Page 14 of Ivy

She looks at Carter, and I just manage to see the tear slip down her cheek. It breaks my heart to know what she’s been through—her and Carter both. I can feel her pain, and it makes my chest ache for her. I lift my hand and use my cold fingers to make her face me, so she can see my empathy for her and Carter. A few more tears have escaped, and strands of her hair have stuck to her cheek. I wipe her tears away with my thumb and slide my fingers over her cheek, slowly unsticking her hair before tucking it behind her ear. All the while our gazes are locked on each other. Fucking hell, she is truly beautiful. I lean down to kiss her, but Carter yells my name, bringing us out of the fog we were in. I keep hold of Ivy’s face, but we both turn our heads to see what he’s calling us for. He’s standing on the top a big climbing dome. We chuckle as he sits there, balancing on the metal bars with his hands in the air.

“Were you going to kiss my mum, Luke?” he yells from the top.

“Oh, God,” Ivy whispers, and rests her head on my shoulder. The woman sitting on the table next to us, chuckles.

“Yeah, I was, kid. You got a problem with that?” I joke back. His smile is fucking infectious and I realise it’s something I want for the rest of my life.

“Nope. I like seeing Mum smile.” The words are like a punch to my gut. I suck in a breath at the same time Peaches does.

Holy fucking shit.

He has done me in.

Those words mean the world to me,the innocence and sincerity of them like a balm to my heart.I pull Ivy closer again, loving the feel of her against me. I rest my head on top of hers as we watch her boy enjoy his freedom, acting like a normal six-year-old. God, I was wild when I was his age, climbing and jumping off everything. I was a bit of a daredevil.

“I like making you smile, Peaches,” I whisper against her hair.

“I like smiling for you, Beast.”

“Good, because I don’t plan on stopping. You are mine, Ivy. I don’t plan on letting you go.”

“You scare me, Luke. I don’t know how to be in a normal relationship. If you want to do this, Luke, then you need to be patient with me.”

“Baby, I’ve never been in this type of relationship before, either. Well, there was one.” I take a deep breath and look over to make sure Carter isn’t getting into trouble.

“Her name was Tina, and she was a bitch. We started out great, but then things fizzled out because she was materialistic and I was training to be a tattoo artist, and that wasn’t bringing in the money. She cheated on me with an old friend of mine, who was more than happy to tell anyone who listened. She then told everyone in town that it was me who cheated. Since this town is filled with busy bodies, they took the woman’s side. So, I left and started shagging anything that moved.” Ivy hastily pulls her body away from mine, but I snatch her hand, making sure she doesn’t run. My heart is racing just thinking about all the shit that Tina caused for me.

“I’m no monk, Peaches. You know there have been plenty of women before you, but once I saw you, everything came to a screeching halt. I haven’t been with anyone since you walked into Castle Ink.”

Her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline and I chuckle. She doesn’t believe me, but that’s cool. I know what she’s seen.

“Not everything is what it seems.” I wink at her and walk over to Carter, who is sitting on a swing. I hear Ivy calling my name, and then mutter, “Oh, come on”, but I ignore her. I grip the chains and pull Carter back.

“High or low?” I ask him.

“High!” he screams. I laugh and look at Ivy, who is still staring at me with a shocked look on her beautiful face. I pull back the chains a little more and let go, watching as Carter glides forward before coming back to me. I push on the swing, making him go higher. His screams of excitement fill the air around us. I laugh at him. This kid is amazing. I look over at Peaches and see her staring at us, taking in the scene before her: her son enjoying himself, and with me, of all people.

It makes me happy that she’s willing to have me be involved in Carter’s life. It shows that she trusts me—with him, anyway. I push Carter a few more times and then lean against the frame and watch as he swings back and forth, not going too high. His laughter is again infectious. I feel around in my pocket for the piece of paper I had put in there earlier. I smile to myself and pull it out, making sure it’s still in good shape. Good enough shape to fly.

I lick my lips and lift my gaze to Ivy, who is now talking to the lady sat at the table next to her. I smile and check the words I wrote on there, and the little heart I drew. Withthe hope that it reaches her and not the lady she’s sat next to, I bring my arm up and let the plane fly, watching as the wind carries it with a meandering trajectory, just likehow our relationship has been so far.

Nothing is straightforward in life.

I drag my gaze from the aeroplane and look at Carter, who is still whooping and yelling, then I turn to look at the ladies again, my heart dropping into the ground under my feet. The lady next to Ivy is picking up the paper plane and is about to read it. I step forward, but Ivy’s words stop me.

“Sorry, I think that was meant for me. My boyfriend likes to send me dirty messages.”

Boyfriend.

Holy fucking shit.

Did she just call me her boyfriend?

Oh, fuck me, she did.

The smile spreads across my face and my heart climbs back into my chest. It beats with pride. I reach out to grip the chains, stopping Carter mid-swing. He looks over his shoulder at me.

“Why did you stop me, Luke? I was swinging super high then.”

---