Page 64 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
I laugh at the image of his clean-cut, straight-laced assistant pouting over a cupcake. “You should’ve shared. That’s a lot of sugar.”
“So? They were from you. I’m not letting anybody poach one.”
“That’s petty.” And sad. I’ve sent him energy snacks before, but I wonder if he is so unused to getting something—just because. So he’s being greedy about it…like a child who used to starve hoarding more food than he can eat, even though there’s plenty more where it came from.
“You can share,” I say. “If you want more, I can always send more.”
His expression grows mulish. “I was hungry. My work demands a lot of energy.”
“I’m sure. Signing papers must burn, oh, thousands of calories an hour.”
He nods somberly. “At least.”
“You’re shameless. And a glutton.” I tilt my head. “What are you going to do if you grow super wide and soft from all that sugar and I don’t find you attractive anymore?”
“That’s why sex was invented. Burn the excess off.”
It’s a good thing my mouth is empty. Otherwise I’d need a Heimlich maneuver.
“I wish I’d take a picture of your face there.” He laughs. “But I know you. You aren’t with me just for my six-pack.”
“No.”
I grin. He’s in such a great mood. I can’t help but be pleased. Laughter makes him look at least five years younger.
How could his mother ever hang on to her hate for so long, knowing how much it must be hurting him?
I think about Margot in town. She hates Tony and won’t let him have a bit of happiness. And since she can’t cut him directly, she’s trying to hurt him through me, just like Sam did before, throwing up all this false concern about the cost of the wedding, how I might appear to be a gold digger, and the past involving Tony and Katherine without all the pertinent details. While harping on what I should do, she spoke of elopement not being good enough. But now I wonder if we should do exactly that. Boom, done and we can start the next chapter of our lives. Easy, fast and no pressure or stress.
“Let’s elope,” I blurt out.
The smile slips from his face. “What?”
“You. Me. Vegas. Tonight.”
“Why?”
“Why drag it out? Won’t it take months and months to plan a wedding?” Months and months, during which time Margot can ruin it for us.
I didn’t want to elope before, but the more I think about it, the more right it feels. We won’t even have to worry about the availability of venues or cost.
“We only get married once, Ivy. It should be something special and memorable.”
“But I’m not marrying you for the dress and other stuff.”
“You think that now, but you’ll be sad when you see Julie and Yuna plan theirs later. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“But I don’t want to wait when I’m sure.” I cut another piece of steak, suddenly wondering if I’m rushing it without any regard for what Tony wants. Maybe he wants it to be special for himself. After all, it’s his wedding too. “Do you suppose we can swing it in under two months?”
“Probably. We’ll get a wedding planner to handle the details. You don’t have to stress about anything. I won’t let you. The wedding’s a milestone, a start to a new chapter in our lives, not an astrophysics final. And if two months isn’t enough time, no big deal. There’s no rush.”
“You want to have a long engagement?” It never crossed my mind that he’d want to prolong things.
“If I had it my way, we would’ve been married years ago. We would’ve never been apart, and I would’ve always been by your side.” The light in his eyes dims.
He blames himself for what happened to me and what I’ve lost—memories, Curtis and a career in music and all the things I was working toward. I wonder if Margot said something to him, to smear salt over the wound.
“We found each other.” I reach out and hold his hand. “You never gave up on me.”
