Page 20 of Moonlight & Matrimony (Oak Ridge #2)

“No. We met at his sister’s house instead. She scowled at me from the doorway while Rylin was clinging to me like her life depended on it.” I bite back a curse and clench my fists at the insinuation, and Ivy doesn’t miss the move, instinctively placing a hand over mine.

“Maybe I should go with you next time. I can be a buffer between you and Austin’s family. Just until we can get a court ordered supervisor. Or better yet, get his visits rescinded entirely.”

She shakes her head, and I can sense her reticence. “I don't know… that might make things worse. You’ve seen how he is. If he can’t have me...” Then nobody else will. She doesn’t have to finish her sentence for me to know what she intended to say, and fuck if that thought doesn’t terrify me.

Paige scoots closer to Ivy, sandwiching her between us.

She winces slightly with each movement, placing a hand on her back.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to carry a whole human being, but it can’t be comfortable.

Cade is watching his wife with a pained expression, no doubt ready to jump in at the first sign of distress.

I couldn’t ask for a better partner for my sister.

“Showing up alone just shows him that his manipulation is working — keeping you isolated,” she says, taking Ivy’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Just think about it. I’d feel better if you had someone with you next time. ”

Ivy nods in agreement, but it feels hollow. If I’ve learned anything about my wife, it’s that she’s not used to letting people share the load. But she has me now, and she’s going to learn I’m not so easily pushed away.

The conversation dissipates and we head over to Ivy’s house, meeting up with the rest of our crew along the way.

Paige and I didn’t grow up with much of a support system, so it still amazes me how supportive they are of each other, ready to drop everything at a moment’s notice for a wedding or a moving day.

It would be heartwarming if mine wasn’t made of solid stone.

We work like a well-oiled machine, getting all of her boxes moved over to my house.

Our house. Fuck, that’s going to take some getting used to.

She spent the last week packing everything she wanted to keep, which was significantly less than I was expecting, all things considered.

While we focus on moving Ivy and Rylin’s bedrooms over today, the bulk of the household items and furniture are being loaded onto a truck for the women’s shelter in Willow Valley.

I offered to pay for a storage unit so she could keep her things, but she was adamant that none of it really mattered given that she had thrifted most of it, and she wanted it to go to a good cause.

When she left Austin, she only left with a few suitcases and whatever meager savings she had for a fresh start.

The thought of my girls on their own to fend for themselves makes me want to pummel my fist into Austin’s face.

The strength it likely took for her to get away leaves me awestruck as I watch Ivy place her nightstand down in the guest room that’s slowly being transformed into her space.

The walls are painted a muted blue, offset by the same dark hardwood floors that feature throughout the house.

The large picture window on the far wall gives her a clear view of the backyard, and across the hall is Rylin’s room and their shared bathroom.

If the courts decide to do a home visit, we might have to consider moving Ivy into my room, but we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

She lifts her tank top to wipe the sweat off her brow and my eyes lock on the exposed skin.

A large hand clamps down on my shoulder. “You’ve got a little something…” Miles says, a sly grin painted on his face as he points to the corner of my mouth.

“Fuck off, Miles.”

He chuckles. “You gonna let us do all the work while you stand here drooling over your wife?”

“I’m not drooling. Just making sure she’s not overdoing it.”

“Mmhmm. Such a hero.”

Cade slaps him upside the head, “Leave Paige’s brother alone and get back to work, dickhead.”

With a self-satisfied smile, I head out into the hallway.

I pass Rylin’s new bedroom on my way down the stairs, making a mental note to ask Ivy about Bug’s favorite color.

Her new room is a blank canvas — its stark white walls just begging to be painted.

If she asked for a rainbow mural with hearts and unicorns shitting glitter, I’d do my level best to make that happen.

That girl has me wrapped around her little finger and she knows it.

“Second door on the left at the top of the stairs.” I direct Dean and Liam to Rylin’s room, and quickly shuffle past them down the porch steps towards Ivy’s house.

As I’m crossing the lawn, a familiar red car speeds past, screeching its tires along the way before taking the corner towards main street way too quickly.

“I hope the asshole gets pulled over,” I mutter.

It takes me a moment to register that Rylin was supposed to be with her dad today.

I clench my fists, anger pouring off me in waves, hoping like hell she wasn’t in that fucking car.

Once I’ve calmed myself enough to enter Ivy’s house, I step into a mostly barren space. All of the furniture has been moved, with just a few boxes left behind.

“It looks so… empty.” I startle at the soft sound of Ivy’s voice. It’s laced with sadness, making me want to scoop her into my arms and hold her. “This was our fresh start,” she sighs. “I’m going to miss it.”

“You can always come back when things settle down.”

“I know. It’s not that. I’m not overly attached to the house or anything. It’s just so bittersweet to move on from this place when it was such a huge part of my story, you know?”

Without thinking, I wrap an arm around her shoulder and curl her into my side, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

To think that Austin had this amazing life at his fingertips and he threw it all away like yesterday’s garbage is inconceivable.

I won’t be making the same mistake; I’ll protect them with my life if it comes down to it.

“I need to grab Hazel. This is probably so confusing for her.”

“Hazel?”

“My cat. And Sage is outside in the yard. I’ll need to bring her over later, too.”

“Sure, I’ll just finish up with these boxes.”

“Thanks, Luca. For everything.” She raises up onto her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on my cheek. Her sweet scent envelopes me and I have to tamp down the sudden urge to pull her to me for a much less innocent kiss.

“You can stop thanking me, sweetheart.” She’s said those same words about a million times since the wedding, and her gratitude is starting to get under my skin.

I’m not her savior, and I don’t want her to think she owes me anything.

It’s the least I can do to provide some semblance of safety for Ivy and her daughter.

Besides, it’s no skin off my back to have them take two of the empty rooms in my house.

Honestly, I spend most of my time in the workshop out back, anyway.

I listen to her laugh fade away as she heads down the hallway, the sound of her “pspspsps” echoing through the space as she searches for the cat.

Walking further into her living room, I stack a couple of the boxes on top of each other before heading back out the front door.

When I round the corner to climb up the porch steps, I find Paige scowling at me from one of the rocking chairs.

“What?” I ask, a little too gruffly.

“Just came out here to keep an eye on you. I saw Ivy follow you into her house.”

“Yeah? And? We’re helping her move.”

“Don’t hurt my best friend, big brother. That’s a warning.”

“I’m so scared of you, baby sister. I’m practically quaking in my boots.”

“You should be, Luca Everett. Once I get this crotch goblin out, all bets are off.”

“Sunshine,” Cade cuts in. “What did I tell you about referring to my precious baby girl as a crotch goblin?”

Paige rolls her eyes in response and I can’t help but smile.

I chuckle to myself as I walk past the nauseatingly happy couple into the house.

Realizing I have no idea what boxes I just picked up or where to place them, I set them down on the coffee table to check for a label.

When I don’t find one, I open the one on top, and my jaw hits the floor — it’s a treasure trove of sex toys.

Everything from plugs and cuffs to vibrators and dildos. Wait, is that… holy fuck. Straps.

Ivy’s voice carries from the entryway, and I rush to close the box. “Where do you want me to set up Hazel’s cat tree?”

“Anywhere you want. Make yourself at home.” I choke out the words as I adjust the bulge straining behind my zipper.

I’m well aware I shouldn’t have looked for as long as I did, but at my core I’m just a horny motherfucker, and I haven’t gotten laid in…

a year and a half? Has it really been that long?

Goddamnit, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to live in a house with Ivy, knowing all of this is just a couple of doors down.

Is she going to bring men back here? Shit.

We probably need to set some ground rules.

“Where should—” Ivy rounds the corner into the living room, stopping in her tracks when her gaze travels from me to the boxes behind me. “Um… did you open those?”

“Nope. Definitely not. I just thought I’d leave them here for you to handle.”

“Oh my fucking god, you did!”

I open my mouth to defend myself, but Nana saves me from the embarrassment, her voice reverberating through the house as she calls us all for dinner. Thank fuck.

Ivy