My eyes watched the man inside. He stared at us with a grim expression on his face, wiping his hand roughly over his chin.
“Ivy?” I asked, still staring at the man. “Who is that?”
Ivy backed her body away from mine and turned around to look in the direction that I was pointing.
She groaned. “That’s Eric.”
Blood boiled so quickly in my veins that I thought I was going to explode.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”
Ivy turned around at the harshness of my voice and then she chuckled. My brow furrowed as I clenched my jaw together.
“Okay, simmer down there, Hulk. Jealousy isn’t a turn on f
or me…” She looked away before adding, “Okay maybe it is, but only a little bit.”
I didn’t laugh. I was still fixated on the douche in the car who thought Ivy was worth giving up. Fucking idiot! But then again, his loss was my gain, so maybe I should be tipping my imaginary hat to him.
“What is he doing here?” I growled.
Ivy’s eyes glimmered with humor. “Dawson… your ex-girlfriend’s mom just tried to blackmail me into breaking up with you so her daughter could have you.” She blinked, more humor spreading along her delicate features. “Now, I know that it wasn’t really about you and me and it was more about this idiotic grudge she was holding over my… dead parents, but still. You cannot act this jealous because my ex-boyfriend shows up after I ignored him for, like, two months.”
She was right, but I still didn’t like it.
Ivy perked up on her tiptoes, kissing me softly on the mouth. She wrapped her hands around my neck, calming me down with just a single kiss. My eyes closed involuntarily as I let myself fall into her little trick.
Once she pulled away, my eyes opened quickly. She was smiling up at me with that beautiful, soul-sucking smile, and I caved.
“Fine. But can you tell him to leave before that kiss wears off and I throw him through the windshield of his car?”
She bellowed with laughter. “Of course. I’ll be right back.” And then she winked.
I stood back, crossing my arms over my chest, staring intently as Ivy leaned down and talked to her ex through his car window. I watched as Ivy’s eyes slid to mine with a small smile on her lips and then back to him. She pulled herself upward and gave him one last wave as he pulled out, never once looking in my direction.
The second she walked back over to me, I pulled her into my arms, lifting her up so her legs were wrapped around my torso.
“Okay,” I said, pulling her flush against my middle. “Your ex is gone, mine is probably committing her mother to a psych ward,” I laughed. “Now…” Ivy brought her head down to me, forehead resting on mine, her eyes searching every inch of my face. “Now there’s nothing in our way…right?”
Her tongue swiped her bottom lip, causing a burning feeling to ignite in my lower stomach. Then she smiled that coy smile and answered, “Right.”
“Good, now let’s go make up,” I hummed, sneaking in a few kisses below her ear.
We didn’t even make it to the bedroom.
Epilogue
Ivy
The morning headline of the paper read as: Forty year old woman, wife of number one dealership owner of the last three years, escapes Oak Hill’s looney bin, only to be captured and taken back into custody within an hour after escape.
Okay, I’m kidding. But Breanna’s mom did get put on administrative paid leave after the whole blackmailing ordeal, and was given the option to step down from St. Joseph’s main campus to work at the branch in a neighboring city, after completing a series of counseling sessions regarding her emotional issues.
She obviously took them up on their offer, as her family urged her to do so. I have yet to see Mrs. Connors or her husband, both of whom probably still hated my family, but Breanna and I had been around each other on more than one occasion, usually at Ships, and I’d never felt the need to guard myself with a table, so that’s good, I suppose.
Breanna had texted Dawson shortly after the incident and asked him to give me her dearest apologies. I rolled my eyes but accepted the apology anyway, which seemed to make things a little less awkward.
I found out that Becca had been the one to fill Dawson in on everything, allowing him and Max to pull on their detective hats and come up with the same plan I had, although they had been a little quicker on their feet, and beat me to the punch.