Page 50 of Undeniable

My smile held even as Ivy’s scowl deepened before her mom led her away.

I turned back to my own mother, who chuckled and patted my arm.

“That,” she said, pointing to my smile. “Is the definition of a shit-eating grin. Come on, I need your help, too. Ivy will be here when you’re done.”

SEVENTEEN

Ivy

Thirteen Years Ago

My heart was pounding,my pulse was thrumming in my neck, and I was trying so hard to be quiet as I crawled out of my bedroom window.

I’d done the same thing at least two dozen times, yet I still had that moment of panic. Those seconds—because I was finally good enough that it was only seconds—between when I slowly raised my window and was finally in the passenger seat of James’s truck were a rush.

Even though I was a high school graduate and nearly nineteen, my parents—especially my dad—maintained the same rules. Being out in the early hours of the morning with a boy was the exact thing those rules were trying to prevent.

I often wondered, though, if their rules would change or at least relax if they knew it was James I was sneaking out to meet. They had a soft spot for him, even though they were also aware of his reputation. But I would never find out because no one would ever know.

We’d gotten good at sneaking around. We were both coming and going at all hours of the night, but no one had questioned us. Our parents were so busy with their own lives that they were none the wiser when we were also gone all day. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary.

The only times we had even come close to getting caught were when we were around other people. Nothing could keep us from stealing glances or secret touches when we thought no one was looking. We’d had quite a few close calls, but it was a high to be in public together. The time we spent alone together and the things we did were our secrets. Like we were in our own little separate world, even with anyone else around.

As quietly as I could, I closed my window and tiptoed around the side of the house. The pounding in my chest took on a new form when I saw his truck idling at the end of the driveway.

James had been gone all day helping his dad with errands in the city, so we hadn’t seen each other. I didn’t think I was going to get to see him at all, but he’d quickly texted me on his way back that he needed to see me.

It’d been a month since he brazenly kissed me at our graduation party and demanded that the minimal time we’d have together before we went our separate ways would be worth it. To experience it would be worth more than the eventual heartbreak.

I’d believed him then, knowing the connection we shared was inevitable, but with only a week left until he headed to Austin for college, I was beginning to hate the idea of saying goodbye. When you spent nearly every waking hour with someone, it was hard for feelings not to grow so much larger than you anticipated. I should’ve expected as much, but I didn’t. I didn’t think it was possible between us.

In the faint moonlight, I could barely make out his form behind the wheel, but the closer I got, the easier it was to see the smile splitting his face. The same smile he always greeted me with.

I rounded the front of the truck and peered through the open passenger window, leaning my forearms over the door.

“You’re late,” I said with a smile.

He licked his lips and leaned over the bucket seat, reaching for the door handle. “Get in, Killer. We only have a few hours and—”

“Ivy.” My head snapped to the right, terrified that we’d finally been caught by my parents or his, only to see my brother and Brendon quickly striding toward us.

My shock constricted my vocal cords and all I could do was stare gobsmacked at the two of them.

“What are you doing, Forrest?” James nearly growled from inside the truck.

“Trying to figure out why the hell my sister is climbing into your truck after midnight.”

In the dim light of the moon and lone streetlight outside our houses, I still noted the tic in James’s jaw and the way he shifted in his seat. He opened his mouth to respond, but Forrest cut him off with a raised hand.

“I was asking my sister.”

Forrest’s eyes, the same green as mine, flashed to me. Like a freaking bodyguard, Brendon stood behind him, arms crossed and a dejected scowl across his face.

I wasn’t sure how it was any of their damn business what I was doing in my free time. And I knew if it was anyone else’s truck I was climbing into or any other guy picking me up in the middle of the night, they wouldn’t have so many questions. Because James was their friend, they felt they had some right to be even more nosy than usual.

“I’m not going to dignify that question with a response,” I said, narrowing my eyes in defiance and reaching for the door handle.

Forrest beat me to it, though. My hand landed atop his, and I scoffed. “What the hell—”

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