Page 64 of Recovering Ivy

“That’s what he said.”

“Has Zane gone crazy?”

“Well…” Olivia continued to laugh.

“He is crazy! I’ve known him all of a hot minute and he’s ordering his men to pack my apartment. What the fuck? Who the hell does he think he is?”

“Zane Lewis,” Olivia said as if that was an answer.

“Why do you think this is temporary? Did Zane say it was?” Violet asked.

What kind of question was that? Did she miss the part where I told them we’d only known each other for a New York minute?

“I’ve known him under a week,” I reminded them. “A week.”

“And?” Olivia asked and shrugged her shoulders. “Leo said he knew I was his when he found me handcuffed in a dirty room with vomit still in my hair.”

“Jaxon told me he’d tried to fight what he was feeling but had given up by the second day and I belonged to him,” Violet helpfully added.

“My mother is a junkie. My sister was murdered by her pimp slash dealer. I’m not the type of girl men fall for or keep for the long haul. Hell, my own parents didn’t want me. My dad bailed, my mother told me every day I was trash and a burden.” I stopped and covered my mouth with my hand.

Shit, what had I done? Why was I blurting out secrets?

“So? What does your mother have to do with you?” Violet cut her eyes at me. “You’re not her. And I’m sorry about your sister - that is horrible, but those were their life choices, not yours. I don’t mean to sound callous; it’s tragic what happened to her. But you shouldn’t be held accountable for either of them.”

Olivia was being suspiciously quiet, and I was waiting for her condemnation. This was part of the reason I’d always kept my past to myself. The look of judgment and pity from others was more than I could bear. Violet was wrong; their behavior was a direct reflection of my upbringing and the type of person I was.

“You say that, Violet, but my whole life I’ve been lumped in with them, and my mother made sure I never forgot.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Olivia whispered.

Shit. Even worse than judgment – pity.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” I clipped.

“Zane doesn’t see your mother when he’s with you,” she continued.

“What?”

“He sees a smart and funny woman.”

“Why would you think that? I was easy. A one-night stand he picked up at a bar. Trust me, he’ll get bored with me and when he does, I’ll have no place to live and no job.”

“I wouldn’t recommend you calling yourself easy in front of him or the team,” Violet advised. “If there is one thing I’ve learned about this bunch, they don’t take kindly to the women they love talking bad about themselves.”

Women they love? Zane didn’t love me. I’d been so stupid earlier thinking I could do this relationship thing with him. Seeing Violet and Olivia reminded me I was in a whole different universe than any of them. They didn’t need me dirtying up their group. I had to stop this before it went any further. I wanted to believe we could have fun and enjoy the time we had together, but I couldn’t do it.

“I know what he sees because I know Zane. You wouldn’t be sitting here in his living room if he didn’t know with a hundred percent certainty he’d met his other half. Do you know how many women I’ve met that Zane’s been with?” Olivia stopped and waited for me to answer. I didn’t want to know. My heart hurt thinking about the other women he’d been with. I also know he told me he didn’t do second dates and what Olivia was about to tell me could prove Zane to be the liar he’d promised me he wasn’t. “None. I’ve never seen a single woman. Wanna know how many Leo has met? The same amount - a big fat whopping zero. Zane does not allow anyone into his life. He keeps himself separate even from his men. No one gets to come to his home or invade his personal life. Just you.”

“I love him,” I admitted.

“Then what’s the problem?” Violet asked, matter of fact.

“He’ll leave me.”

“Who will leave you?”

My back shot straight and two sets of eyes nearly bugged out. Sweet mother of God, how had Zane walked in and us not hear him? Both Violet and Olivia got themselves under control and stopped looking over my shoulder and back to me. I pleaded with them to help me come up with a plausible answer but before I could formulate a lie, he spoke again.