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“No, like I said, we are solid.” He kissed her forehead, then bent his head and rested his forehead on hers. Emmanuel closed his eyes as he made the omission that he would have preferred to stay locked up inside him. “When I left this house. The only reason I did it was because I had faith that it would be temporary. It was obvious who I was. There was no doubt in my mind about it. Until now, I’ve never had one before.” While he spoke, Emmanuel’s hands dropped to his side. “I’m struggling to return home to you because, for the first time in my life, I do not have a fucking clue who I really am. My whole life is a lie. The deception runs deep, and I suspect that it’s deeper than we can even begin to imagine.”

Now it was Ivy who grasped his face in her soft, warm hands. “Yeah, I know Baby. No matter what has happened or will happen. Despite everything, you will always be the amazing man I met and fell in love with. You are an amazing husband, father, friend, son, and CEO. You are Emmanuel Campbell Scott, and you are my everything, and we will get through this.” Hearing Ivy say it made it all seem so simple. It wasn’t, but like she said, they’d get through this.

“Tonight, when I get back to the condo, I will pack, and tomorrow I’ll move back home.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go see how dinner plans are coming.”

In contrast to the shitstorm Emmanuel had been experiencing lately, dinner was a welcome respite. It was a great night full of laughter. The only blip was when Sage found out that her dad wasn’t spending the night after all. Emmanuel had assured his little girl in two days he would be home when she returned from her trip. He’d promised Ivy that he would come home the next night. She had planned a welcome home dinner for the two of them.

So why couldn’t he get out of the fucking car? Emmanuel was parked in front of their home. His bags were in the back seat. The last thing he wanted to do was let Ivy down. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to get out of the car and move back in. It was a tough decision.

“Hey, Doc.” Emmanuel tried to sound upbeat when he greeted her.

“You aren’t ready to come back, are you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Ivy’s voice was laced with disappointment. “Shit, okay. You know what? I’m going to lie down a bit. Can I call you back later?”

“Yeah.” The words were barely out of his mouth when she disconnected the call.

Emmanuel wasn’t sure how long he sat in the car, but he knew there was no way he could leave things like this. He was almost certain how this would play out. Ivy would take time out for herself. Then she would swallow her hurt and try to make things better. Especially with everything that had been going on lately. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but he would not give her space. The phone rang and went to voice mail, but Ivy phoned back right away.

“Hey, sorry—” Ivy began, but Emmanuel cut her off.

“Wanna go for a drive?”

“Umm… sure. When will you be here?”

“I’m already here, Doc.”

Ivy giggled. It was a perfectly lovely sound. “Okay, I’ll be right down.”

It didn’t take long for her to make her way downstairs and when she arrived, Emmanuel was waiting for her. Her smile was everything.

She gave him a quick peck on his cheek, and he pulled her into a quick hug.

When was the last time that they did anything like this? Just drove around, listening to music. When they finally got hungry, they stopped at a classic diner to grab some smash burgers, waffle fries, and chocolate milkshakes to go. They drove to the city park which was still closed for the winter and ate their meal.

“I didn’t mean to let you down tonight, Doc.”

“I know. Like I said, we will be alright.”

A soft peck turned into so much more. Their tongues mated in a familiar dance. It quickly turned into more. The windows were steamy as they explored each other in the car with no thought of their surroundings. Emmanuel needed Ivy, and it was his only thought.

Knock, knock.Between the music and their sounds of passion, it took them a moment to realise that they had company. Emmanuel promptly turned down the music and cracked the window.

“You kids couldn’t find a room somewhere?” The officer admonished. Then motioned for Emmanuel to open the window all the way.

Shit.Well, this was embarrassing.

“Wait, seriously. You two are grown people.” The officer said, using the flashlight to inspect the occupants of the car. “I want to see your IDs.”

Emmanuel presented the officer with his and Ivy’s license.

The man took one look at them and started issuing apologies. “Sorry, Mr. and Dr. Scott. Um yeah. We will be on our way.” It seemed like the officer wanted to say more but thought better of it.

Once the officer was gone, Ivy covered her face with her hands. While Emmanuel found the encounter hilarious, Ivy covered her face with both hands. “That was mortifying. I can’t believe we got caught like some horny teenagers.”

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