He came down to the clinic several times a day and pulled her into the private room she used for massage, pressed her against the wall and kissed her until neither of them could breathe. He brought her lunch and stayed at her apartment exclusively. They hadn’t spent a night apart since she’d told him her story, as if her telling him gave him permission to finally unravel all of his protective instinct onto her.
Was it weird that his protectiveness didn’t feel overbearing? For all the shit she’d given the gym ladies for their fawning over the firefighters, she wasn’t even mildly embarrassed to admit she liked this watchful side of Sean. It made her feel safe, cared for, secure—both in her physical safety and her emotional well-being. And he filled the role so naturally, like he’d always wanted to treat her this way.
But he always had. Now he wasn’t being discreet about it. Now he was showing her and everyone how well he could take care of her. And, with all due respect to the feminists she admired in her time, she was here for it. Because she’d never been cherished like this.
If she knew one thing, it was that she had a lot of trust issues to work through, but knowing she could work through them with Sean at her side gave her a sense of safety. And, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Sean still had a lot of healing to do, too. Healing that wouldn’t happen until he’d resolved things with his brother. And Ivy was determined to help the brothers move beyond their past, the same way Sean had helped Ivy move on from hers.
Smiling as she got up from the Swiss ball, she went to her office and put away the file. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, eager to get the evening going. Sean deserved a happy ending too, and tonight, after the gala, he would find it.
* * *
Fight for the Cure was a full-scale black-tie event, complete with a roped off red carpet and cameras flashing when guests arrived.
Totally out of her comfort zone, Ivy stayed in Joel’s shadow at all times, who—by contrast—appeared totally at ease, sipping his champagne and taking in the crowd while appearing hotter than sin in his tux.
“How do you stomach these things?” she asked as she had a taste of her own sparkling wine. “I feel like I’m at a souped-up version of one of Hope’s formal Oscar house parties, but the chairs are less comfortable than her couch.”
Joel chuckled and downed the rest of his drink. “When you grow up like Hope and I did, you get used to it. The upper echelon love nothing more than an excuse to spend a fortune on an outfit and dig out the family jewels. Though that said…” Joel’s gaze assessed her, and he smiled. “The family jewels look stunning on you this evening, Ivy.”
She lifted her hand to the monstrosity of a diamond necklace that Hope had insisted she borrow. Hope had enjoyed using Ivy as her real-life dress-up doll, but she had to admit the end result was impressive. Tonight, she could have passed as a princess. “Well, technically, they’re your family jewels. But thank you.”
“The fights are about to begin.” Joel dropped his hand to the small of her back. “Let’s find our seats, shall we?”
Ivy followed him to their row. He’d been her date thus far in the evening, and she hadn’t seen Sean since he’d left the apartment to meet his fighters at the venue early. Tingly sensations fluttered in her lower body when she remembered the sight of Sean emerging from the bedroom dressed to the nines in a black three-piece suit.
She might literally have drooled at how good he looked. She had definitely tried to jump him right then and there, but he’d laughed, bent low to give her an all-consuming kiss, then murmured in his deep sexy voice, “Later. We’ll do anything you want.”
The words had been a sharp reality check, and nerves replaced the sexual tension, because she knew what was happening later. And it wasn’t what Sean expected.
After he’d left, she’d been preened and pampered into perfection by Hope, so Sean had yet to see her fully decked out in her gala wear.
“Did I miss anything?” Hope asked as she and Gabe took their seats beside Ivy and Joel.
“No, they haven’t started yet. Where were you? You left twenty minutes ago to get a drink.” Ivy asked with a smile.
Hope blushed and glanced at Gabe, seated close beside her, his fingers laced with hers, his gaze on the fighters and coaches prepping in their corners of the ring.
“Gabe looked so dang hot, I couldn’t wait for later to—” Hope lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s these pregnancy hormones. They make me horny as heck. I literally dragged him into the most private bathroom at the end of the hall, locked the door, and had my wicked way with him. I couldn’t help myself. I was going to burst!”
Ivy didn’t bother holding back her snort of laughter. A few days ago, Hope had peed on the stick and confirmed her pregnancy. Since then, both Hope and Gabe had been walking around giddy as kids on Christmas morning. Ivy couldn’t have been happier. Her friend deserved this, as did Gabe, and she couldn’t think of two people more worthy of being entrusted with more children.
The lights dimmed, and the MC officially opened the evening, announcing the first fight. After that, there was only high-voltage energy in the room, and everybody got caught up in the electric excitement in the air.
Fighters of different levels and weight classes went head-to-head. The Fighting Five did so well that Ivy had a hard time telling them apart from the selected pro-fighters making an appearance at the charity event.
The crowd was wild, cheering for their favorites. The lights and music embellished the magical evening. But Ivy’s attention rarely diverted from Sean. When he had a fighter in the ring, he stood alongside the ropes, hovering close to their corner.
He watched his fighter’s every move with his quiet hawk-eyed focus, occasionally shouting an instruction. At the break, he’d jump between the ropes and crouch low to speak to his fighter, probably offering further support, instruction, and encouragement. Watching him was more riveting than the fight.
Hours later, after winners were declared, and the shouts and cheers from the crowd had faded, people started to get up from their seats to move to the dinner portion of the evening.
“Those were some great fights. Sean’s really going to draw attention to his gym, seeing as all his fighters made it to the finals in their weight classes,” Joel said as he stood up beside her. His hands were in his pockets, jacket open, silk bow tie catching the light, and he looked every inch the prominent business man he was. “Not to mention that final win. People will be asking where the fighter trained and whom with. It’ll be good for business. Just watch.”
“Is business all you ever think about?” Ivy asked, because the last thing she was thinking of was business. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest with the anticipation of seeing Sean shortly. “There’s more to life than what’s good for business. You know that, right?”
Joel lived and breathed work. As far as she knew, there was no girlfriend or partner in his life. Did the man even take vacations?
She was surprised when Joel’s gray eyes darkened and then distanced, like she’d lost him to a memory she wasn’t privy to.
