Remembering Ivy Read online

  “No, it’s fine,” I said. “I was… distracted. I’ll see you in class?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  I smoothed my hair back from my forehead and went in to my office.

  My heart was still jumpy when I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. Focus, Ivy. I had work to do.

  But all I could think about was William. Those eyes. That smile. He was so disconcerting, yet irresistibly intriguing. What kind of man would follow me around, and then introduce himself as if he hadn’t been doing anything strange? And his explanation was that he was looking out for me? Because I was Ivy? What did that mean?

  I Googled his name, wondering if I’d find anything. There were lots of results for William Cole, but none of them were him. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

  “Hey.”

  I gasped and clutched my chest, my heart suddenly racing. Jessica stood in my doorway. “God, people keep doing that to me today. You startled me.”

  “I stood here for a solid minute and you didn’t notice me,” she said with a laugh. “What’s going on?”

  I debated for a second whether I should tell her about William. How could I explain him? But I knew she’d hound me until I did. She could read me like a book. I motioned for her to come in and she took the seat across my desk.

  “Do you remember that guy we saw at Café Lit a couple of times?” I asked. “The one you called Mr. Amazing?”

  “You mean the creepy one who was eavesdropping on our conversation?” she asked. “The one who was staring at you the next time we saw him?”

  “Well, yes, if you want to emphasize that,” I said.

  “What about him?”

  I tapped a finger against my desk. “He was… kind of stalking me.”

  “What?” she asked, raising her voice.

  “Shh,” I said. “You don’t have to yell. I think he’s harmless. But it was so strange. I kept thinking I saw him everywhere. Then on Saturday, Edgar ran off when we were leaving the dog park. William brought him back. He introduced himself, and when I asked him if he’d been following me around, he said yes.”

  “He just admitted it?” Jessica asked.

  “Yeah, he didn’t even try to lie about it or anything,” I said. “Looked right at me and said yes.”

  “That’s very odd,” she said.

  “I know, but in a way, it wasn’t,” I said. “I don’t know how to explain it. He’s… kind of mesmerizing.”

  Jessica arched her eyebrow. “Mesmerizing? Ivy, if he’s stalking you, that’s not sexy. It could be criminal.”

  “He didn’t do anything criminal,” I said. “Besides, if he hadn’t been there, Edgar could have gotten hurt or lost.”

  “You have some interesting logic there,” she said. “It’s a good thing someone was stalking you because he was around to find your dog?”

  “I realize how that sounds,” I said. “That’s part of what I can’t figure out. I kept telling myself I should be concerned, but I wasn’t. He’s… well, he’s really nice.”

  She nodded. “Oh good, I’m glad your stalker is nice. That’s a relief.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Well it’s better than him being scary. He said he’s just been looking out for me.”

  “Why would he do that?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Anyway, I saw him again this morning. He bought me coffee.”

  “And now you’re dating your stalker,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “It wasn’t a date. He was outside when I got there, and he’d already bought coffee.” I rubbed my temples. “God, Jess, what am I doing?”

  “I have absolutely no idea,” she said.

  “I know it’s crazy, but I kind of like him,” I said. “He’s very…”

  “Very not the man you’re actually dating?”

  I scowled at her. “That’s not fair. I’ve been out with Blake a few times. It’s not like we’re exclusive. And it doesn’t matter, because I didn’t go out with William. That’s not what this is.”

  “Well it’s something,” Jessica said. “You have a guy stalking you and now you’re having coffee with him and telling your best friend that he’s nice. Did you hit your head over the weekend?”

  “Thanks, that’s very helpful.”

  She tilted her head and gave me a very maternal smile. “Honey, I’m just concerned. You can’t have some guy following you around.”

  “I know. I’ll deal with it.”

  “Okay,” she said, her eyebrow arching again, like she wasn’t sure if she believed me. “So, I came over here because I had an idea. What if we double date?”

  I opened my mouth to say I hadn’t had a real date with William, so it was way too soon to double. But I realized she meant Blake. “Oh. Um… yeah, that might be fun.”

  “Might be?” she asked. “Come on, I need to meet this guy. I know you’re not sure if you’ll keep seeing him. But if you are, he has to pass the Jessica-test.”

  I laughed. “Okay. I’ll submit Blake for Jessica-testing. He said he’d call to make plans, so I’ll bring it up and see if he’s interested.”

  “Great,” she said. “We’re free this weekend, so let me know.”

  “Does Peter know about this?”

  She waved her hand. “Peter will be fine. I’ll make it worth his while.”

  “A little oral bribery?”

  “It’s not bribery, it’s knowing his currency,” she said with a wink. “I should get going, but text me about this weekend. And make sure you get Mr. Creepy to stop stalking you.”

  “His name is William, you don’t have to call him Mr. anything now.”

  “Stop defending your stalker.” She got up and adjusted her sweater. “You’re already halfway to Stockholm syndrome.”

  “I am not,” I said. “That requires kidnapping or a hostage situation.”

  “Well, if he kidnaps you, you’re going to be very susceptible,” she said. “Just warning you.”

  “Bye, Jess.”

  “See you,” she said with a smile, and walked out the door.

  I picked up my coffee looked at it, as if it would explain the mystery that was William. Sadly, it didn’t.

  Stalker

  William wasn’t at Café Lit the next morning, but he was outside my building when I left for lunch. The next day, I saw him later in the afternoon. He walked me from my last class back to my office. Same thing on Thursday. Friday, he was once again waiting for me before work, coffee in hand.

  He walked me to my office and asked a few questions about my classes and my weekend plans. I found myself omitting the fact that I had a date tonight. It was silly to keep that from him. Blake and I weren’t together—we were only seeing each other casually. And the time I’d spent with William couldn’t be considered dating him. Not by anyone’s definition. He appeared out of nowhere—with no warning—and either walked me somewhere or had lunch with me. But not because we’d made plans, or because he’d asked me to join him. He was simply… there.

  But I still didn’t say anything about Blake. I had the strange feeling that it would bother William. And in the back of my mind, I knew that meant something. A man who was nothing but a casual acquaintance—and who had no intention of becoming more—wouldn’t mind that I had a date with someone else. If William did mind, I’d have to wrestle with what that meant, and I wasn’t ready for that.

  His reasons for appearing in my life were still a mystery to me. I tried asking questions, but got mostly the same answers. He was just looking out for me. I didn’t need to worry. It was because I was Ivy. None of it made sense, but he always managed to redirect the conversation, or give me another non-answer right when I needed to get back to work and couldn’t ask more questions.

  We got to my building and he stopped in front of the door.

  “Bye, Ivy. I’ll see you later.”

  God, that smile. I had to admit, my lady parts noticed William. Being n
ear him made me feel warm and tingly. His voice was deep and calming, his eyes mesmerizing. I got a whiff of his scent and it made me want to pull him close and bury my face in his neck.

  My face flushed hot and I wondered if he could guess what I was thinking. “Bye, William.”

  As I watched him go, I had a crazy thought. A very crazy thought. What if I followed him?

  That was clearly a terrible idea. I couldn’t follow him around. Who would do something like that? Certainly not the practical and pragmatic Dr. Ivy Nichols.

  Although, he had followed me. He’d found out where I lived, where I worked, even what coffee I ordered. He’d followed me downtown, hung around my neighborhood. Would it be any different if I trailed him for a little while? Just to see where he went. It wouldn’t be like I was stalking him—not really. Didn’t stalking imply it happened over a length of time? It would only be just this once.

  He was a puzzle—a riddle I had to solve. Puzzles were like crack to me, and he was the purest, strongest drug I’d ever encountered. It was why I hadn’t protested when he’d started appearing every day. I wanted to see him. I wanted to figure him out.

  Before I could give good sense a chance to have its way with me, I followed William across campus. Luckily, he went to the same lot I always parked in—which didn’t surprise me, when I thought about it. I was sure he knew what I drove.

  He got into a black Jeep Wrangler. I waited, hoping he didn’t see me lingering near the adjacent building, then rushed to my car when he pulled out onto the road.

  I sent Lisa, my grad student assistant, a voice message, letting her know I had personal business to attend to and I’d need her to cover my class today. I only had one on Fridays, and she taught it as often as I did, so I didn’t feel too guilty about springing it on her.

  William drove away from campus and got on the freeway heading south. I stayed back where I could see him, but he wasn’t likely to see me. At least, I hoped not. I’d never done anything like this before, so I wasn’t sure what I was doing.

  When we got into Seattle, he exited. It was harder to follow without getting too close, and I worried I’d lose him among the hills and crowded streets. He drove to a tall building and pulled into the underground parking garage.

  It looked like apartments, so I supposed this was where he lived. I circled the block and found a place to park where I could see the entrance.

  After a few minutes, I started to feel ridiculous. What was I going to do, sit out in front of his building all day? He might not come out for hours. I wasn’t sure what he did for a living, but he might work from home, or have Fridays off. Maybe that was why he’d met me this morning, instead of later in the day. Maybe he worked nights, or had shifts that varied, so he was going home to sleep.

  What was I doing out here?

  The front door opened, and William walked out. Ridiculous or not, I was here, and he was walking down the sidewalk. I was doing this.

  I got out and paid for my parking spot, then hurried down the street. It was easier to follow him on foot, although heels weren’t ideal for walking up and down hills. And Seattle was nothing if not hilly.

  Two blocks from his building, he went into a grocery store. I lingered outside, trying not to look suspicious. Although there wasn’t anything unusual about a woman in a skirt and trench coat, waiting on the sidewalk. Was there? Maybe I should have had a newspaper. Wasn’t that what people did in the movies when they were following someone? Stood out of the way and pretended to read something?

  I didn’t have time to contemplate whether I needed props to be a stalker. William came out just then with two grocery bags. I panicked for a second, thinking he was about to walk back in my direction. Why hadn’t I thought about the fact that he was probably shopping and would go home afterward? But he didn’t go back toward his building. Instead, he continued down the road in the other direction.

  He turned at the next block and I hurried to catch up. When I got close, I peeked around the corner. He stood in front of an older man who was sitting on the sidewalk, his legs crossed. The man was scruffy with scraggly hair and a rough beard, his clothes worn and dirty. He looked like he was probably homeless. I was just close enough that I could hear them talking.

  “Did you bring me roast beef again?” the man asked. “You know I don’t eat no roast beef.”

  “I know,” William said, holding out something wrapped in brown paper. “No roast beef. This is turkey and swiss.”

  The man took it and opened one side. He looked it over, like he was giving it a thorough inspection. “All right. As long as you know. I don’t do roast beef.”

  “No, you don’t,” William said. “I remember now.”

  “What you been off doing?” the man asked. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

  “I’ve been busy,” William said.

  “Oh, all mysterious still, huh?” he said. “Fine, keep your secrets. See if I give two shits.”

  “Let me know when you give three, and maybe I’ll tell you,” William said.

  The man burst out laughing. “Kid, you never make sense. You crazier than me. Thanks for the sandwich.”

  “No problem,” William said. “See you later.”

  He continued down the same street, then turned at the next block. I passed the homeless man, but he was occupied with inspecting his sandwich. Maybe he was searching for an errant piece of roast beef.

  After walking another block, William stopped at an apartment building and knocked on one of the doors. An elderly woman answered, her face lighting up with a smile when she saw him. He gave her the grocery bags and she patted his cheek. He didn’t stay long, and I wasn’t close enough to hear what they said. But after a moment or two he left, and she went back inside, closing the door behind her.

  Seriously, who was this guy?

  I got the distinct impression that this was something he did regularly. These people obviously knew him, and didn’t seem surprised when he brought them things.

  His pace slowed, so I hesitated behind him. He wandered down the street with his hands in his pockets, pausing to glance into restaurant or store windows. I kept my distance, and it didn’t seem like he’d noticed me.

  My phone rang, making my heart jump into my throat. I pulled it out of my bag and quickly ignored the call, then turned the sound off. It was Jessica, but I’d have to call her back.

  And of course, it wasn’t like he’d heard it. He was too far away, and there were people everywhere. One cell phone ring wouldn’t stand out.

  I slipped my phone back in my bag in time to see William disappear down a set of stairs. It took me a minute to catch up. The stairs went down to the basement level of the building and there was a door at the bottom. A sign near the top said Bookstore Underground—This Way.

  I debated whether to go down. I’d been to this bookstore before. It was big, sprawling across the basement level of the building. Unless he was still right inside the entrance, I could probably go in and stay out of his sight, as long as I was careful.

  And it was a bookstore. I really wanted to know what he was doing in there.

  I crept down the stairs and peeked through the door before going in. I didn’t see him, so I went inside and looked around.

  It took me a minute to find him—long enough that I started rehearsing excuses for being there because I was sure he’d come up behind me. I spotted him across the store, looking carefully at a row of books. His head tilted, and he took slow steps sideways, like he was scrutinizing every title.

  “Can I help you find something?”

  I gasped and turned toward the voice. A young guy with a thick beard and knit hat smiled at me.

  “Oh, no, I’m just looking.”

  His eyes flicked over to William, then back to me. “Okay, cool. Sorry if I startled you.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  I picked up a book so I didn�
��t look like a stalker. William stayed in the same section, and from here, I couldn’t tell what he was looking at. He picked up a book and read the back cover, but replaced it. I continued pretending to browse while he looked at several more.

  The guy in the hat eyed me like he could tell exactly what I was doing. I put down the book in my hand—I hadn’t even looked at it—and moved deeper into the store. It put a large shelf between me and the nosy bookstore guy, but I couldn’t see William very well either.

  He stayed in the same general area, wandering up and down. Taking a book off the shelf, reading the back, replacing it. I wondered what he was looking for. Whatever it was, he didn’t seem to be finding it. He crouched down to take a book off a low shelf, but put that one back too.

  I peeked around the corner to check on bookstore guy. He stood behind the front counter flipping through a magazine. I moved down the aisle to get a better look at William, but he seemed to have found what he wanted. He paged through a book, then closed it again and took it to the counter.

  He paid cash for the book, pulling a wad of money out of his coat pocket. The bookstore guy chatted with him for two or three minutes—much longer than it took to make his purchase. It gave the impression that he knew William, or at least that William was a regular customer.

  Finally, William smiled and picked up his book off the counter. Tucking it under his arm, he walked out of the store. The door clicked shut behind him.

  I bit my lip, wondering if I should follow. Although should was probably not the correct word choice. I shouldn’t have followed him in the first place, so what I should do was stop and go back to work.

  But I really wanted to know what book he’d bought. It had taken him nearly fifteen minutes to decide, and he’d been browsing in the same section the entire time. What had he been looking for? What did a man like William read?

  Trying to appear casual—which I was realizing was not a skill I possessed—I wandered to the section where William had been looking. The bookstore guy caught sight of me and narrowed his eyes a little. He was so onto me. It would be a very long time before I’d be brave enough to come back to this store again.