“Ivy,” he murmured, and his chocolate-brown eyes twinkled like he had actually been longing to see me. He started to form a smile, but when he realized I wasn’t pleased to see him, he sighed, then looked over his shoulder.
Realizing the coast was clear, he took a step close to me and said, “Look, Ivy. I’m sorry about what happened the night of the gala. I’d had too much to drink and I was really, really upset with Lola. I’m sorry.”
“You choked me,” I spat at him. “Do you do that to Lola too when you can’t have your way?”
“No—I just let my emotions get the better of me.” He lifted a hand to stroke the apple of my cheek. “Don’t let this change what we have. I’ve been thinking, you know. About you and me. You were right about how I need to make changes. Lola isn’t going to leave Eddie alone—I know that now after the gala—so I’m working on being separated from her.”
“Why not just get a divorce?”
“It’s . . . complicated. I have to go about it the right way. We’ve been married a long time and it would cost a lot of money. I’d have to negotiate so I don’t lose too much in the process.”
“Sure, okay. I don’t have time for your excuses.” I rolled my eyes and pushed past him to get inside the house.
Corey caught my hand. “Wait—Ivy, I—”
“Ivy, you’re here!” Lola said from down the hall, and Corey quickly released my hand from his and stuffed it in his front pocket.
I focused on her as she stood there, waving and giving me a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Something was off with her today. She was made up as always, wearing a teal blouse, jeans, and sandals.
Corey closed the door with his foot, side-eyeing me as he walked past. I watched him go past Lola, who peered over her shoulder to watch him saunter off. There was still tension between them, I could see.
“You wanted to see me today?” I asked, stepping closer to Lola.
“I did. Let’s go out by the pool.”
She clearly didn’t see Corey grab my hand; otherwise she’d have spoken up about it, right?
I followed her through the kitchen and met her by the lounge chairs under the pool umbrellas. It was fall in Florida—still warm outside, but not deathly hot like it is over the summer.
Lola sat down, and on the table was a bottle of red wine and two glasses. I took the seat across from her, forcing a smile at her as she poured the wine into the glasses. She didn’t smile back.
She handed one of the glasses to me and I took it, nodding appreciatively. She sipped hers and I did the same.
“So, you’re probably wondering why I asked you to come over.” She gulped down more wine. “Well, there is no easy way to have this conversation, but I, um . . . I spoke to Georgia a few days ago.”
Georgia? Oh fuck. So she did tell Lola about me and Corey? That bitch! “Okay. What’s going on?”
“Well, she seems to think that . . . well, that you’re relevant to something that occurred in my past.”
I put down my glass on the table. This wasn’t what I thought I’d be hearing.
“Your name isn’t Ivy Elliot, is it?” Lola questioned, and my heart slammed to a standstill.
I tried to move my mouth, but it remained glued shut.
“You don’t have to answer that. I know you aren’t.” Lola sighed. She crossed her legs and looked toward the bay.
“Lola, I don’t know what Georgia told you, but—”
“She didn’t have to tell me much. She thought that perhaps she was overthinking things, so she let it go. But when she told me that she’d seen you snooping around in my office, I hired a private investigator to get answers for me, had him look into you.”
I swallowed hard, unable to pull my eyes away from hers. She knew. She fucking knew. It was happening now.
“Your name is Ivy Hill. Your parents were Dante and Carol Hill. They died on April 13, 2007, in a car wreck. They died because of me.” Lola’s eyes were full of tears at this point and fuck, Marriott, I didn’t know what to do. All I could manage was a blink to battle my own tears.
This wasn’t the way I thought the conversation would go. Why did it feel like she had the upper hand? Like she was going to make me feel guilty when, really, she should have been the one lost, scared, and nervous as hell? I was supposed to be the one to shove this news in her face. I was supposed to be the one who won, got Corey, took half her money through him, and then told her that she was a selfish bitch afterward.