“It’s like Lucy says, forgiveness is a part of life,” I said.
“The only thing I care about is that you forgave me. There’s a peace in that for me. I had a hard time living with myself knowing I’d hurt you.” His voice was just above a whisper as he stared out at the water.
“Doesn’t it get lonely not connecting with people? Not having a real relationship and just working all the time?”
“Sure. But being lonely is fairly safe,” he said, turning to look at me. He tipped me back on the blanket and hovered above. “Do you remember what we did the last time we were out here, right before I left?”
“Are you deflecting from the conversation?” I asked, and he tickled me until it was impossible to speak and nearly impossible to breathe.
“Deflecting is my specialty.” He smiled when he finally stopped his torture.
“I remember everything, Ty,” I whispered, because it was the truth.
His mouth covered mine and I tangled my fingers in his dark hair. My lips parted and his tongue slipped in as he took the kiss deeper. I was already grinding up against him with a need that was unexplainable. I’d gone five years without sex, and now it was all I thought about.
Because it was Ty.
He was the missing piece.
His hands slipped beneath my top and grazed over my breasts.
He pushed back and unbuttoned each button of my blouse, and his mouth covered each hard peak right over the lace. I was already panting, but he continued his slow torment for what felt like forever. Kissing me, exploring my body with his wicked mouth until I was groaning and bucking up against him with need. I arched into him and closed my eyes because I wanted to feel everything right now.
“I love you, Ivy. You know that, right?” he asked, and I nodded.
“I need you now, Ty.”
He shoved my skirt up and slipped my panties down my legs before reaching into his back pocket for a condom. He tore the wrapper open with his teeth and spit it in the sand, and I just watched as he tugged his jeans down and rolled the latex over his swollen erection.
He reached for my hands and our fingers interlocked on each side of my head as he settled between my legs, teasing my entrance.
“I could live right here forever, Ivy,” he whispered.
“Me too,” I said as he moved forward and thrust inside me.
There was nothing slow about it. Nothing gentle. We were both well past that, and there was a hunger and a need that I’d never felt before. Maybe it was knowing that it wouldn’t last forever that fueled me when it came to Ty. I didn’t know. I didn’t care. I just wanted to hold on to this time we had right now.
My arms wrapped around his neck, and he held me close as we moved together as one. I cried out my release, and he went right over the edge with me.
I never wanted this to end.
I was up and out the door bright and early. It was wedding day. This was like the Olympics if I were an athlete. Or a rocket launch if I were an astronaut. Election day if I were a politician. It was the day we’d been working toward for months.
Ty had spared no expense on Talia’s wedding and the details were far beyond any event I’d ever planned before. Coco’s sister, Whitney, had a glamorous wedding, but Talia’s was a more thoughtful event. Every person was receiving a personal note from the bride and groom. Everyone in town was attending, and I brought a crew in on the day of the wedding because I knew we needed more hands-on-deck. Kathleen was busy overseeing the place cards and making sure our seating chart was correct. Leesey, a lady in town who liked to work events for me when I needed her, was in charge of making sure the florals were placed just where I’d drawn them on the diagram. The outdoor wedding was breathtaking, and someday when I got married, I would want something just like this. Peaches and cream florals flowed out of endless mason jars which lined the thirty ten-top wooden tables that sat beneath the giant tent. We’d wrestled with wondering if we needed the tent, but I always felt it was best to be safe. The summer heat or the midday rain were not something we could risk. Not to mention that the fifteen crystal chandeliers that hung from the top of the tent added an elegance that balanced out the laid-back setting. I loved mixing it up like that. I would call the theme, elegant country. And this wedding completely fit the bride and groom.
Wood chairs were placed around each table with tulle bows tied around each one by Jenny Douglas, a college student who was home for the summer, and always willing to work a weekend event for me as well. I took in the space and smiled as there was nothing better than seeing it all come together.
I made my way over to the DJ, one of Jake’s good friends, who he’d really pushed hard for to work the event. Hiring Dougy-Fresh to work the event went against my better judgment. Dougy was a local party boy who wasn’t super reliable, and he was best known for pulling pranks, or at least he had been when we were growing up. I’d never used him for an event, and I didn’t like that he was a bit of a wild card. But Jake was the groom and Talia wanted to give him this one thing that was his for the wedding.
“Hey, Dougy. Did you go over the playlist that I sent you?”
“Ivy. How you doing, beautiful?” He licked his lips and wriggled his brows.
No. Just no.
He’d tried to match with me on the dating app a couple of times, but I always pretended I didn’t see his name and tried to play it off.
“I’m good. So, about that list?”
“I think those songs are stupid,” he said, as he ran his hand through his long hair and shoved it back. I got the feeling he thought it was sexy, but I kept thinking it looked a little greasy and I wished he’d showered and cleaned up more for the event. “I plan on jamming tonight.”
“Um, there will be no jamming. The guests chose the songs that I sent you. Talia and Jake allowed the guests to request a favorite wedding song when they returned their RSVP cards. So I can assure you, the people attending the wedding do not think the songs are stupid.”
“Why’d you never go out with me? Are you dodging the big guy, Ivy?”
If by big guy he means five foot seven with a big beer belly, I suppose I have.
“I’m seeing someone,” I said, anxious to change the subject. “So, you’ll stick to the playlist? No surprises?”
“I heard you and Ty Greene have been spotted all over town together. That dude hasn’t come home in years, and he’s certainly not sticking around when he can get a hot piece of ass anywhere.” He shrugged and my blood boiled.
I was about to give him a piece of my mind when a voice came from behind me, startling me from my thoughts.
“How about you stick to your motherfucking job and quit eye fucking my girl, asshole.”