Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(60)

Remy.

Ivy startled and fell over.

Kel picked her back up and then knocked his head back against the wall several times. “No worries on not having birth control,” he muttered.

“My party has a happy ending!” Remy called up. “Ethan just pulled out a huge chocolate cake! It says Merry Christmas on it, but hey, that’s what happens when you have a baby shower on Christmas Eve eve, right?”

Ivy’s eyes met his and she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh because she was pretty sure she was thinking the same thing as he—that while she’d gotten her happy ending, he’d been shafted. Because of cake. “Coming,” he called, and Ivy snorted as she fought to right her clothing.

“Well that was almost true,” she whispered. “You were almost coming.”



Much later, Ivy and Kel were leaving the party when Remy caught up with them. “Hey,” she said to her brother. “Can I have a sec?” Remy glanced at Ivy. “Do you mind? I’ll be quick.”

“No problem,” Ivy said and moved down the front steps to give them privacy.

But it turned out Kel’s family wasn’t a quiet bunch.

Remy took Kel’s hands in hers—Ivy suspected so he wouldn’t walk away—and looked right into his eyes. “You didn’t say goodbye to Mom.”

“Sure I did.”

“You didn’t.”

“I waved,” Kel said.

“Lame,” Remy said. “And also pretty rude.”

He shifted on his feet. “Remy—”

“I’ve seen you looking at all the family pics, Kel. And I know you realize you’re not in most of them.”

“Any,” he said. “I’m not in any.”

“And who’s doing is that?” Remy asked, then pulled him in for a hug before he could answer. “Just think about it, okay? Promise me, Kel.”

Ivy wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it. The way his sister loved him and had his back . . . it grabbed her by the heart and squeezed.

Ethan appeared behind Remy with Harper asleep on his shoulder, drooling down his back. He and Kel hugged goodbye, and not one of those silly male half-handshake, shoulder bump things, but a real hug without a care in the world as to what that might say about their masculinity.

As far as Ivy was concerned, it was the cutest, warmest, sexiest thing she’d ever seen. But then Kel lifted little Harper and kissed her on the tip of her tiny nose before burying his face in her neck and breathing in her sweet baby scent.

Ivy’s ovaries actually sobbed a little.

But it was more than that. He had something here, something she’d never had, something she’d only recognized because of movies and TV. And it didn’t make her feel envious so much as . . . warm and fuzzy. And something else too. Seeing him allow his emotions to show, seeing him easily give love and affection to those he cared about . . .

Yeah. He’d never been as sexy to her as he was right that moment.

Remy hugged him goodbye and then came down the steps to do the same to Ivy. “Take good care of him,” his sister whispered. “He doesn’t know it, but he could use someone to watch his back for once.”

Ivy pulled back and met her gaze.

“He’s always been the one of us to hold it together,” Remy explained. “For the whole family. When my dad died, who held it together? Kel. When my mom had her breakdown and stayed away for a bunch of years, he held it together, and me. He’s always held me together. And my grandparents too. He helped me get into college, helped Grandpa keep his ranch, helped my grandma through her grief. Because that’s who he is, our protector. The keeper of our hearts. But he’s never allowed anyone to do the same for him.”

“Remy—” This from Kel in a low, exasperated tone. He said a firmer goodbye and walked Ivy to his truck, a hand at the small of her back.

She loved the touch. Needed more. Far more. Watching him love his family tonight had turned her into one big bundle of need.

“You okay?” he asked, opening the passenger door for her.

“Yes. Why?”

“Because you just moaned. When I touched you.”

She glanced up at him and bit her lower lip.

He met her gaze and stilled, his eyes heating as they held hers. “Let’s go,” he finally said, a husky quality to his voice now. “There’s something I want to show you.”

“I really hope that’s a double entendre,” she said as she slid into the truck.

He laughed and . . . didn’t drive her home. Instead, he took her over the bridge and north.

“Where we headed, cowboy?” she asked, watching the city vanish in her side mirror.

“Sonoma.”

She turned from taking in the dark rolling hills to stare at him in surprise. “Wine country?”

“Also horse country.”

She blinked and he flashed her a smile in the dark, intimate interior of the truck. “Are you looking for another cowboy bar?” she asked. “I’m not sure I’m up for bull riding tonight.” Because it wasn’t a bull she wanted to ride . . .

“My buddy Donovan owns a ranch up here. He’s been wanting to expand, but doesn’t have the capital. A ranch right next to his just went on the market.”