“You okay, Ivy?” Hayden asked.
“Yeah. You’re sucking those drinks down pretty quickly,” Emilia said.
“So, I may or may not have forgotten to eat lunch. And it may or may not be hitting me right at this very second,” I said as I plucked another small sandwich from a passing tray.
“Well why don’t I take you to go get something to eat?” Dean asked. “I’m sure there’s a place that’s still open.”
“Oh, do you know what’s open? That pizza joint. Um… what’s it called? I can never remember it, but it’s Grace’s favorite place to eat,” Hayden said.
“Oh, that place? I can never remember the name either. But I sure as hell know where it is,” Tristan said.
“Now I want pizza,” Emilia said.
“Dean?” I asked.
I looked up at him and found him smiling down at me.
“Fancy some pizza?” he asked with a grin.
“Then it’s settled! Pizza it is,” Hayden said.
“Did you drive here, Ivy?” Dean asked.
“Nope. I took a cab,” I said.
“Then allow me to escort you to my car. No cabs for you tonight,” he said.
“Awww, how sweet,” Emilia said. “And if you’re late, we know you both pulled off onto a backroad to have dessert first.”
“Emilia!” Grace exclaimed.
“Not everyone is like you and Tristan,” Hayden said with a grin.
“Sounds like a party I’d like to join,” Dean said with a smile.
“Dean!” I exclaimed.
Everyone was laughing and having a great time as another food tray passed. I grabbed a dessert and tossed it between my lips before everyone started making their way for the staircase. I clung to Dean as we talked down the steps, the alcohol starting to course through my veins. But eventually, he scooped me off my feet and carried me down the steps.
“Yikes. He’s making us look bad. Hold on,” Hayden said.
I heard Emilia and Grace squeal as their guys picked them up as well. I threw my head back and laughed, wrapping my arms around Dean’s neck. This night couldn’t get any better, and I was so glad Dean agreed to come out and spend it with me.
I laid my head onto his shoulder as he carried me out to his car. Then he sat me in my seat, closed my door, and prepared to whisk me away to pizza.
Ah, my hero.
Chapter Fourteen
Dean
My hand was settled onto Ivy’s knee as I drove to the pizza place. One car behind the other, and I was bringing up the rear. I raced through lights to make sure I didn’t lose Hayden and Grace, and Tristan looked at if he was driving like a batshit maniac. My thumb caressed Ivy’s soft skin as we pulled into the parking lot, and I could tell she was itching to eat. Her stomach was growling just loud enough for me to hear and her cheeks kept flushing every time it happened. But I simply smiled at her before I brought her hand to my lips to kiss.
“Come on. Let’s get my beautiful date something to eat,” I said.
“Hey! Saw you rushing through some lights,” Hayden said as he got out of the car.
“Because Tristan was driving like an asshole.”
“Hey, I was doing no such thing,” he said. “It’s just that Emilia kept grabbing my-”
“That’s enough of that!” Emilia exclaimed. “Come on. Who’s hungry?”
“Emilia, you have to tell me everything,” Ivy said as she slid away from me.
“What in the world were you doing to that poor man?” Grace asked.
“Nothing he doesn’t do to me on a regular basis,” Emilia said.
“I could get behind that,” Ivy said.
She tossed a wink my way as Hayden slapped my back. I smiled at her before we all headed inside and sat ourselves down at a massive booth. The guys were on one side and the girls were on the other, all facing our dates for the night as if we were headed to a high school prom. We ordered our drinks-- beers for the guys and wine for the ladies-- and then we started blurting out random pizza orders while the waitress waited for us to finalize things.
“What about a Hawaiian pizza with bacon?” Emilia asked.
“Doesn’t a Hawaiian pizza already have bacon?” Ivy asked.
“Nope. That’s ham. But we could put bacon on it,” Grace said.
“Oh! They have roasted red peppers! That’s happening tonight,” Emilia said.
“Please don’t do that to me,” Tristan said.
“Do I even want to know?” Hayden asked.
I watched Tristan jolt in his seat and I laughed. Emilia had kicked him underneath the table to get him to shut up. It felt wonderful being around these guys. Like we were all one massive happy family. I couldn't stop staring at Ivy, however. Her sparkling brown eyes and her long, beautiful hair. She looked magnificent, even stuffed into a booth with all of her friends. Her eyes roamed the menu while the other girls continued to throw out ideas for food, and after thirty minutes of batting back and forth, we had our massive order ready.
“Okay,” Hayden said. “I think we’re ready. Can we get three large pizzas? One Hawaiian with bacon added to it; one with pepperoni, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers; and one three-meat pizza with bacon and olives added to it.”
“And can we get a small order of garlic breadsticks that come out, like, as soon as possible?” Ivy asked.
“I can get that going for you,” the waitress said. “Give us five minutes on the breadsticks and they’ll be out.”
“Perfect,” she said.
My foot settled against her leg underneath the table as everyone talked. But our eyes connected and never let up. She looked stunning in her dress, and I couldn't take my eyes off her. It physically hurt for me to not have her in my purview. I slid my foot up and down her ankle and watched as her cheeks flushed. I felt her foot sliding back against mine, her bare toe traveling up my ankle. Running over my sock. Dragging my pant leg up until she could touch my bare skin.
“You good?” Grace asked a little too loudly.
Ivy jerked back and banged her knee against the table.
“Ah, shit,” she said.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, just… fuck you, Grace.”
“What? You look a little flushed,” she said as she tossed me a grin. “I figured you might’ve needed some water.”
“Or a room,” Tristan said with a murmur.
“Hey, I’m just glad to see Ivy so happy,” Hayden said. “I mean, Zander’s my partner and all, but what he did was wrong.”
“Zander?” I asked.
Ivy shot Hayden a look and everyone’s eyebrows shot up to their hairline.
“Who’s Zander?” I asked.
“Thanks a lot, Hayden,” Ivy said. “It’s no one. He’s not important.”
“Is he an ex of yours?” I asked.
“Really, we shouldn't talk about that right now.”
“You can if you want to, you know.”
The table fell silent and all eyes were on us.
“You don’t have to, and I won’t be upset if you do. But if you do want to talk about it, I’ll listen,” I said.
“Isn’t that, like, some kind of rule?” Ivy asked. “Don’t talk about exes while on dates or something?”
“I mean, we’ve already had one date,” I said. “We followed that rule then.”
“Wait, you guys have already been out?” Emilia asked. “When!?”
“Hey, you’re holding out on us,” Grace said. “So spill.”
“Do you want me to talk about our date or my ex? You can’t have it both ways,” Ivy said.
“Why not?” Tristan asked. “You’ve been so busy with work we’ve hardly seen you. And from the little Emilia has told me, I want to pound the man’s face in anyway. Give me more of a reason to hate him so we can like this one more.”
Tristan patted my shoulder, but my eyes were solely on Ivy. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, so I slid my foot back to her ankle. Rested it agains
t her and watched her visibly relax back into her seat. The waitress came and brought us more drinks and I watched her take a long sip of her wine.
Then, she started answering everyone’s questions.
“Dean and I had a date the night before last,” Ivy said. “I asked him out for dinner, then had to cancel for work. So I made it up to him by having him over and cooking him dinner.”
“Wait, you asked him?” Tristan asked.
“In his defense, he asked me four times before that and I said ‘no’.”
“Yep. Sounds like you,” he said.
“Did you make him your lasagna? Is there any left over?” Hayden asked.
“So I take it a lot of people know about your lasagna,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, you’re so lucky. I love Ivy’s lasagna,” Grace said.
“That’s what we should’ve done. Forced Ivy to cook us lasagna tonight,” Emilia said.
“Anyway, that was our first date. This is technically our second, I suppose,” Ivy said.
“You suppose?” Hayden asked.
“I mean, it just… It just feels like I’ve known him longer than that. That’s all.”
I grinned at her as her eyes panned over to me. She took the words right out of my mouth. We’d been talking for a couple of weeks and we were only on our second date, but it felt like I’d known her for so much longer than that. The connection we had during our first date was unmistakable. Unlike any other tether I’d ever had towards a woman. She was magnetizing, and she had me ensnared.
And I was going to enjoy it as long as I could.
“Don’t worry. You’re not the only one who feels that way,” I said.
“Ooooh, yes! We like him, Ivy. Keep him,” Emilia said.
“I plan on it,” she said with a grin.
My heart leapt for joy at that statement.
“So give us the dish on Zander,” Tristan said.
“Really?” Ivy asked. “You’re just going to ruin my moment that easily?”
“Oh, he’s a pro at that,” Emilia said. “There’s no romance with him.”
“Hey, I do romance just fine,” Tristan said. “I just love your laugh a little too much not to make it lighthearted and fun.”
“Aww,” Ivy said. “How can you be mad at that face?”
“Easy. You be mad at it,” Emilia said.
We all fell apart in laughter as the garlic breadsticks were set in front of Ivy. The girls went to town and we all watched as they ate. The table fell silent for a little while and I watched some of the color return back to Ivy’s face. She really needed to take better care of herself. If she wasn’t careful, she’d pass out at one of her events from malnourishment. Her energy seemed to be coming back and the warmth of her skin grew. Her eyes sparkled with life and her smile grew broader. All signs of her blood sugar levels rising.
“Feeling better?” I asked.
“Much,” Ivy said with a groan. “I feel like I can finally fulfill Tristan’s need for gossip. He’s just one of the girls in that way.”
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” he said.
“I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means,” Hayden said.
I chuckled before my eyes fell back onto Ivy’s somber face.
“What happened?” I asked.
“So, you’re familiar with Hayden’s charity, right?” she asked.
“I am. I’ve donated to it a couple of times. I think it’s great.”
“Well, Zander is his equal partner in it. That’s how we met.”
“How long did you two see one another?” I asked.
“A year. Exactly. He dumped me during our anniversary dinner.”
“He did what?” I asked.
“Yeah. It um… it was blindsiding. He kept talking about how things were progressing faster than he thought with the foundation and how I traveled so much for work that he could never keep up. Which was, again, blindsiding. Because he’d never expressed an issue with my traveling ever. Not until that point.”
“What an asshole.”
“Right?” she asked. “I cared for him. I did love him.”
“Do you still love him?” I asked.
“No. I don’t. It’s easy for me to compartmentalize.”
“She’s really good at it,” Grace said.
“I can love with all my heart until there’s a reason for me not to any longer. Then the ties are cut just like that,” Ivy said. “It hurt for a few days and the girls were there to stay with me that weekend. And then I woke up Monday morning and continued on with business as usual.”
“It takes a strong person to do something like that,” I said. “How long ago was this?”
I watched something akin to shame blanket Ivy’s face. She grew nervous. Her foot pulled away from mine underneath the table. So the relationship was recent. That could’ve been the only reason for her reaction. Emilia started rubbing her arm and the guys were side-glancing me, and I immediately felt like an idiot for asking.
“If you want me to stop, just say so,” I said. “And you don’t have to answer my questions. You’re under no obligation to.”
“I just don’t want you to think that you’re…”
Her eyes met mine and I understood.
“A rebound,” I said.
“Yeah,” Ivy said breathlessly. “I don’t want you to think that. I don’t do those. They aren’t healthy and they aren’t right to the other party.”
“Then I’m not a rebound. I believe you.”
“The breakup happened a month ago,” she said.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
I watched the guys smiling at me from the corners of my eyes as the girls watched her reaction. She snickered and shook her head and I felt her foot slowly glide beside mine. She took another bite of her breadstick before she brought her eyes to me, and I could see some of the worry slip away from her gaze.
Good.
I wanted her to feel comfortable talking with me.
“I’m okay,” she said with a small smile. “Zander was… good. Great. A decent man with a good heart and a passion for helping children. He took care of me. Never once talked down to me or tried to manipulate me in any way. But he wasn’t very communicative. If something was bothering him, he never wanted to talk about it. If something irked him, he never wanted to address it. Everything had to be sunshine and rainbows, or it wasn’t for him. And it blew up in my face.”
“I’m so sorry, Ivy.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s a fault in his personality. One that I paid for. And there were signs. There always were. I guess I just enjoyed his want to always be happy, so I let it slide. I didn’t question his flash of emotions whenever I had to duck out and go to work. I didn’t question his lack of responses whenever I was in another country doing something because I always blamed it on the time difference. He never told me it was an issue. Probably because he knew I would leave him over it. I would never compromise my job for anyone, Dean. You need to know that now.”
“I wouldn't do it, either. I understand.”
“That man probably knew I would leave him if he tried to question what I was doing with my career, and that’s what kept his mouth shut on the matter. At least, that’s the only reason I can come up with. I’ll never know because-- newsflash-- he never talks about the bad stuff. He never owned up to how he really felt at any given moment. A man can still be a man and be emotional. And emotional encompasses more than simple happiness.”
“It does,” I said.
“So, anyway. That’s Zander from my point of view and my experience with him.”
“Well,” Tristan said. “Looks like I’ll have to kill him. Anyone got a spare body bag?”
The table chuckled as the pizzas were set in front of us.
We all dove in, the mood quickly changing back to a light-hearted pace. But every once in a while, I checked in with Ivy. I’d rub my toe up her leg and draw her attention before asking her if she was okay.
A single head nod and a smile would tell me everything I needed to know, then we returned to the conversation at hand. The minutes ticked by and we all filled our stomachs, roaring with laughter and regaling everyone with stories from our pasts. Hayden and his hotel ventures. Tristan and his wild nights. Grace and her work at the floral shop with Emilia and Ivy with her misadventures with snotty models and even snottier designers. I even had a few interesting stories to tell about some of my patients-- though I never revealed any names. It felt good to be talking with people about my work. About the people I encountered and helped on a daily basis.
It was cathartic for me, and the familial dynamic was something I’d missed in my life.
I picked up the tab for everyone before someone else could snag it. I wanted to impress Ivy a little bit. I was smashed between two billionaires, for fuck’s sake. I wanted her to know that I could take care of her friends like the two of them could on a night out. We all worked our way out of the booths and I left the waitress a good tip. We’d sat there for long enough, so I wanted to make sure she was compensated for her time.
Then I offered my arm to Ivy and we said goodbye to her friends.
“I like you more than Zander already,” Tristan said. “Make sure she gets home safe.”
“Treat her right,” Hayden said.
I shook hands with the guys as Ivy said her goodbyes to the girls. I escorted her back to my car and I opened her door for her, offering her my hand so she could get in. She smiled up at me with that broad smile of hers. The one that crinkled her eyes and sparkled the yellow specks her brown orbs held. I wrapped around and dipped down into the car, then I struck it up and turned my head towards her.
“So, where do you want to go next?” I asked.
She feigned a painful thought process, her face twisting up into this cute little scrunch. I wanted to take her back to my place. To fall into bed with her and blanket her scent across my sheets. But I also didn’t want to be presumptuous. If she was ready to go home, then that was where I would take her.
Falling Into You: The Complete Naughty Tales Series Page 43