"Go away," I snapped through the door.
"Five minutes, Ivy. That's all I'm asking."
I went to turn away and leave him standing there, but something in his voice stopped me. Something tired. Something that sounded like the Eric I used to know, before he became whoever this was.
My hand moved to the deadbolt, the need for answers overpowering my desire to hurt him back for what he'd done to me.
The door swung open. Eric stood there, looking somehow both perfectly composed and completely wrecked. His eyes found mine, and I saw too much there. Too much history, too much regret.
Too much that I wasn't ready to deal with.
"Five minutes," I said, stepping back to let him in. "Then you're out."
He nodded, crossing the threshold carefully and giving my place a scan. The flowers hung at his side, suddenly looking out of place against his dark clothes.
I closed the door, arms crossed over my chest. "Clock's ticking."
7
IVY
Eric stood in the entryway, looking at me with those dark eyes that once made my heart skip. Now they just made me want to throw something. Preferably at his head.
"I'm sorry." The words came out soft. "For ruining your night."
I barked out a laugh. "Which time? Tonight, or four years ago?"
"Both." He shifted the flowers slightly. "But tonight, you deserved better than him."
"Better than what? A guy who was upfront about what he wanted?"
"Better than someone who just wants your body for a night."
Heat crawled up my neck. "Maybe that's all I wanted."
His jaw clenched, the muscle jumping beneath his skin. Something flickered in his eyes, dark and possessive and completely unwelcome.
"You're worth more than that," he said quietly. "Worth more than a single night."
This bastard. He had no right.
I stepped closer, anger sharpening my voice. "That's rich coming from you. You dropped me via text and vanished. Didn't even have the balls to do it in person. So you can shove those words up your ass. You're a fucking prick, Eric."
"I know."
"You know? That's it?" I balked. "That you're a piece of shit for doing what you did? That you hurt me. That a part of me wants to punch you in your stupid face for everything?"
"I deserve that." He held out the flowers. "Everything you just said, and worse."
"You think flowers will fix all your problems?" I stared at the arrangement, white roses mixed with small purple flowers. I had no idea what they were, but they were beautiful. Thoughtful. Everything he hadn't been when he left.
I wanted to smack them to the floor and stomp on them.
"No. But I want you to know that I think you're worth more than that guy at the bar. More than what I offered you. You deserve something good, someone true to their word."
True to their word. Like how he promised to always be there for me.
And then he left.
