Page 19 of Moonlight & Matrimony (Oak Ridge #2)

Luca

? Baggage - Kelsea Ballerini

Ivy: Chocolate or vanilla

Luca: Chocolate, no contest. You?

Ivy: Yikes, vanilla.

Luca: You rebel.

Sunday, August 3rd, 6:35pm

Luca: Cats or dogs

Ivy: Both. I could never choose between my babies.

Luca: Fair enough.

Monday, August 4th, 8:35am

Ivy: What’s your favorite movie?

Luca: Twister, you?

Ivy: The Proposal

Luca: On brand. ??

Ivy: Oh shit, I didn’t even make the connection. ??

Monday, August 4th, 5:35pm

Ivy: What side of the bed do you sleep on?

Luca: Closest to the door.

Ivy: Such a gentleman.

Luca: Definitely not ??

Luca: I’m betting you’re a starfish.

Ivy: Maybe.

Tuesday, August 5th, 10:35pm

Luca: Favorite season.

Ivy: Fall, obviously. It’s the superior choice in every way.

Luca: Winter is so much better. Snowmen, Christmas, Hockey.

Ivy: I have some bad news for you, my friend. Oak Ridge doesn’t have a rink and we rarely get snow.

Luca: Fuck.

“ H i Luca!” Rylin’s cheerful voice calls from her favorite spot on the swing.

“Hey Bug, what are you doing out here?” I take my usual seat on the stump nearby. “Where’s mommy?”

“Right here,” Ivy says, coming up beside me, placing her soft hand on my shoulder. “I was just bringing in some boxes I picked up at the grocery store so I could start packing.”

There’s no excitement in her voice when she talks about moving in with me, and somehow, that stings. I know it shouldn’t bother me. It’s understandable if she’s feeling unsettled — she’s being uprooted, even if it is less than thirty feet to the right.

“Do you need some help?” I ask, hoping a show of support will help ease the transition.

“I’ve got it covered, but thanks.”

“How about dinner? I was about to order pizza. There’s a Hawaiian with your name on it.”

“You sure know a way to a girl's heart, Mr. Roberts.”

“Just yours, Mrs. Roberts.” The name trips off my tongue in the most natural way, and shockingly, it doesn’t feel wrong.

A teasing smile plays on her lips. “Are you flirting with me?” she asks.

“It’s about time you noticed.”

Her expression shifts and she glances at Rylin, still swinging blissfully, ignorant of the tension as the lightness between us dims. I take a breath, sensing the distance creeping in. “We should put a bench here,” I suggest, trying to steer the conversation away from whatever soured her mood.

“Yeah, that would be great,” she agrees, picking at her thumbnail. It’s a nervous gesture I picked up on fairly quickly.

I push off the stump, motioning for her to join me inside. “Come on, let’s order dinner. Does Rylin like pizza?”

“Yeah,” she says, smiling as she stares over at the tree swing. “She picks off the pineapple and feeds the crust to the dog when she thinks I’m not looking.”

“Come on, little one,” I call across the yard. “Let’s get some food into your tummy.”

“Okay,” Rylin says, jumping down off the swing before she runs into my outstretched arms. I toss her in the air, then secure her around my shoulders in a piggy back hold as I guide them up the porch steps to what will soon be their home.

An hour later, we’re set up in the living room, our pizza boxes spread out on the coffee table beside a plate littered with chunks of pineapple and discarded pizza crust. Ivy and I are indulging in our second helping while Rylin quietly plays on her tablet, her eyelids growing heavy.

“Ok, your turn. Tell me about your first kiss,” I say, continuing our back and forth of getting to know each other. We’ve kept things pretty tame so far, but I’m itching to know more. She is my wife, after all.

Her face scrunches, and she tosses her crust onto the plate. It seems Rylin isn’t the only one with that particular quirk. “Adam Carver in the 6th grade. It was like kissing a cold fish. I swear he was trying to eat my face.”

I chuckle. “Poor Adam. It’s probably the biggest regret of his life. Ivy Roberts — the one that got away.”

Her eyes go wide as I casually toss out our married name, but she quickly reverts to a more placid expression. “What about you? Any Adam Carvers in your past I should know about?”

“My first kiss was with Lindsay Reynolds in the 9th grade, and she punched me in the face after I tried to slip her my tongue.”

She tosses her head back, and her shoulders shake with laughter. “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was. She had a mean right hook.” I toss a third slice of pizza onto her plate before grabbing another for myself.

“I’d like to think I’ve improved my technique since then,” I add.

Silence fills the room and my thoughts immediately turn to our kiss under the tree.

I wonder if that’s where her mind has gone, too.

I consider the implications of what I’m about to say, but I can’t seem to stop myself.

“Well? Any complaints?” I ask. “You know, for the yelp review and all that.”

“No complaints,” she says with a smirk. “So, what did your parents say when they found out about the wedding?” she asks around a bite of pizza, covering her mouth while she talks. I wince slightly at her question.

To nobody’s surprise, my parents are none-too-thrilled that I got married on a whim.

They were already upset about my move, so this just turned the gaping chasm in our relationship into the grand canyon.

They’re somehow two for two on children eloping in Kentucky.

Somehow, in all the chaos with Paige and I moving away, our parents have formed some kind of alliance, and the whole idea of it sets my teeth on edge.

It feels like a betrayal after everything they put us through over the years, constantly making us the go-between for their lack of communication.

“You don’t have to talk about it. I’m sorry I asked,” Ivy says, and I realize I’ve just been sitting here staring into my half empty bottle.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I just got lost in my thoughts. I don’t know how much Paige has told you about our parents, but they were pissed, to say the least. But I stopped trying to appease them a long time ago.”

“That sucks. I thought things were getting better after your mom helped you bring Paige’s stuff down last fall.”

“I wish,” I sigh, taking one last swallow of my beer. “What about your family?”

Her face falls and her shoulders slump, making me instantly regret the question as it hangs in the air between us.

She leans forward, placing her empty plate on the table, then fidgets with her hands for a few heartbeats.

As the silence stretches, she turns toward me, her knee bent and her elbow resting on the back of the couch.

“I guess this conversation had to happen sometime,” she says.

“My mom passed away years ago. Drunk driver.”

“I’m so sorry.” Without thinking, I reach over and place my hand on hers, gently stroking light circles over her palm.

“It’s okay. I’ve had a long time to come to terms with it.” She breathes in deeply, then exhales a shaky breath. “Not long after that, my dad went to prison for drug trafficking, and I went to live with my grandma.”

“And Evelyn?” I ask, thinking back to their almost mother daughter relationship dynamics. They’re close, and I’ve been wondering how that relationship came about.

“She was my mom’s best friend. After she passed away, they took me in.

On paper, I lived with Grandma, but I spent most of my time at the ranch.

They’re the best people on the planet. Jaxon and Griffin Hayes were my best friends.

Until…” her voice trails off and I can sense there are some things she’s not quite ready to share.

Giving her an out, I say, “They seem like great people.” That gets a genuine smile, and it feels like a win.

Placing my empty bottle down on the coffee table, I gesture towards the sleepy eyes of the sweet little girl on the other end of the large sectional.

“I should let you get Rylin back to your place.”

She stifles a laugh as Rylin’s head bobs, and her eyes close. “She’s exhausted. Thanks for dinner, Luca.”

“Anytime, sweetheart. I suppose we’ll be having a lot more nights like this after you move in.” Despite my preference for solitude, the thought isn’t entirely unpleasant. If it were anyone else, I might be hesitant, but with Rylin and Ivy, it feels effortless.

“Yeah, I guess we will,” she whispers.

“Happy moving day!” Paige cheers from her spot on my sofa. It didn’t take long for the reality of our marriage to trickle through the group chat and it feels as though a weight has been lifted off my chest now that we’re not keeping secrets from her friends — our friends?

“Remind me why you’re here again? Last time I checked, your doctor put you on bedrest.”

“Moral support, big bro! And to make sure you don’t piss off my bestie by being an overbearing grump. Besides, I brought some extra muscle. And daaaamn, do I love the view,” she says as she unapologetically ogles her husband.

“Gross, Pip. Get your hormones under control.”

“I would, but I prefer to give up control, if you know what I mean.”

“Paige, stop torturing your brother,” Nana chastises from her spot at the kitchen island, a wooden spoon in hand pointed directly at my sister.

In true Sofia fashion, she’s cooking up a feast, despite my assurance that we could all just grab some pizza and beer.

You’d think I slapped her the way she reacted to my suggestion.

“Sorry I’m late. Drop off was rough,” Ivy says a little breathlessly, from the doorway.

“Rylin didn’t want to go with her dad today, and Austin wasn’t helping the situation.

” She grumbles a whole slew of impressive curses under her breath as she plops down on the sofa.

It’s obvious she’s already been through the ringer today, and it’s not even noon.

“Did he finally agree to meet at the police station?” Paige asks.