Page 81 of What About Us

“Oh, I⁠—”

“Sounds good,” I call back, and Ivy narrows her eyes at me, but I give her a smile. “You don’t want to shop and get all fancy? Fine, go like that. You’re fucking gorgeous. Doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re there.”

“Aww, that’s precious. So, you two are getting along well, then? Honey, I need all the tea. I’m going to need a full report when you get here. Just text me when you have your travel figured out.”

“This is a lot of new information,” Ivy says, rubbing her forehead. “But thank you. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Great, I’m excited to see you. Also, I need something.”

I return to washing vegetables for the salad but keep my ears trained on my girl.

“What’s up?” Ivy asks.

“When we were at your place, you had the cutest painting of sunflowers, and I need that for my guest room. I’d like to buy it from you. Can you bring it to Denver with you?”

I’m already wiping my hands dry again as I watch Ivy’s response.

“Oh, um.” She clears her throat. “I’m sorry, it got ruined.”

Brit gasps. “What? How? Oh, honey, don’t cry.”

“I’ll call Coop with travel plans, Brit.” I take the phone from Ivy and fill Britney’s screen with my own face.

“I didn’t mean to say anything wrong.”

“I know. It’s been a shitty few days. But we’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. Sorry, Ivy! I can’t wait to see you.”

Ivy nods, and I end the call, set the phone on the counter, and drag my finger down her cheek.

“It sucks,” she says as she swallows the tears.

“Big time,” I agree. “But you can paint more.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

She shakes her head and goes back to cutting vegetables, and an idea starts to form. I’ll need to talk to Ava. In the meantime, I change the subject.

“I think I’ll invite Indie,” I tell my girl.

“I think that’s great,” she replies, and I take my phone out of my pocket, pull up Indie’s number, and press Call.

She answers just before it goes to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Indie, it’s Xander. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh, no, I was just . . . no, it’s all good. What’s up?”

“Hey, I’m having a very casual barbecue at my house today. The other sibs are coming, and my dad will be here. He knows about you, and he’s the best, so he’s cool. I’m wondering if you’d like to join us?”

She’s quiet for a full fifteen seconds, and I have to pull the phone away from my ear to make sure she’s still there.

“Indie?”

“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, you caught me off guard. Um, you don’t have to⁠—”