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“Stop being so dramatic,” Travis said. “You owe your family.”

“Don’t tell her what to do,” I said.

“You have nothing to do with this.” Travis waved me off. “You’ve been manipulating her for weeks.”

“I’m not the one who has been manipulating her. The only reason you want this property is because you know I need that lake access in order for this project to reach its full potential.”

“That lake access belongs to my family.”

“It belongs to Ivy.”

“Not anymore.” She threw a pen down on the table. “I want to be out of this. I signed the papers.”

She what? Just like that it was done?

“You made the right choice,” Travis said. “Now we can get him out of your life.”

When Ivy declared her independence, I wasn’t upset. A little shocked that she signed the contract without giving it much thought, or maybe she knew her decision all along. I had to accept her choice. Wouldn’t I expect the same from her?

What I didn’t have to do was stand here and allow everyone to watch my defeat as I processed it in real time. I had no one to blame but me. I let my feelings navigate me through this journey. Feelings that I never should have developed in the first place.

“I’ll be in touch after the first of the year.” Travis’ smug tone did nothing to improve my mood. “Unless you’d rather hear from my attorney about the lake access?”

“I don’t expect to hear from either of you.” I glanced at Angelica. “I’ll reach out when I’m ready with my terms.” This was far from over. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I took my phone from my pocket. “I need to make a call.”

“Huxley.” Ivy came toward me, but Travis took her arm. “Wait!”

I turned toward the exit, because if I didn’t remove myself from the situation while the numbness settled into my bones, I would regret it. Now I was the one who needed some space.

“Let him go,” Travis said. “I told you what he wanted from you, and now that he didn’t get it, he’s done with you.”

That should have been that. The foreign emotions flooding my mind left me too stunned to process. I hadn’t been aggressive with her when it came to my terms on the property. I gave her room to figure it out, and look where that got me. On the losing end. An unfamiliar place at that.

I pushed open the doors and stepped outside, breathing in the crisp December air as fresh snow flurries glistened under the street lights. Just as I was going to message Kyle to bring the car, Ivy hurried out of the restaurant and joined me under the awning.

“Huxley.” Her flustered face and vulnerable voice stopped me in my tracks. “I need to explain.”

Would her explanation even matter?

She buttoned her jacket and shoved her hands inside her pockets. As she took a moment to compose herself, I knew what I had to do. I had one shot to get this right, and what I had to tell her had to come before she told me anything else.

“You don’t understand what I⁠—”

“Stop.” I held up my hand. “You need to hear what I have to say.”

“But…”

“Shh.” I brushed my finger against her lips. “After I say what I have to say, if you still want to explain, I’ll listen.”

“You’re going to exert your dominance now?”

“You have no idea what I’m about to do, so let me get this out.”

She nodded.

“I appreciate the loyalty you have for your family home, which is why I proposed the deal I did earlier, but I respect your choices and the decision you made tonight.” I stood in front of her, blocking the wind from her face. “This project has been my main focus for quite some time, but since meeting you, I’ve come to realize a few things. One of them being, my world can’t revolve around business and business alone. I want more.”

“Huxley, there’s something you need to know.”