I leaned forward to grab her, and she wrapped her little arms around my neck. With a squeeze, she whispered in my ear, “Thanks, Jakey.” I slid her to the floor, and she took off to the living room.
The emotion I felt for that little girl was not something I wanted to sort out right now, so I picked an easier topic. “Snack tray? Sounds like it’s something special.”
Ivy laughed as she twisted her hair into some type of knot on her head, securing with an elastic from around her wrist. “Not sure it’s that special, but it’s something she loves.” She leaned over and pulled out a cupcake pan. “I just fill up each cup with a different type of snack.”
I nodded, seeing the appeal in the eyes of a kid. “Do we get to snack with her?”
Ivy gave me a mock glare. “Are you trying to steal my child’s food?”
I laughed, enjoying the easy feeling of this morning. “Ivy, your kid can’t weigh more than forty pounds soaking wet. There’s no way she needs twelve full cups of snacks.” I gestured to the cupcake pan.
“Fair point. And I typically only fill each cup up a quarter of the way. But sure, we can snack with her. Want to help?”
“I can do the snacks if you want to tackle the coffee.”
“Need coffee that bad, do you?” she asked as she filled the pot with water.
“You have no idea.” I shook my head.
I opened the cabinets and fridge to grab what, after a week with Addie, I knew were the hits in terms of snacks in this house. Nothing too exciting, I filled up the cups with fruit, some veggies, cut-up cheese, and dry cereal. Ivy glanced over as she poured the coffee. She moved to hand me a mug and paused, considering the tin.
“You’ve got all her favorites,” she said. She sounded different. I looked up and saw some moisture in her eyes.
“Hey, babe.” I pulled her toward me, taking the coffee mugs and setting them on the counter. “You okay?” I wiped below her eyes where a few tears had spilled over. What the hell had happened? Cradling her jaw in my hand, I let my lips brush hers.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“No need to be sorry, just wondering what’s going through that mind of yours.” I leaned back and handed her a coffee mug before taking the other for me.
Ivy put her coffee down and hopped up to sit on the counter before picking it up again with both hands. She inhaled the coffee with a deep sigh and looked content once again, not sad. I was going to go with that, not sure what had come over her a moment ago.
I glanced at her mug, then mine, and laughed as I read my mug. “You bought this one with me in mind, didn’t you?” I asked as I held up my mug toward her with thewoke up sexy as hell againmessage facing her way.
She winked. “It might fit you, I suppose.”
“Where’d you get this?”
“Maggie got it for me last month when I was lamenting the lack of guys in my life. I was just being generally whiney and feeling blah about myself.”
I felt my brows draw together. When I thought of Ivy, I thought of a confident, sexy-as-hell woman. Though it made sense. All people had low moments. And when I thought about her doing all this—parenting, running a new business, moving to a new town—on her own, well, that would be a difficult time.
“One, Ivy”—I moved into her space and leaned down to kiss her neck—“you’d be sexy as hell anytime, day or night.”
She groaned, letting her head drop back. “Jake.” Her voice trailed off.
“Nope, shush.” I whispered, my mouth against her neck. God, she smelled incredible. “Two,” I licked her collarbone, then nipped it. She jumped, then groaned again as I kissed the same spot. “I’d love to know where your head was a few minutes ago. I hate seeing you sad.” That was an understatement. She made me want to slay dragons. I had no idea what to do with these feelings, but again, I was dealing with that later.
Her head dropped to my shoulder. I placed my coffee back on the counter and grabbed hers to do the same. Sliding her off the counter and pulling her to me, I began to sway to the music still pouring out of my phone. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and let her head slide to my chest. It felt just as good as last night, but more intimate somehow.
“It’s nothing, Jake,” she whispered.
“I want to know, Ivy,” I whispered back, running a hand through her hair.
She swayed with me for a few minutes without talking. Often with women I’d tried to date, I felt the need to fill the silences. Not with Ivy. Silences felt as comfortable and easy as conversations. Finally, she met my eyes.
“You knew her favorite snacks.”
I let that statement roll around for a minute, then looked over at the cupcake pan, then back at Ivy. “You mean the snack-tray stuff?”
