Page 38 of Shamelessly Loyal
Coughing, Freddie actually glanced away from all of us, but Jasper gripped his shoulder. “Okay, hero, first coffee is on me. Let’s go.”
When Ivy would have followed them, I tugged her back to me. “Go on, guys, we’ll be there.”
She wasn’t the only one who hesitated. Kellan actually pivoted and moved back to us, as did Liam. Both of them looked ready to throw down, right here and right now.
I sighed. “Guys, I’ll bring her in. Just go. Give us a minute.”
Kellan glanced from me to her. “You good with that, Sparrow?”
“Really, Kel?” I got it. They were pissed at me on a few different levels. But I wasn’t about to hurt my sister.
“Yes, Milo,” he answered without looking away from Ivy. “Really. We had this conversation. I thought I had made myself clear. Let me know if you need a refresher.”
From anyone else? I’d probably have already belted him one. At the same time, he wasn’t wrong.
“It’s fine,” Ivy said, finally. “Sorry, I’m still a little—tired.” She reached out to take Kel’s hand. “I want to talk to him, but I’m not running away. I promise.”
Her statement went a lot further than mine, apparently. “Don’t take long,” he said in a low voice. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Kel left us, but Liam still stood there, so I gave him a bland look. “Do you need to get her permission too?”
“Hey.” Ivy jabbed her elbow into my gut. “That’s rude, and Liam doesn’t deserve that.”
It irked me to admit, but… “Fine, you’re right. Rude is wrong.”
“Take it easy, Raptor, that looked particularly painful for you to say. Besides, I can handle you being a jackass. Just keep it in check with Hellspawn, or you and I will have a far more unpleasant conversation. Clear?” Not even an ounce of threat shifted Liam’s pleasant tone, yet the pure menace in his eyes punctuated every single sentence.
“I’m not planning on being a jackass. Keep it up, though. We can solve this in a different way.” I loved my brothers, but this shit was getting old.
Ivy cut between us, arms folded. “I don’t want a fight.”
“We’re not gonna fight, Hellspawn,” Liam said almost too easily. “Heading inside now, and going to be right on the other side of that door if you need me—”
“For fuck’s sake, what the hell do you think I’m going to do to my own sister?” I demanded.
“Nothing,” Liam told me with a smile. The genial expression never touched his eyes. “Because you know I’m not the only one who will kick your ass if you upset her again. We’re not doing this your way anymore. Remember?”
“Thank you, Liam,” Ivy told him just before he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Yup. Right on the other side of the door.” Then he finally left us. Asshole.
“Is this as weird for you as it is for me?” Ivy asked.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “Probably should be awkward, and maybe this is gonna sound weirder still, Ivy—fuck, Emersyn.”
“You can call me Ivy,” she reassured me. In so many ways, she seemed almost a ghost of herself. She shouldn’t have to reassure me. “That’s the name you think of me as. I’m your Ivy. I’m okay with that. I know I was a bitch to you—”
“You weren’t a bitch to me, and if you were,” I said, shaking my head, “I started it by being a raging asshole when you didn’t deserve that.”
“Well, yeah.” Her easy agreement amused me.
“Tell me how you really feel.”
“I think we did that once, and you were pretty insistent that you weren’t a virgin.” The droll comment made me laugh for real. Though, I had to admit to a bit of embarrassment considering who’d been sharing my bed for the last few days.
“Yeah, we’re not going there again.”
“Probably a good plan.” She scuffed her shoes against the ground as if she needed to distract herself. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”