Page 101 of Sliding Into Love
In the seat beside her, Lily kept looking over at Ivy and grinning like a loon, waggling her eyebrows when she looked down at where Ivy’s hand was linked with Janna’s. As she had done every ten seconds since the night before, Ivy looked down at her left hand and the faint sparkle of the ring made her breath catch in her throat.
She needed to get a grip.
The walk across the stadium tookyears; years in which Ivy imagined every possible way to break the news to Ethan’s parents. “Hi, guys, your son wants to spend the rest of his life with me, hope you’re okay with that.” Or “Oh, by the way, Laura, Ethan asked me to marry him, and then we had sex on the floor until he had to go back to the hotel to stay with the team because of your friend’s weird rules”.
The sound of Jase’s footsteps as he ran the final few yards to the door of the skybox broke her from her reverie. Ethan, already in his pristine white uniform, waited outside the box, grinning at Ivy and greeting Jase. Janna ran to him too, so he knelt to pick her up. Behind Ivy, Lily snickered audibly and poked Ivy in the ribs.
“It’s yourfiancé, Ivy.”
Ivy rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth before smiling up at Ethan. She was glad to see him, even if she hadn’t expected to see him before the game began.
“Hi?” she said, more of a question than a greeting.
Ethan gently set Janna down, then pulled Ivy into him. For some inexplicable reason, he’d sprayed cologne on his uniform, and the familiar scent of citrus and bergamot andEthanwas comforting as her cheek rested against the smooth fabric of his jersey.
“I’m sorry for what’s about to happen,” he whispered into her ear. “I should’ve known better, but I wasn’t thinking when I texted her last night.”
“Wait, what?”
From somewhere behind her, Laura spoke.
“Are we going to stand here, or are we going inside?” Ivy heard a hint of something in Laura’s voice, but as she turned to look at the older woman, Laura gently pushed her forward as Ethan opened the door.
Balloons erupted from the door in a cascade of red, black, and white. The kids and Lily darted forward to push through the mass of mylar blocking the door. Ivy glanced at Ethan who sighed good-naturedly and nodded toward Laura. Turning to face Laura, Ivy found herself suddenly enveloped in a rose-perfumed embrace.
“I’m so happy for you two!” Laura squeezed Ivy, then stepped back and took both of Ivy’s hands in her own. “When Ethan asked me for the ring, I knew it was coming, but he didn’t tell me anything else.” At Ivy’s confused look, Laura clarified. “The ring was my mother’s.”
Something warm and soft welled up inside Ivy’s chest at the family heirloom she now wore. The ring meant even more to her knowing it had belonged to someone in Ethan’s family, and she lovedhimso much more for offering it to her, for trusting her with something so important. Something she’d never have from her birth mother.
“I didn’t know.” Ivy choked back a sob and tried to hide it by hugging Laura again. Ethan hadn’t told her the ring was his grandmother’s. It made her feel closer to him, closer to his family in a way she’d never have with her own. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”
“My darling girl, you are more than welcome to it. Thank you for bringing my son back to me.” Laura’s voice cracked, and she held Ivy’s hands tightly.
“I didn’t—”
“You showed him the way. None of this—” Laura waved around them, at the food and balloons, the people gathered in the box, “would have happened if it weren’t for you.”
Bittersweet emotion overtook Ivy until she felt Ethan’s fingers thread through hers as he led her inside.
“Let’s see if they left any food for us,” he said, chuckling.
“Ha! I’d be more worried about Lily getting into what appears to be an entire case of champagne.” Ivy pointed to the tables laden with food and drinks, awed at Laura’s dedication.
“How did this,” Ivy waved vaguely, “happen?”
Ethan grimaced.
“After I left last night,” and Ivy was pleased to see the tips of his ears turn pink where they peeked through his hair, “I called my mom. I thought she’d want to know.”
“And she did all of this that quickly?”
“Ah, no. I imagine her assistant did most of the work.” Ethan rolled his eyes fondly. He pulled down a particularly large balloon shaped like a ring and handed it to Ivy.
She lightly bopped him over the head with it, then dashed away to hide behind a column of balloons. Ethan rolled his eyes again, grinning at her.
Jase and Janna were distracted by the balloons and treats, and the adults were distracted by the champagne, so Ethan and Ivy hid together behind the balloon column, sitting on the floor and sharing the food. Ivy noted Ethan being extremely careful with the food, going so far as to spread napkins over his lap, so she flicked one with a finger and quirked a brow in silent question. He scowled.
“These white fucking pants. They’re going to be covered in dirt later, but Emily would be out for blood if she saw me start the game with,” he paused to inspect the plate, “whole grain mustard and blackberry jam on my pants.” He sighed. “I hate these things. They show everything.”
