Page 35 of Wild Heart

“What did he do?” she seethed, her sadness and despair turning to anger.

Even though she couldn’t see me, I shook my head dismissively. This was bound to head somewhere it didn’t need to go. “Nothing. Not really, anyway. Like I said, something happened last summer, and things were tense between us ever since. But we put our differences aside at the wedding.”

“And?” Ivy refused to be denied.

How could I tell her? I closed my eyes and bit my lip, wondering if there was a good way to get there. Ultimately, I took a few deep, settling breaths before I revealed, “I’ve been in love with him since I was fifteen, Ivy.”

“You have?”

It shocked me that she didn’t have a clue. Granted, I never came right out and told her, but she’d been around the two of us together plenty enough to make the connection. “Yes. Why else do you think I’ve never dated anyone else? Haven’t you seen the way I’ve flirted with him for years?”

There was a brief pause as she, no doubt, thought back over the years and my interactions with Tate. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I could hear the sadness in her voice. I didn’t have to see the look on her face to know she was hurt. “I don’t know. I guess… I guess I wanted him to want me on his own. I didn’t want him to be influenced or pressured by anyone else. And I know how much you love me, so I worried that if I told you, you might try to convince him to do something about it.”

She huffed. “Well, if I did, maybe my best friend would be coming home in a couple of days. I don’t understand what happened. Did he… Did the two of you?—”

“It was on me, Ivy.” I had to cut her off and set the record straight. The last thing I wanted was for her to assume things about what happened and go to Tate about it. If hehad reservations about a relationship with me all these years, thinking I’d lied about it to his sister would surely make his impression of me even worse.

“What was?”

“I attempted to convince him to take a shot with me before I left to go on tour. I had this whole thing planned out in my head of how great it would be for us to build a deeper connection over the phone for the months that I was away, but my plans to make that happen turned out horribly. We didn’t speak to each other the entire time I was gone. When I came back for Wyatt’s wedding, Tate approached me to make amends. We had a discussion, and I learned that he was attracted to me but had his reasons for not pursuing me. He didn’t tell me what those reasons were, and honestly, it doesn’t matter. You know Tate as well as I do. He doesn’t give up his convictions that easily. So, I never expected him to change his mind about that. But what I wanted was just one night with him, and I told him if he didn’t take me up on it that night, I’d never offer or ask again.”

I believed what I shared had set the record straight and didn’t leave any room for Ivy to presume the worst about her brother, but once again, I was wrong.

“And Tate thought he could have his cake and eat it, too,” she muttered. “I can’t believe him. I can’t understand why he’d do that to you.”

My stomach clenched painfully. “Ivy, please don’t let this cause any friction between you and him. I can’t add ruining your relationship with your brother to the list of things I’ve got to cope with.”

“Oh, I’m so angry with him,” she seethed. “So, what now? You’re never coming back to Landing?”

It seemed impossible for that to be a consideration. “I wouldn’t say that I’m never coming back, but I need to get past this. I need to know I can come back there, see him, and not feelthe overwhelming sadness I feel now. I need to know I can risk seeing him moving on without me.”

“Ava…” Ivy trailed off, her voice mirroring the sorrow I felt with my whole heart.

“You’ll see me again, Ivy. It’s just going to be a while before I come back.”

She didn’t immediately respond, but when she did, the sadness was gone and replaced by determination. “He has to fix this. I’ve got to go and talk to him.”

“Ivy, don’t?—”

“No, Ava, you listen to me,” she demanded. “I’m going to talk to Tate, and I’m going to tell him exactly what I think. Please don’t make any permanent decisions about your future just yet. Give me some time to sort this out. I’ll call you back later tonight, okay?”

I didn’t want her to sort this out. I didn’t want Tate to be persuaded into giving us a shot together simply to appease his sister—or the rest of his family. Even if he reached out to me now and wanted to claim he had a change of heart, in the back of my mind, I’d be thinking about what led him to that decision. It wouldn’t be because he suddenly no longer had any reservations about me. It would be because his sister sorted it out.

I closed my eyes and sighed. It wouldn’t matter how much I begged her not to say anything. Ivy was who she was. She didn’t take crap from anyone, and when she got worked up about something, it was best to let her say her piece. I could have argued with her, but it wouldn’t change anything. And in the end, I wasn’t planning to go back, so even if this resulted with Tate liking me even less, at least I wouldn’t have to face him. “Okay.”

With that, Ivy and I said goodbye and disconnected our call. I sat there, staring into the mirror for a long time afterward.Eventually, I snapped out of it, got my makeup done, and finished getting ready to head out with my friends.

And before I walked out of my hotel room, I made sure to silence my phone. I didn’t want to risk the rest of the day being ruined.

9

TATE

“I’ll check my email,review the final proposal, and let you know if any changes need to be made.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Tate.”

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