Page 41 of Clint & Ivy
“You’ve got it backward. The noble thing to do would be for me to set Ivy up somewhere to get her life in order. Instead, I refuse to be patient. I have no interest in letting her figure things out. I want to keep Ivy.”
“Everyone views you as a good guy. We want to believe you have noble intentions.”
“Well, I don’t. I have impatient male intentions. I think of Ivy as belonging to me. Call me a caveman, but that’s just how it feels in here,” I explained and pounded on my chest in a very caveman way. I even throw in a little grunt to make my point. “But Ivy will be better off wrapped up in my life than trying to figure out the world on her own.”
Lula’s dark eyes sized me up. “Why are men so gross?”
“I don’t know. Ask your dad,” I replied, winning a flick across the nose for daring to shit-talk Pax. “If what you had with Jarred was hot and exciting like I feel when I see Ivy, you’d get why I don’t want to be reasonable. But you were married to a dud.”
Lula shrugged. “He’s plenty hot with Alani. Maybe I’m the dud.”
“How can you believe that’s true when you own a mirror?”
Lula offered me an exaggerated eye roll. “There’s more to relationships than good looks. Besides, Jarred is attractive.”
“Not like the guy out there waiting to make your panties wet.”
“That sounds like a recipe for a yeast infection. Count me out,” Lula said and tossed her hair dismissively at me before walking down the hallway.
I followed Lula back into the family room, where Ivy searched for me. As soon as our gazes met, she exhaled with relief.
I didn’t care how unreasonable the situation felt to my family. Despite my earlier bullshit, I would absolutely think Rowdy was cracked if he brought home a strange woman. The situation felt completely different when I was the one drunk on the magic.
IVY
After Clint and I werereunited, his family focused on chicken wings and fries. To avoid waking the napping Xandy and Vanessa, we moved outside to eat. The large back deck overlooked a large, green yard and the shimmering lake. Large homes were built in a circle around the water. Pax and Bebe owned the house next door, while Lula was a few houses down from this one.
Throughout lunch, Clint kept me close. I hadn’t felt on the spot since returning from the basement. People were too busy talking to each other to interrogate me. However, I worried this reprieve was bound to end.
Eventually, Shay gestured for me to walk with her away from the others. I immediately wanted to grab hold of Clint and refuse any solo conversations. In the basement, Elle kept Sabrina from overwhelming me. I barely had to speak at all.
With Shay, I’d be on my own. As much as I wanted to refuse Clint’s mom, I couldn't imagine a reason that wouldn’t come off as bitchy.
“She’s harmless,” Clint whispered against my ear.
I smiled up at him, even as my stomach knotted up and my heart raced. I wasn’t sure what I would say to Shay. With mother figures, I tended to get hyper and desperate for approval.
