Page 37 of Volatile

“What about me?” It came out snippier than he’d like. She ate her forkful of salad, then took a sip of wine, placing it down without removing her fingers from the stem.

“If you weren’t doing everything possible to help Lily succeed, what would you be doing?”

She shrugged. “Maybe go back to school myself. I don’t know.”

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Lily worked more to give you a break. I know you feel responsible for her, but—”

“Not an option.”

He sliced off a piece of meat and thought about tying her hands back and feeding her to keep that mouth of hers full instead of interrupting.

“I didn’t grow up with much and had to work myself through college, then grad school.” He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, considering the right words. “I can relate to hard times, Ivy. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to me.”

Or if you ever want out of that fucking job.

“If I’m ever in need of a sex therapist, I’ll know where to find you.” She snorted, and he thought wine was going to shoot out her nose.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” He leaned over and wiped a flake of pepper off the corner of her mouth, and she started. “But yes, if you are ever in need of sexual therapy, you’d better come to me.”

She blushed, and he smiled, sitting back in his chair. “Besides Lily, tell me something that makes you happy.”

“Like what?”

“Anything.”

She was quiet for a minute then smiled. “Tuesdays are my favorite day in the flower shop. That’s when Mr. S comes in.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Mr. S?” Who the fuck is that?

“He comes in every week and buys dozens of flowers for the local hospitals and shelters. As a way to give back to the community. It’s really sweet. To know there are people like that out there almost makes up for all the bad ones. It helps to restore my faith in humanity, you know?”

He nodded, feeling better. Just another thing to put on the back burner and analyze later. “You never told me, why did you end it with Wes?”

She shook her head, and he kept his eyes on her, knocking back a long cool sip. He enjoyed watching her reactions to different questions. She intrigued him. He wanted to see how deeply he could maneuver his round peg into her square world.

“If I remember correctly, you came to me wanting to talk about it. You were the one who broke it off, is that right?”

She squirmed in her chair. Was she thinking about that day, getting fucked against the wall? Because he sure as hell was.

“I don’t know why I even mentioned it,” she said. “It’s really not a big deal.”

“Ending a long-term relationship is a very big deal, especially when you were so happy with him. Did he do something to hurt you?”

She shifted again, this time looking uncomfortable. “Look, it’s nothing, okay? It was just the right time for us to end it; that’s all.” She finished off her wine and clutched the glass to her chest. “Can we discuss Lily now? That is the reason I’m here.”

“Of course, but in an indirect way, that’s what we’ve already been doing.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Learning more about you gives me a better idea how we can work together to repair the bond with your sister. You both have very different personalities, but you also love each other deeply. Knowing how each of you ticks can help us find that solution.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. “But wait a minute! We’re trying to get Lily back to normal, so to speak. How does that have anything to do with me?” She set her glass on the table and crossed her arms.

It has everything to do with you, my dear.“You made it clear on the phone that you’re at a loss about what to do. I’ll help you, but you have to be willing to work with me.”

“The first step is finding out who this scumbag is so we can do something about it. Lily will forgive me once his hold over her is broken, and then everything can go back exactly the way it was.”

She was so damn stuck on this. He grabbed hold of her chair and dragged her closer. “Nothing can ever go back. It’s the nature of life to change and move forward.”

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