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I'm in such shock, I can hardly breathe as she wraps her arms around me and welcomes herself to my lap.
“Did you miss me?” She plants a kiss on my lips before I can avoid it.
Miss her?
I completely forgot she existed.
“Raelyn, what are you doin' here?” I ask, trying to move her off me.
I shift my eyes to Ivy, who’s pissed.
“Raelyn,” Hadleigh sing-songs. “I thought you two broke up?”
Thank God. Bestie to the rescue.
“What? No way! We were just on a short break while I dealt with my busy work schedule and caught up with some old friends. Right, baby?”
Fuck no.
“Umm...I think we should talk in private,” I tell her quietly so no one overhears. The last thing I want is to make a scene, and if I tell Raelyn that we aren't together, she'll blow up in the middle of the B&B. My parents and uncle John would kill me if that happened in front of the guests.
“Sure, babe. I brought a bag so we can spend all night catching up,” she says loud enough for everyone to hear.
I get to my feet so she's forced to get off me. Ivy's jaw is tight as she avoids my gaze. I hope she knows this is a misunderstanding. If she wants to come clean about our relationship right now, I'd do it. But since I can't read her, I keep quiet.
Ivy pushes back to stand and takes her half-full plate with her. “Hads, I gotta run.”
“What? But I thought you wanted to talk later?”
“Um, I know. I just remembered I told Mom I'd be home to help with laundry and chores. We can catch up tomorrow.”
“I'm gonna grab some food,” Raelyn tells me, capturing my hand. “Come with me.”
Fuck. How am I gonna get out of this so I can catch Ivy before she leaves? No matter what I do, Raelyn will make a scene, and chasing after Ivy will be too suspicious. Now I'm not sure if Ivy will want to tell everyone, so running after her might be the last thing she wants.
I watch over my shoulder as Ivy hugs Hadleigh goodbye and pleads for her to look at me. She doesn't. Instead, she keeps her face down as if she's trying to hold back tears.
Shit.
As soon as she's out the door, I pull out my phone to text her.
Kane: Please meet me at my house. Raelyn and I are NOT together. I don't know what she's doing here, but I'm going to clear everything up as soon as we're out of the B&B.
I sit with Raelyn as she eats and talks nonstop. I don't know how she's even chewing her food with the amount of talking she's doing. In between, I check for a response from Ivy, but it doesn't come.
“Raelyn, we need to talk,” I tell her as soon as her plate's empty.
“Okay, I'll follow you to your house. We have so much catching up to do!” she says giddily. I’m pissed she expects us to start where we left off when she wanted to take a break to screw other guys.
As soon as I pull into my driveway, I hoped to see Ivy's car in her hiding spot, but it's not there. She must've really gone home. Just to be sure she got my last message, I text her again.
Kane: Baby, let me know you got this. I promise it's not what it looks like.
Raelyn meets me at my front door, and as soon as I let her in, she notices some of Ivy's things on the coffee table.
“I guess you enjoyed our little break too,” she says smugly.
The fucking nerve.
“Actually...” I slam the door shut, then decide I'm gonna need a drink for this.
I go to the kitchen and pull down the bottle of vodka.
If I'm gonna deal with my ex, I can't do it sober.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
IVY
I’m a fucking idiot and still so angry about what happened at the B&B yesterday. My mother noticed my mood shift as soon as I got up this morning. She made some light comments about it, but I explained I wasn’t feeling the best, and she dropped it.
It’s not a lie, though. I slept like total shit and couldn’t stop thinking about Raelyn sitting on Kane’s lap. As soon as I walked out of the B&B, I blocked his number. I didn’t want to hear his “excuses” after Raelyn admitted they never actually broke up. He’s been my best-kept secret for weeks—hell years, if you count the time I’ve crushed on him—and now what we had will have to stay buried. Along with my broken heart. The day after I give myself to him, his girlfriend returns to town to claim her man. Of fucking course.
Seeing her hang all over him made me so sick to my stomach that if I hadn’t left, I'd have lost my lunch right then. I’ve never felt pain like this, but I’ve also never lost someone I cared this much about. I stupidly believed every word he said like a naïve teenager. As soon as Raelyn was over their “break,” she burst back into his life, and he let her.
