This is it, my hearts. The last chapter of my soon-to-be-published sophomore novel.

Thank you so much for tuning in as I post chapters of When Ivy Met Adam: A second chance, forced proximity, sexy, queer love-triangle romance. Your feedback is everything. Please post comments here or email me. I love hearing what you think.

Now, go pre-order When Ivy Met Adam so you can see what changes I’ve made based on your input and ideas! 💚 (And so you can read the epilogue!)

Prologue (old) Prologue (new) Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapters 8&9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 (old) Chapter 15 (new) Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapters 22&23 Chapter 26* Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 33*

*No chapters are missing. They just got renumbered! 🤓

Chapter 34 - Ivy

This evening started out tough for me. But doing something physical with Adam helped. Look, it has taken me a long time to accept what I am. I will not let anyone else make choices for me or impose their beliefs on me. I accept who I am. I am not perfect, but no one is. And that’s okay. Adam is not perfect. But he might be perfect for me. 

“Thanks for the climb, Ivy. That was a great idea.” We’re still holding hands and I swear it helps him read my mind.

“Thanks for being game,” I say. I hope he hears my gratitude for his willingness not just to go for a spontaneous climb, but to persevere with me. To hang on and hang in. 

“It was nice to see you again, Ivy,” he says as he steps closer to me, towering over me, in fact. With his free hand tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His touch sends all the pent up shivers from the last decade down my spine at once. Like muscle memory, I lean into his hand. He is so close now I can smell his after dinner mint mixing with his cologne—the same lime and cedar cologne I have never forgotten. It smells even better than I remember, actually. His wide mouth is just a breath away from my lips and his beard tickles. I want to kiss him so desperately. What is he waiting for? Why isn’t he kissing me? Why does this feel so familiar?

“Nice to see you, too, Adam.” Apparently his name on my lips is what he was waiting for, because he moves his hand from my ear to the back of my neck and pulls me firmly into his kiss. My lips part and his deliciously minty tongue dips into my mouth. Warm honey waves of memory and hope and lust and fear wash over me and pool between my legs. I slide my hands around his slim hips and hold his body as close to mine as I can. He’s solid muscle and I love the feel of him against me. This feels deliciously familiar and dangerously new all at once. 

I press myself against him, pushing my right thigh in between his. He responds hungrily. His hands come up to the back of my head and his fingers tangle in my hair, drawing me closer. My hands slide up from his hips over his chest to his back. I pull him tight to me, crushing my breasts against his hard chest. My nipples are hard, pressing into him, they send an ache through my cunt. I practically purr. My hands move down to his ass, cupping it. His hips rock forward, pushing hard against my aching center. My hips respond by grinding into him. His hands move down to my breasts, over my shirt. His fingers deftly circle my nipples, sending shockwaves through my body. I gasp into his mouth. God. I need him. I push him back against my car door. My hands find his and we intertwine our fingers, holding on tight. I kiss him greedily now, my hips grinding harder against his center. Gah. I’m so wet. My lips slide off his mouth and I kiss my way along his bearded jaw. He tips his head away from me, exposing his neck. I take it in my mouth and bite him. His turn to gasp. I trail my mouth down his neck kissing, licking, sucking. My cunt is starting to pulse. I’m coming close to the edge, fully clothed and in a parking lot.

And then suddenly he flips us around, so I’m pressed against my car and he breaks away from me. I blink rapidly—what? 

He opens the door to my car and says, as though we’d been discussing politics and not dry humping in the parking lot like teenagers. “Good night, Ivy.” Cool as moose. Wait. He came all the way to Florida, burst into my office demanding to see me, partner climbed with me, brought me to the edge of an orgasm, and is leaving me again? 

Still blinking, I slip into my car. As I slide past him, he whispers in my ear. “Catch you tomorrow.” I feel my smile even before I feel the relief.

Uh, yes you will, Adam Lopez. You can catch me tomorrow and every day after that. Hook, line, sinker. Reel. The whole boat. Yours. 

The end