“Perk up,” Tate whispers in my ear.
The hand he places on my waist starts drifting down to my rear. I jump and turn around with a glare that should remind him where things stand between us. The dilation of his pupils tells me he’s had way too much to drink.
He lifts his glass. “You know how to throw a great party.”
“Thank you,” I say curtly.
He frowns at me. “You don’t look happy.”
I step back. “I am . . . about the party.”
I glance around, trying to avoid his scrutinizing stare. Romeo is dancing extremely close with some woman. Their bodies are rubbing against each other in a way that screams we’re h**ing s*x tonight—I’m not sure whether it’s his fiancée, because I’ve never met her, even though this woman does look familiar to me.
Jagger and Aerie are dancing in the same way, but the sight of them together makes me smile. And River is kissing Dahlia while Garrett stands next to them as if waiting for him to finish. Garrett really needs a girlfriend of his own. I thought he was into Ena, Xander’s assistant, but it seems she’s with Leif. I can’t keep up.
“You’re extremely moody,” Tate says.
“Me?” I say, trying not to sound as offended as I am. My grin fades. “I’m not the moody one,” I say in a bold tone I haven’t displayed in a while.
He clams up.
“I have a few things to take care of.”
He grabs my arm before I can walk away. “Dance with me.”
“No, thank you.”
“Who are you seeing?” His short, sharp tone isn’t the normal one I’m used to. This tone is laced with menace.
“Oh, there you are,” my mother says, oblivious of the scene before her.
I try to smile at her, to make everything seem all right.
Her eyes zero in on my face and I know it must be flushed with anger. “You look like you got too much sun today.”
“Yeah, I think I did—”
I’m interrupted by the sound of Xander’s voice in the microphone. “Here she is, everyone—Ivy Taylor,” he announces.
“Come on, darling, we’re going to miss it,” my mother says, reaching for my hand. I take hers and despite myself I feel guilty I haven’t told her about Ben.
We press our way over to the stage and listen to a medley of Ivy’s new songs. I close my eyes and sing along, but all the while visions of Ben kissing me, putting his hands on my body, feeling me in the most intimate places are all I can think about. I open my eyes when everyone applauds, smiling when I see the look on Xander’s face. He holds out his arm for Ivy to join him and then does something completely out of character and jumps onstage, swinging Ivy around. I look at my mother and we both have tears in our eyes. She pulls me in for a hug and her slight touch feels like pinpricks against my tender skin.
“Don’t cry, Mom.”
“I’m trying not to, but seeing him so happy makes me so happy.”
“I know, Mom. I know.”
She takes a deep breath and whispers, “It’s what I want for all of my children.”
I pull away. “I have to go check on Dino and Matt.”
She nods.
I spend what’s left of the night talking to the guests and trying to avoid both Tate and Romeo, who have approached me numerous times together and separately. My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and read the message.
I should be there in about twenty minutes.
I text back.
I can’t wait to see you.
I can’t wait to do a lot of things.
My nerves flutter like the butterflies in my stomach, but I don’t have much time to think about them because the music begins and I know it’s time for the engagement announcement. Keeping my mouth shut has been difficult but I managed it. River starts to sing “Marry Me,” the No Doubt version, of course—Xander always said Ivy looked like Gwen Stefani. As River sings, Xander braces his arms around Ivy and they dance. My mother has tears streaming down her face and when they finish she goes to hug them.
A tinge of jealousy flares within me. River and now Xander—both of my brothers have found their happily ever after. Will I ever find mine? But I push that aside because I couldn’t be happier for my brother. Our family has been through a lot, but I think Xander has been through the most. He deserves this. I notice Jack flash a grin at them and then engulf Ivy in a huge embrace.
Dino elbows me. “Didn’t you want these?” he asks.
“Yes, oh yes.” For the first time as I thank Dino I think Ben might be right—he’s interested in me. I’m flattered, but it’s almost laughable, as he’s so young.
I wave my hands toward River and he crosses the room to grab the champagne.
“You’re on fire,” he comments.
I laugh. “I’m prepared.”
“No, for real. You’re so red. Are you okay?”
I jab the bottle at him. “I’m fine. Let’s get a move on.”
Dahlia is at his side, snapping pictures, and I trail behind with the tray of champagne flutes.
“Pssttt,” I say to her.
She looks over her shoulder.
“Happy anniversary.”
She smiles. “Thank you.”
We all circle around Xander and Ivy, and River tugs on the cork and it goes flying. I jump, startled by the noise. Laughter fills the room when he spills a little on the floor and flashes a grin. “I always say I’m not much of a bartender.”
Xander whispers something to him that I can’t hear. River nods and then the two embrace, pulling me in as well. Now tears well in my eyes. I love them so much.
River turns back to the crowd and hoists a glass high for a toast. “To Ivy and Xander. To true love.”
We all clink our glasses and my tears of joy spill over.
I make a toast next. “To Ivy and Xander—if I ever doubted fate you’ve changed that for me. Because of you I believe in fairy tales, butterflies, and destiny.”
Everyone looks at me questioningly. I shrug with a smile and they all let it go and start sipping their champagne.
When everyone starts to converse, I whisper in Ivy’s ear, “I have to leave, but I’ll be calling you to plan the wedding.” And with that my heels click the floor as I dash as fast as I can toward the door.
CHAPTER 17
Navigate Me
Ben
The road between Laguna Beach and LA is once again becoming very familiar territory to me. In my BMW X-5, I head toward the City of Angels. I have a thing for BMWs—always have. I remember my father driving the oldest, ugliest orange BMW when I was a kid. They’re some of the clearest memories I have of him. I’d be sitting in the backseat on the perforated black leather and watching as my father jammed his foot up and down when he tried to unstick the clutch or when he’d pound his fist against the stick next to him because he couldn’t get the gears to shift. We’d almost always roll out of the driveway backward and my dad would yell words my mother would scold him for. I didn’t understand why either of them seemed upset when to me it was nothing but fun. I’d sit in the backseat and laugh at them both.
Approaching the seemingly infinite lights that twinkle all around me, I find it odd to feel the start of a smile when I look ahead. I’ve always hated LA, but for some reason I don’t see it as pretentious anymore. Instead it reminds me of Bell. The music in the car is low because I don’t need to blast it to ease my thoughts as I careen through the streets. The night seems oddly quiet. But as I coast onto the streets of LA, the quietness fades. The tree-lined streets become lively, but it’s not with cars. Trick-or-treaters fill the sidewalks—pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, and even a few Batman costumes parade door to door. I pass the LA Times building lit up in orange and remember how excited I was to start working there so many years ago. So much has happened since then. But I’ve put the past in the past and I’m moving forward.
The traffic light turns red and I stop and take the time to reread our texts from earlier. My anticipation of what the night is going to bring only grows by the moment, as does the size of my cock. The light turns green and I drive even faster to get there. Cars are emptying out of the parking lot as I pull in. I had considered attending a million different times, but each scenario ended with putting S’belle in an awkward situation and I didn’t want to stress her out when this was meant to be a happy time for her family.
Putting my BMW in PARK, I look toward the car in front of me. The license plate reads T WYATT. What the f**k is that ass**le doing here? I swivel my gaze toward the building and I’m caught off guard by the sign before me. Dahlia had told me what she named the company she started with her husband. But hearing about it and seeing the evidence in person are entirely different. Erected to the side of the pathway leading to the building’s glass doors stands a huge rectangular concrete sign with the words TYLER RECORDS AND AMAZING GRACE STUDIOS scripted across it in rose letters.
This gesture rocks me more than I thought it would. My mother’s name scripted in her favorite color makes everything suddenly seem more real. Maybe I was wrong about not caring if our relationship would be tainted by how it first began? How will my connection to the people inside affect a possible future with S’belle? Would her family ever be able to let the fact go that I cheated on Dahlia with S’belle?
If it was just about me, I couldn’t give a shit. But I know how important her family is to her. I know she doesn’t think they can accept me and my part in her past and that’s why she hasn’t told them she’s been seeing me. Not sure anymore if I should go down this road with her, I shift my car into DRIVE, but before I can take my foot off the gas, the passenger door opens and S’belle slips inside.
Her lemony scent immediately assaults me. I breathe deep and glance at her. She’s so f**king sexy wearing a green strapless shorts outfit with metallic flowers on it, and the same wisps of thin gold chains that I untangled from her hair this morning are wrapped around her neck. Her eyes sparkle as she leans toward me and I’m greeted with a breathy “Hi.”
“Hi there, beautiful,” I say, letting my doubts go as I stare at the girl sitting beside me.
Her smile widens.
“Did I mention I can’t wait to strip your clothes off?”
She leans over toward me and slides her hands up my thighs, and my c**k is just as excited as I am. I clear my throat, knowing we need to get out of the parking lot and back to her place . . . quickly.
She hovers over me, her hands on my legs. “Did I ever mention I took a striptease class a few years ago?”
I swallow. “A striptease class?”
“Yes, it was great exercise.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
She sits back in her seat and when she attempts to strap her seat belt on she says, “Ouch.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” she responds.
“How was the party?”
Something flickers in her gaze. “It was . . . fun,” she says. “But it would have been more fun if you were there.”
“You didn’t invite me,” I joke.
She catches me off guard when her hands grab my face. And then her soft lips are on mine for a moment before she speaks. “You know it’s complicated.”
I do actually. We did discuss the event; we have yet to discuss just how complicated the situation is. But now is not the time. I grab the back of her neck and pull her even closer to me. When her soft lips meet mine I wonder what the hell I was thinking when I almost left without her. My tongue finds hers and I kiss her with the hunger I seem to feel for her all the time. When we finally break apart and neither of us is able to breathe, I look at her, into her eyes. “Do you know how much I want you?”
She nods, her eyes glimmering. “As much as I want you.” She smiles.
