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“Not really,” I tell Alec. After the amazing sex we’ve had, it seems wrong not to tell him the truth. “Your mother wasn’t very welcoming. She made sure not to include me in the conversation.”
Alec gently shifts me from his chest and sits up in bed. “No, she didn’t. Ivy, she invited you to her home. She really insisted that I bring you to dinner.”
A flash of anger goes through me. I can’t believe he’s defending his mother’s bad manners. I sit up too and pull the bedsheet to cover my breasts. In less than ten seconds, the cozy, loving atmosphere dissipates.
“She only invited me to prove to me that I don’t belong,” I say hotly.
“Come on, Ivy, let it go. She’s trying to make amends. You guys will be in each other’s lives for a long time.”
“Not if I choose not to,” I respond angrily. “I don’t have to see her if I don’t want to.” I feel irrationally angry as the feelings of alienation I’d felt over dinner come back in a rush. I can’t believe that Alec won’t admit that his mother has treated me unfairly. Suddenly I can’t stand being in the same house with him, let alone the same bed. I swing my legs out of bed and reach for my clothes.
“What are you doing?” he says, a note of alarm in his voice.
“I have a sudden urge to go home.”
“You’re being childish now, Ivy,” he says.
I whip my head around to glare at Alec. “Oh, so it’s childish for me to feel hurt and angry by your mother’s behavior, but it’s not childish for her to come to my house to try and buy my baby?”
“You’ll never let go of that, will you?”
“Why would I?” I ask as I slam his bedroom door. I’m so angry I dress in the hallway, nearly tripping as I pull out my phone and call an Uber.
Alec doesn’t try to stop me. Maybe he finally sees it too.
I don’t belong. We are too different.
22
Ivy
Dylan’s examination room is vastly different from Alec’s. It’s very colorful, unlike Alec’s, which is decorated in earthy, natural colors. I like the cheerfulness in Dylan’s office. Or maybe I’m just still angry with Alec. I get the need to defend one’s mother, but what about fairness?
I’m lucky that Dylan’s patient has allowed me to be in the examination room. I have a chair by the corner, and I try to make myself as invisible as I can. He talks to her smoothly, explaining what he’s doing. His nurse stands beside him, taking notes and smiling reassuringly, though I don’t think the patient needs it. She’s a spry woman in her late sixties. Probably bored with the probing, she turns her attention to me. Our gazes meet, and I flash her a smile. She smiles back.
“What do you write?” she asks.
Taken aback by the direct question, I clear my throat before answering. “Medical thrillers,” I tell her.
She asks about the plot, and I tell her a little bit of it. A flush of pleasure floods me when I see her genuine fascination with my story. When I’m done, she asks for my pen name.
“I’ll look out for it,” she says. “I’d love to read it, and I’ll get to brag to all my friends that I know a famous person.”
I laugh. “Hardly famous.”
“I second Mary Anne’s sentiments. You will be famous,” Dylan quips.
It’s nice to be surrounded by such positivity, and when Dylan and I return to his office, I’m glowing, and I feel as though I’m walking on air. I can’t wait to tell Alec about it. As soon as that thought forms, I remember that he and I are not on good terms, and I feel as if the weather has suddenly turned gloomy.
“Thanks for allowing me into the examination room,” I tell Dylan.
“You’re welcome. I knew Mary Anne wouldn’t have a problem with it. By the way, I’d love to read your book too when it comes out into the world,” Dylan says with a warm smile.
“Thank you.”
His expression grows solemn. “Hey, I’m sorry about last night’s dinner. My mother behaved abominably. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed that she was my mother, and I’m sure my brothers felt the same way. You, on the other hand, handled her bad behavior with poise and grace. Thank you.”
Tears fill my eyes, and I fight to keep them from spilling over. That was all I needed from Alec. An acknowledgment that his mother treated me badly and an apology. That’s all.
