Page 95 of Summer Nights

I had good intentions, and I wanted to look out for her. Ivy might not want me to do those things, but that was who I was. I took care of the people I loved.

"You okay?" Hudson said as he lifted his drink and sipped.

I blinked, a little taken aback by the realization. But maybe I should have known. "I think I'm in love with Ivy."

"Yeah, I figured that. You moved her in, and now you're tracking down her dad. All signs of serious commitment."

"You don't think that was a bad idea with how cagey Ivy can be about relationships?" My stomach tipped when I thought of her reaction to my feelings.

"You can't help who you fall in love with or when. Elena grew up on the island, and I barely remember her. But when we met again as adults, I couldn't get her out of my head."

"Would we be in this same place if she hadn't gotten pregnant?" I asked, wondering if this was the inevitable outcome for us

"It sped everything up; that's for sure. It forced Ivy to deal with things between you. Have you told her how you feel?"

"I asked her to move into my bedroom. The moving-in together was an arrangement to make co-parenting easier on us. But sharing a bedroom felt like we were truly living together as a couple. It was a huge step for her. I can't just spring it on her that I love her. What if she doesn't feel the same way? Or she's not ready to confront her feelings for me?" The questions were swirling around in my head.

"I'd say there's no rush. She's living with you and having your baby. But she might not appreciate your meddling in her family's business. What if she wants to keep her father firmly in the past?"

I rolled my neck to ease the tension there. "Ugh. Why are relationships so hard?"

Hudson chuckled. "That's what makes them so worth it. In the end, you get everything you want, but it's quite the journey to get there."

"You're saying I'm in the middle of the journey, and I can't give up?" I asked, needing to understand where he was coming from.

"Something like that."

"It's worth it though, right?" I'd seen him and Elena together. They supported each other and their families. It was obvious they were in love with each other.

"I can't imagine life without her at this point."

I had to figure this thing out with her dad because I couldn't lose her.

The next morning, I woke to my phone buzzing with an incoming call. I checked on Ivy who was curled away from me on the bed. She'd gotten in late last night and immediately fallen asleep. I didn't want to wake her, so I slipped out of bed and took the phone into the living room. I ran a hand through my hair before I answered. "Hello?"

"Jack Knight here. The investigator you hired to find Clint Baker."

My stomach dropped. "Did you find him?"

"I did."

This was what I was looking for, but I wasn't sure I was ready for the answer. "Where is he?"

"He's living in south Florida and working as a mechanic."

That meant he hadn't lived far away when Ivy was growing up. "Has he always lived there?"

"Since he left Sanibel, yes."

He was so close. He could have been a father who saw Ivy several times a year, if not more often. Why had he ghosted Ivy and her mother?

"He had a son about a year after Ivy Buckley and settled down with the mother. They had one more child a few years later. By all accounts, he's involved with his family and supports them."

The air whooshed out of my lungs. He had another family but had abandoned Ivy. This was worse than I thought. I wanted to keep this information to myself, but what if she found out I had him investigated?

"Is there anything else you needed to know?" Jack asked.

I sighed. "That was it. I appreciate you getting the information so quickly."

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