IvyThe restaurant they chose was nice. It was an upscale place that I would have never gotten into. As they walked us to our table, people were staring and whispering at us. Maverick squeezed my hand to comfort me.I was excited to get out of the house, but the reaction we were getting from everyone makes me regret leaving the house.“Don’t worry about them.” Maddox whispered as we sat down.“It’s hard not to.” I whispered.“Thank you for joining us this evening. Shall I start you with a bottle of wine?” The server asked.“No thank you,” Maverick answered.“Are you sure this was a good idea?” I asked.I hated people staring at me. I didn’t want this kind of attention and I didn’t think about this before I agreed to come out tonight.Maddox scooted his chair closer to me and kissed me. It was a long lingering kiss that left me breathless and as soon as he pulled away, Maverick did the same thing.“There, now they have something to talk about.” Maddox stated.I could feel the heat in m
Maverick“Go upstairs and get ready for bed, Ivy. I’ll be up there soon.” Ivy nodded at Maddox and ignored me, and the cold shoulder hurt, but I deserved it.“I think you need some time away from the house,” Maddox stated.“I’m not leaving.”“You’re not concentrating on what is going on and you’re doing more harm than good. Our perfect date night was ruined because your feelings got hurt when Ivy said she didn’t want to stay home. What is your deal?”“Is it wrong that my ideal family has a stay-at-home mother?”“It is when you’re not giving her the choice. Her entire life she has been told what to do by men and she finally has a chance to do something, and you want to take that from her.”“Just until the kid is old enough to go to school.”“And then what? She can only do things during school hours? That’s bullshit and it’s unfair to her. Ivy deserves more, she deserves better. When did you start acting like our father?”“Take that back, Maddox. I’m nothing like him. Really, you don’t
Ivy“I’m sorry about last night. I was in a hurry because the guys were waiting on me.” I wanted Leah to think I was genuinely sorry for blowing her off so she would open up to me.“It’s ok. You have a life and you’re not always available to talk and I know the Ronan Twins don’t tell you everything.” “You’re right, they don’t tell me everything and it sucks. They want me to be an equal partner but treat me like I’m lesser than them.”“It’s the male mentality. They grew up being taught women were deceiving and lesser, so it’ll take some time to break.”“Do you want to go for a walk in the garden?”“Sure.” Leah’s mood was sad. It was easy to tell she wasn’t ok.We took our time getting to the gardens, walking in silence. I didn’t want to start any conversation with her while we were roaming the house. There could be someone listening, and I didn’t want to ruin my chance to figure out what was going on with her.“It’s pretty out here, isn’t it?” Leah asked“It is. I hate that we were n
Ivy“Are you sure they’re ok with this?”“Yes. They insisted I take you to congratulate you.”“Do they know who the father is?”“No. I didn’t tell them that part. It’s none of their business. You’ll tell them when you want them to know.”I hate lying, especially to a friend, but I’m not sure we can trust her, so it’s for the best.“I feel bad.”“Leah, let us do this for you. You’re not the only one picking things out. I need something for our baby, too.”“It’s not the same. They’re the father. I’m just the house servant who fucked their father.”“What else is bothering you? I feel like this is just the icing on the cake, and you’re angry about something else.”“Of course, I’m angry about other things. I’m carrying the child of a man who is going to die. I have no support and no idea what I’m going to do about my life.”“You have me for support and once Maddox and Maverick know they’ll support you, too. They’re not horrible people. You are family now and have nothing to worry about. Le
MaddoxWhen we got back to the house, I was happy to find out that Ivy made it home, but I was a little disappointed that she was taking a nap. I wanted to talk to her and spend time with her. I needed her after seeing my father.She looked peaceful sleeping in her bed. Her stomach was still small enough that it allowed her to sleep on it with her arms under the pillow. Her lips were slightly parted, and she was making small snoring noises.I walked into her room and stripped to my underwear and climbed into bed next to her, pulling her close to me.“What are you doing?” Her voice was quiet and sleepy.“I’m spending time with you. Go back to sleep.”Instead of going back to sleep, she rolled over and scooted closer to me. She laid her head on my shoulder and nestled her face into my neck.“You always smell good.”“It’s always good to know that I smell good. How did today go?”“Leah is afraid of being alone, and I think it’s going to make her help your father if she finds away.”I was
Ivy“It’s time to wake up. Ivy, I need you to wake up so you can get ready for dinner.”I was confused at first because that voice didn’t belong to Maddox.“Maverick?”“Come on, sleepyhead. I promised Maddox that I would have you up in enough time for dinner.”“What are you doing here?”“I’ve been with you for the last hour and a half. I wanted to spend some time with you.”“You should have woken me up,” I said as I raised my arms above my head to stretch.“I knew you needed sleep; you’ve been exhausted lately.”“I’m always tired. This pregnancy is taking all of my energy. Do I really need to leave the bed?”“You need to eat.”Maverick was propped on his elbow, looking down at me, and I couldn’t help but stare at his face. Both men were very attractive, but their prominent features were different. Maddox has piercing green eyes and Maverick has full, beautiful lips.“Kiss me,” I demanded.Maverick furrowed his eyebrows before bending down and capturing my lips with his. I wrapped my a
Maddox“Where did this come from?”“I don’t know, sir. The doorbell rang and when I answered the door, this box was the only thing in sight.”The box was slightly bigger than the palm of my hand and it contained a small doll with a knife through its stomach. and the note under the doll threatened Ivy and our baby’s life.“Read the note again,” Maverick demanded.“Risking two lives in one, you better be careful because soon you’ll have none,” I read out in anger. I was tired of seeing the note and looking at this doll and I wanted to kill the person who sent this.“Do you know who would have sent it?” Colin asked.“The Delaney Family. Our father had a deal with them and now that he isn’t in power, they can’t get what they want.”“He warned us about this,” Maverick stated.“It’s only a threat. Nothing has happened. We need to be prepared. Ivy is to not be alone. If she wants to go out, she takes people with her. Is that understood?”I looked at the people in the room that supported us,
Maverick“They should have been back by now.”“I know, neither Ivy nor Damien are answering their phones now.”“Do you think something happened?” I asked Maddox.“I don’t know. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Ivy was ignoring my call earlier and Damien is driving.”Before I could tell Maddox that Damien would still answer Colin came running into the room.“You’re needed in the kitchen. Damien was just thrown out of a car at the gate, and we brought him. He was beaten badly.”Maddox and I ran to the kitchen, hoping Damien could tell us what happened. He was slumped over a chair with blood dripping from his mouth.“What the fuck happened?” I yelled.“I was blindsided, and they took Ivy and her mother.”“How took them?” Maddox asked.“Delaney,” he coughed out. “He said you have two days to hand over your father and to turn everything over to him.”“Shit,” I mumbled out. “Did he say anything about sending us a warning?”Damien shook his head no.“Give Colin the location of where you wer