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“Will Ivy be okay?” she asks worriedly.
I don't have to lie about that. “Sure,” I say. I'm going to make everything right.
When I return to the kitchen, Ivy’s still trying to get her tears to stop. “Come here,” I say from where I stand against the door.
Her eyes meet mine, hesitation and pain written all over her face. “I can't,” she chokes out.
“Don't make me repeat myself, Ivy,” I say sternly.
She looks at me to gauge if I'm serious or not. Whatever she finds has her grudgingly walking toward me. When she's in front of me, I pull her close—caressing her back as more sobs start to leave her.
“I'm sorry I'm such a mess,” she says between hiccups.
“Shhh. It's okay, let it out. I'm going to be here through it all.” My words seem to assure her because she stops trying to fight her tears and just lets them flow. I carry her from the kitchen to the living room, checking through the window to see if Mark has taken Sadie home. He has.
Ivy cries for a while, but eventually, she quiets. I almost thought she'd fallen asleep until she raised her head off my chest to look at me.
“Are you going to tell me what's going on now?”
She sniffs, so I bring out my handkerchief and clean her up, ignoring her protests. When I’m done, I repeat my earlier question.
“I just don't want to continue.”
“Why?”
“There's no reason,” she says, not meeting my eyes.
“That's a lie. You don't do things without reason. When I asked you why you signed up on the website to sell your virginity, you said it was for fun. And from where I stand, we've been having a whole lot of fun. Unless your definition of fun is different from mine. In which case, you'll have to update me so I can make changes.”
She huffs, still not meeting my eyes.
“Ivy.”
“I wasn't doing it for fun,” she snaps in frustration.
“What?” I bark, almost dropping her off my lap in shock.
“I was going through some financial crisis. I needed money. That's why I decided to auction my virginity.”
I can't believe this. Ivy was having issues with money, and she couldn't come to me? What if I hadn't been the one to bid on her? What if it was someone else? Someone terrible? I don't even want to imagine that right now. As bad as her decision may have been, it's the only reason I’ve had the chance to be here with her like this right now.
“So you need more money then? I’ll send you as much as you desire.”
She shakes her head in the negative, more tears leaving her eyes.
Damn it! What does she need?
“I can't take your offer, Rafael. Not after everything that's happened.”
She has to be kidding me. What does she mean by everything that has happened? “I'm not letting you walk away from this, Ivy. I refuse to.”
She pushes away from me, and I let her go, not wanting to hold her against her will physically. “You don't understand!” she snaps when she's finally standing.
“What don't I understand?”
“You! This! It won't work. I liked you even before we had sex, but I was able to manage my feelings then. Now that I've had you, I can't continue without falling for you, and I know you won't want that, which is why we have to—”
I don't let her finish before I close the space between us and seal my mouth over hers. I can't believe this. Not only did fate bring our path together through the auction, but she also feels the same way about me!
