Writing On The Wall (The King Brothers Duology #2)

Chapter 45

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

ETHAN

“None of them are picking up?” Colton asks, his brows pinching as he glances at me for a second before continuing to race toward Ivy’s house.

“No,” I breathe out after a long exhale. I’m trying to stay calm. But this woman has a propensity to put herself in danger with little thought of the consequences. Who knows what the hell she’s doing right now. I only hope that she and Ember have managed to get the upper hand in whatever situation they’ve found themselves in this time.

“Ember know any self defense moves?” I ask.

“Nope. Not unless you count what she’s learned from weird true crime shows. Ivy?”

My hand covers my mouth as I try to wipe away the smile that breaks free but a chuckle escapes without permission. “I caught her judo chopping a mosquito once…”

Without warning Colton punches me in the arm.

“Ow! What the heck was that for?”

“I figured this would happen, but I hadn’t expected this day to arrive so soon. I’m so happy for you little brother. ”

I click my tongue as I scrunch up my face. “Colt, don’t be Bono’s accent from Sing 2 . I’m not discussing this stuff with you until I’ve spoken to Ivy.”

“ Fine ,” he retorts with an eye roll as he swerves into Ivy’s driveway. “This it?”

“Yeah,” I barely get out, unfastening my seatbelt and bolting out before the truck has come to a complete stop.

“Why are you so calm? Ember could be in danger, too,” I demand when he jogs up behind me. “What if they aren’t here?” I scowl, annoyed to find the front door unlocked.

“Nah, I tracked her location on her phone. They’re in the house.”

“That’s a little creepy.”

“She knows about it.” He shrugs as we step inside.

“Ivy? Ember?” I call out, feeling like my throat is in my stomach when there’s no answer. My heavy boots thud on the newly varnished floors as I hurry to the master bedroom. My heart rate settles a fraction when I hear voices as we near.

“Ivy?”

I get to the room and find the closet door open, and Colton and I walk nearer.

“Ethan? What are you doing here?” Ivy emerges, pushing through the small crowd to get to me.

“You okay?” I whisper, finally feeling my jaw relax now that I can see she’s in one piece.

She hooks her pinky around mine as a slow smile overtakes her face. “Yeah.”

Colton finds Ember and wraps his arms around her, placing a kiss on her head, and the rest of the closet attendees shuffle out, surrounding us.

“Did you mean it?” I ask, bringing my palm to her waist and ignoring everyone else in the room. I’ll implode if I have to wait for a private moment to find out if the words that slipped out earlier were true.

I watch as the slightest crease flickers on her brow before she speaks. “What if I did?”

“Then I’d tell you that I’m sorry,” I reply, and her brows pull together behind her glasses. She lifts a hand to nudge the corner of the frame up.

“What?”

“I’d tell you I’m sorry for breaking rule number four,” I say quietly, but the gathering of people around us are standing so close, there’s no doubt they’re still hearing every word.

Ivy’s eyes ping between mine as the curve of her mouth slowly grows into a face-splitting grin, and then she leaps on me. I wrap my arms around her, lifting her feet higher off the ground and burying my own cheesy smile in the crook of her neck.

In my peripheral, I catch whom I presume to be Ivy’s grandmother elbowing Toby. “You okay with another man literally sweeping your woman off her feet?” She scowls at him with a narrowed side-eye.

“Agnes, for Pete’s sake, Ivy was never dating Toby,” Opal groans.

“Well, why not? Look at her! She’s the whole package!”

“What’s rule number four?” Gail asks.

“Rule number four was that I couldn’t fall in love with her. But I’m a rule breaker,” I turn back to the woman of my dreams. “I love you, Ivy June” I whisper into her ear while the group releases a collective “Awe,”. I hear her inhale and let out a little groan, like she’s disappointed we aren’t alone right now. I lower her to the ground, keeping my arm curled around her waist as I lean forward, holding out my hand to her grandmother. “Mrs. Marsh, I’m Ethan, Ivy’s real boyfriend.”

Agnes shakes my hand, narrowing her eyes at Ivy. “You’ve got some explaining to do, young lady.” Then her face softens and she cups Ivy’s face, smushing a kiss to her cheek. “But I’m still so happy for you.”

I didn’t know how badly I wanted to be able to love Ivy freely, but making this declaration in front of all these people who mean so much to her, it feels redemptive. A little awkward—yeah—but worth the chance to finally let her and everyone else know that she means the world to me.

“So…why’s everyone in here again?” I ask, nodding my chin toward the closet.

“Oh my gosh! I nearly forgot!” Ivy turns to me, wrinkling her brow. “The music box is gone,” she adds, her shoulders sinking with a pained, watery gaze.

Agnes shakes her head, crossing her arms with a deep sigh. “I knew that brother of yours was up to no good.”

“Ross didn’t take it,” I say, gently laying my hand on Ivy’s back. “I did.”

Opal gasps while everyone else remains silent. “Saboteur,” she accuses me, stretching the word in a low voice.

“What?” Ivy squeaks.

“Don’t worry, I was only having the bird’s wing repaired,” I explain with a chuckle, thoroughly enjoying being a presumed thief. “It’s at Colton’s office. I had someone come there to work on it. It felt like a safe, neutral location.”

“He’s got muscles and he’s noble.” Gail sighs wistfully before turning to Ivy. “I get it now. I mean…look at the man. No offense, Toby.”

Toby scrunches his face, his chin tilting to the side. “Some taken?”

“Who’s the big guy?” I lean over and whisper to Ivy.

“Oh, that’s Carl. He’s Gran’s accomplice and the security guard where she lives. He’s also Gail and Opal’s informant, with a weakness for cake. And he helped me move all my stuff. ”

“Carl,” I say, leaning forward again from within our circle to shake his hand. “Thank you for helping…I think. What exactly led to this little gathering?”

Carl clears his throat and puffs out his chest, hiking his pants a bit higher. “My grandson is a computer science major,” he begins. “He helped pinpoint the location of the music box when Agnes approached me. Gail and Opal tried to get it back, too. This Ross character was after it as well, and that’s how we all ended up here.”.

“Ross was here?” I ask, turning to Ivy. She releases a long heavy sigh, then lifts regretful eyes to her Gran.

“Yeah, up until a few minutes ago, but he bolted. I’m assuming he thought he had a buyer for the music box.”

“That would be me,” Carl interjects. “All fake, of course. It was just a ruse to locate the box. I may have embellished the threats a little too much, but I was only trying to put pressure on him and confirm he had the box in his possession. I guess he got antsy.”

Ivy nods as she puts the pieces together. “So he thinks you—aka the buyer—has tracked him down, which is why he tried to break in and look for it this morning. Turns out the bad people he thought were after it were Opal and Gail…and Gran.” She rubs her forehead, pacing the very small space in the middle of our increasingly stifling circle. “But he still owes people money.”

Agnes shuffles close, her mouth downturned as she rubs a hand on Ivy’s back. “That’s not your responsibility, sweetheart. It’s his mess to clean up.”

Opal clears her throat and begins fanning her face with her hand. “Y’all, not to be a party pooper, but can we wrap this up with a ‘hands in’ and a cheer or something? This muggy huddle is getting to me.”

Gail nods, flapping the front of her blouse. “I dunno about anyone else, but I’m fixin’ to sweat through my favorite brassiere if we don't get out of here soon. And there’s a reason you don’t hear about wet T-shirt competitions for women our age.”

“Careful, your overripeness is showing,” Agnes snorts.

“Touché,” Opal nods, herding everyone out of the room.

“Ivy, honey, you got any sweet tea? Nevermind. I’ll make some if you don’t. We’ll give you two a moment.”

Ivy and I are finally left alone in the room, and I waste no time in tilting her chin up with my finger and pressing my lips to hers. I can’t hold her close enough as relief floods my veins, and our kiss deepens until Ivy pulls away with a gasp. “Wait, why aren’t you on your way to Frisco?”

“Something more important came up.”

“Ethan, I can’t keep you from your dreams. I’d never want to stand in the way of your heart feeling fulfilled or you getting to enjoy all the adventures you crave. You’ll only resent me later,” she says, taking a tiny step back.

“Nuh-uh,” I grin. “We’re not doing that. We’re skipping that whole bit where you push me away, and we’re both sad. I’ve found the most fulfilling, enticing, exasperating, adorable adventure I’ll ever encounter. And there’s no way in hell you can keep me from this one.”

“But what if you have to move?” she frowns.

I bring one of her hands to my lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. “When I started doing all these things for the show, I just kinda went with the flow. I didn’t think too much about the location. But that’s only ‘cause there’s no question where it’ll need to happen. I told them today, we either do it here, or they do it without me.”

“Ethan. Are you sure about this?” She squints an eye, one side of her mouth lifting skeptically.

“You trying to talk me out of loving you, woman? ”

“I’m trying to save you from feeling weighed down by a girl who doesn’t want to leave this town. And I’m trying to save myself from heartache…” She pauses, closing her eyes before mumbling, “but I think it’s too late for that.”

My stomach swirls with nausea, the feeling of failing her hitting me like a freight truck. I promised her I’d be the one drama-free part of her life, and she’s been freaking out over me breaking her heart this whole time. “Baby, I’m so sorry for not making sure you knew without a shred of doubt that I’m all in. I didn’t wanna scare you away?—”

“Ethan, no. This isn’t on you. This is my fear, and you’re not responsible for that. I’m—I choose to trust you,” she says, rising on her toes to place a kiss on my jaw. When she lowers, a slow grin spreads across her face. “But I still wanna hear you say it again.”

“I love you, Ivy. You are my greatest adventure.”

“Okay,” she nods with watery eyes, her smile giving me the rush of a lifetime. “I love you, too.”