“Silly things. Go on a road trip, dance in the moonlight, fall in love.”
“None of that is silly,” he says, his palm warm on my cheek. “Everyone wants to fall in love.” The way he says it surprises me, sounding too close to my own yearning to be true.
“Surely you’ve come close, though, with your dating history.”
“Sadly, no. I’m still searching.”
If Lincoln can’t find it, then what hope do I have? “Is that all you’re searching for?”
It takes a while— where there’s only salt in the air and the quiet symphony of life in the background— before he responds.
“No, I’m still trying to find home, I suppose. It’s difficult to settle down when parts of your life are scattered in different places, and I’ve spent a lot of time keeping my distance from certain things.” He takes a slow, measured breath. “I’m trying to change that now. That’s partly why I’m here, to clear the air before it’s too late.”
And here I am, planting myself right in the middle of it all.
If it is going to end,whenit ends, I hope he remembers that. From the little I’ve seen, he’s hiding a big heart, and he deserves to be happy. “I think if you told your family what you just told me, they’d not only understand, but they’d be proud of you.”
His eyes are so bright and sincere it’s like staring at the stars. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Ivy. You’re enchanting.” No one’s ever used that word to describe me before. “I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’m going to keep you. Something tells me you’re about to change my life.”
He must have been lab tested to make my knees weak. Or maybe it’s the rush of sea air. It’s hard to tell when my heart is melting in my chest.
“All right, you two,” Darcy calls, pulling me back to reality. “You can cuddle later; Roger’s ready to go.”
CHAPTER20
FAMILY MATTERS
LINCOLN
I’d hoped my allotment of surprises had already been used up, but there’s a black town car parked on the tarmac when we step off the plane and a frown in an ash gray suit waiting beside it.
Christ. What now?
The unannounced appearance of my brother is suspicious and unwelcome. Darcy, at least, made some kind of sense, because she’s Darcy, and her untamed glee at meeting Ivy has been apparent from the second she bounced onto the plane.
My brother is another story.
“Reed, you remember Ivy.”
Mum and Darcy make their way over to him. Me? I’m trying to hold on to what Darcy said earlier today, but I don’t like the way he’s looking at her, with narrowed eyes and a cold distance.
“I do, although it’s nice to see your face this time.”
“And yours,” Ivy says. “Now I have a face to put to the judgmental tone.”
Over Reed’s shoulder, Darcy hides a smile behind her palm.
His expression twitches briefly, the frown disappearing before he looks back up at me, and it returns in full force. “I’m calling a family meeting,” he says. “Ivy, can you get home from here?”
What the fuck? “I’ll take her home.”
“No, we need to talk, and it can’t wait. All of us.” One sweep of his hand, and Mum and Darcy are already getting into the car. But I’m not a lapdog and no one treats Ivy this way.
“You don’t get to order either of us around.”
“It’s okay,” Ivy says, tugging on my arm. “I’m a big girl. You should go.”
I trust her to get herself home, but I don’t like being treated like my brother’s underling. I have half a mind to leave, but there’s something desperate in his eyes that I’ve never seen before.
