Page 42 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
Chapter Sixteen
Anthony
We don’t talk about it, but it’s like we’ve come to a silent conclusion since that night. I start to join Ivy and Harry for meals, and I also listen to her practice on the white baby grand.
Father’s too busy at work to do more than come home to shower, get a few hours of sleep and return to the office. Mother avoids me like she would some filthy rodent. For once, I’m grateful. It means I can be with Ivy and not worry about Mother shifting her cruelty onto someone who deserves nothing but love and support.
Mother wants me to stay away from Ivy, but the reason was that she didn’t want me to cause her harm the way I did Katherine. I’m older and stronger now, trained in kickboxing, so I can protect what’s mine. I’m never going to let anything happen to Ivy.
The next three weeks go by with a kind of peace I’ve never known filling me. I spend as many of my waking hours with Ivy as possible. Well, I also spend all my non-waking hours with her too, curled up around her in my bed. She starts to put tiger lilies in my room, and I let her because I know it pleases her.
Ivy’s routines are simple. A lot of her time is devoted to practice because she’s convinced that if she skips even a day, it’ll show. The extreme level of paranoia and dedication is what makes her so good. She also says she can’t goof around because not only does she have to improve her technique, she occasionally has to send her friend Yuna videos to showcase how awesome she is. It’s hilariously adorable when Ivy pumps her fist after making a particularly good recording to taunt her friend with. It’s equally adorable when an especially good clip from Yuna puts an unholy fire of competitiveness into Ivy’s gray eyes.
Ivy sits next to me on the sofa after a session that she mostly spends muttering to herself. I catch a few words—argh, no no no, ack, what the hell, crap…
“Problems?” I say, putting away my laptop.
“Yes! This music! It’s so irritating. I can’t seem to play it the way I want. I can hear it in my head, exactly how it needs to go, but when I play it, it sounds like…like…dead dog poop!”
I bite my lip. She takes her music very seriously. “I thought you sounded pretty good.”
“No! ‘Pretty good’ is fine for people who do this for fun! I’m trying to win competitions and make a grand debut one day!”
I run a soothing hand over her back. “Sorry. I meant amazing.”
“You’re just humoring me.”
She’s too cute. “What else am I supposed to do with my girlfriend?” It slips out before I can catch myself.
She turns to me, her eyes on my face, searching. “Your girlfriend? Really?”
I nod, slightly nervous. Maybe it’s a bit too early. Maybe she thinks I’m being presumptuous. But the nights and days spent together and my growing feelings for her make me want to label her mine. My light. My joy. My everything.
Mine.
She grins. “Awesome. You’re mine, too, then. My boyfriend.”
I can’t help grinning back, happiness floating through me like a gentle cloud. I love it that she thinks of me as hers—like we belong to each other. I kiss her, wanting her to know all the ways she matters to me. What she means to my existence.
“Mmm. Now I’m feeling much better,” she says when I pull away. “Something to look forward to tonight.” She rests a hand on my chest.
“Let me give you something else to look forward to.”
“What?”
“My best friend asked me to join him out in California next week. On a yacht. Some kind of private summer party. Be my plus one.”
“A yacht!” she shrieks, then covers her mouth with her hands. Pleasure puts a lovely flush on her face. “Oh my God! I’ve never been on one! I’d love to!” she says, nearly bouncing. “I have to figure out what I’m going to wear…”
“Wear whatever you want. California is trés casual.”
“Yeah, but it’s your friend! I want to make a good impression.”
She’s so lovely, I feel like I’m in a dream at times. “He’ll love you.”
“You think so?”
“Yes.” It’s endearing how she cares about what Ryder thinks, wanting to fit in with my world. I know he’ll adore her because she makes me happy.
She tucks her feet under her legs and turns until she’s fully facing me. “You should come to Curtis, too, after Labor Day. I want you to meet Yuna.”
“I’d love to,” I murmur, emotion clogging my heart as I hold her hand and look into her eyes. My life has never been brighter.
