Page 11 of Sparks Fly

The rest of the text cuts off on the home screen, but I don’t bother opening it to read the rest. “If only people would fucking let you,” I mutter, tossing it onto the bench.

Tom glances down, his eyes narrowing as he sees what’s upset me. “You deserve better than that, Ivy.”

I snort, wondering what he would think if he knew. “Do I?”

“I always thought Lachy was a real idiot.”

“Yeah, well… I’m the one he left behind, so maybehe’snot the idiot.” I drown the rest of my drink, feeling sorry for myself.

He arches his brow. “How do you figure?”

“I don’t know. I just want to forget him.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Yep.” I eye the bottle of whiskey, but drinking is a slippery slope–one I don’t want to fall off of. Alcohol isn’t helping.

Laughter floats through the open window, and we both glance out at the people surrounding the table outside. My eyes find Harley as he leans in and whispers something in Ellie’s ear before a flush rises up her cheeks.

“They really seem happy, don’t they?” Tom’s voice holds a strange lilt that I can’t quite figure out.

“Yeah, they do. Is that weird for you?”

I’ll admit it was odd when they first got together. In the beginning, Harley kept it from Tom because of her being Conrad’s sister. Surprisingly, Tom was totally fine when Harley finally came clean. I wonder if either of them would be so accommodating if they found out about me and Conrad. Not that they are ever going to find out. That was a one and done deal. I already feel like I’ve betrayed them by allowing it to happen in the first place.

Tom shrugs. “It was to start with, but she’s not Conrad. I’m not going to hold what he did against her.”

“That’s big of you. It must be hard considering you two were friends.”

Something flashes in his eyes, but it’s gone before I can think twice about it. He sighs. “Yeah, well, there’s more going on there than what everyone thinks they know.”

“What do you mean?”

Tom shakes his head, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Sometimes your family is not what they appear to be,” he says cryptically. Before I can ask him what he’s talking about, a grin tugs at his lips. “Ellie’s actually really sweet.”

“She is,” I agree. “What about you?” I ask, hip checking him again. “Is there anyone special in your life? I haven’t seen you with anyone since Samara back in high school.”

He snorts. “No one wants to date someone with a criminal record.”

“You’re not a criminal, Tom,” I say softly. “You just made a shitty mistake is all.”

He attempts a smile, but it’s more of a grimace. “I’ve been too busy keeping the business going, anyway. No time for romance here.”

We watch everyone continue celebrating, lost in our own thoughts. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I’m the one to break the silence. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Why’d you do it? Sell the drugs?”

Tom winces. “Because I was a punk ass kid whose parents were working their butts off to keep a roof over our heads. I was sick of watching them scrape money together so that we could have what we wanted. I wanted to keep up with the rich pricks we went to high school with. I saw how much bank some of them made from dealing, so I got in on it.”

“But you were the only one who went down?”

“There was a lot more going on than the drugs, Ives, but it’s not my story to tell.” He sighs and looks away from me. “Can we keep this between us? Especially what went down with me and Dad. I don’t want to cause anything between him and Harley.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” He extends his arm and pulls me into a side hug. “For what it’s worth, things will start to hurt less. It just takes time.”

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