Chapter 8
1119 Words
The note stayed tucked inside Ivy's pocket all morning.
She'd unfolded it so many times the edges had already started to soften.
We need to talk.
Four simple words.
Four words that had managed to keep her awake half the night.
She had no idea whether they meant hope...
Or heartbreak.
The Hale estate slowly emptied as guests began leaving.
Cars rolled down the long gravel driveway one after another. Relatives hugged goodbye. Children complained about going home. Staff quietly started clearing decorations that had filled the mansion only days before.
The house was finally beginning to breathe again.
Lena disappeared from room to room saying goodbye to cousins, aunts, and family friends she'd only see again next Christmas.
For the first time all weekend...
Ivy found herself alone.
She made her way to Marcus's studies.
The door was half open.
He looked up almost the moment she appeared.
"I was wondering when you'd come."
She leaned against the door frame.
"You knew I would?"
A small smile touched his lips.
"I hoped."
She stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.
The soft click suddenly made the room feel much smaller.
She pulled the folded note from her pocket.
"You know," she said, holding it up, "this is a terrible way to ask someone to talk."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Is it?"
"'We need to talk' usually means someone is about to break up."
His smile widened just a little.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You should."
He set the papers on his desk aside.
"I wasn't trying to frighten you."
"You succeeded."
"I'm sorry."
She believed him.
That somehow made it worse.
Marcus walked around the desk until they were standing only a few feet apart.
Neither spoke immediately.
There was too much sitting between them already.
Finally, he exhaled.
"I meant everything I said last night."
She looked up at him.
"I know."
"I've been thinking about it ever since."
"So have I."
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, a rare crack in the calm composure she was used to seeing.
"I've spent days trying to convince myself this would pass."
"It hasn't."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"It hasn't."
She lowered her eyes.
"Neither has mine."
The confession settled gently between them.
Marcus let out a slow breath.
"I need to be honest with you."
"You always are."
"I have to be more honest than that."
His expression grew serious.
"You're twenty-two."
She nodded.
"You're Lena's best friend."
Another nod.
"I'm responsible for this family."
"For this pack."
"For every decision that affects the people who trust me."
His jaw tightened.
"I don't get to make selfish choices."
Ivy felt her heart sink.
"So..."
He saw the disappointment before she'd even spoken.
"No."
He stepped closer.
"Don't assume you know what I'm about to say."
She waited.
"I want this."
There was no hesitation.
No uncertainty.
"I want you."
The words were simple.
Quiet.
Completely honest.
She forgot how to breathe.
"But wanting something doesn't erase reality."
He held her gaze.
"Rourke noticed."
She frowned.
"You think so?"
"I know so."
"He watched us."
"He watched you."
"And men like him don't overlook details."
A chill ran through her.
"If he realizes what's happening..."
"It won't stop with us."
Marcus's voice remained calm, but she could hear the concern beneath it.
"He'll use it."
"Against me."
"Against the pack."
"And eventually..."
He looked away briefly.
"...against Lena."
The thought hurt more than anything else.
Neither of them wanted that.
"So what do we do?"
Marcus was silent for a long moment.
Then he reached for her hand.
His fingers slipped carefully between hers.
"I don't want to walk away."
Her eyes lifted to his.
"I couldn't even if I tried."
A smile trembled onto her face.
"I don't think I could either."
His thumb brushed gently across her knuckles.
"So..."
"We're careful."
"We don't rush."
"We don't give Rourke anything he can use."
"And we figure out what this is."
Together.
The last word wasn't spoken.
It didn't need to be.
She squeezed his hand.
"I can do careful."
He laughed quietly.
"I somehow doubt that."
She smiled.
"You're probably right."
"So are you."
"What?"
"Terrible note."
She laughed.
"I knew it."
"I'll write a better one next time."
"There shouldn't be a next time."
"There probably shouldn't."
"But there will be."
Neither of them could hide their smiles anymore.
For a little while, the weight between them felt lighter.
Not gone.
Just easier to carry.
Eventually Ivy sighed.
"I should go."
"Lena will start looking."
"She will."
Marcus didn't let go immediately.
Instead, he looked at her with an honesty that made her chest tighten.
"I haven't wanted anything this much..."
He paused.
"...since before Evelyn died."
The words were almost painful to hear.
Not because they hurt her.
Because she knew how much they must have cost him to say.
She stepped a little closer.
"You don't have to explain."
"I wanted you to know."
"I do."
For a moment they simply stood there, hands joined, neither wanting to be the first to let go.
Finally, Marcus released her fingers.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
"I'll see you downstairs."
She nodded.
"You will."
When Ivy left the study, nothing had really changed.
The problems were still there.
The age difference.
Lena.
The pack.
Rourke.
Every obstacle remained exactly where it had been before.
And yet...
Everything felt different.
Because now she knew one thing without any doubt.
Marcus wasn't fighting his feelings anymore.
He was fighting for them.
---
She found Lena in the entrance hall helping the last few relatives load luggage into waiting cars.
"There you are!"
Lena dropped into the nearest chair with an exhausted groan.
"I thought you'd vanished."
"I just needed a little quiet."
"I don't blame you."
Lena stretched dramatically.
"I love my family."
She paused.
"I also love when they leave."
Ivy laughed.
"Fair."
"Tomorrow it's just us."
"No council meetings."
"No distant relatives."
"No pack politics."
She grinned.
"I'm ordering enough terrible takeaway for three people and forcing you into a movie marathon."
"I accept."
"Excellent."
Lena smiled, completely unaware of how much had changed while she'd been saying goodbye to relatives.
Ivy smiled back.
She listened as Lena launched into another story about one of her eccentric aunts.
She laughed in all the right places.
She looked perfectly normal.
But part of her mind remained down the hallway.
In a quiet study.
With a man who had taken her hand and promised they would be careful.
She wanted to believe that would be enough.
Deep down...
She already knew falling in love had never been something either of them could do carefully.
- Writer
