Page 68 of Recovering Ivy

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. And it will happen again. Accept it and move on.”

Ivy snuggled in closer before she began, “You know, Sarah wasn’t all bad. There were times she tried to show me she loved me. I’ve spent my whole life trying to forget specific moments in time and I’ve erased all the good.” I felt wetness on my chest and Ivy’s small frame started to shake in my arms. “Sometimes she’d come and pull me out of school and we’d go to the beach. She’d buy us frozen lemonades and we’d walk the boardwalk, or I’d get home and she’d be baking a cake for no reason. Those moments were few and far between but just enough to make the times she’d forgotten to pick me up from school until after dark, or forgot it was my birthday, all that much harder. She’d give me a taste of sweet then rip it away. That’s what I’m waiting for, you to be ripped away from me.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“I need you, Zane.” I caught her hand as she started a slow glide down my stomach toward my cock.

“No, baby. You need this; me holding you, loving you. I don’t need to use my body to give you what you need.”

It didn’t take Ivy long to cry herself to sleep. I held her through her tears and long after before I finally closed my eyes and followed.

I hoped like hell I was man enough to keep my promises. There was nowhere else I’d want to be than wrapped up in Ivy.

* * *

“Where are you going?” I asked when Ivy started to move away.

“To start the coffee.” I opened my eyes to see sun peeking through the cracks of the wood slats of the blinds.

I kissed the top of her head and loosened my grip. I waited for her to leave the room before I rolled to my side and tucked her pillow under my head. With a deep inhale I breathed in her smell still on the fabric. When had I become this guy? The sap that sought comfort in the scent of a woman. How was it possible for her to calm my racing mind with just her presence? Many women had tried and failed to break through my stone-encased heart. Ivy didn’t have to try; she simply was the one I was meant for. She was made for me in every way.

It hadn’t taken long for my need to see her to outweigh my exhaustion. Grabbing a pair of sweats I went into the living room and spotted her in the kitchen. Eggs, bacon, and milk spread out over the island as she pulled a pan from the cabinet.

Breakfast.

Even the mornings she’d been staying here we’d yet to sit down to eat. We’d grab coffee and go, stopping for food on the way to the office.

The sight of her cooking should’ve scared the living shit out of me, but it didn’t. As with everything that was Ivy, it made my heart beat faster as I took her in. She viewed herself as broken; I saw nothing but perfection.

She was everything I didn’t know I needed.

“Hey. Everything okay?” she asked when she noticed me watching her.

I didn’t bother answering; instead, I moved across the room and pulled her into my arms.

“It is now.”

I bent and captured her mouth, the sweep of her tongue against mine had me rethinking breakfast. If this meal hadn’t been the most important of my life, I would’ve taken her back to bed and showed her just how okay everything was. But, this was our first breakfast together.

I pulled back and broke the kiss. “New rule. Sunday breakfast.”

“I thought you didn’t do breakfast?” She winked.

“I didn’t. I do now.”

24

Ivy

I do now.

Zane’s dimples were on full display and I was momentarily stunned. He was so handsome, it was hard to believe he wanted me.

“You alright?” he whispered and kissed my forehead.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

“Don’t be.” I lost his smile and his grip tightened around my waist.