Crave (Billionaire Bachelors Club #1)(38)

Ivy glares at me. Damn, she’s pretty when she’s angry. “Life isn’t all fun and games.” She takes another bite of the cheese stick, a little moan escaping her as she chews.

The sound sends a swift bolt of lust straight to my groin. “Isn’t that the damn truth,” I mutter.

“You certainly make it look that way though. Always out with two or three women hanging off your arm, drinking and having fun out at clubs all over town,” she points out.

Hell, she thinks I’m a complete jackass. Especially with the way I’ve ignored her since we were last together. If she only knew the truth. How difficult that had been, how much she scared me. How much she still scares me. “You really think all I’ve done is f**k around and spend my family’s money these last few years?”

“Of course not.” She pops the last of the mozzarella stick into her mouth, chews and then swallows. “Gage has told me how hard you work.”

“And maybe you need to learn how to let loose more and have a good time,” I return. Here we go, returning to our standard argumentative selves. I swear it’s like foreplay between us. It masks all that sexual tension that’s constantly brewing whenever we’re together.

“I know how to let loose.” Her voice is defensive.

“Then prove it.” I am practically daring her. She’s always worried over what everyone thought of her, ever since I’ve known her. Cultivating a certain image, not allowing anyone too close for fear they might see the real Ivy.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the real Ivy. In my eyes, she’s damn near the perfect woman.

“How can I prove it to you?”

I can’t answer her for fear I’ll say something so incredibly stupid, I’ll f**k it all up.

I can’t chance it. Too risky.

“Can I be honest?” she asks suddenly, shocking me from my thoughts.

“Please. By all means.”

She watches me, her gaze direct, her expression serious, and I want to squirm. “You scare me.”

Great. The feeling’s mutual. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”

“That’s not what I’m scared of.” She exhales loudly. “Just being in your presence is like going on an exhilarating roller coaster ride, and I’m constantly terrified I might fall off and plunge to my death at any moment.”

“Well. That sounds . . .”

“Pretty scary, right?” She smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I want to help you, Archer. I really do.”

“Then quit waffling,” I say vehemently. Fuck, I swear I’m losing her. She’s slipping right out of my grasp like tiny granules of sand, and I can’t do anything to stop it from happening.

“I’ve already agreed to help you. I don’t have a choice but to agree, what with the way you handled this.” She pauses, her tongue sneaking out to wet her lips. My heart lurches at the sight of her pretty pink tongue. “I’ll help you, if you help me.”

Relief floods me, leaving me weak. “Anything. I’ll do anything you want. Name it and it’s yours.”

Ivy jerks her gaze from mine and bends her head, studying the table. “When we were . . . together last time. The night of Jeff and Cecily’s wedding. It was good between us. Right?”

Uneasiness slips over me, sending a chill racing down my spine. Where is she going with this? “Yeah.”

“So, what if we worked together and spent time together as if we were a real couple?” She keeps her head bent, sketching invisible doodles on the tabletop with her index finger.

“What do you mean?” Lusty hope rises within me. She couldn’t be asking for what I think she is . . .

No way. This is Ivy. She wouldn’t be so bold as to ask me to have a fling with her, would she?

I’d say yes. I’d get her any way I could, just to be with her.

“I want to spend more time with you, Archer. I want to get to know you. The adult you, not the rude teenager from our past.” She shrugs those slim shoulders of hers, her voice sounding downright hopeless. “Over the years, we’ve grown apart, moved on with our lives. Having you back in my life makes me realize I’ve missed you.”

Disbelief fills me. That she could be so honest, so incredibly forthright in what she wants from me is shocking. Normally I’m the brutally honest one. But Ivy changes everything. I would’ve hemmed and hawed and wondered how the hell I might approach her.

Hell, I’m doing that very thing right now. Yet she comes right out and asks for what she wants from me. I can’t help but admire her for that.

“I’ve missed you too,” I admit because she deserves those words. She jerks her head up, her wide-eyed gaze meeting mine, and I smile at her. “I thought you hated me.”

“I do.” She returns the smile. “But there’s more between us than fights and hate and constant irritation. Don’t you think?”

Oh, I know. But I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to tell her yet. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I’m half tempted to ask her why she’s here. With me. I flat out don’t deserve her.

“Yeah,” I murmur, not sure what else I can say. I’m shocked she’s willing to give me—us—another chance.