Page 57 of By the Book

“What is this about?” I ask, handing her the red and white striped bucket and jumping up into the space beside her.

“Along with witchy sisters, it’s a romance. About a shop owner and a detective,” she replies, a twinkle in her eye.

“Hmm, sounds familiar. What happens with them?”

“Magic.”

Ivy looks over at me as she curls her hands into her long sweater sleeves and brings them up to hide her growing smile. I reach over and take her hands in mine instead. With her soft eyes shining, her full, sweet smile in place, she’s perfect. Not everyone gets to see this version of Ivy, and I crave to hold onto it. I want to be a part of her most joyful moments.

I wrap my arms around her as she drops her head onto my shoulder and brings her hand to rest on my chest. As new as this is, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. Like we took the long way to reach the inevitable.

“Can I ask you something?” She picks her head up and looks at me the moment the detective makes his first appearance on screen.

“Sure.”

Ivy shifts in my arms, bringing her knees up and letting them fall onto my lap. “Why did you want to be sheriff?”

Dragging my hand along her leg, I reply, “I didn’t initially, but Winston approached me when he was ready to retire. He asked me to run, said he thought I was the man for the job. He was close friends with Pops so agreeing to run felt like it would be as much for my grandfather as it would be for my mentor. And then the more I thought about it, the more I realized Iwantedto be the man for the job. I wanted to protect the place that took me in when I had nowhere. Honor the beliefs of my grandfather that taught me to love this town. I knew I’d haveto deal with the politics, but I also knew I’d get to advance the department and leave a mark of my own.”

“Those are wonderful reasons,” she murmurs.

“What made you think of that?”

“Just, the movie,” she motions to the man flashing his badge on the scene. “Are you happy as the sheriff? Or do you ever regret it?”

A chuckle escapes me as I realize where these questions are coming from. “You heard, huh?”

“Heard what?” She bats those innocent eyes at me, but I can see the confirmation in her gaze.

I lay down on the pile of pillows I threw in with the blankets to use as a back rest. Ivy drops down with me, nestling her head under my chin. “You heard that they are trying to recall me.”

“I did,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this.”

“Honey, at this moment, I couldn’t care less.” I sweep my hand down her hair and smile. “How could I be upset by anything right now?”

“I still hate it.”

Planting a kiss to the top of her head, I say, “Thank you for caring about me. But no worrying tonight. Okay?”

“Okay. But Tripp?”

“Yes?”

“I do care about you.”

With a simple five words, she completely obliterated me. My heart has always belonged to her, but for the first time, I have hope that she’s ready to claim it.

Ivy

“You look rather content for someone displaced from her home,” Poppy says with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, shouldn’t we be worried about your apartment being destroyed?” Stevie asks.

“And the fact that you took more than a day to share that news with us?” Wren adds.

A grin splits across my face as I prop my chin in my hands. “Sorry, it turned out to be a really good day,” I muse, still in a haze from the night before.

I’ve severely understated things. The first night ended with a world-shattering kiss and being able to fall asleep in his arms, and then the date yesterday was perfect, every minute of it. All my worries had slipped away bit by bit, with each gentle caress and stolen embrace.

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