Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(14)

“But you’re making bacon,” Sadie said. “I could smell it across the courtyard. I’d kill for bacon.”

At Sadie’s side, Haley and Tae both nodded.

“We earned bacon this morning at the gym,” Tae said.

“I earned bacon in a much more satisfying way,” Sadie said with a smile.

Sadie was possibly the only person Ivy had ever wanted to be her best friend. She’d never really had one, so she wasn’t quite sure. But she imagined that Sadie would be a perfect BFF. She was a tattoo artist at the Canvas Shop, the tattoo parlor on the other side of the courtyard, and was no-holds-barred, tough in her own right. She was kind, but she was also a sarcastic smartass, which Ivy related to on a core level.

“I’m sorry,” she told them. “But the truck was broken into last night and—”

They gasped in tandem and Ivy shook her head, holding up a hand, which didn’t stop them from all talking at once.

“Was anything taken?”

“Are you okay?”

“What can we do?”

“I’m fine, it’s all fine,” Ivy said, admittedly a little surprised and also warmed by their obvious concern. “They got some petty cash, but the fridge was left open and a bunch of the food spoiled. That’s why I’m closed this morning.”

Sadie reached out and took her hand. “I’m so sorry. You’re really okay?”

“Yes. I wasn’t here when it happened.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be freaked out,” Haley said, pushing her red-framed glasses farther up on her face, looking like the cutest little bookworm worrywart Ivy had ever seen. “I was robbed once, and even though it was my ex-girlfriend, it was still terrifying.”

“Need some cleanup assistance?” Tae asked, always the efficient, calm one.

“I’ve got it handled, but thanks.” The genuine outrage on their faces, along with the empathy, was new for Ivy, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it all or how to respond. And they did seem to need a response. “Thank you,” she tried, relieved when they all nodded. “But it’s really okay. Kel helped me clean up the mess.”

The three women’s necks swiveled sharply as they looked at each other and then back at Ivy.

“Kel?” Sadie asked. “Caleb’s sexy cousin Kel?”

“He is sexy,” Haley said. “I mean, men aren’t my thing, but if they were . . .”

“He was walking across the courtyard yesterday,” Sadie said. “And I saw a woman walk right into one of the lampposts when he smiled at her.”

“What is it about a cowboy, I wonder,” Tae mused.

“Everything,” Sadie said and everyone looked at Ivy expectantly.

“Hey, I’m off men,” she said.

“Forever?” Haley asked. “And what about women?”

“For the foreseeable future, and yes, women too,” Ivy said. “And anyway, you deserve someone who isn’t as colossally messed up as I am.”

“Apparently, I’m attracted to messed up,” Haley said morosely.

“It’s not your fault girls are crazy,” Sadie said.

Tae laughed. “Someone once gave me some good relationship advice,” Tae said. “Make sure you’re the crazy one.”

“Ha,” Haley said. “And done.”

“Is that why you’re not in a relationship?” Sadie asked Tae.

“I’m not in a relationship because both Liam and Chris Hemsworth are taken.”

They all smiled at the truth of that, but Ivy had sat next to Tae at the pub a few times. She knew Tae had recently come out of a really bad relationship, but in what way exactly, she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of was that Tae was most definitely haunted by it.

And skittish.

Something Ivy understood at a core level, which made her incredibly sympathetic to what she suspected Tae was feeling about allowing anyone to get close ever again. Ivy wasn’t opposed to an actual relationship instead of a quickie. In theory anyway. But in reality, she didn’t know the first thing about what a relationship might entail or demand from her. She suspected it might be things she couldn’t provide, like pure honesty, transparency, and the like.

“I just haven’t found what I’m looking for,” Tae told Sadie.

“And what’s that?”

“I don’t know.” Tae shrugged. “Maybe warm brown eyes, messy hair, cute nose, and four paws.” She smiled. “A golden retriever would be perfect.”

They all laughed and Ivy hitched the food pack higher on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about breakfast. I’ll make it up to you guys at lunch, okay? But I’ve got to go.”

“Don’t forget tomorrow night’s full moon midnight hike,” Sadie said. “Elle sent out a group text yesterday to everyone.”

Elle was the building manager, and she took her duties very seriously, organizing social events for the group of them that either lived or worked in the building. Ivy had gone to a few, but usually begged off, feeling like the odd man out because everyone was so tight with one another, and she was the new kid on the block.

Okay, not new, not exactly. She’d been there a year. And though Tae was Jake’s sister, she’d only recently come back to town, which technically made her newer than Ivy. But Tae had a natural way with people and she’d fit seamlessly in.