Malcolm looks between us, eyes uncertain. He waits, maybe expecting Chad to walk away. He clears his throat.
I take a sip of the coffee and wait too.
The most telling thing to me right now is that my mind is calm with Chad standing near me. I don’t know what we are to each other right now. Whatever it is, it’s brand new.
But it’s already enough. I don’t need a romantic relationship with him to be happy. I am simply happy when I’m with him.
I can’t recall a single kiss with Malcolm right now that’s as memorable as the way Chad held me last night.
“Maybe we can talk later?” Malcolm finally says, when it’s clear Chad isn’t going anywhere—and that I’m not sending him away.
I tilt my head and trail my fingers softly through Zoey’s hair. “It’s okay, Malcolm. I think we’ve settled everything.”
He scoots forward again. I’m not sure how he’s still perched on the chair. “Ivy …” he pleads.
I offer him a gentle smile. “We’ve said what needs to be said. It’s time to let it rest.”
Malcolm stills and his expression falls. My heart breaks. I loved him. I don’t want to hurt him.
“Ivy?” Carlie asks, coming near, holding a drowsy Scarlett. She’s resting her chin on Carlie’s shoulder, her eyes looking heavy. “Do you think you can fit Scar in your lap too?”
I could kiss her for drawing attention away from the situationand giving Malcolm a way to retreat in peace. I’ll have to have a conversation with her later. She’ll want to know exactly why Chad is standing guard over me when last night I insisted he and I weren’t a possibility.
“Absolutely.” I gently shift Zoey a little more to my side and hold out my other arm. It will be a cozy fit, but I won’t complain.
Carlie leans over to put Scarlett on my other side. She rests her head on my shoulder and gives a sigh. Carlie strokes her hair gently and then moves to one of the stools at the front of the suite, leaning forward to watch as the Pumas’ offense takes the field for their first drive of the game. When I turn my gaze to where Malcolm was sitting, he’s moved away, sitting in another stool at the front to watch the game.
Chad steps around my chair, pulling a small coffee table close. He takes my coat from where it’s draped across the back of my chair and arranges it on the coffee table. “Put your foot up,” he instructs, crouching to help me maneuver my wrapped ankle on top of my coat. He slides his hand under my calf, and it sends a shiver through me.
We share a look as he moves to stand back up. Every time he looks at me with that steady gaze, eyes searching my face for assurances I’m ready to give him, it’s easy to lose track of time. We could be staring at each other for seconds or days, and I wouldn’t know the difference.
“Let me know if you need me to take one of the girls,” he says. His tone is easy, like we’ve discussed what to do with the girls a hundred times, like we already have a shorthand for how to care for them together.
He brushes a curl that’s escaped my messy bun away from my cheek. His touch is light, but electric all the same. If moving around on my dumb broken ankle wasn’t such a pain, and if there weren’t two sweet little girls asleep in my lap, I’d ask Chad to go for a walk and figure out exactly what’s going on.
The way he looks at me before he moves to the front of thebox and takes a seat between Carlie and Ava says we both already know all the answers.
I smile to myself and fix my gaze on the big-screen TV in the room. I whisper a cheer when Law catches a pass and busts through two linebackers to get a first down.
Pretty sure this is my best Christmas ever.
CHAPTER 14
IVY
Ava and Gabriella rented a GetAwayHome vacation rental to stay in, and that’s where we all get together for the catered dinner late that afternoon after the game. I drive from the hotel with Chad so Carlie and Law can have a few minutes alone to drive together. It doesn’t mean we’re able to discuss anything, though. After napping through at least half the game, the girls have their second wind and chatter with us excitedly.
“You okay?” Chad asks quietly when they get engrossed in a conversation about the princess dolls that Zoey got this morning.
“I’m good,” I assure him. “My ankle’s a little sore, but it’s fine.”
“I’m not talking about your ankle.” Chad chuckles. “All that with Malcolm.”
“Oh. Yeah.” I blush. “I’m good there too. I really have worked through everything. It was weird to realize the reason he wouldn’t propose wasn’t his mom, but it doesn’t change that I knew a long time ago we weren’t right for each other. The reason shouldn’t have mattered. Even if I had dated Law at some point. Even if his mom had told him not to marry me. If he loved me, he would have moved forward whatever he believed.”
He looks over at me when we stop at a red light. “I hopesomeday I can forgive Shelby the way you have him. So I can have that same peace with our relationship. Really recognize the role it played in my life and be okay with that.”
A little ping of fear dances in my chest at those words. Worry that, despite the looks Chad was giving me today, he’s not actually ready for something. I quickly push it away. I can’t assume anything until I talk to Chad. “It’s pretty different, to be fair,” I say. “But it sounds like you’ve got a great start.”
