Page 58 of Worth the Rush
“Let me check on that for you.”
“Thank you.” I hold my phone away from my mouth and take a breath.
“Of course, so it looks like we have three rooms available. A queen, a king, and a double twin.”
“I’ll take the queen, please.”
“Perfect, have you stayed with us before?”
“I have a few months ago.”
“Great, can I get your name?”
“Yeah, It’s Ivy.”
“Ivy?! Why do you need a room? Is everything okay?” she asks one question after the other.
“No, yeah. I’m okay. Just needing the room.”
“Ooohhkay. Well, you’ll have one when you get here,” she chirps. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Tears spill then. I’ll miss that.
“Sure, thanks, Florence.” I hang up and rest my head against the back of my chair, willing the tears to be sucked back up into my head. I’m not sure how long I sit like that, long enough for my stomach to growl and my head to start hurting.
“Ivy.” At the sound of my name, I shut my eyes. Then swiftly wipe them and turn my chair to face him.
“So, you don’t actually work here. You own The Edgemont?” I ask. I need to gather as much information as I can.
“Yes,” he confirms. I knew that, but it still hurts tohear it.
“Why?” I can’t see through the tears gathering again. “Why did you lie?”
“I didn’t lie—or I didn’t mean to lie. I didn’t know you?—”
“And that makes it okay to lie? And you did lie. You knew who I was when you heard my name. You let me walk around here and pretended like I was in charge. Ugh. I feel so stupid, Alder.”
“That’s not how it was. You were in charge. I never would have intervened with anything you wanted to do.”
“But you could have,” I spit out.
“Everything you’ve done the last few months is all you. They were all your ideas, and they’ve been damn good ones, don’t let this tarnish that,” he pleads. “You’re so good at this. Please, I'm sorry for not telling you. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
“How did you want me to find out?”
“I tried to tell you. I did tell you the first night you came to my house,” he says. I reel back, confused.
“No, you didn’t, Alder. I would remember that little nugget of information.” My sadness is turning into something different now. Something is brewing in me. I'm so angry; I’m sosad.I feel so incredibly betrayed.
“I told you on the couch, but you had already fallen asleep.” He looks up toward the ceiling as he speaks. I laugh. It’s cold and mean, and I’m glad because that’s how I feel. I want to hurt him. I want him to hurt as much as I do.
“Well, if you told me while I was asleep, I guess I have to forgive you,” I say with as much sarcasm as I can muster.
“That’s not what I’m saying?—”
“That’s exactly what you just said. It doesn’t matter anyway, Alder. This was never going to work long-term. I wasalways going to leave, and this was only ever a fling. I thought—” I stop myself before my voice cracks. He’s been so much more than a fling since the moment he told me he made lists. I try to believe what I’m saying. “I had thought I was the problem, that maybe I could be what you deserved—” My voice does crack this time; I can feel my nose stinging and the fresh wave of tears. “But then, I come to find out—it’s you. You’re no better than any other man I’ve had the awful luck of knowing.” His eyes flare, and I see his jaw flex. Good. Get mad at me. Hate me. Let’s be done with this.
“Please, Ivy,” he says, and there’s no anger in it. Only pain. I don’t want to feel bad about making him hurt, but I do. Damn it. “You know that’s not true, Ivy. I’m nothing like Noah or your father,” he defends.
“Speaking of my father, it seems like you know him pretty well.”
