Page 78

“Well,” she mutters, glancing up at me with a sigh. “There is something I need to tell you, but I’m worried about how you’re going to take it.”

She nervously pulls down the sleeve of her sweater, distracting me, and I tilt my head to the side.

“How in the hell are you wearing that? It’s like ninety degrees today.”

Her shoulders rise in another shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I was just cold.”

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” I ask, reaching across the table and pressing my fingers to her forehead. She brushes my hand away and shakes her head.

“Stop it. I’m fine. I know you guys have been worried about me, but I promise I’m really okay.”

I hold up my hands in surrender as I relax back into my chair. “Okay. What do you have to tell me then?”

Ivy fidgets some more in her seat, playing with the hem of her sleeve.

“Out with it, Sweetie,” I prompt, my own nerves amped up by hers. What on earth could she possibly have to tell me? Of course, with her tendency to over exaggerate, it could be the most mundane thing that she has to hype herself up to tell me.

“Julian and I are engaged.”

My mind is painfully blank and as I stare at her, she raises her left hand, flashing me the giant rock she somehow managed to hide up until this point. She watches me eagerly, waiting for my reply, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t think of anything to say. There is a part of me that can’t stop screaming Chance’s name right now, my chest aching fiercely while I battle to push those feelings down. Besides the fact that I’ve yet to meet this man, I have no reason to believe this is anything but happy news, but warning bells are sounding in my head.

“Will you say something, please?” Ivy asks, her voice shaking and I open my mouth before snapping it shut again.

“I’m really not sure what to say.”

Tears well up in her eyes and I feel terrible for hurting her. That was never my intention but I’m having trouble ignoring the little voice in my head, telling me something isn’t adding up here.

“Anything. I just want to know what you think. Please,” she pleads and my eyes burn with tears of my own.

“I think I haven’t met him, so I can’t really tell you how I feel about this. Maybe it’s the best thing for you or maybe it’s not – I don’t know.”

She blows out a breath as she stares up at the ceiling, trying to dry her tears. “I understand but can you, at least, believe me when I say I’ve never been happier? That I love him so much and I’m so excited to spend my life with him.”

“I’m really trying, Vi.”

“I know you haven’t gotten a chance to meet him, but I promise you that you’ll love him. I’m really happy, Car, please just trust that.”

“Look, I’m not writing him off but I’m not welcoming him into the family either and I think that’s the best you can expect until I meet the man. This has all happened so fast and it seems weird to me that meeting your family isn’t important to him.”

Shaking her head, she reaches across the table and lays her hand on mine. “No, it is really important to him. He’s just been so…”

“Busy,” I say, cutting her off. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that. What I’m saying is that we make time for the things that are important to us, no matter how busy we are.”

“It’s not like that, Car. I promise. This campaign stuff is just so much work. Hell, I barely see him right now.”

Yeah, like that’s supposed to help convince me. I don’t know what it is yet, but something isn’t right here.

“That doesn’t sound any better.”

I start to pull my hand away, but she grips it tighter, refusing to let me go. “Please, just give him a chance. I’ll talk him into taking a night off this week and we can grab dinner with Aunt Dottie, too.”

Glancing down at her hand, I’m about to respond when something just under her sleeve catches my eye. It’s a slight discoloration to her skin and when it clicks in my mind, I gasp, grabbing her arm, and yanking her sleeve back to reveal the bruise just above her wrist.

“What the fuck is that?” I hiss, anger and this deep aching sorrow battling for space in my mind. She tries pulling her arm back, but I don’t let her.

“It’s not what you think.”

Yeah, right.

“Why don’t you tell me what it is and we’ll see if I’m right.”

She shrugs, looking down at the table. “I was being clumsy and I slipped. Julian grabbed me, but he grabbed me a little too hard.”

“Bull. Shit.”

Her head whips up and she glares at me, ripping her arm out of my grasp. “Whether you believe it or not, that is what happened. I’ll text you about dinner.”

Before I can say anything, she grabs her bag and pushes out of her chair, storming out of the restaurant without once looking back. When she steps outside, I lean back in my chair and try to fight back the tears. I know now. Something is seriously wrong here and the only thing stronger than my heartache over Chance is my concern for my baby sister.