I glance at Isaac, who seems a little taken aback. “Yeah, Ivy’s great,” he responds.
He steps closer to the poor lad, almost squaring up to him. I know how protective he is of Ivy, but I underestimated him when he’s this drunk.
“You hurt her.” He points a finger at him. “And I’ll dig your grave for you.”
I flinch a little at the harshness of his tone. Ivy storms over to Finn and grabs his arm, he sways at the motion. “That’s enough. You need to go to bed. You’re drunk and being annoying, and trust me, it’s not cute.”
“Whatever,” he grumbles. “I’m barely drank—drunks. I’m barely even drunk.”
Ivy breathes out a heavy sigh through her nose. “Leave Isaac alone. I don’t want your overprotective shit right now, especially when you can barely stand up. You wouldn’t even win against a plastic bag right now, let alone Isaac. So stop it.”
I glance at Joel and Cal and they nod, stepping towards Ivy so they can take Finn into their arms. They carry him through the house and upstairs—needed for when the storm hits and he decides to go and do something stupid.
Daisy stands up to help clean away the food. Ivy and Isaac whisper beneath their breaths by the sink, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. I frown at her trembling tone.
A loud gust of wind rockets through the back door and Daisy walks towards it, poking her head out at the dark sky. “Yikes,” she mutters. “I think the storm is starting early.”
“You better get back,” Ivy says and then glances at Isaac, “you too.”
“Yeah, I probably should.” He grimaces at the sky.
I say goodbye to Daisy, and Isaac gives me a smile. “Good to meet you.”
“You too.” I return the gesture, even if it’s a struggle.
Isaac offers Daisy a ride, and she happily takes it. Joel and Cal come downstairs to say Finn is safely in bed and they’re heading home before they’re stuck in the storm.
Ivy turns back to the kitchen once everyone is gone and starts to tidy up, uneaten food in the fridge and buns in the bread bin. I stand beside her and help wash up all the plates and utensils.
“Does Finn always get drunk like that?” Ivy asks.
I stall for a moment and look down at her. “Uh, yeah. I guess.”
“He’s a mess,” she tuts. “I swear he had like three beers.”
“Three beers? Na, more like nine. He downs that shit like it’s an Olympic sport and discards the bottles so you’ll never know.”
Ivy closes her eyes and shakes her head. “He’s such a liability.”
“Tell me about it,” I say as I glance down at the bandage on her arm. “How’s it healing up?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Thanks again.”
My heart thumps as she grazes her fingers over the bandage before looking up at me with darkened lashes that make her green eyes brighter.So beautiful. It hurts to look at her and her freckled nose and arched cupid’s bow.
“It’s the least I could do after finding you on the floor,” I say with a soft smile. “You scared me. For someone as small as you, there was a lot of blood.”
Finn might have told me to stay away, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen.
How can I stay away when being around her makes me lose my breath?
We might have only known each other for one night, but there was so much more to it. It felt so much more than one night. The devastation I felt after I woke up alone was surprising. Normally I wouldn’t care, but with Ivy? I cared too much.
I desperately wanted to know why she didn’t stay. Then the endless thoughts started pouring in.Did I do something wrong?
I’d like to think she would have told me by now if I had.
Ivy’s cheeks turn to a pretty shade of pink, and she nods, busying herself with tidying up again. Soon the kitchen is spotless, and the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Never in my life have I heard it rain so aggressively.
