Page 104 of Corrupting Ivy

I picked up a piece of the squid and dipped it in the savory sauce, then placed it on her lips. Ivy rolled her lips closed and shut her eyes tight, then shook her head.

“What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath. “Can… I feed myself? It’s just—”

I placed the squid on the small plate before her, then wiped the bit of sauce from her lip with my thumb, and licked it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Perhaps if you allowed me to feed you willfully, it might encourage the development of newer, positive memories. But we’ll work on that another time.”

She nodded and drew in an unsettled breath. “I’d like that.”

That was a positive step forward. How could I have forgotten the disgusting details of him force-feeding her? It was far easier to work around my trauma than it was to predict how something might affect someone else.

What one person may find disturbing, another may not. The brain was a complicated mess of gray matter, making it difficult to navigate.

The waitress came by with our food and, while we ate, Liz filled the space, talking about wedding plans and how difficult it was to find a good wedding planner.

“I’ve never had that before,” Ivy said as she talked about her wedding dress.

“But I thought you were married before?”

Ivy choked on her food, then took a drink of her water.

And who the hell told her that?

She wiped her mouth with a napkin, then placed it back in her lap. “It… um… was more of a shotgun wedding.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’m sure if you and Randall ever tie the knot, he’ll make it big.” She winked.

I think Alek would frown upon me trying to drown her in her Merlot.

Alek stood, then dropped a couple hundred dollars on the table. “We’ll finish our conversation later?”

“Yeah.”

The waitress walked up in time for me to hand her my card while I glared at Liz. She took it, then returned with a pen and receipt for me to sign. I slashed my name across the bottom of the paper, then slid my card into my wallet.

“Bring those meals out to the car for me, would you?”

She nodded and walked away. By the time we’d said goodbyes, she’d gathered a team of staff waiting by the door to carry out the order.

“Randall,” Ivy said as I pulled her chair away from the table. “I don’t think I’ll ever want to get married again.”

She rose to her feet, her body so near to mine that her breath tickled my lips as I spun a strand around my finger.

“I don’t need a ceremony, rings, or paper to keep you with me always.”

Ivy smiled, seemingly happy with my response until she saw the bags of food the servers carried.

“I’m never going to eat all of that.”

“That’s okay. It’s about the experience.” I placed my hand on the small of her back and walked her outside.

Ivy stiffened as we drew closer to the SUV, her eyes darting left and right as she swallowed. “Everything okay?”

She released a held breath through her tight lips, then gave me a faint smile and nodded. “Yeah. I just thought… It's silly. Forget it.”

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