CHAPTER SEVEN
After pulling the T-shirt on over her head, Ivy plucked up her makeup bag and tossed it to the growing pile on her bed, the same bed she’d shared with Noble.
“Stop thinking about him,” she tersely scolded herself.
Not that her self-admonishment would do any good. All Ivy could think about was the man and her burgeoning hormones that refused to go into hibernation again.
Thanks to Celina insisting they get ready for her big day together, Ivy didn’t have time to keep daydreaming about the hunky, sex-beast. She had to gather up her bridesmaid dress, shoes, makeup, and curling iron, then haul ass up to her sister’s suite.
After the temper tantrum Harvey had thrown at yesterday’s rehearsal, she was stunned that Celina was actually going to marry the asshole. He’d certainly shown the world his true, ugly colors.
After announcing that his best man’s brother had been seriously injured, Harvey then proved he was an insensitive jerk who didn’t give two shits about the fate of his friend’s brother. He’d cursed, screamed, and pitched a fit like a spoiled brat. The heartless prick railed about how his best man had totally ruined his wedding. If Celina was looking for a compassionate husband, she’d never find it with that immature hot mess.
Unfortunately for everyone, Harvey’s initial conniption fit was only the warm-up. When his dad had offered to stand in as best man, hotheaded-Harvey looked as if he was going to beat the shit out of his own father. While it hadn’t come to blows, it was downright ugly. Ugly enough that Ivy had wanted to gouge out her own eyes rather than continue watching Harvey’s epic, sophomoric meltdown.
Ivy had barely slept a wink last night. She’d tossed and turned, fluctuating between praying Noble would tap on her door and worrying about her sister actually marrying douchebag Harvey.
Ivy was at a loss as to what to do about her hopeless sister.
Even after getting an eyeful of Harvey’s hair-trigger temper, Celina was still hell-bent on marrying the prick. Ivy so wanted to smack her sister upside the head and knock some sense into her or kidnap her naïve ass and haul her to some foreign country where Harvey would never find her again.
But there was nothing she could do. Ivy was powerless to save her sister from pending heartbreak. Grasping at straws, Ivy pondered what she could say that would make Celina change her mind.
I love you, but you’re making a terrible mistake.
Open your eyes, for fuck’s sake…the man’s got abusive prick written all over him!
Wake up and smell the real coffee, not that soy shit Harvey sells! You deserve so much more than settling for a fuck-wit like him.
Even if she could come up with the right words to say, Celina would rip Ivy to shreds while defending Harvey with her last breath. And in the end, inciting World War III wouldn’t accomplish a damn thing.
Exhaling a heavy sigh, she started gathering her things from the bed when the phone on the nightstand rang. Dropping back onto the bed, Ivy lunged for the receiver.
Please, be Noble! Please…be Noble.
Just the thought of his whiskey-soft sexy voice made butterflies dip and swoop in her stomach and her heart sputter and race.
After surviving the high-octane drama at last night’s rehearsal, she’d knocked on his door when she’d returned to her room. Either he was already asleep or out with his friend again, because Noble hadn’t answered. So she’d returned to her room and mentally relived every orgasm-inducing touch, lick, and nibble he’d drowned her in.
Holding her breath, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
The breathless tone of her voice made her sound like a horny nymphomaniac.
Well…if the shoe fits!
“Good. I caught you before you leave to join Celina.” Her mother exhaled in relief. “Are you sick? You sound funny.”
“No. I’m fine…well, as fine as I can be, considering…”
Considering you’re not Noble, who I’d much rather be with, lost in those bone-melting orgasms he so effortlessly steals from me. But no, I’m fine, struggling to deal with my sister’s doomed wedding.
“That’s exactly why I’m calling. Ivy, you have to talk some sense into your sister.”
“Excuse me?”
“Celina will listen to you. She has to. If she doesn’t, then…then you’ll just have to find a way to make her! No daughter of mine is going to marry that…that…beast!” Janice huffed.
“This daughter certainly isn’t,” Ivy drawled. “And what, may I ask, do you suggest I do or say to stop her, Mother? What words of wisdom will dissuade Celina from walking down the aisle and legally binding herself to that…beast as you called him?”
“I don’t know! Bribe her…lie to her if you have to. I honestly don’t care. But you’ve got to stop her from ruining her life. Listen, your father and I have already packed our bags. You need to do the same, because once Celina breaks things off with Harvey, we are getting out of town. After the tantrum he threw last night, I want to be all the way out of this state before he blows up again. That man has a vile, dangerous temper. I’m terrified he’ll end up hurting my baby girl.”
“I’m worried, too, Mom. But why do I have to be the one to convince her to nix her wedding? Why don’t we just send Dad up there? He can toss her over his shoulder and we can all head to the airport.”
“Prudence Ivy Addison! I can’t believe you’d suggest such a thing. Do you have any idea what kind of scene that would cause?” Her mother’s tone was rife with equal parts indignation and exasperation.
“Do not call me Prudence, Mother. You know how much I loathe that name,” Ivy bit out between clenched teeth. “And it wouldn’t be any less embarrassing than the scene Harvey displayed last night.”
“I could give a damn about how he acted. I only care about our actions.” Janice exhaled heavily. “Honestly, what on earth does Celina see in that…that…”
“Steaming pile of dickless, pompous pig shit? I have no idea.”
“That’s enough vulgarity, young lady.”
Ivy chuckled. “Right. Like you weren’t thinking the same thing?”
“Maybe I was. But a proper southern woman would never allow those words to pass from her lips.”
Right, because her vajajay would shrivel up and fall right off. Ivy rolled her eyes.
“Please, just do your best to talk Celina out of marrying that barbarian.”
“I will. But don’t hold your breath, Mom. We both know how stubborn she is.”
“Yes, and thankfully, you’re equally stubborn. That’s why I have faith in you, darling.”
Ivy didn’t bother reminding her mother that her stubbornness, confidence, and all the other qualities she’d once possessed, along with her Zen, had packed their bags and flown away. All the good traits of her former self were probably now partying their asses off on some tropical island chock full of cabana boys with trays of ice-cold margaritas.
No, Janice was stressed out enough without that tidbit of information.
“Keep me posted, love. Your father and I are ready to make a break for the airport in a moment’s notice.”
“You got it, Mom.” Ivy hung up the phone and rolled onto her back. Staring at the ceiling, she struggled to find a way to accomplish this feat. Long minutes later, her mind was still a blank slate. With a heavy sigh she eased off the bed.
“Guess I’m going to have to wing it.”
Filled with dread, Ivy gathered her things, and left her room. In the hallway, the maid’s cart was parked next to Noble’s room. His door was wide open.
Curious, Ivy poked her head inside to see if he might be there while his room was being cleaned. A middle-aged woman with dark skin, round belly, amd silver streaks in her black hair smiled.
“Help you, miss?” she asked in broken English.
“Oh, no. I was just checking to see if Noble was in the room.”
“No. Guest all gone now.”
“Gone? You mean he checked out?”
“Checked out. Yes.” She smiled, bobbing her head.
Like a physical blow, the air punched from her lungs. Ivy’s knees threatened to fold, and her heart felt as if it had just been stabbed. Unsure if she could speak, she swallowed tightly.
“Thank you,” she managed to whisper.
As she hurried down the hall to the elevator, tears stung her eyes, magnifying how stupid and foolish she felt. One-night stands didn’t come with strings or obligations. But Noble’s exodus without even saying goodbye was annihilating her in ways she hadn’t expected. Ivy angrily brushed away the tear that slipped down her cheek as she stepped inside the empty elevator.
I have to stop being so ridiculous right now! There’s no time for this melancholy bullshit. He doesn’t owe me a damn thing, and I don’t owe him a thing, either. I knew what I was getting myself into before I spread my legs for that man. It was a casual fuck. Get over it. Noble has had millions of women, and he’ll probably have a million more a month from now. I’m not even on his radar anymore. Why would I be? He got what he wanted. He came. He seduced. He conquered. It’s over. Case closed. Now let it go.
While her internal pep talk dried up her tears, it still chafed that Noble had left without a word. Shaking her sorrow away, she reminded herself that he’d given her exactly what she’d wanted—a mind-bending end to her desolate sexual drought.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
It shouldn’t matter that he’d done it with such skilled precision she’d be basking in erotic, sensual memories of him for the rest of her life…but deep down, though it wasn’t supposed to, it did matter.
The only solace Ivy could find at that moment was the fact that she was a member at one of the big box stores and could easily buy batteries in bulk.
Whoop-de-fucking-do!
Pausing in front of Celina’s suite, Ivy shoved thoughts of Noble from her mind and started steeling herself for battle.
As she lifted her hand to knock, the door swung open with enough force to tear it off its hinges. In the portal stood Harvey, red-faced and eyes blazing with rage.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he viciously barked at Ivy.
“Harvey, stop,” Celina pled, racing up behind him. Her eyes were rimmed red and tears streaked her pale cheeks. Oh, asshole, you’ve just fucked up big-time. Not only did you yell at me, you made my sister cry. “I-I invited her here,” Celina stammered as she sobbed. “Ivy and I are going to get ready for the wedding together. Please don’t be mean to her or send her away.”
Send me away? Fat fucking chance of that!
The sight and sound of her sister begging the evil bastard filled Ivy’s veins with white-hot rage. Harvey’s eyes narrowed to ugly slits as he turned his wrath back on Celina. He shot her a mentally unbalanced glare and his lips peeled back in a cold, calculated smile.
McMillian had looked at Ivy that very same way. A shiver raced up Ivy’s spine.
“Didn’t you hear a fucking word I just said? Are you deaf and dumb? Pay attention this time, idiot,” Harvey bellowed in Celina’s face. “I let you bust my balls the other night about the strip clubs…let you embarrass the fuck out of me in front of my best man—that pussy momma’s boy who had to run home and change his brother’s tampon—but never again! Don’t ever tell me how to act or what to say. Understood?”
As she watched her sister cower to the demeaning tyrant, Ivy’s ghostly fears morphed into a bloodthirsty rage.
“Stop your annoying sniveling and keep your mouth shut unless it’s working up and down my cock from now on,” Harvey barked. “Put on that goddamn wedding dress that cost me a fortune and wiggle your fat ass down the aisle. I’m the boss now. You won’t be leading me around by my balls anymore. Do I make myself clear, you bitch?”
You bitch!
You bitch!
The hateful words echoed in her ears, not in Harvey’s voice but in Eugene McMillian’s. He’d used the same insult after she’d kneed him in the balls and run from his office.
Rage, red and blistering, blurred Ivy’s vision.
All the items in her arms tumbled to the floor with a soft thud.
Bile burned the back of her throat.
Every raw, festering wound that had taken nine long months to heal ripped wide open.
Indignation.
Disgrace.
Misery.
Humiliation.
And a million other wickedly destructive emotions hemorrhaged from her scars. But she refused to let the caustic flow sweep her back into a chasm of helplessness. No, Ivy had clawed her way out of that vile, emotionally crippling cesspool. No one would ever force her down into that pit again. Clenching her hand into fist, Ivy squared her hips and thrust her shoulders back.
“Hey, Harvey?”
When he snapped his head in her direction, she saw raw and menacing hatred shooting from his dark, beady eyes. “What. Do. You. Want. Cunt?”
Ivy pulled her fist back. Drawing strength from every woman who’d ever been crushed beneath the heel of some insecure, misogynistic, abusive asshole, she plowed her knuckles straight toward Harvey’s jaw.
Ivy’s day of redemption had arrived.
The paralyzing emotions that had once held her prisoner busted through the sturdy bars. The ghost of her former self—the happy, whole, and secure woman she’d once been—stepped through the rubble, tossed her head back, and shrieked in glorious freedom.
Harvey’s eyes widened in shock before they rolled to the back of his head. Then, like a drunken garden gnome, he toppled over backward, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. Pain screamed up her arm and sang through her body as absolution burst from every cell in her soul.
“I want you to shut the fuck up!” Ivy yelled in triumph. “So, who’s the bitch now, you fat prick? Can’t answer, can you? No, you can’t… ’cause you just got knocked the fuck out…you vile piece of shit!”
“Oh, my god! Ivy? What…what… Oh, god!” Celina screeched, blinking in disbelief at Harvey’s inert body. Abject terror swam in her eyes. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
“Yeah…the biggest favor of your life,” Ivy said, shaking out the pain throbbing in her hand with a hiss.
“But…but…” Celina stammered.
“Go pack your suitcase. We’re going home.”
“I-I can’t… I’m getting married,” she wailed.
“Not to that piece of shit, you’re not. Go!”
Celina turned and rushed back into the suite.
Ivy pulled out her cell phone. Sucking in a hiss, she punched her mother’s number.
“Mom, take your suitcases to my room. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. Tell Dad to grab a security guard and haul ass up to Celina’s suite. I don’t know what Harvey’s going to do once he regains consciousness, but it isn’t going to be pretty.”
“Regains… What happened?” Janice squeaked.
“You wanted me to stop the wedding? I did. We’re leaving…all of us,” she assured and ended the call.
Cautiously keeping her eyes on Harvey, Ivy bent and plucked up one of the shoes she’d dropped. Gripping the soft designer leather in her hand, she held it like a miniature baseball bat. If doughboy came to before her reinforcements arrived, she’d nail all five inches of that wicked heel into his chauvinistic balls.
“I can’t believe you knocked him out,” Celina yelled from inside the suite.
“I can’t believe you let any man talk to you like that,” Ivy countered. “We’ll discuss that later. Right now…you need to hurry.”
“Just for the record, he’s never talked to me like that before. And I am hurrying, dammit. If you think I want to be here when he wakes up, you’re crazy.”
“I’m crazy?” Ivy scoffed. “You were the one who wanted to marry the fuck-nut. I’m just glad you finally saw what he was like before you said I do baby sister.”
Celina didn’t reply, simply raced into the bathroom. “Oh, god, I’m not going to get all this shit packed in time. Get in here and help me.”
“No way. I’m not taking my eyes off Cujo. Toss your stuff together. You can fold it and sort it out in my room while I pack.”
“Okay.” She sniffed as she appeared at the door.
As she struggled to lift the heavy suitcase over the beached whale blocking the door, Ivy caught the sparkle from the diamond on her sister’s finger.
“Give me your engagement ring.”
“What for?” Celina blinked.
“Just give it to me.”
Ivy squatted down next to Harvey. While her sister tugged the ring from her finger, Ivy unzipped his pants.
“What the hell are you doing?” Celina screeched.
“Shhh.”
Fighting the revulsion rising inside her, Ivy reached inside the man’s boxers and pinched the flaccid flesh with her finger and thumb. After fishing the unimpressive worm out from between the teeth of his zipper, Ivy took the ring and shoved it down over the crest. Admiring the sparkle of the diamond adorning his pathetic little cock, she draped it out over the side of his zipper and stood.
“That’s it. You have lost your damn mind,” Celine admonished. A short second later, she started to giggle.
Ivy flashed her a mischievous grin. “I have not. I’m simply making a statement.”
“A statement?”
“Yeah, this little prick is never going to degraded belittle, or verbally abuse the sister I love.”
“Oh, god…I love you, too.” A tear spilled down Celina’s cheek.
Ivy bent and gathered the rest of her things off the floor. She quickly lifted her head at the sound of footsteps charging down the hall. She smiled and flashed Celina a wink as their dad and a security officer arrived.
Their father took one look at Harvey, passed out on the floor, wearing the expensive cock ring, and burst out laughing. “I’ve got to give you two props for ingenuity.”
He quickly sobered when he took in the shell-shocked expression lining Celina’s face. Tucking a finger beneath her chin, Jeff tilted her head back, forcing his younger daughter to meet his worried gaze. “Are you all right, baby girl?”
“I-I don’t know yet,” she murmured.
“W-what the…” the security guard stammered. “Is that a wedding ring?”
“Engagement ring,” Ivy corrected dryly. “The wedding’s off.”
“I’d say so. I think this guy needs an ambulance.”
“Ask someone else to take care of that, please,” Jeff instructed as he plucked Celina’s suitcase from her fingers. “I need you to escort us to my daughter Ivy’s room. You might think about placing a call to the LVPD. That man is definitely deranged.”
The guard nodded and led them down the hall, casting curious glances between Ivy and her sister.
“So, who knocked him out?” Jeff asked.
“I did,” Ivy replied without remorse. “He deserved it.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second. Did you decorate the dick’s dick as well?”
“Yes, I did. I think he’s smart enough to figure out the wedding is off once he wakes up and has to take a pee.”
Pride and relief swam in her dad’s pale blue eyes. Pausing, Jeff hugged her tightly and pressed a stout kiss to her cheek. “We’ve missed our little tiger. It’s damn good to have you back.”
Tears stung her eyes. Ivy quickly blinked them away. She knew protecting her sister had picked the lock on the last cell of her emotional prison, and knocking the verbally abusive bastard out had felt damn liberating. Still, Ivy wasn’t quite ready to throw a welcome home party for her bruised and battered psyche.
As they stepped into the elevator, Ivy nibbled her bottom lip. “When you tell Mom what happened, can you maybe skip the part about the engagement ring?”
Jeff frowned. “Why would I do that, pumpkin? It was an epic way to break the engagement, not to mention hilariously funny.”
“You know how Mom is. I don’t want to have to listen to another lecture about proper southern women and how they never touch a man’s private parts.” She rolled her eyes.
He waved a hand dismissively. “Ignore her. If she starts in on one of her lectures, I’ll simply remind her how often she uses her proper southern hands to touch my private parts.”
Ivy blanched and pressed a hand to her stomach. “Dad! We are not talking about this anymore.”
She wrinkled her nose as Jeff tossed his head back and laughed. Ivy glanced at her sister. Bewilderment and sadness etched Celina’s face. She was so lost in her own turmoil she didn’t appear to have heard their conversation.
Leaning over, Ivy kissed her cheek. “Hang in there, sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine.”
A tear trickled down her sister’s cheek. “No it’s not.”
“Yes it is. You’re an Addison. We have your back. I know from experience, in times of crisis, our clan is a force to be reckoned with.”
“Damn straight we are,” Jeff assured. “The grief you’re going through now sucks. There’s no way around it, baby girl. You’re going to have to drive straight through it, but we’re right there with you…all the way. The heart does heal…it just takes time.”
Yes it does and so does the soul. It just takes a long, long time.
When they reached her room, Janice stood in the hall, wringing her hands—suitcases at her feet. The second she saw Celina’s tear-streaked face, Janice wrapped her daughter in a comforting hug. That’s when Celina fell completely apart.
As her sobs echoed down the hallway, Ivy retrieved her card key and jammed it into the reader.
The fickle lock didn’t disengage.
Slide it in slowly…then ease it down…all the way down…nice and deep. Noble’s whiskey-smooth voice and sexually charged words coiled through her like a snake. She could still feel the heat of his delicious body rolling over her. Clenching her jaw as emptiness and grief consumed her, Ivy slid the card in as Noble had taught her. The green light flashed as a tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away, gripped the handle, and pushed the door open.
As she entered the room, the bed snagged all her attention. Sadness stabbed deep.
Let it go. It’s not helping, and mooning over a man I’m never going to see again is definitely not healthy. It’s time I find some semblance of normalcy again…whatever that might be.
Blinking the images of Noble from her mind, she focused on packing up and getting the hell out of Vegas.
As Ivy threw her belongings into her suitcase while describing the ugly confrontation with Harvey, Janice held Celina and rocked her inconsolably sobbing daughter gently. Jeff was on the phone with the front desk, checking out and securing a shuttle to take them to the airport.
Celina’s cell phone chimed. She dragged the device from her purse, but before she could wipe her tears and check the caller ID, Ivy snagged it from her hands.
“Hey,” Celina protested.
Ivy ignored her and scowled at the name on the display. “You had your chance, asshole. You blew it. Go fuck yourself.”
Janice frowned at her vulgar language but didn’t bother with a reprimand.
“I-I need to tell him the wedding is off,” Celina sobbed.
“I’m sure he’s figured that out already, sister.”
“How could he? You knocked him out before she got the chance to tell him, right?” Janice asked.
“Trust me. Harvey knows. We left her engagement ring behind. He’ll find it.” Ivy avoided telling her mom where she’d left the ring. “Dad will fill you in all about that later.”
Jeff shot her a knowing smirk. Celina raised her head, wiped her tears, and sent her a watery smile. Ivy bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing.
Like convicts breaking out of prison, they rushed though the massive lobby, looking over their shoulders. They all exhaled a collective sigh once seated in the shuttle and heading to the airport. By some miracle, Jeff managed to exchange their tickets for a nonstop flight to Dallas, scheduled to leave in thirty minutes.
As the plane taxied down the runway and lifted into the sky, Ivy stared out the window, watching until the grand hotels and casinos were nothing but specks on the distant desert floor.
Closing her eyes, she laid her head back and let the sadness wash through her. Noble was gone forever. And though it had only been one night, she knew she’d carry a part of him with her until the end of time. He might not have said goodbye, but he’d set her free in ways that mattered most. His touch, his kiss, his words…they’d made her feel desirable, alive, and blessedly whole again.
It was after one in the morning when her father pulled into the driveway. Ivy was glad she’d moved back home during the trial. She was too exhausted to spend twenty more minutes driving to her former apartment. After climbing the stairs, she stepped inside her old bedroom, tugged off her clothes, and crawled into bed.
Closing her eyes, Ivy was ready to slide into the oblivion of sleep, but her brain wouldn’t shut down. It wasn’t so much the heartbreaking sounds of Celina sobbing in the next room that clawed at Ivy’s brain. She knew one day her sister would find a man deserving of her sassy, sunny, impulsive spirit. Of course, if he turned out to be Harvey 2.0, Ivy would have no compunction about knocking his punk-ass out, too.
No, Celina’s drama wasn’t what kept sleep at bay. But it was pointless to waste time dissecting and compartmentalizing the real issue. Still, that didn’t stop her from tossing and turning long after Celina had cried herself to sleep. After glancing at the clock for the umpteenth time, Ivy exhaled a heavy sigh. It was after three in the morning and she was no closer to dozing off than she’d been when her head hit the pillow. Yanking the covers off, she got up, slipped on her robe, and quietly padded to the kitchen to fix a cup of tea.
Mug in one hand, Ivy opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck overlooking the expansive backyard. Growing up, she and Celina had hosted dozens of sleepovers on the massive wooden structure. Ivy walked to the smooth stained railing, set her cup down, and tilted her head back. The billions of twinkling stars blanketing the night sky made her feel small and insignificant.
Where did she belong in this grand scheme of life? Or was there an actual scheme to it at all? Those were just two of the millions of thoughts dancing around the periphery inside her head. They were filler…fluff…far from the bull’s-eye of what she really needed to be asking herself. But if she ever wanted to sleep again, it was time to come to terms with the aftermath of that mystical, magical one-night stand that had her tied in knots and finally put it all to rest.
She wondered if she’d crossed paths with Noble in Vegas by chance or by fate?
Ivy shook her head. Why was she wasting time obsessing over a man whose last name she didn’t even know? A man who was out there somewhere in this vast universe but was forever beyond her reach. She didn’t know a damn thing about him, besides the fact that he hated to bale hay in a thong.
A bittersweet smile spread over her lips.
She’d heard it said that life threw you challenges so you could learn and grow from the experiences. Ivy didn’t know if she truly believed that, but Noble had definitely reintroduced her to the woman she’d once been. He’d breathed life into her again. Maybe he’d simply been meant to give her an oxygen boost so that she’d be less reluctant to give commitment another try.
She chuckled at her sudden philosophical contemplations.
Bottom line, her time with Noble boiled down to one thing. He’d given her one night of spectacular, life-altering sex. But it was over. The odds of her ever crossing paths with him again were astronomically higher than if one of those twinkling stars in the heavens fell from the sky and landed at her feet.
No, it was time to scrub Noble from her memory banks and quit clinging to furtive fantasies that would never come true.
The man wasn’t a regal king who had come to rescue her anymore than she was a rejected maid clinging to a glass slipper.
Fairy tales and happily ever afters were nothing but fiction.
She had to let Noble go.
Ivy took a sip of tea before lifting her eyes to the heavens and the great beyond to acknowledge the gratitude inside her.
“Thanks for letting us rescue Celina from a horrible situation. She’s hurting, and it’s crushing the rest of us, but we’ll prop her up. Help her persevere and grow stronger. I’m grateful that I’m growing bolder, stronger everyday. Packing up tomorrow and moving to a new town to open my own business terrifies me. But staying here, rooted in the safe and predictable, growing stagnant terrifies me even more.”
She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. A pang of sorrow pierced deep, but this was the right and only thing she could do.
“Noble…wherever you are out there, I just want you to know I’ll never forget, the night we spent together, the things you did to me…made me feel. You’re the first man who’s ever rocked the foundation out from under me and I’ll cherish every spectacular moment. But I can’t waste my life obsessing over a ghost. You touched my life in wonderful, thrilling ways, and each breathtaking way is branded to my soul. Goodbye, Noble…whatever your last name might be.”
A tear slid down her cheek. Ivy didn’t bother brushing it away. She simply drew in a ragged breath and let the rest spill onto the deck beneath her feet.