Page 29 of The Christmas Gift

He wanted what his father had given him. Love. But most of all, time. Occasions they would never share if she couldn’t trust him.

Cor wanted time with Ivy, too. She’d become instrumental, like breathing. Only now, he was gasping for air as his breath lodged in his throat. Every insistence thus far had been his.

He wasn’t giving up. If Ivy could only return his physical love, then he’d accept that, as long as she was his.

He pulled into the parking lot under the glow of lights decorating the shrubs. Cor quickly exited, making his way to the third floor. He wanted to shower. Wash Krista’s fruity scent from his nose before crawling into bed and cuddling his woman.

His chest did a little flip at seeing Ivy under the covers, curled onto her side. Perhaps she’d fallen asleep before seeing his text saying he was on his way home.

He showed, then dragged on a pair of PJs. Spooning her soft curves against his solid frame was the best part of his nights and he sighed in pleasure before closing his eyes. If his earlier text scared her, they’d discuss it in the morning. Tonight, he wanted to hold Ivy.

* * *

Cor woke from sleep,blinking against the darkness. He knew before seeing the empty bed what had roused him—cool sheets against his body instead of Ivy’s warm body. Turning onto his back, he looked at his phone on the bedside table. He groaned.Three fucking A.M.

The next thought had him bolting into a sitting position.Ivy. The baby.His feet swung off the bed as he steadied his breathing, noting the room was eerily quiet, no sounds came from the master bathroom. Blinking against sandpaper dryness in his eyes, he stood, heading for the first floor.

Was this the first taste of fatherhood? Would worry or panic always come before rational thought? It was all the more reason why Ivy’s calming presence was food for his soul. But she wasn’t where she belonged—sleeping beside him.

He stumbled to a halt, when, walking further into the living room he saw Ivy lying on the sofa. The relief at seeing she was okay was profound. Squeezing the bridge between his nose, he mentally shook his earlier fears aside as he sat at the edge of the sofa. He stroked her cheek, from chin to the edge of the silk scarf she used to wrap her hair until her eyes opened.

“Why are you out here?”

She blinked and was quiet for so long, Cor didn’t think she would answer. “I don’t blame you, I blame myself for believing…” Her voice quivered.

He sat in silence as she stared ahead, not meeting his gaze. Either he was severely sleep-deprived or had missed an intricate part of the conversation. Between his earlier scare and her midsentence grumble, he knew neither was true.

“Ivy, what are you talking about?”

“You came home…and what’s the first thing you do? Take a shower.”

She called their place home. It was a start. A big fucking start he was more than happy to work with. Tucking that glimmer of hope aside to examine later, Cor rehashed her words in his mind.

“It’s a sign.”

A sign?His drowsiness cleared as he stared at her averted eyes, but not enough to guarantee he wouldn’t say something stupid. Did she think he slept around?

“Of course I took a shower. Do you think I want Krista’s let-me-hop-on-that-dick fragrance on me while I’m in bed with you?”

“You were with Krista,” she repeated the name, then sniffed. “I should have stuck to my rules.”

Fuck rules.“I hope you would know where I was at all times. Ivy, you knew I had dinner with the buyers.”

“You know what I mean. She always has her hands on you.”

She tried to retreat against the cushions but he wasn’t having it. “I took a shower because her smell isn’t the one I want. She sat beside me the entire evening, but the only person on my mind was you.”

She looked at him, but he wasn’t done.

“You Ivy. You were all I could think about. By the time dinner was over, I could have kicked the valet to move his ass getting my car. I needed to come home to you. No one else.”

Ivy quivered under his touch. He hoped she knew he meant every word.

With her flight response out of its box, the last thing he needed was to mention her lack of reply to his text.

“Cor—”

“We’ll work it out tomorrow,” he signed, the fight draining out of him. “When we can both think straight.” When she sat, he shifted slightly, until they were face to face. “Let’s go to bed, Ivy.”

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