Page 80 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
I placed my palms flat on the table and looked at Mason, then at Damian. “Ivy told you both that we are almost sure that her mother is behind Adrian’s attempted kidnapping.”
Mason nodded and shook his head in disgust. “I knew she wasn't a good person, but what kind of psycho does that to her own grandson?”
Ivy’s expression darkened, and my hands clenched into fists.
“And she paid Riggs to cut your brakes,” Damian added.
“Right,” I said. “Why don't we use all of our connections to figure out where Evelyn could be and who she is working with. I’m conducting an internal investigation into my staff to make sure she isn't working with one of them.”
Damian nodded. “Smart.”
“Let's get to work,” Ivy said and pulled out her cell phone.
“Another dead end,” Ivy said after she hung up the phone around four hours later.
“Me too,” I said and scrubbed a hand down my face.
“Mom? Dad? I'm hungry,” Adrian said from the corner of his room where Mason had set up a racing track for him.
My stomach swooped with happiness at hearing Adrian calling me dad. Hearing him say that would never get old.
I turned to him with a smile. “We'll get something to eat in just a minute, buddy.” Then, I looked back at Ivy, Damian,and Mason. “Let's keep making calls and sending emails,” I said. “We can get our teams on this, too.”
“We won't leave any stone unturned until we find her,” Mason promised.
Damian and Mason got up from the table. I laid a hand on Ivy's arm before she could stand.
“What do you say we take up Adrian to the rooftop pool?” I suggested. “We could get room service up there and go swimming. It might be a nice break for him since it isn't safe to take him to the diner.”
Ivy's face brightened at the idea, and she nodded.
An hour later, the three of us were sitting around a picnic table on the rooftop. Our plates were filled with cheeseburgers, fries, coleslaw, and watermelon. Our son had a large piece of watermelon in his hands, and the red juice was dripping down his face. Ivy and I laughed at the sight. When I took a napkin to wipe off his face, Ivy's expression grew warm.
When we were done eating, the three of us jumped into the giant pool. It was the perfect temperature for swimming. As the sun set, we played every game that Adrian could think of and some that he seemed to make up on the spot. It was an amazing night and a nice break from all the stress of this past week.
At one point, Ivy got out of the pool to jump back in—this was for a game where Adrian was judging who had the best dive between his mother and me. My hands shook as I stared at Ivy climbing up the pool ladder. She was wearing a sky blue one-piece that perfectly matched the color of her eyes. As the water dripped down her body, my eyes scanned every inch of her beautiful skin. With the golden sun setting behind her and her hair slicked back, I was rendered speechless for a few moments.
When she caught me staring, Ivy winked before she dove back into the pool. As the night wore on, our mating bond pulsed with urgency. By the time that we tucked Adrian into bed, read him a story, and gently closed the door to his room, the bond was thrumming between us, pulling me toward Ivy. My wolf was going crazy in my head, too. But I fought both things as I turned to Ivy to say goodnight.
But my goodbye stuck in my throat. Her honeysuckle scent mixed with the vanilla-scented body wash she had used during her quick shower.
Ivy's blue eyes darkened with desire as she searched my face.
“Do you want to stay for a glass of wine?” she murmured, her eyes on my lips.
Remember what she said last night. We needed to learn to trust each other again.
I needed to stay strong for both of us.
“Of course,” I answered, throwing all of my self-control out the window.
Chapter 31
Confessions
Ivy
“Good thing we aren’t drinking champagne,” I muttered as Asher poured the red wine that room service brought us.
