I shook my head. This was a lot, that’s what it was. Drew had set out crystal candlesticks my mom had pawned off on me sometime that she was purging her house. There were wineglasses, and the table was set, my papers nicely piled to the side. I knew he’d put some stuff out, but I hadn’t seen quite how much he’d done. This was like some romantic setup. Fuck. Now what would she think I was trying to do?
“Um, this is Drew,” I muttered. Because of course it was.
Ivy snorted, and we settled down in our seats. I looked at the wine sitting on the table. “Did you want wine?”
“Oh.” She started to stand. “No, I’d rather finish my beer, but—”
I stood. “Got it.” I moved back to the kitchen and prayed for some deliverance. This felt awkward, and no time I’d spent with Ivy since I’d met her felt like that. How did I get past it? How would we?
After handing off a bone to Chief so he’d stay occupied, I headed back to the table with our beers.
Ivy took one and looked at me, a bit unsure as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Sorry, I meant to wait, but I had to take a bite because it smells amazing. And wow, I should know by now, but you can cook.”
I relaxed a bit at that and sat down across from her. “Yeah, Ivy. My dad taught me to cook. Both my parents are good, but my dad loves to make pasta.” I looked at her as she watched me. “Eat, eat.”
She dug into her salad, then looked up. “You didn’t say. Does Drew know about the beer?”
I nodded, swallowing a bite of salad before continuing. “Yeah, Sully and I toasted with him at the brewery on Saturday night.”
She nodded. “And was he good with it? More to the point, has he shared why he decided to move back yet?”
I sighed. Steph and I had just talked about this yesterday but decided it was more important to give him space than to figure out what was going on. “He loved the name, but no, no idea why he’s back. Trying just to enjoy time with him.”
We sat for a few moments, eating in silence. At first, it was relaxing. Gradually I realized that Ivy was on edge. I had to do something.
“I’m thinking we need to address the elephant in the room,” I said, taking a drink of my beer.
“Not cool to call Noah an elephant, Jake.” Ivy gave me a small grin, and my heart unclenched.
I chuckled and shook my head at Ivy. “Babe.” I swallowed and prepared to lay it out. “I don’t know where to start.” I looked down to the table and thought about everything I’d wanted to say since Thursday. Was she getting together with Noah? Would they be a family? Were we done? I had no idea where to begin.
Looking back at her, I started. “So, Noah’s back.”
Ivy’s eyes met mine. She waited long enough that I felt my resolve and hope begin to crumble. I wished we were sitting on the couch, that I could touch her, but she didn’t move toward me. Maybe she needed distance? If so, that didn’t bode good things.
“Noah’s back. Well, I mean right now he’s in Springfield, squaring some things away. But he’ll be back this week.”
I braced as I nodded for her to continue. Nope. Couldn’t do it. I stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up too. “Sorry, Ivy. I tried to give you space for this conversation, but that’s not going to work.” I tugged her to follow me to the leather couch in the living room, just steps away. I sat down and tugged so that she was pressed right next to me.
Ivy looked at me with wide eyes. After a moment, she seemed to gather some resolve. “Jake, you need to talk to me about why you pulled away at the brewery.”
I closed my eyes, dropping my forehead to hers. I couldn’t lose her. I knew Steph would tell me that honesty was not only the best policy here, but the only policy.
“I was jealous.”
“Why? You knew about Noah. You know we are friends.”
How did I explain this to her? My heart clenched. It was like I’d seen everything I’d dreamed of. It was just in reach but then was torn right from me just when it was finally mine.
“I don’t know how to explain it, Ivy. I don’t understand it myself. I just saw Noah and wanted to beat my chest and claim you and Addie as mine—”
“Jake, that’s…”
“I know. Horrible. Sexist. A true example about what the patriarchy has done to our society.”
“I’m so proud of you.” She wiped away a fake tear. “I feel like I should call Steph and tell her how her boy is growing.”
“Ivy…”
