Page 45 of Lonely Heart

Understanding dawned on his face, his eyes briefly sliding to mine. He must have been recalling the meeting where we’d all agreed to keep an eye on Ivy. It was likely Liam assumed I’d done that very thing just to check on his sister. I wonder how he’d feel if he knew there was more to it than that for me.

“Ah, okay. And what’s the verdict? Do you like them?”

She grinned, the sight of it nearly knocking me on my ass. “I think they look fantastic. The entire villa does. You guys are all doing an excellent job.”

I was suddenly aware of why Ava had gone to Tate with her concerns. She knew Ivy better than anyone, and she recognized what others couldn’t, because Ivy was an expert at hiding how she really felt. She’d done it for more than a year when it came to the loneliness she felt in her personal life. And she’d done it just now.

Liam didn’t seem to pick up on anything being out of the ordinary, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. If I were him, I’d have been just as blind to it.

“Well, Marco’s been doing a heck of a job leading this project. We’re all just doing our best to get them done on time. I’m glad you like how they’re turning out.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked him, wondering what had prompted his visit.

He nodded. “Yeah. Nothing major, but I did have an issue in the villa next door that I wanted to get your input on, if you have a minute.”

Before I could respond, Ivy moved toward the door and declared, “Okay, well, that’s my cue. I’m heading back into the hotel. You two enjoy yourself.”

“Later, Ivy.”

“See you, Liam.” Her eyes shifted to me. “Later, Marco.”

I lifted my chin in her direction, but she was gone before I could even say a word.

13

IVY

This was getting old.

I was beyond frustrated. In fact, it was bordering on the same level of frustration I felt over the course of the last year when I’d been bending over backwards to put myself out there in hopes of finding someone who might be interested in getting to know me better.

In fact, I was beginning to think I might have gotten to a point where this felt worse than that.

Because in that scenario, I was frustrated by what I didn’t have, what I desperately wanted in my life. But now, it was different. In this case, I’d found someone I enjoyed spending time with, someone I liked being around, and I’d gone ahead and spilled my guts to him.

Days had passed, and I still didn’t know how he felt about what I’d shared. And it seemed that no matter how badly I wanted to talk to him about it, the universe kept stepping in and finding ways to foil my plans.

It all started the day after I’d told Marco the truth about why I’d been taking classes for the last year. I’d arrived at work that morning and had gone over to The Mixing Bowl, my sister’s bakery, to get myself some breakfast.

In realizing just how badly I wanted to have time to talk about things with Marco, I thought it was time to address things with my sister, too.

When she saw me making my approach, she instantly perked up. “Good morning, Ivy.”

“Morning, Jules.”

“Want some breakfast?” she asked.

I nodded. “That’s one reason I’m here.”

She smiled at me. “Well, I’m sorry to say I don’t have any cheesecake. Did you have something specific you’d like?”

“A muffin is fine. Any flavor you choose.” I couldn’t be bothered by details like that right now.

As she moved behind the counter to her muffin display case, Jules asked, “So you have something else?”

“What?”

“You said breakfast was just one reason you were here. What else prompted this visit this morning?”