CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
IVY FITTED RIGHT IN, Nolan thought, tipping his head to the side as he watched the “under-thirty group” game of tug-of-war that was going on. Not that he’d had any doubts that she would. After all, she’d been his great-grandmother’s pick. As expected, everyone loved her. Also as expected, everyone had heard about them. When he’d taken her around to meet everyone, he thought she was going to faint when he’d introduced her to Sterling Hamilton and Jake’s wife, Diamond.
When he’d introduced her to his family, they’d given them knowing looks. A part of him was glad everyone seemed to have fallen for their plan, but then, at the same time, it annoyed him that some thought he’d so easily fallen in line with Mama Laverne’s matchmaking shenanigans.
His brother Adam, who was three and a half years younger than him and who hadn’t a clue about Ivy’s and his plan, had pulled him to the side and blasted him up and down. So had his cousins Emerson, Kane and Quantum, who like Nolan, Reese, Lee and Corbin, had only eighteen months separating them in age and hung together, usually like glue. They had also pulled him aside to blister his ear. He’d been tempted to tell them the truth but figured the fewer people who knew of the plan, the more chances it had of going off without a hitch.
His cousin Chancellor hadn’t said anything. He’d only looked over at Nolan and chuckled. But that was Chance for you. He pretty much stayed to himself out on his ranch and was the last one to hear family gossip.
Chance had joined the military right out of high school and had been an army ranger when an injury in Iraq left him in a wheelchair. He returned home after being told that he would never walk again. Those army doctors hadn’t discussed that prognosis with Mama Laverne, who intended to prove them wrong. She had refused to give up on Chance and wouldn’t let him give up on himself. Within a year Chance was out of the wheelchair and riding horses again. Now he owned a two-hundred-acre ranch and, like Jake, raised some of the best cattle in Texas.
Chance credited Mama Laverne with his desire to live again. For that reason Chance would never question anything she did. Like Victoria, he was probably of the mind that whatever woman Mama Laverne picked out for him was fine and dandy. Nolan didn’t envy that woman. Chance was a loner and wasn’t the easiest person to get along with.
“No need to stand here looking all smug.”
He glanced over at his cousin Lee. He and his wife, Carly, had arrived that morning from Paris. Nolan figured you could roll that way when you owned a private jet. “Am I?”
Lee smiled. “Yes. I guess you know that Ivy’s and your plan is working.”
“Is it?” Nolan asked, returning his gaze to Ivy.
Lee gave him a surprised look. “You don’t sound pleased.”
He wasn’t. Something was bothering him and it shouldn’t. Lee was right. He should feel smug. “I guess I am. But...”
“But what?”
Nolan shrugged massive shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s just strange the way everyone has taken to her and she’s taken to them. Too bad that she’s...”
When he trailed off, Lee picked up his thoughts and finished by saying, “That she’s Mama Laverne’s pick and not yours, because she’s perfect for you?”
Nolan shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Is she perfect for me?”
“If she’s not, then the two of you are putting on one hell of an act.”
He switched his gaze from Ivy to Lee. “That’s the plan.”
“Maybe. But...”
“But what?”
“I might be wrong but I believe she’s come to mean a lot to you, Nolan. More than you thought possible. More than you want to admit. Will admit.”
Nolan broke eye contact with Lee to glance back over to where Ivy and her team were hard at work, trying to tug the opposing team over the line. She looked good in a pair of denim capri pants and a printed blouse. Without taking his eyes off Ivy, he said, “You’re wrong. She hasn’t come to mean a lot to me.”
“So you say.”
“So I know.” And because he didn’t want to entertain such thoughts from Lee anymore, he said, “It seems that she and Carly are getting along great.”
Lee chuckled. “You know why, right?”
Nolan looked back at Lee. “No, why?”
“Because I understand that, like Carly, Ivy was a loner while growing up. No cousins or siblings. Carly loves being a part of the Madaris family. More siblings and cousins to go around.”
Nolan decided he wouldn’t waste his time reminding Lee that Ivy was not a part of the Madaris family and if anyone was waiting for him to make her one, they would have a long wait.
When cheers went up he broke eye contact with Lee to glance back over at the group. Ivy’s team was jumping up and down, giving each other high fives and doing a victory dance. They had won. Nolan couldn’t help but smile. He was proud of them. He was proud of her. The smile on her face was so radiant it seemed to light up everything around her.
“Remember when we used to be part of the under-thirty group?” Lee asked.
Nolan’s gaze remained on Ivy. “Yes, I remember.”
“Now we’re too old to play but our women are the ripe age.”
Our women? Nolan switched his gaze to Lee. “Ivy is not my woman and you know it.”
Lee chuckled. “You better not say that too loud. Look who just showed up.”
Nolan shifted his gaze from Lee to the newcomers who’d arrived. Wyatt Bannister and Tanner Jamison. The two were very good friends of their cousin Blade and took being bachelors to a whole new level. Both had a lifetime membership in the notorious Gentlemen’s Club, and everyone in Houston knew that its members were far from being gentlemen.
Without saying anything to Lee, Nolan moved away and began walking to where Ivy, Carly and Victoria were standing together, chatting with Justin, Dex and Clayton’s mother, his grandaunt Marilyn. It just so happened that Marilyn Bannister Madaris was also Wyatt Bannister’s aunt. Not surprisingly, Wyatt and Tanner were headed in her direction.
Nolan decided he might was well stake his claim on Ivy before either Wyatt or Tanner could get any crazy ideas. He reached the group and stood in front of Ivy. She looked up at him and gave him a huge smile.
“Did you see us? My team won!”
He smiled down at her and reached out to push a mass of curls back from her face. “I saw you, baby. Congratulations.” And then he leaned down to brush a kiss across her lips.
That’s all he intended to do to mark a claim. But the moment his mouth touched hers he couldn’t resist temptation and in front of everyone he crushed his mouth to hers and gave her an openmouthed, tongue-sucking, tonsil-probing kiss.
* * *
IT WAS AFTER midnight when Nolan walked Ivy to her condo. She’d really enjoyed herself and it hadn’t even bothered her when Nana had arrived, wearing a huge smile as if the marital union between her and Nolan was a foregone conclusion. Some in the Madaris family had even gone so far to ask if they’d set a date as if assuming they were engaged. Several of the ladies had asked about her wedding dress and offered her help to look. Diamond had mentioned some friend of hers in Los Angeles, who’d made Carly’s wedding dress, would love to create another masterpiece for a Madaris wedding.
Although she had enjoyed herself immensely with Nolan’s family, a part of her couldn’t help but feel bad that they were deceiving everyone. His family truly believed she and Nolan had fallen in love and had easily accepted her into the family. She wondered what they would think when that never happened.
“So how do you think today went?” She glanced over her shoulder to ask Nolan. Ivy noticed he’d been quiet on the drive back from Whispering Pines.
He stood in the middle of her living room with his hands shoved in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face. “I don’t know. You tell me how you think it went. From what I see, you fitted right in.”
Was that resentment she heard in his voice? She must be mistaken because things were going according to plan. At least as far as he knew. The fact that she had fallen in love with him wasn’t something she planned on sharing. And there was no doubt about it. She hadn’t been sure before but was certain now—she was in love with Nolan Madaris. It hit home at Whispering Pines, when she’d been standing with his mother and grandmother while watching one of the younger Madarises—Jake’s son, Granite—show off his skill as a horseman. She looked across the way to see Nolan staring at her. Even from across the yard his look had had the ability to send a throb of desire through her veins. She’d returned the stare while her heart had beaten voraciously in her chest. And she’d known at that moment each beat had been for him. Had been her love for him.
“My fitting right in is a good thing, right?” she asked him in a quiet tone.
“Yes,” he said, nodding, while still staring at her. “All according to plan and that’s what’s most important.”
He wouldn’t know how much his words, although true, had hurt. But then it wasn’t his fault that she had lowered her guard and was sacrificing her heart. But at this point Ivy no longer worried about what tomorrow would bring for them. She knew the score. Was fully aware that in four weeks they would be going their separate ways. Yet she had fallen in love with him anyway. Considering everything, she could not have fallen in love with him even if she’d tried. And God knew she had tried.
Now he was here, standing in the middle of her living room. Would he stay the night? He had stayed last night, only leaving this morning after breakfast. Then he had returned hours later to pick her up to take her to his family’s event. It had felt strange to wake up in the arms of a man two mornings straight. Namely the very handsome man who was still standing there looking at her.
“Yes, according to plan,” she finally said. “I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you kiss me like you did today? In front of everyone?”
He didn’t say anything at first and then said, “You ought to know by now that I have no problem with public displays of affection. And that kiss was for Wyatt Bannister and Tanner Jamison’s benefit. They are always looking for conquests and I wanted it known that you weren’t available. Again, everything today was according to plan.”
Everything today was according to plan. Ivy nodded. A reminder that all their hand-holding, smiles they’d given each other, tasting each other’s food—at one point he’d even fork-fed her some of his grandmother’s delicious peach cobbler—and all had been done according to plan to give everyone the impression they were a couple in love. Sad thing was that one of them was. “Yes, all according to plan.” She’d been delusional to think otherwise.
He broke eye contact with her to glance at his watch. “It’s late. I need to go.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he hadn’t worried about how late it had been last night. Why was he in such a hurry to leave now? But considering everything, especially how she was feeling at the moment when she really had no right to, she said, “Yes, it is late. I will walk you to the door.”
She walked past him, fully expecting him to pull her into his arms, but he didn’t.
“I’ll call you this week. We can go out to dinner again. Sisters.”
She nodded again. Of course he would be dismissing her until then. And of course he would suggest Sisters. A guarantee they would be seen together. All according to plan. A plan that had been her idea. A plan she was now regretting.
“Dinner at Sisters this week will be fine.” She would enjoy whatever time she could spend with him over the next two weeks and while he was in Paris she would come up with a reason for their breakup. But at least she would have her two weeks to make memories.
“Good night, Ivy,” he said low, in that voice that could make sensations curl her stomach.
“Good night, Nolan.”
He stood there for a moment, his dark eyes probing hers and then he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. She fought back the thought that he’d never given her a chaste kiss before. There hadn’t been a Nolan Madaris kiss that hadn’t been one to ravish her mouth.
And then he was gone, heading toward the elevator. Drawing in a deep sigh, she closed the door behind him.
* * *
NOLAN HAD MADE it to the parking lot when he stopped walking. What in the hell was wrong with him? Why did the thought of leaving Ivy tonight bother the hell out of him? He glanced around, noticing the people, namely couples, who were coming home. Some were holding hands and beaming at each other with love. He wondered if what he was seeing was the real thing or just plans like the one he and Ivy had implemented.
Hell, he knew the couples were real. Nobody had a great-grandmother like the one he had who would drive someone to resort to such a thing. He hadn’t truly enjoyed a woman’s company...hadn’t allowed himself to do so since Andrea. Damn, had it been close to fifteen years? He’d run into her a few years ago at Sisters. He had looked at her and felt nothing. Not like, not dislike. He’d felt nothing. On the other hand, he would look at Ivy and feel everything. Emotions he’d never felt before. Sensations that had the ability to overwhelm him.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind and forced himself to keep walking. When he reached his car, he was about to open the door and get inside when he felt someone watching him. He glanced up to where he knew Ivy’s condo was located. He saw her standing at the window and she was watching him do something he truly didn’t want to do. Leave.
He stood there and held her gaze and felt it, all that sexual chemistry they had perfected so well. At that moment he felt something else, something he wasn’t ready to admit to. Something he refused to admit to. But he knew he couldn’t leave.
Nolan headed back into the building. Too anxious to wait for the elevator, he decided to take the stairs, not caring he had ten flights of them. Not breaking a sweat, he moved quickly to her door and knocked.
She opened it immediately. “Did you leave something, Nolan?”
“I left someone. You.” And then he slanted his mouth over hers.
* * *
IVY WAS CERTAIN she would remember every single minute of what happened after Nolan returned. I left someone. You.
His words would forever be etched on her brain as well as how he swept her into his arms and, with the toe of his shoe, closed the door behind them. She would recall how he had taken her into the bedroom and quickly undressed her before undressing himself and putting on a condom. How he had licked her all over before driving her to the edge over and over again before his body had finally straddled hers and entered her in one hard thrust. And she would remember every stroke he made into her body and how she’d reciprocated, lifting her hips up to meet his every thrust.
This was what she wanted, what she needed and damn the consequences. All she wanted to concentrate on was the man whose body was above hers and giving her intense pleasure. Over and over again. This was lovemaking that should be savored, and every ounce of desire surrendered to. When he hollered her name and bucked his body, she followed in hot pursuit as spasms sprinted all through her.
“Nolan!”
“I’m here, baby. Let it rip,” he said in a choppy breath.
And she did. More spasms tore through her and she screamed his name yet again while he slowly rocked her body against his. It was as if he wanted to make sure she received the most powerful effect. And she did. The parts where their bodies were connected throbbed in what seemed like never-ending pleasure.
At some point in time, Ivy’s body slowly stopped humming and all those spasms ceased. Nolan shifted their bodies in the bed to where they lay, facing each other. Her eyes were still closed as she tried to get her breathing under control. That wasn’t easy with the feel of Nolan’s tongue licking traces of sweat from her face.
When she finally opened her eyes, he leaned in and brushed his lips back and forth over hers. She wondered if he knew what he was doing, and then quickly decided that, yes, he knew. He’d had sex with her too many times not to know. As if to prove her point, his fingers went to the nape of her neck and she could feel herself getting aroused all over again. And when he slid his tongue between her lips to seduce her with hot, deep glides of his tongue, she knew they were about to do it all over again.
* * *
“TELL ME ABOUT Andrea Dunmire, Nolan.”
Ivy’s request surprised Nolan. They’d made love again and now they were lying in each other’s arms, tired and depleted of energy, with their limbs connected. An earlier glance at the clock indicated it was close to two in the morning. He loved being here with her like this.
While glancing down at her and holding her gaze, he asked, “How do you know about Andrea?”
“Your mother mentioned her. She assumed I knew the story and I let her think that. From what she said, I gather Andrea is someone who had hurt you at one time. You never mentioned her. Was she supposed to be a secret?”
“No. Andrea was not a secret. She’s just someone in my past. I guess to be fair to you, I should have told you about her when you told me about Damien Fargo.”
“Yes, you should have. It would have saved me from having to play it off like I did know. I don’t think she noticed, but if Andrea’s name is brought up again, someone else might.”
He saw the logic in what she said. “Andrea was someone I met one summer when I came home from college. Like I told you, I was the quintessential geek with thick-rimmed glasses and a techie mind. She showed me attention and I flipped and thought I fell in love and hard. She seemed proud to be my girl and I was definitely over the moon to be known as her guy.”
Nolan paused, remembering that time and how easily he’d allowed himself to be fooled. “Then I overheard her telling her cousin that she owed her big-time since the only reason she was putting up with me was to help give her cousin a clear path to my cousin Blade, who at the time was a heartthrob around town and was sought after by so many women. And what was so sad was she didn’t deny anything when I confronted her.”
When Ivy didn’t say anything, he added, “That was years ago, Ivy. I was nineteen at the time. I’ve got over her but there are some lessons you don’t forget. Like how easily a person can take advantage of you if you let your guard down or allow yourself to be manipulated. But the one thing Andrea didn’t do was to color my opinion of marriage. There are too many solid and happy marriages in my family for her to do that. Unlike you, I have no problem with getting married one day when I’m ready and when I meet the woman that I want to marry.”
“And not the woman someone picked out for you.”
“Right,” he said, although now even that was beginning to become cloudy. He had some serious thinking to do and would do so when he got to Paris. Until then they would operate according to plan.
He tightened his arms around her. “Do I get to spend the night, Ivy?”
Ivy shifted their bodies to push him back against the pillows and crawled on top of him. “I never asked you to leave, Nolan.”
She leaned in and the moment she took his mouth, he felt an invisible thread binding them tighter together, whether he wanted it to or not.