Page 38 of Sliding Into Love
“Oh.” The tips of Ethan’s ears and his cheekbones turned pink. “Derek told me you might be here. And I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I needed time to think about…everything.”
“Good!” Jase interjected. “He sucks.”
“Jase!” Ivy had never heard him say anything so vehemently.
“Well, he does. And you say worse all the time, Ivy.” Jase wrinkled his nose at her.
“Yes, but I’m a grown-up. You’re right, though. He does suck.”
Ethan huffed a laugh, turning to look at her, and Ivy realized she still had her fingers in his hair. Oops. When she removed her hand, Ethan looked disappointed.
“So, Jase, want to play catch?” Ethan pointed to a gym bag on the ground at their feet.
Of course, Jase wanted to play, so he and Ethan went to the big open field adjacent to the park while Ivy played with Janna in the sandbox. They weren’t close enough to hear, but Ivy watched Jase and Ethan, and what she observed cracked something in her heart. Jase stared wide-eyed at Ethan, nodding and serious as if it was the most important thing he’d ever heard. Ethan couldn’t run, but they tossed the ball back and forth, and Ivy saw how much Jase and Ethan enjoyed it. Both man and boy seemed so at ease, and watching them left her close to tears.
She swiped at her eyes for the hundredth time when she heard a familiar voice call her name. It seemed that Lily had come to join the shenanigans.
“Poison Ivy!” Lily’s short, blue-black bob appeared in Ivy’s vision. “Thatis Ethan Ford.”
“Thank you, Lil. I hadn’t noticed.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“Playing ball with Jase. Duh.”
“And why aren’t you over there with them?”
“I wasn’t invited,” Ivy said.
“Hmm. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“For what?”
Grinning evilly, Lily answered. “Oh, for casually mentioning to Derek about you wanting to date tall, dark, and bandaged over there. He might have said Ethan was flying home early, and I might have told him to tell Ethan to come here. So, you’re welcome.” Lily narrowed her eyes and looked between Ivy and the far-off Ethan. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight? I thought about taking the kids to a movie.”
“Wrong. You’re going on a date.” Ivy tried to speak, but Lily cut her off. “I have spoken.” She held her hand up and gave Ivy alook.
Ivy gave her the side-eye. “Except for the part where he didn’t ask me out.”
Lily scoffed. “Not a problem.” Another evil grin adorned Lily’s face before she took off toward the field, her black hair fanning out behind her as she went.
Ivy broke out in a cold sweat, knowing exactly what the other woman was about to do.
Oddly, Lily did not go directly to Ethan. Instead, she paused to lean against a tree trunk and made a quick phone call, and Ivy wondered what could possibly require a phone call in the midst of her nefarious plans. Lily’s evil grin flashed again as she jogged up to Ethan. Even from a distance, Ivy saw Ethan’s emphatic,yes, and she couldn’t hold back a smile. Lily returned with Jase and Ethan in tow, and Ivy had to turn away to hide her grin. Smirking at Ivy again, Lily herded Jase and Janna to the duck pond, abandoning Ivy and Ethan.
Alone with Ethan for the first time, it occurred to Ivy how large the man was. His muscular body completely engulfed her line of sight, and she drank in the sight of his plain black tee stretching across broad shoulders and curving over deliciously defined biceps. And his chest. Her breath hitched as she took in the outline of what was sure to be an incredible amount of muscle beneath his poor, straining shirt. Her eyes went up to the column of his throat, where she followed it up to his face, settling on his eyes. Without the hat blocking the sunlight, they turned brighter, almost amber instead of their usual deep coffee brown. He peered down at her with a smirk on those damn kissable lips.
“So, Lily has informed me she and Derek have very generously offered to hang out with Jase and Janna tonight.” Ethan’s voice was a low rumble, and Ivy wanted to be closer, close enough to feel it vibrate against her skin.
“Oh, have they?”
He chuckled. “It seems Lily and Derek are practically forcing us to go out. Together. You and me. If… you want to?”
“Busybodies.” Ivy scowled.
“So, you don’t want to?” His shoulders sagged, and—
