“Yeah. Pretty sure you’ll spend the rest of your life explaining that difference to Gil. Good luck.” Tessa glanced at her watch. “But for now, the question is, do you want Gil at your house tonight or would you rather have one of us?”
“We’re happy to hang with you if you need some distance.” Faith glanced toward the kitchen, then leaned closer. “But I have to say, distance isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I don’t want distance.” Ivy slumped in her seat. “I’m ... I ... Where is he now? Why isn’t he already here? Is something else wrong?”
Tessa blew out a breath, and unless Ivy was very much mistaken, there was relief in her tone when she spoke. “He’s been atthe station with Morris, interrogating the shooter. If you want him here, he’ll be here soon. And he’ll take you home whenever you’re ready to go home.”
Could she open up to these women? They’d done nothing but had her back, protected her, and now, taken her side even though Gil was their friend. They weren’t throwing him under the bus. They clearly loved him and thought highly of him, but they weren’t condoning his behavior either.
Before Ivy could stop herself, she blurted out, “That’s what I want. I want Gil to take me home.”
Faith and Tessa had their phones out before she’d finished her sentence. “That’s great.” Tessa didn’t look away from her device. “Because he’s pulling into the parking lot now.”
Thumbs flying, they fired off simultaneous texts, and then Faith called out, “Coast is clear! You can come back in here!”
The scraping of chairs preceded Luke and Zane joining them in the living area. Luke pulled Faith against him and pressed a kiss to her neck. “What’s the plan?”
Faith settled deeper into Luke. “Gil’s coming up. We’ll figure out the rotation. He’ll take Ivy home. You’ll take me to get dinner, and then you’ll take me home, and then you’ll go home.”
He grabbed her chin and pulled it around so he could kiss her lips. It was far from inappropriate, but the tenderness in Luke’s expression made Ivy feel like she should look away and give them some privacy.
Tessa looked at her phone. “Gil’s in the elevator.”
GIL KNOCKED ON THE DOORto Tessa’s apartment.
Tessa opened the door but didn’t let him inside. “Did you get my text?”
“I did.”
“Are you going to be nice to her? Because she’s a wreck. And if you aren’t prepared to be nice, you can turn around and go home alone.”
“Of course I’m going to be nice. Whose side are you on, anyway?”
She moved to the side and whispered, “I’m on the side of both of you getting past this and moving forward.”
He walked into Tessa’s den and caught his first glimpse of Ivy, curled up into a tight ball in a chair. This morning’s anger was long gone from her face. In its place was a combination of fear and relief.
Faith and Tessa had both texted him that if he approached with an apology and the promise of open communication in the future, the road to Ivy was clear. Tessa had indicated that if he didn’t make a move, a real move, and soon, then he was an idiot. Faith had suggested that when he got her home, he should go ahead and propose and save them all a lot of time.
He waved a hand to indicate everyone but Ivy. “How about if y’all clear out for a few minutes.”
Tessa had turned her second bedroom into an office space, and they all moved in that direction. He knelt in front of Ivy’s chair and squeezed her knee. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Are you okay?”
“Am I okay? I didn’t stay behind with a maniac holding a machine gun. How are you?”
“Physically? Fine. Still not sure about the rest. I acted like an idiot and hurt you. I’m sorry.”
“I overreacted.”
“You weren’t wrong.”
“I could have handled it better.”
“I could have treated you like the brilliant, capable, savvy woman you are instead of acting like you need me to swoop in and save the day.”
