Page 13 of Moonlight & Matrimony (Oak Ridge #2)

“I’m ready when you are, sweetheart.” There’s a smile on her face when the term of endearment slips out.

“Sweetheart? Ivy girl, is there somethin’ you need to tell us?

” Rosie approaches us with a curious expression, her forearms perched across from us on the island.

Her shoulders barely reach above the surface.

“I noticed you two getting a little cozy at Paige’s baby shower, but I had no idea y'all were together.” Ivy blushes, and my mind wanders to other ways I could get that color into her face.

“Rosie, have you met my fiancé, Luca?” Wow, I guess we’re really doing this now.

“fiancé? You’re marrying Paige’s brother? I can’t wait to hear this story. Wait, where's the ring?”

“Well…umm…you see…” Ivy fidgets with her hands as she shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Rosie’s eyes narrow and I decide to cut in, saving us from an early slip up.

“It’s getting sized. Nana has tiny fingers, and it’s a family heirloom.”

“Oh, how lovely. I’m sure it’s absolutely beautiful.”

“It is,” I agree, knowing the ring I have in mind is perfect for Ivy.

I’ll have to talk to Nana about it, but she always said I would pass it on to my future wife.

I imagine myself sliding it onto her ring finger, the wayward thought coming completely unbidden and I have to tamp it back down.

Surprisingly, I don’t hate the idea, but I can’t afford to get caught up in the pretense.

“Well, congratulations, you two! You be good to my girl here,” she says, pointing at me with the flat end of a spatula as she smirks. I nod in agreement, noting how much this town adores my soon-to-be wife.

“So, what can I get you two lovebirds?” Rosie takes our orders and heads back through the swinging doors to the kitchen. When she’s out of earshot, Ivy turns on her stool, her knees bumping into mine, giving me an assessing stare as she picks at her thumbnail.

“I can go to the thrift store and see if I can find an antique ring.”

“No. If we’re going to pull this off, you need to wear Nana’s ring. Nobody will question if it’s real, as long as you have that ring on your finger.”

She scoffs. “Surely you don’t mean to keep this a secret from our friends? There’s no way they’ll believe it.”

“You said it yourself — Austin has connections in this town. One wrong word or overheard conversation could be bad news. We need to keep this between us. In fact, talking about this in public right now is probably a bad idea.” I say the last part through clenched teeth.

“We need to act more like a couple, if this is going to be even a little bit convincing.”

“What do you mean?” Ivy asks.

Before I can explain, the bell chimes from the entrance as a menacing figure steps through the doors, sending a chill up my spine. “Fuck.” I curse as Ivy’s gaze follows mine to the exit. Her face pales and I do the only thing I can think of.

“Just go with it.” I crash my mouth down on hers, hoping she won’t push me away.

When she melts into my arms, I close my eyes, reveling in the softness of her lips against mine and the feel of her cheek beneath my palm.

She lets out a little mewl and I take a chance, flicking my tongue along the seam.

She opens for me and pulls me closer, her arms clutching at my shoulders, one hand diving into my hair.

She tastes like sweet tea and chapstick.

When we pull away, we’re both breathless and all eyes are on us, including the narrowed gaze of Ivy’s ex-husband.

Her body stiffens a touch, his icy glare piercing us both before he stalks back out the door and onto Main Street. I watch as he walks out of view, then pull Ivy’s trembling body into my arms. “Fuck. Are you okay?” She takes one more stuttered breath, then composes herself.

“Yeah. I’m fine. S-sorry...”

I tilt her head, forcing her to look at me.

“I should be the one apologizing. I didn’t know what else to do.

” I swipe my thumb along her cheekbone, taking in the little freckles along her nose and her forehead.

Clearing my throat, I adjust myself back on my stool as Rosie returns from the kitchen, a mischievous smile on her face and two plates in hand.

“We could do it tomorrow,” Ivy suggests, not meeting my gaze as her fingers fidget with a napkin.

Our plates lay empty on the countertop. Most of the lunch rush has dissipated and leaving only the two of us at the counter. I’ve been subtly touching Ivy throughout our meal, making a show of our budding fake relationship.

“I think there’s a waiting period after you get the license,” I respond. At least that’s how it is in most places, as far as I know. Ivy pulls out her phone and starts tapping away at the screen. After a few seconds, she turns it to face me. Would you look at that — no waiting period in Kentucky.

“Ok. If you’re sure. I don’t want to put any pressure on you. We could stay engaged for a while first.”

“I have a court date coming up…” she inhales a shaky breath, a moment of uncertainty flashing across her features.

“I think offering a two-parent household might help. Um... not that I’m asking you to be Rylin’s dad.

But, in the past, Austin has threatened to use my single status and my freelance artist work against me to show that I’m not providing a stable household.

” She continues fidgeting as she explains her reasoning, and I find the nervous tick almost endearing.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to explain. We’ll get it done tomorrow. You and Rylin can move in with me within the week.”

That gets her attention as she tosses the napkin on top of our plates and pins me with a glare. “Wait, what?”

“If we’re going to be a two-parent household, we probably need to live in the same house.”

Her shoulders relax as she contemplates my words. “Right. Didn’t consider that.”

I laugh. It seems obvious to me, but Ivy has a lot more to work through than I do. I’m a bachelor living in the first house I could find in Oak Ridge. Frankly, it has way too much space for one person.

“There’s plenty of room and we can just rent out your house until we divorce.” The words taste sour as they leave my mouth, but I don’t have time to unpack that.

“It’s a rental. My lease is up soon. I was going to renew, but I can just give my notice.”

“Ok. Perfect. I guess it’s settled.”

“I want to at least pay rent. It’s a lot for you to take on two more people.”

“No. I can’t let you do that. You should save the money for you and Rylin.

If you insist on contributing, you can buy some groceries here and there and we’ll call it good.

I have enough money saved up from when I worked for my dad, and I invested a good amount with decent returns.

I have more than enough to take care of you and Bug. ”

“You’re already doing so much for me. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You aren’t asking and even if you try to pay rent, I won’t take it.”

“Stubborn man,” she grumbles.

“Brat,” I bite back. She smiles and I know I’ve won this round.

After lunch, Ivy headed off to the ranch to pick up Rylin, and I came home to make arrangements for a quickie wedding.

I’m now sitting in my living room, tossing my phone back and forth, debating how I’m going to break the news to Paige and Nana, when my phone rings.

My sister’s name lights up and my stomach sinks. It’s now or never, Luca.

“Hello?”

“Luca Everett Roberts! What did you do?”

The way I see it, I have two options: face it head on and admit to everything, or feign ignorance and see what she knows. I choose option two. “Slow down, Pip. I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“So why did I get an earful at Rosie’s diner about how you and my best fucking friend have announced your ENGAGEMENT?!” She screams the last word into the phone, and I have to pull it away from my ear to protect my hearing.

“Right. That. Did you talk to Ivy?”

“I called, but she was driving and had to let me go. You better start explaining right now or so help me…”

“How about you come over tonight so Ivy and I can explain everything together? I’ll make dinner.

Bring Nana and Cade, too.” Nana’s been helping Paige out around the cabin today.

She’s getting closer to her due date, and the nesting phase is in full swing.

Maggie helped out for a few days before she reluctantly flew back to Toronto.

“Fine. But don’t think I’m not onto you, Luca. There’s something weird going on, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“Stop worrying, Sis. You’ll go into early labor, and I won’t have Cade on my ass for that.”

“Well, it would be entirely your fault!”

“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever you say. I’ll see you tonight.”

As soon as I hang up, I catch sight of Ivy pulling into her driveway, and not a second too soon. I quickly jog down my porch steps as she’s lifting Rylin out of her car seat.

“Ivy. Wait up.”

She drops her keys and purse onto the pavement, her body jolting at the sound of my voice. “Oh shit, Luca. You scared me.”

“Sorry. We…uh… we have a bit of a situation. Can you come over tonight?”

“Yeah. I gathered that by the eight unhinged text messages from Paige.” Ivy bites her lower lip, and I have to resist the urge to pull it free. “Look, we don’t have to do this...”

“I’m going to stop you right there. We’re doing this. I have Paige, Nana, and Cade coming over for dinner tonight so we can get out ahead of it and invite them to the wedding tomorrow.”

“Wedding? Mr. Luca, I was the bestest flower girl for Auntie Paige. Right mommy?”

“The best, my love.” She looks down at her daughter with a tender smile and something in my heart cracks wide open. I’m not sure what this feeling is, but I know without a shadow of a doubt I will do everything I can to keep her scumbag ex from snuffing out that light in her eyes.

“I’m not sure how you want to handle this with Rylin, so I’ll leave that to you. Can you come over around six? I’m making Nana’s famous gnocchi.”