Thief (A Bad Boy Romance)(73)
“But I came back.”
“Yeah,” he mutters, turning and grinning a small grin at me. “I guess you did.”
“And I’m not leaving, Rowan,” I reach out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Not this time. I’m not leaving you, or this family.”
He nods and my jaw tenses.
“And I’m not leaving Ivy, not now and not ever.”
He glares at me, our eyes meeting as we stand there in brimming silence for a full ten seconds. But then suddenly, he’s nodding. He gives me a grim smile and clapping me on the back as he hugs me tight like the brothers we once were.
“Good enough for me. Let’s go.”
I frown. “Go where?”
He growls, almost to himself as he fishes a set of keys out of his back pocket.
“To the pier.”
He pushes past me and moves towards his motorcycle parked in the driveway against the garage.
“Rowan, where the fuck are you-”
“Look!” He whirls and jabs a finger in my face.
“You want to make good with my sister? You want to do the right thing to the girl you fuckin’ married?”
I frown, and I start to open my mouth when he cuts me off by chucking a helmet into my hands.
“She’s taking off, Silas. She’s leaving Shelter Harbor. They’re dropping her off at the ferry now.”
Oh fuck.
Rowan jumps on the bike and revs the engine. “Get on.”
I eye the bike dubiously and he rolls his eyes.
“Get on the bike, pussy.”
I yank the helmet on and swing on behind him.
“Hey,” he turns, grinning at me as we start to pull out of the driveway. “How poetically fucked up would it be if I crashed us this time and broke your leg?”
A lump forms in my throat.
Rowan laughs loudly. “I’m just fucking with you, man. Let’s go stop your wife.”
Chapter Forty
Ivy
Yet again, I’m taking the ferry over the probably more sensible train back to Boston to catch a flight back to New York. But somehow, it feels like a fitting book-end to this debacle of a trip.
I look out at the breakers at the mouth of the harbor, running the tally inside my head. Let’s see, minus one shitty boyfriend, minus one arguably shittier assistant, I’m being sued for breach of contract by my management company, and I may or may not be needed for questioning in conjunction with a possible armed robbery.
Nice, Ivy. Nice.
I’ve also lost the only man who ever truly had my heart.
Again.
Stella strokes my back as we all stand there on the pier, my parents off to one side as we all wait for the ferry that’ll take me away from here.
“You’ve got Beth’s number, right?”
It’s the fifth time Sierra’s asked if I have her lawyer-friend’s number. I nod.
“It might not be her kind of case, but she’ll know people.”
She means my upcoming fight with my own management company over the whole gala debacle.
I smile at her. “I got it, thanks.”
“Bye-bye?”
Carter tugs on my shirt, and I reach down to snatch him up.
“Yeah, buddy, I’m going bye-bye.”
He pouts.
Yeah, I’m definitely going bye-bye. I think I’ve done quite enough mayhem to my own life in the span one trip to Shelter Harbor. It’s time to head back to New York and see if I can try and put things back together.
And at least there, there’s no family around to get the blowback from any of my self-destructive decisions.
“With the fish man?” Carter says earnestly.
I raise a brow at Stella.
“Translate for me?”
My older sister gives me a wry look as she takes Carter into her own arms. “Eh, it’s nothing.”
She looks away and I furrow my brow.
“What?”
Stella glances at Mom and Dad, who’re still standing apart from us, looking out at the Harbor.
“Silas taught him to catch a fish. He hasn’t stopped talking about it.”
I swallow. “When did he meet Silas?”
“Yesterday, when you were in Boston. I thought he should meet his nephew.” She gives me a guilty look. “Sorry, Ivy, I was just trying to help.”
“I know,” I smile. “Thanks.”
“You sure you want to leave?”
I nod. “I think I’ve had enough Shelter Harbor for a while.”
Sierra makes a face. “How long of a while?”
“Ask me at Christmas.”
“Fish man!”
Sierra laughs, and Stella rolls her eyes.
“Yeah honey, the fish man.”
She gives me a look. “Sorry. He’ll be onto something else next time you see him.”
“Fish man!”
She glances at her son. “Carter, honey-”