Page 48 of Trust Fall
“Well of course you are, I’m eight, and you’resoooomuch older than me!” Sophie said, unaware of the dig she had successfully landed on her aunt. Ivy couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ok then, seeing as it’s a special occasion given it’s Ivy’s first Friday Dinner, I’ll let you ask an extra one instead of me asking you one,” Cleo offered.
Ivy giggled as Sophie turned in her seat to face her square on and placed her hands on her hips. “Did you know, you can test how fresh an egg is by dropping it gently into a glass of water?” The young girl narrowed her eyes and pouted her lips slightly. Ivy turned to see Cleo mimic the same expression.
“Hold up, seriously?” Jade interrupted their staring contest from the other side of the table.
“Yes, Auntie Jade! If the egg sinks and lays on its side, then it’s fresh, if it sinks but stands on one of its ends, then it’s a few weeks old but still good to eat. If it floats though, throw it out. Make sure you do it carefully though, as it’ll probablyreallystink.” Ivy was amazing at how much information Sophie had just rattled off, then she spun away from Jade to eye Cleo again. “Well? Did you know that?”
Ivy laughed again, a little louder this time, and turned to face Cleo as she answered her niece, “I knew you could test an egg that way.” Sophie deflated slightly, but Cleo continued, “although, I never knew what the results were. So, I’ll give you that one.”
The cheer Sophie let out along with throwing her fist into the air overhead made Ivy laugh. She looked up as Jade asked her niece, “that’s fab Soph, where’d you learn that?”
“Miss Megan taught us last week in science. She’s amazing!” Sophie said, and Ivy felt Cleo’s thigh twitch beneath her hand briefly.
Ivy turned to check Cleo’s face and got the distinct impression that was the reason why the whole table had gone quiet. “That’sgreat kid,” Cleo gave a small smile to her niece. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying school.”
The rest of the night had gone well. Ivy had the chance to talk to each member of Cleo’s family, however briefly with some of them. They each gave her a hug before she and Cleo walked back to Cleo’s house for the night. Ivy wondered whether or not to bring up the mention of Megan, given it was clearly a hard subject for Cleo to talk about. She also didn’t want to make what had been a great evening together, end on a tense subject.
“I can hear your wheels turning, you know,” Cleo said, smirk in her voice as she got ready for bed and began to take apart the braid from her hair.
“Sorry,” Ivy replied. She stood in her lounge bottoms with a loose t-shirt while leaning against the doorway between the ensuite bathroom and the bedroom after brushing her teeth.
Cleo sighed a little, then stopped once her hair hung loose and picked up her hairbrush. “I won’t lie, it’s not easy having her back in my life, however removed she may be. But the way I’m choosing to look at it now is,” she sat the brush down and started to slowly walk over to Ivy, “if I didn’t find out about that night, and I didn’t fall apart as badly as I did, then I wouldn’t have hidden for as long as I needed to, and I wouldn’t have had the chance to fall for you like I have.”
Ivy’s heart stuttered and she quietly gasped as Cleo’s words registered in her head. And her heart. Her eyes filled as Cleo placed her hands on Ivy’s hips to draw her close.
“You just said...” Ivy trailed off, unable to finish, as Cleo dipped her head to kiss Ivy on the cheek.
“I just said...?” Ivy could feel the smile on Cleo’s lips against her skin.
“Did you really just? I mean, do you?” Ivy didn’t dare hope that she’d heard the words correctly. This had never happened before, Cleo knew that. This was an incredibly big first for her,and she knew that she loved Cleo, but she hadn’t allowed herself to wonder if Cleo loved her back.
Cleo pulled her face back to look Ivy in the eye, then began to softly speak. “Ivy, you are the bravest person I’ve ever met. You are kind, funny, compassionate, caring, and you make me feel safer than I ever thought I needed to be. I have fallen so hard for you that I’m surprised I haven’t got the bruises to prove it.” She chuckled that glorious, velvety laugh of hers again, and Ivy melted even more into her touch as she felt her eyes glass over further. “The past few months have been the happiest I’ve been in my entire life, honestly. And I know that it’s down to you being in it. So yes, Ivy, I didreally just, and Ido. I love you.”
Ivy wrapped her arms around Cleo’s shoulders and pulled her in close, their lips crashing together as Ivy needed to show Cleo how much her words had meant. When the kiss finally slowed, and they parted enough to look each other in the eye, Ivy knew what she’d been wanting to admit too.
“Cleo, I’ve never felt anything like the way I feel for you. I love you too.” She leaned in and kissed Cleo again, and they made their way to bed together, falling into a tangle of limbs and kisses. Ivy knew that nothing could take away from how they felt in that moment.
Chapter 41
Cleo
“Lana, do you have the number for Alice Murphy handy?” Cleo called from her desk. “I can’t find it in my phone, and she called earlier about a possible location to show Ivy.”
“Yeah, give me a sec and I’ll bring it through to you,” Lana replied.
“Thank you,” Cleo shouted back.
It had been over two weeks since she told Ivy she loved her, and that Ivy amazingly admitted to feeling the same about her. It had been over two weeks where nothing could bring a frown to Cleo’s face. No matter how many calls and emails disrupted her work for other clients from the pushiest one of all.
Lana walked through with the number written on a sticky note and placed it on Cleo’s desk.
“There you are. Ivy still hasn’t managed to find the right location then?” Lana asked, a hint of sympathy in her tone. She knew about Ivy’s franchise plans and had been helping Cleo search for locations in her downtime. Not that Cleo had asked her to, it’s just the sort of thing Lana did.
“No, but Alice seemed hopeful about a new listing that she hadn’t made public yet, so fingers crossed,” Cleo said. “Thanks for this, I’ll give her a buzz just now while the phone line is quiet.” She winked at Lana as she picked up her desk phone and called.
It was just before lunch time, and Ivy was going to stop by with lunch for both of them and Lana too. They had started doing it a few weeks ago, and it had become somewhat of a new tradition that they all appreciated.
