Page 70 of The SEAL's Duchess
And God help her, she wanted all of it—the town with its quiet pace and genuine welcome, Ellie with her sticky fingers and glitter, Ryder with his quiet strength and the way he looked at her like she was a woman worth protecting.
Here, for the first time in her life, she felt like she fit.
It wassodangerously easy to imagine staying.
To conjure mornings in his kitchen and Ellie’s laughter and a life that wasn’t just managing crises and meeting other people’s expectations.
She sighed.
She should pull herself together, tell herself this was just sex, a few stolen days. Except she’d never been good at lying to herself, and she wasn’t about to start now. Because it wasn’t. Not for her. And from the way Ryder had looked at her this morning, maybe not for him either.
Maybe.
Fuck.
Ellie squealed, hands splayed across Ryder’s face. Afternoon light caught in his hair, softening the lines around his eyes. He looked at his daughter with such pure love, it made something hurt behind Ivy’s ribs.
This.
The ordinary magic of belonging.
She wanted to stay in this truck. Just listen to Ellie’s funny chatter. Go home with them both and forget everything else.
Not someday.
Now.
But the information Jack had given her sat like a bomb in her bag, ready to blow apart everything she and George had worked toward.
“Ivy?”
Ryder studied her, Ellie nestled against his shoulder, long lashes framing her eyes.
“I should go find George. Tell him about Henderson.”
“Yeah.” But his gaze stayed locked on her, searching. “You holding up?”
No.
Her hand locked on the door handle. With one tug, she’d be back on the path she always walked. One hesitation, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever escape Ryder’s gravity.
“I’m fine.” Her voice stumbled on the lie, throat raw.
She pushed the door open, cold air rushing in. Her free hand curled in her coat pocket, nails digging into her palm. “You’ll come by later?”
“Count on it.” His hand twitched as if he meant to stop her—just for a second.
She climbed out before she could change her mind, before she could do something stupid like ask him to come with her, or tell him she didn’t want to go at all. The door closed with a solid thunk.
She headed around the hood, aware of Ryder’s gaze tracking her.
She lifted a hand, puffing cloudy breaths. “Sarah—hi. I owe you an apology. For taking off like that.”
Sarah beat her gloved hands together. “It’s fine. Ryder texted me late last night. You okay?”
“Mostly,” Ivy said. “A few bruises. Nothing serious.”
“The car crash sounded scary. I had Mitch tow your rental to the garage earlier this morning. He’s giving it a once-over, but it’s probably totaled.”
