Page 103 of Writing On The Wall

“We should…probably get that,” she says, breathlessly.

“Yup. G—uh…good idea,” I stammer. Jeez, this woman scrambles my brain in the best way. She hops off of me, straightening her clothes as I follow her into the kitchen.

“It’s Ember,” she announces, looking at her phone.

“Colton,” I confirm as we both frown before answering. Ivy glances at me while she listens to Ember, then walks to the living room.

“Colt?”

“Eth. You and Ivy busy?”

My frown deepens as I feel my ears heating. I squint intothe living room, trying to make out any silhouetted shapes through the window. I worry for a second that he and Ember have witnessed our hot and heavy make out session. My cheeks lift as my eyes stray to the white handprints on her butt. How caveman is it of me to love the sight of that so much?

“Earth to Ethan…”

“Sorry, nope. Not busy.”

“Good.” The sounds of cabinets opening and closing sift through the phone. “Pack a bag. Meet us at the airport.”

“If you’re escaping a felony, they’ll find you there.”

“You’re hilarious. We’re eloping.”

“What?!” Ivy and I both shout at the same time, our gazes meeting with hanging jaws. Ember must have just dropped the same bomb.

“It’s what Ember wants, so it’s what I want. The stress was getting to be too much, what with the wedding planning and our mothers having morphed the whole event into something completely different from what we pictured in the first place. And I figure this is an ‘easier to ask for forgiveness’ sort of thing.”

“Wow.” My brows raise but I can’t help grinning again when I catch Ivy’s face lighting up with elation. I know she’s dropped a few hints to Ember about being game for an impromptu elopement. “You’re sure this is what you wanna do?” I ask my brother.

“I’m sure. Will you be there for us, Eth?”

“Of course, I’m not letting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity go by. Do you really think I’d give up years worth of getting to make fun of you for letting Elvis officiate your wedding? And being able to remind Mom of it any time I want? This pretty much guarantees me favorite-son status forat leastfive years.”

“Except you’ll be all but forgotten when we give Mom a grandchild first. So suck it, bro.”

My lips roll in as my nose scrunches up. Dang it. I forgot that ‘after marriage comes the baby carriage’ part, even though I’d technically been thinking about those activities in a different context a few minutes ago. But Colton’s right. He’ll definitely reclaim the top spot in the family hierarchy once that happens. I should clarify that our mom has no idea we play this game. She’d never actually have a favorite…is what she’d tell Colton if we asked.

“Yousuck it.”

“Are you coming or what?”

“Maaan, you know we’re coming.”

“Thanks, bro.” He chuckles before giving me the details of our flights. After we hang up, I find myself staring at an exuberant Ivy, clapping her hands and wearing a giant smile on her beautiful face.

“This is gonna be so fun!” she exclaims, bounding over and planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Everything with you is fun, Ivy June.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

IVY

The whir inside the airplane’s cabin creates a cushion of white noise around Ember and me as we huddle together—or at least as much as our business class seats will allow.

“I can’t believe people travel like this. Look at all the storage nooks in this thing!” I lift open every flap I can find. It will be hard to return to economy class after this.

“It feels like a waste to use these seats for such a short flight.” Ember leans down the aisle to glance at economy class. I snort out a suppressed laugh, because only she would worry about something like that.

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