Gil didn’t claim to understand women, but he’d always prided himself on having a better handle on the feminine psyche than most of his brethren. He grew up with a girl. Emily was a constant in his life. The girl he protected, fought with, played with, and, bottom line, loved with every cell of his DNA. She felt the same way about him, and they could, and did, talk about anything and everything.
And one thing he knew from those heart-to-hearts was that a lot of women, and Emily would include herself in that demographic, were suckers for a guy in a uniform. Put a smart guy, a guy Gil could objectively acknowledge was good looking and physically impressive, in a uniform? Abott Percy probably had his pick of dating partners.
And he’d picked Ivy.
But she’d eventually turned him loose because she didn’t love him enough.
That was a tough one. The kind of thing that could mess with your mind.
Was it enough for Abott to snap? Was it enough for him to come after her money? To attempt something that would crush her? Could he want to ruin everything so he could be the one to swoop in and save the day?
It was twisted, but Gil had seen a lot of twisted things in his career. He’d been on the receiving end of twisted, and so had Ivy. If there was any way he could stop it, Ivy would never be touched by it again.
Gil paused around 11:00 when Tessa came in, set a coffee on his desk, and said, “Ivy’s good. Working. Cool office.”
He hadn’t known she was going over there. Typical Tessa. “Thanks, Tessa.”
She squeezed his shoulder. “I’m busy until two thirty. After that, I can devote some time to anything you need for Ivy.”
“I’ll let you know.”
He focused until 11:30, when he lost his hold on his stress levels. He needed to see her. For himself. It was irrational. He should leave her alone. She was fine.
Didn’t matter.
Can I bring lunch?
A pause.
Sure.
No emojis or exuberant punctuation. She could be thrilled. She could be annoyed that he wouldn’t leave her alone. Either way, he was going.
“I’m taking Ivy some lunch.” He spoke to no one in particular and received two deep grunts and one soft “good idea” before he left.
Forty-five minutes later, the receptionist buzzed him through, and he made his way to Ivy’s office. Her smile told him his presence wasn’t unwelcome. She directed him to a small table, and two minutes later, the food was blessed, and they dove in.
“You didn’t have to do this.” She took a bite of her sandwich and immediately reached for a napkin to dab at her lips.
“Sure I did. I made you promise not to leave the building, then left you here with no food.”
She cut her eyes to him. “Did you do that on purpose?”
Was she flirting with him?
“Maybe.”
“I could have ordered takeout.”
“True. But then I wouldn’t have been able to check on you myself.”
“Tessa came by.”
“She told me.”
“Did you ask her to?”
“No.”
