Page 29 of Lonely Heart

My throat constricted painfully, and I began stroking two of my fingers over my eyebrow. My mind was racing as I attempted to recall every interaction I’d had with Ivy since her attack. Obviously, the night I was with her in the hotel, she’d been horrified. She’d acted exactly how I would have anticipated, given what she’d been through. But when I saw her the next day, I couldn’t get over how well she appeared to be doing.

Was that truly how she was feeling? Or had it all been a false front? And if so, why would she not seek help? There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that any one of us in this room, her parents, grandparents, Jules, Ava, Skye, or Rhea, would do whatever we could to give her the support she needed.

“I can’t say I’m not feeling a touch alarmed,” Liam admitted.

“Same here,” Wyatt agreed. “But this is Ivy.”

“What do you mean?”

The look on Wyatt’s face told me he was clinging on to any shred of hope he could find that would tell him his sister was okay. “Ivy’s always been… spirited. She’s bold and strong-willed, and she’s a fighter. Sure, she can be melodramatic, but overall, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe she’s just rolling along, trying to figure out the best way to move on.”

“I know that, which is why I wrestled with this,” Tate reasoned. “But I also know that Ava’s known her for years. And that’s what worries me. Because I don’t think Ava would have said anything to me if she wasn’t seriously concerned about Ivy.”

We sat in a collective silence for several beats, my stomach twisted in knots as I thought about the woman who’d been on my mind constantly for days now. I was itching to rise from my chair, leave the room, and go in search of her. A plan was already formulating in my mind for how I intended to be certain Ivy got through this.

Cooper finally broke the silence. “Let’s not go crazy with this. I think, given how well Ava knows her, we shouldn’t dismiss those concerns. But we also know Ivy, and this could just be her way of coping that turns out to be healthy and reasonable for her. It’s not like she’s turned to drinking, drugs, or other unsafe behaviors. We should keep our eyes on her, find ways to check in consistently, and make sure she’s got people around her often.”

“I think that’s wise,” Liam said.

“Yeah, I’m in agreement with that,” Tate added.

Wyatt pinned his attention on his brother. “It’s a good plan, Cooper.”

When four sets of eyes came my way, I held my hands up defensively. “Why are you all looking at me?”

“Because you’re here now. Because you were there for her then. And because you’re just as much a part of this family as any of us,” Tate said.

I’d always felt as though the Westwoods were like family. But there was something about hearing Tate say the words he’d just said that impacted me in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

Clearing my throat, I adjusted myself in my seat. “Uh, yeah. No, I agree with Cooper. I think it’s best to just keep an eye on her.”

“Good. That’s settled, then.” Tate let out a deep sigh. “Alright, let’s get down to business here.”

Before our meeting could proceed, there was a knock at the conference room door. It popped open as we all looked in that direction, and Evelyn Westwood poked her head into the room. She smiled. “Hi, boys. I’m sorry to interrupt, but… oh, Marco, you’re here.” Evelyn swung the door open and stepped fully into the room. “I didn’t know you were going to be here. I had planned to come and find you today. I wanted to thank you for what you did for Ivy.”

“It was no problem, Evelyn. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

She wore a proud look. “I know you would. Malcolm and I are so grateful to you.”

Once again, I understood the appreciation they all had for me, but it felt so unnecessary. It would have been unnecessary no matter what, but with everything I felt stirring in my chest for Ivy these last few days, it almost felt like I was fulfilling a duty, something I was meant to do.

“What’s going on, Mom?” Wyatt asked. “Is everything okay?”

Her gaze moved around the table, lingering a moment on me before she shifted her attention to Cooper. “When you finish up in here, would you mind coming to find me? I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Sure, Mom. I can do that.”

“Thank you. Okay, kiddos, I’m leaving now. You can get back to your meeting.”

Evelyn backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Alright. First up, let’s talk about the villas,” Tate said, returning us back to the original reason we’d come here for this meeting. “It’s my understanding that we’re on track with those, perhaps even slightly ahead of schedule.”

I glanced at Cooper, who jerked his chin in my direction. Apparently, he’d been serious when he said he wanted me to take the lead on the discussion regarding the villas.

“Technically, we are ahead of schedule, but I did just run into an issue that might delay things a bit. I was preparing to start on the bathrooms, and when I went to bring the tiles over to the villa I was working in this morning, I learned that we were sent the wrong ones from the manufacturer. I gave them a call to get the situation rectified, but unfortunately, they don’t have enough quantity of the correct ones.”

“Did they give any estimate as to how long it would be to fulfill our order?” Wyatt asked. “Is there enough quantity there to do a handful of the villas?”

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