Page 89 of Saving Ian Pope

The phone rang four times and stopped. I checked my text messages, but she hadn’t sent one since the apology text earlier. As I put the phone back on the desk, it dinged. I snatched it up again. Voicemail. She’d left me a voicemail. Nobody left voicemails anymore expect my mum.

My finger trembled as I held it over the play arrow. Then I stabbed it and put it on Speaker. I didn’t trust myself to hold the phone steady.

“Hi, baby.” Her whispered voice gave me chills.

“I-I guess I can’t call you that, anymore.” She cleared her throat. “Ian, I’m leaving you this voicemail because I didn’t want to write a book in text message. I don’t even know if you’ll hear this or listen to it. I’m thinking you haven’t blocked me yet, or my call would’ve gone straight to voicemail, and it didn’t.

Scruffy cocked his head and barked. I scratched behind his ears. “I know, boy.”

“I’m not calling you to make excuses. I don’t have any. What I did was wrong, and I did it for selfish reasons. I deceived you to protect myself and maybe to protect you just a little—but mostly I did it for myself. I got into some trouble and accepting Jack’s offer seemed the easiest way out.”

Trouble? My heart pounded in my chest as she paused.

“And don’t blame Jack. He cares about you and just wanted to make sure you stayed on the right path, and okay, maybe he had selfish reasons, too. We both made a mistake, but it didn’t come from a bad place or with the idea of hurting you or taking advantage of you.” She sobbed, and the sound reached out and squeezed my heart.

“I just want you to know that nobody would ever have to pay me to be with you or love you. I always wanted to be with you from the minute we met, but...certain things got in the way of that. Jack’s offer seemed to solve all my problems at once, but it created one, big, huge one—and that was lying to you.”

Ivy blew her nose, and I pressed a thumb against the corner of my twitching eye.

“But I’m here in LA, and I’m gonna fix everything tomorrow night. I don’t expect you to want me even after I make this right, but now I’m doing this for myself, and you did that. You inspired me. When you defied your blackmailer, even though that video could’ve derailed your comeback, you gave me the confidence to stand up for myself. I knew what I had to do.”

I ran my hand through my hair. What was she on about?

“I know you always say you needed me and that I saved you, and I like to think I helped you a little bit, but you were already prepared to save yourself. I know you’ll be fine because you’re strong, and I know you’re strong because you saved me. So, we helped each other.”

Listening to her sweet, husky voice, I closed my eyes imagining her next to me. She could fill my head with lies, and I’d be happy to listen to her forever.

“You know maybe that’s why we met that afternoon. Maybe the power of Fabio brought us together for one magical moment in time when we each needed a little support. Maybe we just weren’t meant to last forever, just long enough to make a difference in each other’s lives. And you did. You showed me I could be lovable and even more than that, you showed me I could love. You’re so special, and I lo...”

Her message ended, cut off by the impatient system. I scooped up the phone and brought it to my face as if I could bring her back.

“What do you think, Scruffy?” I tickled his furry back with my toes. “Do you think she’s spewing a load of shit? She knew an easy mark when she saw one and used me for money. All the rest of it, being in trouble, needing help...all convenient lies.”

Scruffy gave me a side-eye. He was right. Even I could hear the uncertainty in my voice. Nobody could fake being in love like that, could they? Her body couldn’t fake anything, but then that was sex, not love. That wasn’t even true. When we made love...thatwaslove. I didn’t just want to fuck her because it felt good and got me off. I wanted to meld with her, body and soul.

What the hell did she have to take care of tomorrow night? That could all be rubbish. The woman straight-up lied to me about her identity and about taking money off me, all the while acting like she didn’t want me to pay for a thing. I checked the time on my phone—two PM in LA right now.

I jumped when the phone in my hand rang, my heart racing. Seeing Jack’s name on the display caused a mixture of disappointment and relief to course through my body. I wasn’t ready to talk to Ivy, yet. Maybe I never would be.

I tapped the phone. “Alright?”

“Ian, the PI got back to me already. He can do a deeper dive on Matt Russo, if you want, but I got some info right off the top.”

“Give it to me.” I leaned back in Ivy’s chair and stared at the ceiling. I wasn’t ready for this so soon after Ivy’s voicemail.

“Matt Russo is thirty-two years old, a few years older than Ivy.”

“Three years older.”

“So, he’s probably her brother or cousin. Definitely not her father, and not her boyfriend with the same last name.”

“Husband?” I felt sick to my stomach at the thought.

“No, Matt Russo is single. He does live in LA though, apartment in West Hollywood...and he has a record.”

I jolted forward, sending Scruffy scrambling for the corner. “What kind of record?”

“An arrest record, mate. The bloke’s served time for loads of crimes.”

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