Page 74 of Recovering Ivy

“She won’t return any of my calls.” Olivia’s smile faded, and sadness laced her tone. “She’s my best friend and refuses to speak to me. I think it’s payback for when I was… you know, before I was taken, I was drinking all the time. Erin tried to reach out and stop me, but I wasn’t ready to listen. Both the stupidest and best thing I ever did.”

“What do you mean?” I inquired.

“Stupid because I was behaving like a spoiled bitch and putting myself in danger. But if I hadn’t gone through what I had, I wouldn’t have met Leo. He’s the best decision I ever made.” Olivia’s hands went to her belly and I wondered if she realized what she’d done. She, too, had a baby bump, only hers was small in comparison to Jasmin.

“Declan had an op in Bangladesh,” Violet informed Jasmin. “Some rich businessman wanted a guard. From what Jaxon and Dec said, the man paid a whack, too.”

“He did. It was absurd, but Zane was happy. He said with the man’s contract alone he could cover payroll for six months.” Not that Zane’s business was hurting for money, but he was smiling the day he gave me the check to deposit.

Rena had decided to cut back on hours to spend more time with her family and I’d been slowly taking over some of her duties. Well, the ones that didn’t include being Zane’s assistant. We were finding a healthy balance. He tried to bark orders and boss me around, and I told him where he could shove it. If the smile, dimples included, was anything to go by I’d say it was working well.

“Linc told me that Z looks happy.” Jasmin pinned me with her gaze. “I’m glad. After everything he’s been through, he deserves it.”

“I hope he is. But everything is still new; it’s only been a few months. I’m still a little worried he’ll get sick of my shit. He tells me every day I have a problem following orders. But I’m getting better.”

“The last thing that man needs is a woman who follows orders. He needs an equal. And he’s found that in you.” A sly smile played on Jasmin’s lips. “Give him hell.”

“Let’s eat. I’m starving,” Olivia said. “By the time I have this baby, I’m gonna look like I’m having triplets.”

We made our way to the kitchen where Jasmin had more food than necessary spread over the island.

“Damn, this kitchen is huge,” I commented.

“Yeah. It’s a little big. This house used to be a duplex. It belonged to Zane. I lived on one side and when Lincoln moved back here, he lived on the other side. Once we finally sorted our shit and I got my memory back, Zane had the wall in the middle opened up and made it into one big house. The kitchen was the only snafu. It was easier to make one huge space than replumb,” Jasmin explained. “Anyway, after the work was complete, Zane signed the house over to us as a wedding present.”

“Over the top bastard,” Violet muttered.

“It’s awesome.” I looked around the area trying to find where the house was split in two but couldn’t see it. The space was open, one room flowing to the next. I’d never seen a kitchen this big before, not even Zane’s was this large.

“Sure, if you like to cook. I’m more of a takeout kinda girl.” She laughed and gestured to the containers in front of her.

“Speaking of weddings,” Violet cut in. “Jaxon and I set a date. Next weekend.”

“Next weekend?” Olivia laughed.

“Yep. In our backyard. Jax’s parents and brother are flying out. We have everything set up, small, family only. It will be perfect.”

Violet’s smile was infectious, I couldn’t help but return her happiness.

“That is so awesome. I can’t wait to see pictures. I bet it will be beautiful,” I told her.

“Pictures? You’ll be there. Right?”

“You said family,” I reminded her.

“You are family. The whole team will be there.”

“I just assumed…”

“We are family, Ivy.”

“I’ve never had this. Thank you,” I whispered.

I tried to hold the tears back. The first time I’d met Violet and Olivia I flipped out and turned into a crazy person, now I was crying. Great. They really were going to think I’m a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

“Well, you have it now.” She graciously didn’t comment as I swiped my eyes. “And in other top-secret news, I’m officially off birth control. Jax wants to start a family right away.”

“Oh my God. That is so awesome. You won’t be far behind me and Jas. Now we just have to get Zane to jump on the baby train.” Olivia winked.