“Julian and I are engaged.”
My mind is painfully blank and as I stare at her, she raises her left hand, flashing me the giant rock she somehow managed to hide up until this point. She watches me eagerly, waiting for my reply, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t think of anything to say. There is a part of me that can’t stop screaming Chance’s name right now, my chest aching fiercely while I battle to push those feelings down. Besides the fact that I’ve yet to meet this man, I have no reason to believe this is anything but happy news, but warning bells are sounding in my head.
“Will you say something, please?” Ivy asks, her voice shaking and I open my mouth before snapping it shut again.
“I’m really not sure what to say.”
Tears well up in her eyes and I feel terrible for hurting her. That was never my intention but I’m having trouble ignoring the little voice in my head, telling me something isn’t adding up here.
“Anything. I just want to know what you think. Please,” she pleads and my eyes burn with tears of my own.
“I think I haven’t met him, so I can’t really tell you how I feel about this. Maybe it’s the best thing for you or maybe it’s not – I don’t know.”
She blows out a breath as she stares up at the ceiling, trying to dry her tears. “I understand but can you, at least, believe me when I say I’ve never been happier? That I love him so much and I’m so excited to spend my life with him.”
“I’m really trying, Vi.”
“I know you haven’t gotten a chance to meet him, but I promise you that you’ll love him. I’m really happy, Car, please just trust that.”
“Look, I’m not writing him off but I’m not welcoming him into the family either and I think that’s the best you can expect until I meet the man. This has all happened so fast and it seems weird to me that meeting your family isn’t important to him.”
Shaking her head, she reaches across the table and lays her hand on mine. “No, it is really important to him. He’s just been so…”
“Busy,” I say, cutting her off. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that. What I’m saying is that we make time for the things that are important to us, no matter how busy we are.”
“It’s not like that, Car. I promise. This campaign stuff is just so much work. Hell, I barely see him right now.”
Yeah, like that’s supposed to help convince me. I don’t know what it is yet, but something isn’t right here.
“That doesn’t sound any better.”
I start to pull my hand away, but she grips it tighter, refusing to let me go. “Please, just give him a chance. I’ll talk him into taking a night off this week and we can grab dinner with Aunt Dottie, too.”
Glancing down at her hand, I’m about to respond when something just under her sleeve catches my eye. It’s a slight discoloration to her skin and when it clicks in my mind, I gasp, grabbing her arm, and yanking her sleeve back to reveal the bruise just above her wrist.
“What the fuck is that?” I hiss, anger and this deep aching sorrow battling for space in my mind. She tries pulling her arm back, but I don’t let her.
“It’s not what you think.”
Yeah, right.
“Why don’t you tell me what it is and we’ll see if I’m right.”
She shrugs, looking down at the table. “I was being clumsy and I slipped. Julian grabbed me, but he grabbed me a little too hard.”
“Bull. Shit.”
Her head whips up and she glares at me, ripping her arm out of my grasp. “Whether you believe it or not, that is what happened. I’ll text you about dinner.”
Before I can say anything, she grabs her bag and pushes out of her chair, storming out of the restaurant without once looking back. When she steps outside, I lean back in my chair and try to fight back the tears. I know now. Something is seriously wrong here and the only thing stronger than my heartache over Chance is my concern for my baby sister.
Chapter Twenty
Carly
“Dottie?” I call, stepping into her house with the smell of cinnamon rolls greeting me and I close my eyes, breathing it in for a moment as a feeling of calm washes over me. I remember when we were little and Aunt Dottie used to make us cinnamon rolls for our birthdays. It’s what I need after a hellacious few days.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Dottie says, poking her head around the wall to the kitchen with a smile on her face. “What brings you by? And shouldn’t you be at work?”
I nod. “Yeah, but I kind of needed a personal day.”
With a frown on her face, she studies me for a moment before nodding to the kitchen table. “Have a seat, dear. I’ll get us some coffee and rolls.”
As I sink into the chair and wait for her, I let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to diminish this headache. Although, if the three aspirin I took earlier didn’t help, I doubt anything will. The past two days have felt like weeks and I’m so incredibly lost. The bruise I saw on Ivy’s arm has been haunting me and I don’t know what to do to help her. There is a very large part of me that wants to rush in and drag her away from him kicking and screaming even when, rationally, I know it wouldn’t work for long. Before I could even relax, she would be back in his arms and I might just lose her forever.
Even though worrying about my sister has taken up most of my time, thoughts of Chance have managed to sneak in a time or two. And each time, it feels just as fresh as it did when I walked out of that bathroom. Of course, it doesn’t help that he hasn’t stopped coming around. I don’t know how many more times I can listen to him say that he wants me and he’s not going anywhere before I explode. Honestly, I just don’t understand. He’s married – why on earth is he still doing this? It doesn’t make any sense at all and I’m questioning everything that happened. Not that I’ll ever get any answers because I’ve vowed to stay away from him. If the past few weeks are any indication, I have absolutely no willpower around the man.
“Here you go, sweetie,” Dottie says, bustling into the dining room with a full tray in her hands. She sets it down between us and passes me a coffee and cinnamon roll before taking her own and dumping some cream and sugar in it. After setting my cinnamon roll down on the plate and adding a dash of each to my own cup, I stir my spoon through the tan liquid, lost in thought again. “So, what’s on your mind?”
“I had lunch with Ivy on Sunday,” I whisper, glancing up at her as her eyes widen and she nods.
“And? How is she?”
“She seems okay…”
Dottie places her hand over her heart and lets out a breath. “Well, that’s a relief.” Pausing to stare at me, she tilts her head to the side. “Isn’t it?”
“She’s engaged.”
“Oh,” she whispers, staring down at her coffee as she chews on her bottom lip. It’s something she only does when she’s really stressed and I haven’t even told her the worst part yet.
“There’s more.”
She nods, still not meeting my eyes. “Out with it, then.”