I sigh, one part relief, one part worry.
The only thing keeping me here is Sarah Elizabeth. She’s come a long way since leaving Harmony Hills, but I think she’s more suited to this cottage than to Tanglewood. And her baby is due in a few months. I can’t leave her here alone. Once the baby is born, she’ll need help, support. I don’t begrudge her that. I have never been able to shake the guilt over leaving her to Leader Allen, even knowing there was nothing a sixteen-year-old girl could do. And besides, we’ve become friends.
But every minute spent here is one where I’m not at the Grand. Where I’m not with Ivan.
Now that we’re together, now that we’re equals, I don’t ever want to be apart.
Small sounds are coming from the back room, and I cock my head. What is she doing in there?
Ivan and I head for the door together, hands linked. The cottage is structured in a strange way, with the living quarters in the front and the kitchen in the back. Kind of like the old, grand houses where servants were common
, although this place is too small and modest for those.
“Beth?” I call.
No answer. My heart picks up a rhythm.
Ivan’s expression hardens, and he pushes me behind him. He nudges the door, and it swings open—revealing Luca and Sarah Elizabeth in a lip-lock, both covered in flour. He’s got her backed against the wall, and she doesn’t seem to mind. His hands are under her ass, lifting her up. Her hands are in his hair, dusting the black strands with white.
Shock leaves me rooted to the spot, unable to speak.
Her belly isn’t exactly large, but it’s impossible to miss, a bump from her thin frame. It doesn’t seem to bother Luca in the slightest. He presses his big body against hers, rocking his hips in a blunt, insistent motion.
Ivan clears his throat, and Luca’s head lifts slightly. He carefully sets Sarah Elizabeth down before turning to face us. It doesn’t escape my notice that he blocks her from view, either to give her time to adjust her dress or to protect her from Ivan’s wrath.
Well, Ivan doesn’t seem mad exactly. More amused. “I told you to keep her occupied.”
Luca is unrepentant. “I did.”
Ivan turns back to me, his expression hesitant. “We’ll have to spend the night here.”
He doesn’t quite phrase it as a question, but I know this is his way of including me. Of letting me take the lead. Of giving me the option to invite him or push him away.
I step close and take his hand again. “We’ll make it work. There are some extra bedrolls in the attic.”
“And then tomorrow, we’ll fly back.” Another not question.
Worry tugs at my lips. “Well. I’m not sure I can leave Beth.”
She steps out from behind Luca. “I can come with you, if that’s what you want. You shouldn’t be trapped here because of me.”
“No,” Luca says. “I’ll stay with her.”
We all three turn to stare at him. Ivan seems the most shocked. Beth seems scandalized but pleased. As for me? This is the best thing to ever happen to me. Now I can go back to the Grand, back to Ivan, and know that Sarah Elizabeth is safe.
And plus, I’ll never let Luca live this down.
Beth recovers first. “No, it wouldn’t be…right.”
Pretty much everyone in the room can tell it’s a token protest, even Beth. Her cheeks turn red.
“Hmm,” I say, tugging Ivan back through the door. “I think we should give these two a chance to talk things out.”
Ivan still looks shocked, but he lets me lead him away. “I’m not sure there’ll be much talking,” he mutters.
It makes me giggle, and I feel exactly like the little girl—like his little girl—that I always wanted to be. Light and carefree. Hopeful. “Whatever they’re doing, it will probably take… oh, an hour or two. I could show you the orchard.”
His lips quirk. “The orchard?”