Page 44 of Lonely Heart

“It’s embarrassing.”

Even if I’d had a week to consider the possibilities, I was convinced I wouldn’t have been able to come up with a single thing that Ivy, or anyone else for that matter, could have to be embarrassed about simply for taking some classes.

“Embarrassing?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“How is that possible? You said you weren’t taking the classes purely to learn new things, right?”

She dipped her chin. “Yes.”

“So, tell me what prompted you to sign up for all these classes.”

Frustration washed over her. “It was the only way I could think of to meet someone.”

“Meet someone?”

She swallowed hard, blinking her eyes rapidly to stave off the tears. As much as I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and tell her she had nothing to be upset about, especially not when itcame to me, I desperately wanted to understand what was going on.

“Do you know what it’s like to want something so bad and feel like you’re never going to get it?” she asked.

At that moment, I knew how badly I wanted her. And while I hadn’t exactly expressed those feelings to her, I didn’t think it was out of the realm of possibilities at some point. “Not particularly. Are you telling me that you do?”

“For years now, I’ve sat back and watched my older brothers fall in love and get married. Cooper is going to be a dad soon, for crying out loud. And I don’t want you to misunderstand me. I’m so happy for them. I love them and their wives. But I want that, too.”

“You’ll get it,” I assured her, feeling something tighten in my chest.

Her brows shot up. “Yeah? You think so? How would that happen when I can’t even get someone to ask me out on a date? It’s been years, Marco, whole years since someone has asked me out to dinner because they were interested in getting to know me better. I have this family and my friends, but I’ve never felt so alone. Not like I have for the last couple of years.”

As the burn started in my gut, Ivy continued. “That’s why I started taking classes. I was trying to put myself out there, trying to be in places where I could meet new people. But I realized the classes I was taking didn’t have a lot of men in them. So, that’s why I signed up for the woodcarving class. And that’s why I wound up being assaulted. Because I’ve been so desperate to find someone,anyone, who might think I’m worth getting to know.”

My throat had clogged, my chest now painfully tight.

I felt like such an idiot.

“I had no idea,” I admitted.

“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly the sort of thing I go around announcing to the world,” she returned, an edge of humiliation in her tone. “Like I said, the amount of effort I’d put in over the last year is embarrassing, and it didn’t even work like I had hoped.”

How had I not known this?

As much as I’d been around Ivy over the years, I hadn’t realized this was how she’d been feeling. Sure, I guess I hadn’t seen any boyfriends coming around, but I didn’t think that meant she hadn’t gone on any dates.

Or, perhaps, I hadn’t been thinking about it at all.

If one thing had become painfully clear to me ever since I’d spent that night in the hotel room with Ivy, it was that I hadn’t been paying nearly enough attention to her. If I had, it was possible Ivy and I might have already been together.

The regret I felt consumed me.

Ivy had always shown the world this tough woman, one who didn’t take crap from anyone and was always on top of getting things done. But beneath that façade, Ivy was such a sweet, beautiful woman just looking for love. Maybe that was why she’d poured so much effort and energy into the other persona—she needed some kind of control over some aspect of her life, especially when she’d been trying so hard to find the one thing she’d wanted most.

It killed me to think of all she’d been doing to alleviate the longing and loneliness she felt, never finding what she was looking for in the process. Of course, now that I was here with her, there was a part of me that was relieved it hadn’t happened for her, and at least I could do something about it now.

I took in a deep breath and was about to give Ivy what she wanted by asking her on a date, when the door to the villa opened, and our attention was pulled in that direction.

A moment later, Liam appeared at the end of the hall. He seemed surprised to see Ivy and me standing there. “Oh, hey. I didn’t realize you were here, Ivy.”

Despite how upset she’d been only moments before, Ivy effortlessly moved in her brother’s direction and responded. “Yeah, I came out to check on the tiles. Marco had asked for my help in selecting a new pattern, and I knew they came in this week. I wanted to see how they looked.”