Page 55 of By the Book

“He’s home,” she replies. “And you two have probably consumed nothing more than waffles and slushies today.”

“You’ve got us there.” The words are jumbled around the roll he’s inhaling.

“Right, so go wash up. Especially you, Ivy.” Her gaze lands on the remaining dirt I carried inside with me. On my hands, the sleeves of my sweater.

Doing as I’m told; I turn into the hallway that leads to the half bath. I’m opening the bathroom door when a hand reaches out and pulls me backward.

A gasp escapes me as I fall against a hard chest, strong arms wrapping around me from behind. “Hey, you,” a familiar voice whispers, lips in my hair.

Spinning in his embrace, I smile broadly up at Tripp and interlock my fingers around his neck. “You’re here,” I whisper gleefully.

“I promised I would be back.” He presses a kiss to my forehead, causing a surge of excitement to rush through me. My family could easily step into this hall. And yet, I don’t pull away. Being back in his arms, I feel as if I belong here.

“Did everything go smoothly?” I ask.

“I’m happy, considering the circumstances.”

“What happened?” I drag my hands down his chest and wrap my arms around his waist.

“Why don’t we talk about that later?” he counters.

I smile, noticing the glint in his eyes. “Hm, what did you want to do now?”

“This.” Tripp lifts his hand to hook a finger under my chin and pull my face up to him. He brushes a soft kiss against my lips first, testing. When I kiss him back, he intensifies it, sending shivers through me.

Holding me against the wall, his hands drag across my body as his mouth moves over mine. When he tugs on my lip, a faint whimper escapes me. It’s enough to make him pull back, and sigh.

“We shouldn’t be pushing our luck,” he murmurs, dropping his forehead to rest against mine. “I just can’t help myself when it comes to you.”

I smile at his admission, but he’s right. Even if someone hadn’t seen us, they could have easily heard me. I wash my hands, taking a few moments to settle my breathing.

“Dinner!” My mother’s voice carries through the house. That’s our cue. Pressing his hand to the small of my back, Tripp starts me toward the kitchen. Before we round the corner into the room though, he drops his hands and puts a step of distance between us. A hint of disappointment hovers at the edge of my heart. Will there ever be a day when we can walk into a room holding hands or I can kiss him without hiding?

“Oh good, you found Tripp.” My mother smiles at us as we step into the kitchen. Studying her closely, considering the new information from our conversation this morning, I can now notice a mischievous air to her smile. Had it been there all along?

My family is already seated at the island, all three in the stools down the long edge. That leaves two remaining seats together around the short side. It’s enough privacy for Tripp to slide his hand onto my knee and give it a squeeze. I smile down at the empty plate in front of me, this can be enough for now.

We pass salad, pasta, and roasted chicken around the table. When the bowl with the heavenly garlic butter smell of noodles is passed to me, I eagerly scoop out a helping.

“Well now that we are all together, I want to say something,” my father starts, clearing his throat. I set the serving bowl back down and glance at everyone around the kitchen. Is he going to tell Wes about the heart attack? “Tripp and I had a nice talk before you arrived home,” he continues.

I look over at Tripp, my heart fluttering nervously. Did he talk about me? Us? We haven’t even talked about what is happening between us. But he shakes his head subtly, running his palm up and down my thigh to soothe me.

“I want to apologize to Ivy.”

My head snaps around to look at my father once again. “Apologize to me?”

“Tripp informed me of Reid’s behavior. I’m sorry I exposed you to that, and I’m sorry you couldn’t tell me.”

“Oh, Dad no?—”

“No,” he holds up his hand. “No, Sweetie. I need you to know that I will do better. And first thing tomorrow, he will be gone.”

“What the fuck happened?” Wes looks between us all wildly. “Did he do something to you?”

“He might be the person behind the break-ins,” Tripp explains, tightening his grip on my leg. If he was soothing me before, now it seems he’s using me to ground himself. I reach over and lay my hand atop his. He flips his hand over in an instant and laces our fingers together.

“How can you let him go based on speculation?” I ask.

---