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He’d left to pick Ruby up from her sleepover, and it felt strange that she’d have to wait until three o’clock to see him again. Back to their routine: bar, work, and Ruby. Still, she knew nothing would be routine for them again. Gabe had made that clear not half an hour ago when she’d been writhing beneath him as he gave her her thousandth orgasm of the weekend.
Their last time this morning had been a desperate kind of mating, and he’d been more dominant, more possessive than he’d ever been with her before, whispering demands and assertions over her, as though he was afraid she might not return if he didn’t claim her. As though he was branding her as his. Little did he know she was already counting down the hours until she could be back in his arms again.
For as long as he’d take her, she’d always come back. She just couldn’t tell him that, especially if it couldn’t last.
As soon as she stepped inside her apartment, she spotted Ivy standing in the kitchen, wearing leggings and a sports bra that highlighted her very impressive abs. Witnessing Ivy’s metamorphosis over the last few years was still incredible to Hope. Ivy had gone from being downright skinny and self-conscious to a strong, toned, resilient warrior.
Even now, as she leaned against the counter, her bicep flexed smoothly as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. She eyed Hope with her sharp crystal-blue gaze as she sipped.
“Hey,” Hope said casually, tossing her keys in the bowl by the front door.
“Hey, yourself,” Ivy replied, expression neutral. “Haven’t seen you all weekend. You look…flushed.”
She knew it was stupid, knew she was acting like a sixteen-year-old rather than the twenty-six-year-old she was, but she couldn’t stop the goofy smile that cracked her face.
At the sight of it, Ivy’s eyebrows disappeared beneath her dark-brown bangs. “He’s that good, huh?” Pouring another cup of coffee, she gestured with her free hand for Hope to sit on the couch. She added a dollop of milk, just as Hope liked it, then brought the steaming mug to Hope as she flopped down on the couch with a tortured sigh.
“Ivy, he’s more than good.” She accepted the cup and drank deeply. As much time as she spent in bed the last two days, very little of it actually involved sleeping, and she needed the caffeine kick. “He’s attentive, interesting. He’s the strong and stoic type for sure, but not in a macho, dominant way.” She paused, considering. “Although he’s that too. But in a good way, not a loser way,” she rushed to correct, knowing how unattractive macho and dominant sounded, especially to someone like Ivy. “It’s more like he’s a man who knows what he wants. But he won’t take anything I’m not ready to give. He’s… considerate, but not weak. Does that make sense?” Explaining the many sides of Gabriel Walsh wasn’t simple.
Ivy looked at Hope with equal parts humor and sympathy. “He’s good people, Hope. I told you that myself. Anyway, in this case I take macho and dominant to mean confident with a great set of abs and an even better butt. Both of which are definitely a plus in a bed partner.”
Hope sipped and sighed. “I like him,” she admitted. “A lot.” Her tone wasn’t thrilled, because she was less than thrilled that she was letting herself fall for this man when she knew very well it was all going to come crumbling down eventually. And Ivy was the only one who would really understand why falling for a man like Gabe was less than ideal right now.
Ivy set her cup down on the coffee table and took a deep breath. “Hope, are you going to tell him?” Apparently, Ivy could now read her mind.
“No!” she said emphatically, watching the telltale apprehension creep into her friend’s eyes. “Ivy, no,” she said again. “No way.” To signal the conversation over, she stood abruptly.
She hadn’t quite worked out how to bring up her past with Gabe, but she knew she’d have to do it in a way that didn’t betray her soul sister.
Ivy grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down to the couch, reminding her again of how strong she’d gotten. She let go immediately. “Hope, I’ve taken enough from you over the last few years. I wouldn’t blame you if you did tell Gabe.”
“Ivy, stop.” She shouldn’t have said anything, should have known Ivy would somehow find a way down the rabbit hole of blame which was typically followed by self-loathing. “From the beginning, you’ve said that you didn’t want anyone to know. That you wanted to look forward, not back.”
“Yeah, Hope, but that was before you fell in love with a drop-dead gorgeous, single father who’s been through hell already, and doesn’t deserve to be lied to by the woman who he thinks is his second chance. He deserves to hear the truth—before he hears the lie, and you both get hurt for no good reason.”
“But there is a good reason, Ivy.You’rea good reason.” Hope turned to her friend and took her hand in hers. “You’ve worked so hard to put the past behind you. I’ll be damned if it’s dug up again because I can’t control my emotions around a man.”
Ivy sighed. “Hope, my past will always be with me, whether Gabe knows or not. And,” she went on before Hope could say anything to that, “you’re not supposed to control your emotions when you’re falling in love.”
“First of all, who said anything about love?” Hope ignored Ivy’s dubious look and went on. “Second, Gabe doesn’t need to know anything beyond what’s public knowledge of what happened three years ago. I can handle this without bringing you into it.” She stared pointedly at Ivy, making sure to hold her gaze. “Besides, if anyonedeservesto know the truth, it’s Sean.”
“Hell. No.” Ivy released Hope’s wrist, then stood up, yanking her hand out of Hope’s, breaking their connection. She wrapped her arms around herself and took several long steps backward.
Okay, conversation obviously over.
Or so Hope thought, until Ivy said, “Look, all I’m saying is that Gabe is the best thing that ever happened to you. GabeandRuby. I see how you’ve changed in the last few months. You’re painting and drawing more than ever, and don’t even think I haven’t noticed you opened an Etsy account, by the way. I put in an order for the meadow painting, FYI.” Ivy gestured to the painting that was propped by the window in the far corner.
It was true, Hope had opened an Etsy account a couple of weeks ago—out of sheer necessity, she’d told herself. She had an overabundance of paintings piling up and selling them made sense, given her current fiscal situation.
“That man and his adorable daughter have wrapped themselves around your heart and gotten your creative juices going in a way I haven’t seen—ever. And if you lose that, or worse, walk away because of some fucked up lie that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for me, I’d never forgive myself, okay?”
Ivy was shaking, and her eyes looked suspiciously shiny. Hope moved toward her carefully, knowing better than to make any sudden movements when her friend was emotional like this.
“Ivy, you listen to me,” she said in a low, even voice. “You’re right. Gabe and Ruby have come to mean something to me in a big way, but whatever happens between Gabe and I will never be your fault, okay? Either he falls for me as I am or he doesn’t. I’ve given him plenty of opportunity to get to know the most important parts of me, and if he lets some rumors from my past change the way he feels, then he’s not the man I want, anyway.”
She held her breath and hoped that Ivy thought her reasoning was accurate. After a long moment, Ivy gave a single nod, and Hope breathed a sigh of relief.
It was all a huge load of crap, of course. If she let Gabe believe a lie about herself, then he wasn’t falling for her as she truly was. He was also falling for an incomplete version of her. When he found out that she’d nearly been kicked out of USC for cheating, and that the only reason she’d been exonerated was because her brother and father had to bail her out, he’d hightail it out of her life so fast her head would spin.
