“Babe,” he said, taking a step closer to me.
“Yeah?” I asked, stepping closer to me.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
“What’s going on through that brain of yours?”
Goddess, where did I start. “Um, I turned down the proposal on the bookstore today.”
Jake’s smile grew. “Good. You don’t need anyone else. You’ve got this, Ivy, and your store is going to rock.”
I might need someone, I thought.
“Where’s Noah?”
“Airbnb.” I replied.
His hands came to my hips. “Good.”
At that, my heartbeat sped up. Might as well get it all out. “Jake, Noah is moving here. He’s going to be part of our life.”
“He wants to be with Addie,” Jake said, his heated gaze finding mine. “What about you?”
“What about me?” I asked, nervous that we weren’t where I thought we were.
“What do you want with Noah?”
I moved closer until I was flush against Jake and tightened my arms around him. I wanted him to feel secure. “What I want is Addie to have her dad in her life if he’s open to it.”
“And how do you want Noah in your life?”
“As a friend.”
“That’s it?” I could tell he was bracing. Screw Rachel for making this glorious man doubt that people would stay, that people would love him.
“That’s it.”
Jake cleared his throat. “Does Noah know that?”
“Yep. I asked him if I could set him up. He’s considering it. He wants weekly dinners with Addie, me, and you.”
The ghost of a smile emerged on his face. “Drew might ask to be invited.”
“Done. He also said you needed to provide the beer.”
“Done. Anything else?”
I looked up at him, taking strength from his gaze that was locked on me. “Well, I told him that I was in love with someone else.”
Jake’s breath caught as his eyes narrowed. “In love?”
My heart was pitter-pattering so loud I wondered if he could hear it. “Yep. In love. You might know him. He’s a surly brewery owner who, I hear, will buy Christmas trees and tampons. Though I haven’t seen evidence of the tampons yet.”
Jake’s body relaxed, and a grin spread across his face. “Sounds like a hell of a guy, though not sure how trees and tampons go together, Ivy.”
I felt like my body was beaming, the joy couldn’t be contained.
