“Shhh . . .” He touches my lips with his finger and smiles at me. “I understand, Ivy. I know there’s a lot of new going on here for you. And your kids.”
“I’m sorry . . .” I feel like the immature one here, having to run home all the time, shying away from sex.
“Don’t be sorry. I can be patient.” He takes a deep breath and exhales. “Will you keep seeing me?”
“Yes, I want to see you again.”
A big smile lights up his face, and it’s contagious. “You’re really cute when you smile,” I tell him, tracing my finger over the tattoo on his chest.
“You’re pretty cute yourself. So . . . can we go steady? Is that the term you use?”
I smack his arm and gape at him. “Lukas! I’m not from the fifties! Jesus!”
Laughing, he hugs me closer to him, his big arms circling me. “Well, how the fuck do I know how to say this right?”
“Well, what are you trying to say exactly?”
“I’m trying to say I want you to be my girlfriend, and I think I’m failing miserably.”
My heart soars from cuteness overload. How could I say no to such sexy adorableness? It would be seriously impossible.
I reach up and push his hair out of his eyes. “You’re not failing at all, Lukas. I don’t think you could fail at anything.”
“So, is that a yes?”
With a big smile and my heart beating faster, I lean forward and kiss his lips. “It’s a yes.”
LUKAS
MY FIRST DATE WITH IVY COULD not have been more perfect. Dinner came out great, she looked beautiful, Ray kept his beak shut, and kissing her under that blanket—with the stars above us—was simply exquisite. I didn’t want the night to ever end. If I close my eyes, I can still taste her on my lips and feel her soft skin pressed against mine.
That was over a week ago, and I haven’t seen her since.
I practically begged to see her for Christmas, but family obligations kept her from me, which I totally respect and understand. But I wish I was part of her family and not an outsider. Maybe someday that’ll happen.
A couple hundred text messages and a few phone calls later, I’m on my way to pick her up to take her to see the band play tonight. I feel weird when I pull into her driveway, sorta wishing I let her come to my place like she wanted to, but I insisted on picking her up here. It feels fucked up, though, ringing the doorbell of the house she lived in with her husband. After a few seconds, she opens the door and comes out on the front steps but doesn’t invite me inside, which probably would have been really uncomfortable. Instead, she throws her arms around my neck, clinging to me.
“I really missed you,” she murmurs. Fuck, I’m not with her for five seconds, and she’s already got my brain going gushy.