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She searched my face but stayed silent.
“I know you’re used to something different than I am,” I continued carefully. “But it still has to hurt.”
“You don’t know what it’s like in my world,” she said. “I’m fine. He taught me how to handle things like this. And that’s what I’m doing.”
She was lying. But I had a feeling she was lying to herself more than anything.
Ivy had been strong her entire life because she’d had to be.
“Bullshit,” I said gently. “I call bullshit on that.”
Ivy pinched her eyes shut.
“I’m not saying that to hurt your feelings, Ivy.”
“I know.” She clutched a fist tight to her chest, the skin of her knuckles white. She was holding so much inside. “It’s not that.”
“What is it?”
She inhaled shakily. “Do you know how hard it is to talk to you about things like this when your family is perfect?”
Gently, I gripped her chin and tilted it up, waiting to speak until she opened her eyes.
“My family is not perfect,” I told her. “If you’d been around the last few years, you would’ve seen plenty of examples of distance, siblings not speaking, disagreements. It’s getting better, but we’re all screwed up in different ways from the things we’ve experienced that got us here.”
“You’re not,” she said, sounding so petulant about it that I couldn’t help but laugh. “Honestly, give me a list of your flaws, and I’ll frame it on my wall under a spotlight. It might make me feel better.”
With a laugh, I gathered her tight against my chest and kissed the top of her head. Eventually, she relaxed into my embrace.
“Tell you what,” I said, mouth brushing the silk of her hair. “All my siblings are coming in for the fall festival next weekend. If you want to know my flaws, they are the experts. I bet you’d walk away with a list as long as your arm.”
“Appealing,” she murmured. “What exactly does a weekend like that entail?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The usual.” I kissed her temple, dragging my nose along her skin. “Eating. Games. Socializing.”
She let out a disgruntled sigh. “You’re going to make me people, aren’t you?”
I smiled. “Maybe.”
“Shall I expect any more chest-thumping displays of testosterone? That might be a deal-breaker for me.”
“I don’t have any plans for that at the moment.”
Her fingertips wandered delicately across my chest, and I closed my eyes at the fact that she allowed herself those small touches.
“Dear Lord, a small-town festival,” she muttered. “Let me guess, baked goods out the ying-yang and booths with crafts, and everyone will be wearing jeans and holding hands and singing.”
“So close.” I ducked my head down and kissed the tip of her nose. She eyed me with suspicion. “You better come and find out.”
She swallowed when I licked along the edge of her jaw. “That means I’ll have to do like … a big family dinner.”
I kissed her bottom lip. “Yes. Think of all the blueberry muffins my mom would make for you if you finally show up for dinner.”
“That’s blackmail. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
My hand inched down toward the dimples above the curve of her backside. “You’d be surprised, duchess.”
I paused. “You may have to temporarily move out of your lodgings while Erik and Lydia are here. They need the extra space because of their daughter, Isla.”
