He pulled the breakfast casserole from the oven, where it had been staying warm for the past hour. He cut a generous slice and settled it on a plate already holding fresh fruit and a muffin. He grabbed a fork from the drawer and set the plate in front of her.
She’d watched him the whole time but hadn’t said a word. She murmured a quiet “Thank you,” bowed her head in silent blessing, then lifted the muffin and took a bite. “Delicious.” One word, and she meant it. But she still didn’t offer to start a conversation.
He fixed himself another slice of the breakfast casserole and settled across from her, and they ate in silence. It was comfortable enough, but something wasn’t right. He couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m sure they’re worth about a million bucks, so I won’t insult you by offering a penny.” Gil had a hip to the counter and a fork full of eggs headed toward his mouth. “But I’d love to know what thoughts are zipping around in your head right now.”
“You’re a sweet talker, Gil Dixon.”
“You deserve all the sweet in the world, Ivy Collins.”
She dropped her gaze, but not before he caught the flicker of surprise, and maybe pleasure, but also maybe terror, in her eyes. Even after what had happened last night, maybe he still needed to take things slow. “Do you want more of anything? I’m going to clean this up and get us both to work.”
Gil got a great view of the top of her head. “I’m good. The food is amazing. Thank you.”
Ivy polished off her final bite. “Mom was never much of a cook. That’s probably why I’m not either. But Preston’s a good cook.”
“So he has at least one redeeming quality?”
“Yeah. Not enough to explain why he married Mom.”
“Wade married your mom, and you adored him.”
“Mom tricked Dad. Pure and simple. He was a good man. She met him, made him think she was something she wasn’t. Saw the opportunity to hitch her star to a man who could provide for her, and for me, and never looked back. Knowing what I know now? I think her marriage to Dad was her longest-running scam. I assumed her marriage to Preston was a similar scam, but now I’m not so sure.”
He hadn’t been expecting that. “What do you mean?”
“I was thinking this morning, with you being so sweet, making my breakfast, taking care of me, paying attention to me, treating me like I’m the most amazing creature in the known universe—”
“Because you are.” Gil reached for her left hand and squeezed.
“You’ve made my point. This is so nice, I don’t even know how to handle it. I’ve never had this. Never felt this ... this...” She waved a hand between them.
Gil hoped he knew what she meant, but he didn’t want to presume. He also didn’t want to push her.
“I’ve dated, and I’ve even had a couple of longish relationships, but”—she blew out a breath—“not to put too much pressure on the situation, Gil, but no one has ever made me feel the way you do.”
Gil didn’t feel any pressure. None. If anything, her words made him feel lighter.
She looked up at him. “It’s almost addictive. I can see how anywoman who’d ever had this would want to have it again. Until Mom showed her true colors, Dad treated her like gold. Even after she left no doubt as to her motivations, he still treated her with kindness. Far more than she deserved. Now she has Preston, and from what I can tell, Preston dotes on her.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’ve only been around them a few times, and he’s so sweet it’s almost gross. But now that I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to have someone who wants to make everything easy for me, I kind of understand why Mom might have been quick to find someone new.”
Gil took her coffee cup and refilled it, complete with the ridiculous amount of creamer, then slid it back to her.
Ivy took a sip and grinned at him. “Eventually you’ll get tired of waiting on me hand and foot. It will happen. I’ll have to pour my own coffee and make my own breakfast, and I’ll be bereft.” She sighed in overdone drama and wiped away fake tears.
“Tell you what. I’ll let you do it on your own every now and then so you won’t forget how.” Gil winked at her. “But I wouldn’t hold your breath on me getting tired of it.”
“Totally addictive.” Her expression shifted from teasing to contemplative. “I tried to warn Preston about Mom before they got married. They showed up for a visit. He was all, ‘I have to meet Patty’s girl’ and acting like we could be one big happy family. We went to lunch. I was blunt. Asked him if he knew about Mom’s past, her jail time, her crimes, her husband. He knew it all. I was actually stunned that Mom had told him. He said he didn’t care and he loved her. What can you do in the face of that?”
Ivy continued, talking in a way that made Gil wonder if she even realized she was sharing her thoughts out loud. “His life hasn’t been smooth and easy. He lost his job when the company he worked for went under. He took any jobs he could find but endedup having to declare bankruptcy. It wasn’t until a few months before he met Mom that he found a job he enjoyed. Although, he probably doesn’t realize that if he hadn’t had that job, Mom wouldn’t have given him a second look.”
Ivy believed Preston had lost his job and declared bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy, even from years earlier, would have shown up in the background check Gil had run. But there’d been no bankruptcy.
Preston had lied to Ivy’s mom.
Why?
