Page 44 of Collide

“Aw, I love you too, man,” Petty says, pretending to wipe tears from under his eyes.

Jared stares at me, his eyes reading something in mine. Brothers forever.

“I love her, Jared. I want you to love her, too.”

“I love Ivy,” Petty whines, lusting after the woman I intend to make my wife. I ignore his antics as I’m concerned about Jared.

“I love her, man,” Jared says with less flirtatious intentions. “I want what’s best for her. For you. For us.”

“This will be good for us,” I say, hope rising. “It will be good for all of us.”

“What do you want?” Jared sighs in exasperation, and I rush him, wrapping my arms around him and tackling him to the couch. “Get the fuck off me,” he growls, but there’s no bite to his request.

“I knew you’d come around,” I tease, pressing off his chest and slipping to sit next to him on the couch. I’m wedged between my two best friends.

“Well?” Jared chuckles, seeing something in my expression.

“I need to go after her. I need to be near her to show her I’m serious. I want this. I want us.” My voice rises as a plan forms.

+ + +

“What are you doing here?” Ivy asks me as I stand outside her last class a week later.

“My future wife goes to school here.” My eyes fall to her belly, which seems to have grown in the days since she left Hawaii, and she can’t hide the pregnancy from anyone. I reach for the backpack over her shoulder and take it from her, hitching it over my own. She takes a few steps down the stairs of the building, and I follow.

“Why did you leave?” I ask as soon as we’re alone, walking through the bitter cold of wet Seattle.

“It was too much, Gage. My uncle and you. I don’t want you two fighting. I don’t want you giving up a dream. I don’t want anyone upset. I just need to take care of me.” She stops walking and rubs her belly. Her face flushes pink in the cool air, and she looks adorable under her knit hat.

“Okay, gorgeous.” I sigh, reaching for her hand.

“Gage, you aren’t listening to me.” She tugs at my hand to stop me from moving.

“I am, babe. We need to slow down, but I want to be here for you.”

Her eyes narrow as she looks at me. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m here for you.”

Her head tilts. “But you live in Los Angeles.”

My lips curve at her pinched expression. “Actually, the band and I are renting a place up here for a few months. We needed to get out of LA, and I found Hawaii particularly inspiring. But then again, I think that was you.” I wink at her.

“You moved to Seattle? For me?” She stares at me, bewildered by the thought. “And Jared and Petty agreed to this?”

After a long talk about our future, the guys agreed with me that a change of scenery was what we needed to regroup. Petty was surprisingly instrumental in suggesting we follow Ivy. He understands my feelings for her.

You love her, man. It’s as simple and complicated as that, right?

“Yep.” I smile wider, but she begins walking away. I twist and follow her. “Ivy, I hate to say it, but you’re verging on making me crazy.”

She stops walking and turns back to me. “I just…I don’t…” Then she steps forward, cups my face, and kisses me in the middle of the cold campus. When she pulls back, she stares up at me with worried eyes. “You know people are going to wonder. They’re going to talk.”

She means social media. Since my kiss on her belly bump, the speculation about Ivy and me has been off the charts. Everyone wants to know if we’re an item when there wasn’t a prior hint, but they’re even more curious about her belly. Baby watch? People are ridiculous.

“Then let’s give them something to talk about,” I whisper. “The truth.”

“And what is the truth?” Her brows pinch.