The Perfect Gift

“No, she married my cousin instead.” He said flatly.

Ivy’s mouth fell open.

“She married your cousin?” She asked, her hands flying to her mouth.

“It was a family business. My daddy’s brother owned it jointly, and he had an only son. My cousin, Michael. Michael was older than me, older than Vivian and she seduced him too. They were married on my twenty-first birthday. She did it to spite me.” His voice was shaking now as he spoke. Ivy gulped, her brows were crossed. She could see the pain and rage in his eyes. He was forcing himself to talk about it.

“So, what did you do?” She asked softly.

“I tried to forget her. What else could I do? She lived with Michael, in our joint house, while I worked on the ranch every day. Trying to forget my feelings for her. How she had betrayed me.” He said, and banged his fists on the table.

Ivy didn’t know what to say any more. She didn’t know what to ask him. What could she possibly ask him now? She could see how he was feeling.

“I did ask her, why she couldn’t wait a day and marry me instead.” He said, in a much softer voice. He was still struggling with his emotions. Ivy held her breath for the answer. A part of her didn’t want to know any more. She didn’t want to know how much he was hurting. How she had mis-judged him.

“She said that Michael made her feel good. He was a man, while I was just a boy. She had a smile on her face when she said that.” Leon said. Just as Ivy gasped, he picked a plate up from the table and flung it to the floor. It crashed and broke into a million pieces and Ivy jumped off the chair.

“She’s a bitch, Leon. She lied. She never loved you.” Ivy was saying, the words were tumbling out of her. But Leon had lost control of his senses now.

He too jumped off his chair and was rushing towards the kitchen door.

“Leon! She was a liar!” Ivy screa

med after him, but he was gone.

She didn’t know what to do but remain standing where she was, looking after him. The front door opened and closed and she knew he was gone, out of the house and to his horses. She needed to give him his space, the time he needed to recover. But it was approaching night again, and the next morning her father would be there.

She wanted to talk to Leon some more. Explain to him that Vivian had purposely manipulated the family, that he had to forget about her and move on. But how could she when all he did was push her away?

Chapter 17

Ivy didn’t see Leon till the next morning again. She was giving him the space she thought he needed.

But she was awake at the crack of dawn the next morning, showered and packed and ready to go. She had finally replied to her father’s text messages to tell him that she was expecting him. He had told her that he would arrive by mid-day to pick her up.

She could hear Leon walking around the house, and when she stepped out she found him in the kitchen again. He hadn’t changed, or showered and wasn’t looking fresh like he did the previous day. He had clearly had a rough night.

But he couldn’t stop himself from looking at her. At the polka dotted vintage style yellow dress she was wearing. He had noticed the yellow ribbon she had tied to the top of her head; his eyes had glittered when he took in the sight of the golden tight ringlets adorning her head like a crown.

Ivy had taken care to present herself well. She wanted him to remember her like this, to remember her the way she did when she looked her best.

“Good morning, Ivy. I hope you slept well.” She heard him say.

She could smell eggs being fried, and melting buttered toast. She realized she hadn’t eaten in a long time and her stomach was rumbling.

“Good morning, Leon.” She said, walking into the kitchen.

“Take a seat. I’ve made us breakfast. I wanted to give you a good send off.” He said, looking tired and ill rested.

Ivy took one of the chairs at the dining table and waited for him to join her. The sun was just rising and it filled the kitchen with a golden orange hue, in which Leon’s dark brown eyes shone, and caught the brilliance of his sandy blonde hair. She could still feel the texture of his hair on her fingertips, when she had run her hands through them, when he was kissing her neck.

She felt her belly twitch, and she couldn’t be certain if it was because she was hungry, or because of how handsome he looked.

Leon placed a plate of fried eggs, toast and sausages in front of her, and did the same for himself. When he settled into a chair in front of her, he cleared his throat, finally meeting her eyes.

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior last evening. I know you were just trying to be friendly.” He said.

Ivy stared at the food in front of her, suddenly she wasn’t hungry any more. The realization had struck her like a rock slapping her on her face, she was going to leave this place soon. She was going to miss him. She was going to miss her need for him.