy. Marco, too. I’ve always like him, and I think you two are going to be great together.”

I loved my sister. She was always so sweet and supportive. It didn’t surprise me that she responded the way she did. And I was glad to have shared everything with her. My only regret was not saying something sooner. “Thanks, Jules. He and I are both a little shocked that it took us this long to see that there was something worth exploring between us.”

“Yeah, I guess I can understand how frustrating that would be. But the important thing is that you finally realize it and are doing something about it now.”

Before I could respond to her, Ava chimed in. “I’m so relieved.”

“Relieved?”

She released a deep sigh. “I was so worried about you right after the assault. When I came to your place and saw the way you were acting, I… I panicked. I even told Tate how scared I was that you’d been traumatized by what happened to you.”

I recalled that day vividly. “I lied to you.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t okay, Ava. In fact, I’m still working on all of that. And I’m sorry for how I acted that day. The truth is, I didn’t feel comfortable going out of the house unless I was going straight to work. But not long after you were over, Marco and I started spending some time together. And I’ve gone out with him quite a few times now. He was so good to me the first time we went downtown, too. It’s really helped. And while I don’t feel as confident in that as I should yet, I did go out on my own to get him a gift for his birthday over the weekend, so I’m taking small steps toward fixing it.”

She sent a sympathetic look my way. “I’m not upset with you. I’m just glad to see you doing so much better, which I guess brings me to my next question. Do you really believe that Cooper wouldn’t be happy for the two of you? That doesn’t seem right.”

“I’m with Ava on this one,” Jules declared. “Cooper can be a grouch at times, but there isn’t a single thing that makes me believe he wouldn’t want the absolute best for you.”

I nodded my agreement. “I know. I know, I feel the same way. But there is merit to Marco’s concern. I wasn’t there for the conversation the two of them had privately about what happened with me, but I was there in that hotel room. Cooper was not happy at the thought of Marco and me being a thing.”

“I don’t get it,” Jules murmured. “Marco’s his best friend.”

“Yeah. I mean, did you try talking to Cooper on your own, just to feel him out about it?” Ava questioned me.

“No. And I know that sounds so unlike me, but I don’t want the drama of it. Not only do I feel like I shouldn’t have to ask him for permission, but I also don’t want to approach him with guns blazing, either. Skye’s pregnant, and she needs his full attention right now.”

Jules shot me a look that told me she didn’t disagree as Ava suggested, “Skye might be his voice of reason, though. Whenever you decide to tell him the truth, there’s no question he’s going to talk to her about it. I think she’d get him to see that this is a good thing. Because it is a good thing. That’s what makes no sense to me.”

“Marco should be his first choice,” Jules noted.

I shrugged. “I know. But Marco is convinced there’s going to be some tension.”

“So, what do you plan to do about it? When do you think you’ll break the news?”

Shaking my head, I confessed, “I don’t know yet. We just decided we wanted to take some time to enjoy this place we’re at. It’s new and exciting, but it’s also a bit strange. We’ve known each other for so long, and there’s never been a hint of anything like this before, so we’re taking it a day at a time and having a lot of fun with it.”

They beamed at me, and Jules said, “So, he already got you cheesecakes and flowers twice now. How are you planning to spend the rest of your Valentine’s Day with him to show him how much it means to you?”

I grinned at my sister and my best friend. “Oh, trust me, he already knows just how much it meant to me.”

Ava squealed with delight. “Tell us more.”

Laughter spilled out of me, and after I pulled myself together, I gave them both just enough details to make them happy for me while keeping them curious.

By the end of the week, I was still trying to work out ways to find time with Marco. He’d come over to my place on Valentine’s Day and again two days later. But on the workdays following the nights I hadn’t seen him, I found myself struggling.

Maybe it was because I’d felt so lonely for so long. I didn’t know. I simply craved being around him.

Now, it was late Friday evening, and I was just getting ready to leave work. I hadn’t had any time throughout the day to even have a five-minute conversation with Marco, because I’d been working on last-minute details for a corporate event being hosted in one of our smaller ballrooms this evening.

The event had just ended, and I’d stayed for the entire thing.

So, now that I’d gathered up my things, I was ready to head home. If nothing else, I hoped I’d be able to get there, give Marco a call, and have a few minutes to talk. I just wanted to hear his voice.

Unfortunately, the moment I stepped outside, I learned that the weather predictions I’d heard yesterday about snowfall had been incorrect. I walked out of the hotel and did not step into a dusting to an inch of snow. There was easily a good three inches of snow on the ground, and I was wearing a pair of heels.

Wonderful.

It was going to take me an eternity to make it over to my car without falling. At the rate I was going to have to move, Marco would likely be asleep before I got home.

I’d taken several slow, careful steps away from the front door, my attention focused on my feet and each step I took.

I heard a door slam in the distance, and though that would have had me tensing slightly in recent weeks, I didn’t dare tear my gaze away from what I was doing. I made it to one of the decorative pillars, reached out to steady myself, and peered into the distance in the direction of my car.

That’s when I saw him.

With a huge smile on his face, Marco was walking in my direction. Something warm spread through me at the sight of him. And once he was close enough, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Coming to get you,” he answered as he held his arm out to me to link my arm through.

“Are you telling me you came back here just to walk me to my car?”

He chuckled. “No. I came back here to clean the snow off your car for you, too. I didn’t think you’d like being outside in the dark and cold while it was snowing. I might not have had an opportunity to talk to you today, but I saw you. I knew you weren’t going to survive in the cold for too long with this dress. Plus, those shoes are a death trap in weather like this.”

Though I knew he was teasing me, I still felt compelled to defend myself. “We weren’t supposed to get this much snow. They said a dusting!”

“And the weather reports are always so accurate, you had no reason to prepare for something worse.”

Confident I wouldn’t slip and fall with him leading me, I took my focus off the ground and looked up at him. “I was hoping for the best.”

“Fair enough. Are you going to be okay to drive home, or did you want me to take you? I can bring you back tomorrow to pick up your car.”

I looked at where our vehicles were parked right beside each other. “You already cleaned off my car, though.”

He shrugged. “I don’t care. It gave me something to do while I was waiting for you to walk out. If you’d rather not drive in this, I’ll have no problem cleaning it off for you tomorrow, either.”

In that moment, it happened for me.

Sure, I’d been having some lovely moments with Marco over the last few weeks. And this last week had been spectacular.

He’d been doing little things for me all along that I couldn’t just write off as nothing important.

It was all important. It was special.

Marco treated me like I never imagined. He treated me just like a princess. Maybe that’s why he’d given me that nickname. Perhaps that was how he saw me. Not to the rest of the world, but to him.

He’d come out in the snow, back to work, just so he could clean off my car and walk me safely through the lot to it.

Though it made me wonder just how deep his feelings went for me, I didn’t have any question about how I was feeling for him.

I was falling for Marco Kingston. Fast and hard. And if this was just a taste of what life with him would be like, even if he hadn’t said the words out loud to me, I could confidently say I’d never spend another day of my life wondering what it was like to be loved.

“If you take me home and have to bring me back tomorrow, it might just be wise for you to spend the night at my place,” I said when we made it to our cars.

He looked over at me and grinned. “I planned on doing that regardless of whether you drove yourself home or had me do it.”

I beamed at him beneath the parking lot lights. “Well, then I guess there’s no reason for me to be separated from you tonight, is there?”

“None that I can think of.”

“Take me home, handsome.”

Marco touched his lips to mine, his kiss soft and sweet. Then he opened the door to his truck for me.

And the whole way back to my place, I asked myself the same question.

What would Marco say if I told him precisely what he meant to me? Would I hear those same three words in return?

And even if I didn’t, did that mean I didn’t already know how he felt?