“Sorry,” Ivy rushes out, her eyes wide as she stares apologetically up at me. Not planned, then. “It just slipped out.”
Christ, they only talked for a few minutes.
It’s been incredible to watch Ivy work, weaving magic through the crowd as she caught their attention and then kept it. Slowly, I’ve watched her bloom, shedding the confines of her cocoon and stretching her wings, utterly captivating me at every turn.
Had I been able to take my eyes off Ivy sooner, perhaps we could have avoided this. But it’s too late for that now.
I kiss Ivy’s cheek, slipping my arm around her waist. Ivy isn’t the only one playing her role tonight. Dutiful son, adoring brother. It’s all an act, and one I am an old hand in. What’s one more? “There’s no need to apologize. I was hoping to introduce you.”
Mum’s astute eyes are watching us, her mouth pinched. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say she’s protective of Ivy. “This is either very new or very secret, Lincoln, since you’ve only been back for a few days.”
How did she…? “Did Darcy tell you?”
“Your father and I are capable of speaking with each other.”
Ah. I should have known.
Mum’s eyes dart over my shoulder, and then there’s an arm brushing my sleeve as the person I’ve been avoiding joins us.
“I called the car for you, Mum. It’ll be downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you, dear. Would you look who I bumped into.”
I turn to face my brother.
The last time we spoke— he spoke, I yelled— I wondered if I’d finally spent the last of his good will. It’s been years since he saw me as anything other than a problem to be solved, another cog to set in line.
“Lincoln,” he says. “I’m surprised. Darcy mentioned that you’d accepted, but I didn’t quite believe it until now.” His shoulders are set back, claiming the inch of height he has over me. As kids, we’d never noticed the difference. Now Reed takes the high ground whenever we’re in the same room.
“It was a last-minute decision.”
“Your favorite kind,” he says, and I clench my jaw and stuff my fury down.
My brother has always had a clear head for responsibility. No recklessness, no scandals. Nothing like me.
Reed is the dependable one. How could he not be? His name’s Reed Reeves. He’s a fucking superhero.
“Reed, this is Ivy. Lincoln’sgirlfriend.” Mum is overly pleased. I know I’ve never introduced anyone to them before, but she’s acting as though I’ve never dated before.
His surprise is there and gone in a blink, only a flicker of his gaze to me, before he presents Ivy with his best welcoming smile. “Lovely to meet you. Have you settled in all right?”
Ivy answers quickly. “Oh, no, I’m a local. But, uh, obviously I’m very happy to have Lincoln within reach now.” And to prove it, she presses herself to me. It’s oddly fortifying.
His eyes meet mine, challenging. “You never mentioned you were seeing someone.”
“Perhaps I wanted to avoid the inevitable speculation,” I say, holding his stare, not interested in backing down.
He frowns.
“Honestly, it’s my fault,” Ivy says. There’s a mole by her ear, half hidden by her hair. I want to reach out, feel the skin under my fingers. Touch it with my lips. Would she shiver? Sigh? Melt deliciously under me the way I want her to? “Lincoln wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to rush anything, especially since we lived so far apart.”
She’s good at this.
“I remember thinking the same thing when I met your father,” Mum graciously offers, smiling approvingly at us both. It punches at a deep need I wasn’t aware of until now.
“It must be in the genes,” Ivy offers, looking up at me with so much naked adoration I want to believe the lie.
Everything else falls away— the crowd, the bullshit— until it’s only us. Two strangers, searching for meaning, caught in the same storm. My heart picks up speed, hammering against my ribs.
