Her heart beat too fast and air rasped in and out of her lungs—too hot, too thin, not enough. The floor tipped. She fell, hands splayed on the skin-numbing steel, her vision tunneling.
I am going to die here.
She’d finally found someone who saw her exactly as she was—and she’d wasted so much time pretending she didn’t need that.
Of course it was now, at the end of the world.
I never got to tell him how he makes me feel.
Her eyes stung as she blinked back hot tears. She wiped at them furiously. Crying wouldn’t solve anything.
“Hey.” Jack crouched beside her. “Stay with me. We’re not done yet.”
“I never got to tell him.” Ivy pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. The truth crashed over her. Not slowly but all at once.
She loved him.
“Tell who what?” Jack gripped her shoulders.
Ryder, with his careful hands and the way he looked at Ellie like she was the entire sun. And Ellie—God, Ellie with her fierce hugs and sticky fingers that grabbed hold and refused to let go.
“Ryder.” Ivy’s breath hiccuped. “I never told him how I feel, and now…”
The words were broken, scattered between gasping breaths. “When he looks at me. He sees me. Really sees me, just as I am.”She looked at Jack. “His little girl, Ellie. She’s amazing and I—” Her voice fractured. “I love him. I love them both.”
She pressed her fist to her chest, trying to breathe around it.
Jack’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “You love him? And the kid?”
Ivy dragged a hand through her hair—stiff with salt and blood. Her fingers caught in the tangles. She didn’t care. “Yes.”
She was in love with Ryder Meyer. She wanted him and Ellie and breakfast in kitchens that smelled like coffee and sunshine. The whole impossible package.
“I really fucked this up, didn’t I?” Her eyes burned. “We’re going to die out here. I’m going to die before I can tell him.”
Jack wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “You, girl, are going to tell him all of that.”
Ivy shook her head. “No one’s coming.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re still going to tell him.” Jack pulled back, hands on Ivy’s shoulders. Lines etched her face but her eyes were clear. “You hear me?”
Ivy looked at her. This woman she’d known only for a matter of days believed they would survive this.
No more hiding. No more waiting.
Get up, Ivy. Get loud.
Fight for whatyouwant.
She’d been invisible her whole life. Taking care of the estate, always putting everyone else’s needs before her own. Maybe that’s why BlackRock thought she’d be an easy target.
Ivy drew in a shaky breath, forcing air past the ache in her chest. “You’re right.” She dried her eyes.
Jack winced as she got to her feet. “Damn straight I’m right.”
Not done yet.
Ivy got back on her feet, mind racing. “The helipad. We light it up, so they can’t miss us.”
