“But I want to.” She said, hearing the crack in her own voice. She was trying to build up the courage in her to say something, to tell him the truth.
“No, you don’t have to.” Leon snapped, focusing his eyes on her, which communicated exactly what he was feeling. She could see that he was hurt. That he hadn’t expected her to suddenly push him away like that, for no reason, out of the blue.
She knew Leon was still hurting. She remembered why he had moved to Montana, why he had bought this ranch, why he had chosen to live away from his family. She remembered the story about Vivienne, his redhead childhood sweetheart who had promised to marry him, but married his cousin, Michael instead.
A whimper escaped Ivy’s lips. She had turned into Vivienne, she had slept with Leon’s brother, she had essentially betrayed Leon the same way that Vivienne had.
She whipped around, to turn her face away from him, in silence, but she could feel her lips quivering.
“Ivy, you don’t have to explain. You should have just told me that you didn’t want me last night. I would have gone away without putting any pressure on you.” She heard him get up from his chair. He was walking towards her. She felt her muscles contract, her limbs grow cold, she was so ashamed of herself. She didn’t deserve his kindness. She had betrayed him and he didn’t even know it.
“Ivy, look at me.” She heard him say and then his hand was on her shoulder and he was trying to gently coax her to turn around, to turn to him.
She did, unable to meet his gaze, unable to actually look directly into his eyes. His harsh gaze had softened, he even had the flickering of a smile forming on his face.
“Hey, it’s alright. I’m not angry with you. You should have just told me.” He said, and he pulled her close to him. Ivy broke down, she bit down on her lip to stop herself from actually crying, but she couldn’t hold it back any more. This man was like a dream come true. He was so kind to her, so understanding and yet had no idea the way in which she had betrayed him. She didn’t deserve him, she didn’t deserve his generosity.
“Ok?” He said, pushing her gently
away from him and looking into her eyes.
Ivy tried to force a fake smile on her face, and she nodded her head wildly, hoping that he would believe that she was only upset about her rude behavior the previous night.
“I’m sorry for pushing you. I shouldn’t have.” He said, whispering.
“No, you didn’t. I’m sorry I pushed you away.” She said, in a tearful voice.
“Don’t be silly. You have a right to push me away.” Leon said, and gave her his best full smile. Those sharp jaws, the high cheek bones stretched in a warm genuine smile and Ivy could feel her heart melting. She had given up all this, she had given up Leon!
“Now, back to work for me. And you should be getting on with your classes!” He said, in a sudden jolly voice. She tried smiling at him again as he turned from her and left the kitchen.
There was a harsh ray of sun filling the kitchen with a bright golden hue. Ivy turned and saw Leon leaving the mansion, through the kitchen window. She saw him walking confidently, his back straight, his shirt sleeves rolled up for the day, his cowboy hat on his head.
Ivy felt like crying again. She had betrayed him, his trust and done the very thing that he had been running away from. She had turned into his worst nightmare and done the one thing that he had never expected her to do.
Ivy knew she should be punished, she should leave the ranch. She knew she needed to go before she could cause any more harm or heartache to the man who had put all his trust in her. But before that, she would have to face Archer again. He had to take responsibility for it, just as much as she had.
Ivy found Archer lying on the field behind the house, a few hours later. He had his hat covering his face and seemed to be enjoying a sunny nap.
“You!” She thundered at him as she walked towards him like she was on a mission. She was wearing a long cotton dress, the bottoms of which were trailing in the dust but she didn’t care any more. Her clothes were the last thing on her mind today.
Archer lazily lifted the hat off his face when he heard her voice, and blinked his eyes against the sun’s harsh glare.
“You!” Ivy repeated herself as she walked closer to him. She had lost her trail of thought when she saw him. How could she express her anger at a man who looked like that?
Archer was lying in the sun with his shirt off. His skin was glistening, tanned to the color of caramel, his washboard abs were hard and rigid as he bent his torso upwards to support himself on his elbows. She could see that he was assessing her again, with his usual dangerously blue eyes. His dark wavy hair fell over his forehead in a mess, one thick curl was over his right eye as he stared at her with an unwavering gaze.
He had noticed the way the blue cotton dress stretched fabulously over her big breasts. He was following the bounce of her hips with his eyes. She was curvaceous, small and had a big frame, and his eyes told her that was exactly what he liked looking at.
That devilish smile was still on his face as he watched her approaching him, the dimples dangerously close to appearing on his cheeks. He seemed to have forgotten their conversation in his room from the previous day. He didn’t seem to be concerned any more about what he had done.
“Are you offering fries with that shake?” He asked, just as Ivy came to a halt in front of him, folding her arms over her chest. She rolled her eyes at him, ogling his beautiful naked torso and at the same time, annoyed at his casual air.
“I’m glad to see that you don’t care any more.” Ivy snapped at him and Archer smiled fully now.
“Care about what?” He asked, straightening himself to a full sitting position.
“That we have both betrayed Leon. He’s your brother, in case you’ve forgotten.” Ivy said, trying to narrow her large green eyes at him. But she kept getting distracted by his smoking body, and Archer knew that. He had caught her looking.