When we turned down the narrow drive that led to the mansion Ivy sat up straighter. “Where are we?”
“This is where Trace and his brother grew up,” I answered.
“Why don’t you ever say his brother’s name?” She commented, peering around the seat at me. “Is it because he’s Tristan’s dad?”
Since Trace was constantly hanging around, and wanted to be a part of Tristan’s life, I’d been forced to tell both of the kids about Trenton. It had been hard, especially because Tristan didn’t understand.
“You miss him, don’t you?” She continued when I didn’t answer.
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “Yeah,” I squeaked.
She nodded, tapping her fingers against the glass window. “Why don’t you tell him that?”
“It’s complicated,” I ground out—not angry with her, but at myself, because I still cared.
“When you love someone, it shouldn’t be that complicated,” her hazel eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.
Leave it to an eight year old to be wi
ser than most adults.
“Whoa!” She bounced excitedly in her seat as the mansion came into view. “This is a house?!” She exclaimed, her eyes round with awe.
“Yeah,” I replied, parking the car.
“It looks like something from a movie!”
I couldn’t help laughing, but she was right. The large house didn’t seem like it could possibly be real, and once you got inside, that seemed even truer. It was so easy to get lost in there.
As we followed the Wentworth’s inside, Tristan and Ivy both looked around with their mouths hanging open.
“Wow,” Tristan gasped. “Can we live here?”
I laughed, ruffling his hair as we entered the foyer, heading for the dining room. “We have a home.”
“I like this one more,” he pouted.
“You can visit anytime you want,” Trace piped in. “We have a pool…two actually.”
“Two pools?” Ivy exclaimed, then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she muttered, looking nervously at the shiny floors. Ivy had been very shy around Trace and his family—she was a cautious person—so her outburst clearly embarrassed her.
“Yep!” Trace clapped his hands together, before pushing open the door to the dining room. “They’re great!”
Ivy’s smile was small as she tried to hide behind me. I think Trace’s exuberance always frightened her. She wasn’t used to someone like him.
We sat down at the table, and I wasn’t surprised when Tristan stole the seat beside Trace. Tristan thought he was the most amazing person ever. If only he knew his dad. I doubted Trent was going to reach out to me, and with my mom out of the picture, I knew I should contact him and let him see Tristan. I was scared he had changed his mind and wanted nothing to do with our son. So, I hadn’t done anything.
Someone I didn’t recognize brought out a meal that had already been prepared in anticipation of our arrival. My eyes widened at the delicious looking grilled chicken sandwich. My stomach rumbled. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry until food was set in front of me.
“This looks yummy,” Ivy smiled shyly at the people seated around us.
“I hope you think it tastes as good as it looks,” Lily smiled back.
It amazed me how Lily, Trent’s mom, had embraced Ivy, Tristan, and me. I thought she’d hate me for what I did, but she never looked at me like it mattered. She was always nice and went out of her way to look after us. Despite the fact that Ivy was of no relation to her, she seemed to genuinely want to get to know her and make her feel comfortable. The Wentworth’s were truly the greatest people I had ever met. They didn’t let their status affect them, and it was a beautiful thing to see.
I took a bite of the sandwich and my eyes closed. That had to be the greatest thing I had ever tasted. I wish I could cook that well.
“It’s as good as it looks,” Ivy said after she’d taken a bite, causing all of us to chuckle.