Page 15 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

Nia

How has your break been?

Warmth replaced her pessimistic thoughts as she responded.

Break’s been good! Nice to be home, see family and all. Have you and Caspian decided on a date for the wedding?

Nia had told her they didn’t have any solid plans for the big day, but Ivory couldn’t help making Pinterest boards with ideas for them. Not that she was their official wedding planner or anything, just very well prepared. She had also made a secret board filled with motorcycles, leather, and golden rings. But no one needed to know that.

I see what you’re doing, and trust me, you’ll be the first to know.

It’s still a lot for me to process. Lining up schedules for both sides is more difficult than it looks, not to mention the stress of everyone watching me.

Of course, she’d be stressed about the idea of being the center of attention. Still, weddings weren’t supposed to be about being under a spotlight. They were about the joy of companionship. Of remembering what was important.

I’m not rushing you, I swear!

You should celebrate, though. What about an engagement party—it doesn’t have to be big.

The app showed Nia typing a reply, but then she stopped. Ivory played with the tuft on a decorative pillow to keep herself busy until the response came in, two at once.

After all the drama last semester, I think the only one who would come is you.

We’d love to have you over, though. Like you said, as long as it’s nothing big.

Ivory scrunched her face, fiddling with the plate on her lap. She knew Nia’s family didn’t come around much, and now it looked like she didn’t have anyone at college to support her either, aside from Caspian. That had to be remedied.

What about Caspian’s friends? I’m sure he knows people.

The screen went blank for a few minutes before Nia’s reply came in.

…I’m not so sure about that.

Come on, I don’t believe you.

Ivory huffed—excuses, excuses. The next reply came almost instantly, but it took a while before her brain processed the three simple words.

Well, she really only stumbled over one of them.

He’d invite Adrian.

Adrian.

That name she was supposed to have forgotten.

The man who didn’t do relationships, especially not with her. Nia knew about his rejection at the Halloween party, but she hadn’t told Nia about Jace or what happened after, and certainly didn’t mention the last promise she’d made to him.

While she couldn’t erase him, she hadn’t failed at forgetting, either. She’d done her very best to disregard the memory of golden eyes warming her soul and ignore how she’d felt atop his scary motorcycle. Not once had she looked for him again in a crowd or conjured up a fantasy about her name on his lips. That was, except for a few nights when she couldn’t help but think of calling out his name.

And sometimes, when she looked up at the stars, she wondered if he’d found what he’d been looking for.

That didn’t matter, though, because he made it clear she had no place in his life. She knew he’d only been nice because of what happened with Jace.

Before she could reply to Nia, the front door opened, and a burst of January air sent a chill through the room. Her mom stepped in looking like a snowman, shivering as she quickly shut the door. “It's freezing outside! Oh, are those cookies I smell?”

“Yep, chocolate chip.” Speaking of which, the plate on her lap should be perfectly cooled now. She’d timed them to be done when her mom returned from her luncheon, the one with all the other moms who still got together from the time she’d started kindergarten. “How did your meeting go?”

“Oh, it’s lovely to get together again.” Her mom hung her coat in their front closet and shed her winter heels as she shook snowflakes from her hair. “Tanya’s going on vacation to the Caribbean, and Diana has a grandbaby on the way. We got carried away reminiscing about the good days. You know, the ones when you all were small and chubby.” She made a face and pinched Ivory’s cheeks. “Even if you’re all grown, at least I still get to see some of your baby fat.”

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