Page 66 of Finding Home

But for now, Ivy seemed to be buying what she was selling, and she’d take that win. As always, Ivy’s well-being had to be her priority.

“I love you,” she said softly.

And Ivy nodded again. She never said it back. Hope was used to it by now. She didn’t need the words because she knew Ivy loved her.

She held open her arms, and when Ivy ran from where she’d retreated and dove into them, Hope felt it, too. Ivy Harrington was full of love. She just needed a gentle and patient hand to coax it out of her.

As she held on to her best friend, she marveled at all that Ivy had lived through and emerged from so much stronger than before. She was so brave, and she’d worked so hard to arrive at this place in her life. Hope wasn’t going to be the one to compromise it. Even if it meant losing the best thing that had ever happened to her.

For now, Hope was resigned to the fact that when it came to what she had with Gabe and Ruby, she was going to be selfish. She was going to indulge in her time with them and soak up every precious second. She vowed to pour all of her love and care onto both of them, because a time would come when they would both be out of her life. And when that time came, she needed them to know she’d loved them with everything she had.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

“So I went and did this pretty big thing,” Gabe admitted, standing behind Sean, spotting him while he sprawled on a workout bench, lifting nearly twice his body weight without so much as a grunt. He figured if he broke it to him now, while Sean was sweating and preoccupied, he might be able to avoid being sucked into one of those fucking heart to heart chats Sean loved to have.

Sean was six foot five weighed a solid 210, was MMA trained, and grew up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago. The only family he had left was a brother who was serving time in prison somewhere, and yet Sean was still one of the biggest softies Gabe had ever known. As his best friend, Gabe had warned him many times that his trusting heart was going to ruin him one day. It was just a matter of time.

“Oh yeah?” Sean grunted as he pushed a rep up, then brought it down again. “What’s that? Did you adopt that kitten Ruby’s been after?”

Gabe snorted. “You mean the damn kitten you’ve been after? Ruby hasn’t mentioned it since Christmas. You, on the other hand—”

Sean chuckled but didn’t lose pace lifting.

“I bought a house,” he spat out. Saying it out loud didn’t make it seem more real. He still couldn’t believe what he’d done.

The opportunity came up several weeks ago when one of his regulars at the bar, who was also a friend on his rec basketball league and a real estate agent, had sent him a listing for a home in the Northwest Heights area. It was close to Ruby’s school, on a quiet street, fairly central, and had a decent-sized backyard where he could set up a trampoline or a treehouse for Ruby.

It hadn’t been totally spontaneous. The idea of giving Ruby a more solid foundation and space where they could truly plant roots had been ruminating for months. And, yeah, he could admit Hope had a lot to do with it. She’d breathed new life into his future—one he’d never thought he’d get a chance at again. One he hadn’t even realized he’d wanted again.

Of course, he didn’t expect her to drop everything and move in with them, but he liked the idea of, down the road, maybe one day settling into the house with her there and building a home.

It’s nowhere he’d thought he’d be a year ago, or hell, even six months ago, but there it was. He’d signed the papers that morning.

Sean lifted the weight and placed it in its rack. He sat upright on the bench, so he faced Gabe. For a moment, he just sat there, sweat dripping down his face with a look that Gabe couldn’t decipher.

“What?” he demanded.

Then a slow grin cracked Sean’s face. “Did you pick out a pretty ring too?” he asked, clearly trying to hold back a laugh—and failing miserably.

Gabe gave him a not-too-gentle shove off the bench. Any other time Sean wouldn’t have budged, but he was so busy laughing, he landed on the floor on his ass. Gabe hoped it left a big fat bruise. He lay down on the bench and began lifting before Sean could get into position to spot him.

“Man, I’m sorry,” Sean choked out, not sounding sorry at all as he got behind the bench. “A house, dude, that’s huge. It’s great. I mean, it’s about fucking time you got Ruby out of that tiny-ass apartment. The girl deserves a yard for the puppy I’m gonna get her as a housewarming gift.”

“Fuck you.” Gabe grunted, pushing through his reps.

“Seriously,” Sean went on. “This is a real good thing, Gabe. Real good. Does Hope know?”

Sweating bullets, Gabe didn’t say anything until he completed his reps. Sean helped him guide the bar back onto its rack, then he lay there for a second, trying to catch his breath. He’d forgotten to take a weight off the bar before he started and wasn’t used to lifting herculean weight like his best friend, who was also, apparently, Superman.

Finally, he was able to sit up. “Not yet.” Sean raised a single eyebrow so high it almost popped off his forehead. “Timing hasn’t been right,” he added, but Sean’s eyebrow only got higher, and fuck it, his friend was right. If he was having dreams of Hope one day living at his house with him and Ruby, he was going to have to tell her about it sooner than later. “I’ll do it soon.”

Sean provided a snort in response, and Gabe acknowledged the doubt lingering in his heart.

Over the last couple of weeks, since they’d spent that solitary weekend together, there’d been an obvious change in his and Hope’s relationship. They spent time together on weekends, made love every night when he got home from his long shift at the bar. She’d come to another dinner at his sister’s place. They attended Ruby’s school spring concert together. As far as everyone around them was concerned, they were a couple. And even though Hope was still careful not to spend the night when Ruby was there, Gabe could tell his daughter had already accepted Hope as a part of their unit.

Yet Gabe couldn’t shake the feeling that Hope was still holding something back. In his bed, during her time with Ruby, with their friends, and with his family, she gave everything. But when they were alone together, and not tearing each other’s clothes off, he felt a distance. He couldn’t put his finger on it, wasn’t sure what it was, but it was there, like a thin sheet of glass between them, and until he could break through, he knew there was no real relationship. Not without honesty, not without trust. Both of which he needed from Hope.

“So, about your apartment then,” Sean said, snapping him back to reality. “Whose gonna live there when you move out?” he asked as he lowered himself back down onto the bench and adjusted his grip on the bar.

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