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Ivy sipped the champagne. “I might have missed you when I first arrived. I missed a lot of things. Visiting the neighborhood I grew up in, a dozen different flavors of ice cream to choose from, seeing the old family house. It doesn’t mean I want those things back. It’s in my past. I’ve left that behind. That includes you.”
“You’re going to stay here all alone? I almost feel sorry for you.”
Ivy gulped back the rest of her champagne. “Don’t be. I’ve got everything I need right here.”
“Are you sure about that? There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
She shook her head. Despite the mess at My Single Alien, she needed to sort things out. Ivy had to speak with Karn again. She didn’t know what was going on between them, but she had to find out. If he was her perfect match, maybe there was a way they could work together and figure out if there was a future for them.
Ivy stared at Marcus. She didn’t want to go back, not to him or the guarded life she’d created on Prodigy, one that meant she did almost everything on her own.
Marcus was right. She’d filled her life with too many things, substituting for the fact that she’d slept alone for too long.
“More champagne?” Marcus went to refill her glass.
She pushed his hand away, feeling lightheaded. Those bubbles had been a terrible idea. “No more. It’s time you left.”
“We haven’t sorted things out,” Marcus said. “I’ll get you to see sense.”
Ivy grabbed the back of a chair as her dizziness increased. “Nothing you do will change my mind.” She staggered forward and landed on her knees.
“Easy now. There’s no need to hurt yourself.” Marcus knelt by her side.
Ivy’s mouth felt furry, and her ears rang. “What have you done?”
“Helped you.” Marcus’s voice sounded faint. “You always have to do things the hard way. I’m making sure you don’t make a mistake this time.”
Had this lying, cheating scum drugged her? Ivy crawled on her hands and knees toward the door as black spots appeared in her eyes. He’d put something in her champagne. She had to get out. She needed to get to the door and into the corridor. Somebody would help.
She felt Marcus’s hand on her shoulder. Ivy kicked back but couldn’t get her knee off the ground. As her head sank to the floor, she realized she’d been duped again.
