Chapter Seventeen
Ilooked at my watch for what felt like the umpteenth time, my patience wearing thinner than normal. “Where the hell is she?” I asked to no one in particular. I’d been doing this for the last half hour, and I knew Alex was sick of me at this point.
“You should have sent a car,” Sasha told me.
I shook my head in frustration. “She didn’t want one.”
Sasha hummed in the back of her throat and pursed her lips.
The whole family was determined to be present when Ivy arrived, despite the fact that I asked them all to mind their damn business. Sasha was determined that her soon to be sister in law wouldn’t have the same terrible and lonely experience that she had. Those were her words, not my own.
Once Sasha got it into her head that Ivy would need her support, there was no telling her anything different.
“I think this whole family welcome might be a bit too much,” I told Sasha. “Which is why I told you to stay home.”
Sasha arched a brow at me. “That’s dumb. She’s not going to want to be alone with you.” Sasha breezed over towards my brother and took a seat on the couch. My eyes immediately went to her stomach which was bulging with her pregnancy. “Especially after what you did to her.”
My eyes snapped over to Alex. He lifted his hands. “Don’t look at me.”
I turned my attention towards my brother who shrugged slightly. “She’s my wife.” That was his way of excusing his behavior.
I rolled my eyes. There was a time when I could trust my brother with anything, but now, I knew when I told him shit, it went straight to his wife, and while Sasha and I had grown closer, I still missed the relationship I had with Dom.
“Have you heard from the men?” Sasha asked. She’d begun bouncing her knee up and down, and the sound of her heel hitting my mahogany floors was making me insane.
“I’m sure she’s fine.” Dom placed his hand on his wife’s knee, and I sent up a silent prayer of thanks. She was making me insane.
The sound of the elevator dinging sent all of our heads turning. When the elevator opened, Ivy was standing there looking like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
“Hi,” she breathed out. Her eyebrow raised in surprise as she took in the three of us.
“You are nearly an hour late,” I barked. “Why?”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open slightly, but it snapped shut quickly. “Hello to you too,” she snapped. She was wearing a pair of suede heel boots, which I noticed were worn in places, and I knew that they were old.
I crossed my arms together. “I told you to be here at seven. It’s now eight. Dinner’s cold.”
I didn’t need to look behind me to know that Dom, Alex, and Sasha were cringing. Each one had given me their own lecture about making sure that I played nicely with Ivy. We weren’t married yet, and she still had the power to upend my entire life more than she already was. But I didn’t like being disobeyed, and she wasn’t able to follow even a simple order.
“You didn’t tell me that I was expected for dinner.” She pulled down the sleeve of her sweater. It was gray, shapeless, and much too large for her thin frame. It also looked as though it was something that she owned for years.
I hated that she was obviously uncomfortable, and I knew why. I had money. A lot of it, and Ivy didn’t. Her family was dirt poor.
Plus, we were all dressed much more formally than she was; another wonderful idea by my sister-in-law.
Speaking of, Sasha immediately jumped up from her seat, and she rushed towards Ivy. “Don’t listen to him,” she said. She immediately enveloped Ivy in a hug. I rolled my eyes at her behavior. For someone who grew up in the Bratva, Sasha was always open with people, even when she should be a little more guarded. “We are so excited to have you here.”
Ivy looked like she was seconds away from having a meltdown. With a sigh, I walked over and gently separated her from Sasha. “That’s enough.”
Sasha released Ivy, but she looked like she was about to argue with me. “Sash,” Dom’s deep voice boomed out. “How about you let Giovanni know about dinner.” I was thankful that Sasha didn’t argue.
I reached out and snagged Ivy by the arm. “Come on,” I said. “I’ll help you get settled.” I looked down at her luggage. She had just one rolling suitcase.
“That's all I needed,” she told me.
The thought was sad, but I said nothing, and instead gave her a quick nod before I led her towards the bedroom. “We will be down in a few minutes.”
Alex looked like he wanted to come with me, but Dom said something to him that caught his attention as I took Ivy up the stairs.