Quietly he closed the door. “Did I, um, miss something?”
For some reason, maybe because the strain of so much emotion had reached the breaking point, his stricken expression started Ivey snickering. Within seconds, Corbin and Justin had joined her.
They laughed and laughed, which stole the concern out of Lang’s eyes and removed her need for more crying. Now she wiped her eyes for a whole different reason.
She suddenly felt wonderful. She loved these people, all three of them, and she didn’t think that would ever change.
Wishing she could stay but knowing she needed to get some sleep, she had to call it a night. Bummer, because Corbin’s house was starting to feel more like home than her own ever had.
Chapter Ten
The second they stepped outside, Ivey touched Corbin’s chest and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
Beneath the porch light, her eyes and nose were still red, her cheeks tracked with tears, and he wanted to hug her as tightly as he had Justin. “Yeah, I am.” With one hand he held Maurice’s carrier and with the other he kept her close as they started for her car.
She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder. “You amaze me. I’m wrecked, and he’s not my son.”
“He’s with me now, and I won’t ever let anything happen to him.” Sensing she was about to tear up again, he said, “Actually, I’m encouraged by what happened.”
“You are?”
It wasn’t easy to explain, but he wanted to share with Ivey. Talking with her seemed as natural as everything else they did. “Justin is starting to open up to me. For the longest time he was too quiet and withdrawn. I got it, I mean, his world had been upended. He was taken away from everything familiar, given over to a man claiming to be his dad. He didn’t trust me or anything I said, but he was afraid to tell me so. We were like two strangers living together.”
“One of them young and hurt and wary of what was going on?”
“Yes.” Justin had been so damned wary. And afraid. “I was set in my ways, blown over to be called Dad and anxious to make up for lost time.” He glanced at her. “I found that none of that could be rushed.”
“And now?” she asked.
“Now, he’s telling me his worries. He’s sharing some of what he went through. It eats me up, thinking of the time we should have had together, time I can’t get back. But if we talk, if he opens up about the past, we can bridge some of that distance, work through the things that worry him and hopefully make our relationship stronger.”
Ivey stopped to stare up at him. Moonlight put a halo around her fluffy hair. “You are absolutely incredible. I’ve never known anyone like you.”
Slowly, he set down Maurice’s carrier next to her car in his driveway. “I feel the same about you, Ivey. You’ve already become a part of our lives.” He smoothed her hair, amused when it sprang right back up again, some of the curls tangling in his fingers. “I’ve got a lot going on right now.”
“I know,” she rushed to say. “I promise I won’t rush you.”
Funny, outspoken Ivey. “You can rush me all you want.” Bending to her mouth, he whispered, “I like it.”
The kiss that followed told him many things. That they’d be incendiary together. That they were inevitable. And that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Against her lips, he murmured, “Lang wants to spend Sunday with Justin, which would be the perfect time for us to get together.”
“For sex?”
Putting his forehead to hers, he silently laughed, then hugged her close. “Count me on board for that. One hundred percent, okay? But I wouldn’t mind taking you out somewhere, too. Dinner or a movie or something.”
She kissed his chin, his mouth, then smiled up at him. “I’ll cook at my house. If you want to watch a movie, we can stream something.” Her open palm moved over his chest, up to his shoulder. “But I really, really want to be with you. I think I’m obsessed lately, because it’s all I can think about.”
Damn, it was a heady thing to be wanted so much. “Me, too, actually.”
Maurice gave an impatient meow. Now wasn’t the time to get carried away, not when they’d soon have private time together.
It was getting late, Ivey looked wrung out and she had to work tomorrow, but there was one more thing he needed to discuss with her.
“About Geoff.”
Lost, she shook her head. “What about him?”
“I know you said you’re not getting back with him—”
“Definitely not.”
“But it feels like we have an understanding now, right?”
Her chin angled up. “An understanding?”
Okay, so maybe he jumped the gun on that. Doing a quick mental rewind, he restated, “I want us to have an understanding.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
She didn’t sound too keen on it. She might have even sounded a little testy. Screw it. “I think I know what Geoff is up to, even if you may not see it. I don’t like the idea of him using friendship as a way to edge back in.”
Taking a step back, Ivey folded her arms. “Is it Geoff you don’t trust, or me?”
Sensing a trap, he snorted. “Of course I trust you. But Geoff? No. Not even a little.” He drew her closer again. “I could tell you were feeling sorry for him.”
“So?” She dropped her arms and leaned into him. “Don’t tell me you’d rather I feel sorry for you.”
“What? No.” The last thing he wanted was anyone’s pity. “There’s no reason.”
“None at all,” she agreed. “You strike me as a guy who pushes through problems.”
Yeah, not much choice lately. “I do my best. I appreciate having Lang here, and I especially appreciate you.” Little by little, her disgruntled expression eased. “You’ve made everything easier, Ivey. In so many ways.”
“I’m glad. I was worried that I might complicate things.”
“Never.” He tipped up her chin. “So, that understanding? You and me, and no one else.” Especially not Geoff.
“No problem.” She flagged a hand toward him. “Compared to you, Geoff is still boring.”
Why that offended him, he couldn’t say, except that it had been a long day filled with emotional upheaval. “So I’m just the better of two choices?”
“Well...yes.”