Back in his office, Jamison pulled out his personal phone. The moment he unlocked it, a cascade of notifications spilled onto the screen. He scrolled through quickly, but when his eyes landed on a text from Ivy, he paused. Something in his expression shifted.

After reading her message, a smile curled at the corners of his lips. This little hedgehog–just yesterday, she’d been prickly and short-tempered with him, snapping for reasons he still didn’t quite understand. Even this morning, when she’d called about Micah, her tone had been biting. And now, suddenly, she was concerned whether he’d had a falling out with his family?

Jamison’s mood turned complicated–a strange mix of surprise and reluctant delight. It was as if the exhaustion of the whole day had suddenly lifted. He figured she must have been in a bad mood yesterday because her check-up hadn’t gone well. Now that she’d had time to process it, her spirits seemed to have brightened. He glanced at the time–it was already past nine. Jamison wondered if Ivy was already asleep, but instead of overthinking his reply, he simply called her.

At that moment, Ivy had just set down her book and gone to the bathroom, getting ready for bed. When her phone rang, she wondered who would be calling so late. Her first thought was that the Windsors were arguing again. But when she came out and glanced at the caller ID, she froze for a second. Jamison? He hadn’t replied to her message all day–why was he calling now, and so late? After a brief consideration, Ivy guessed he wasn’t ignoring her on purpose–he’d just been swamped and was only now seeing her message. With that in mind, she hurried to answer.

“Hello…?”

“You picked up late–were you already asleep?” Jamison had almost hung up when he finally heard movement on the other end. It was only natural to assume he’d woken her up.

For some reason, Ivy’s cheeks grew warm. She threw back the comforter and sat up on the bed, her voice soft. “No, I was just in the bathroom. I was about to sleep, but not yet…”

“Oh, good. I thought I’d woken you.”

“No.”

The reply hung between them. Silence stretched out, growing awkward. Ivy scrambled for something to say. “Are you just now getting off work?”

“I just finished up, but I’m not done yet. Still have a few things to wrap up.”

She was surprised. “It’s nearly ten, and you’re still at the office?”

“Yeah, just tying up some loose ends. I’ll probably get out around ten-thirty.”

“That’s rough,” Ivy said, genuinely sympathetic. “With your position, you don’t really have to work yourself this hard, do you?”

Jamison chuckled. “Once you take on a job like this, there’s no escaping the responsibility. If I slack off, I’ll get called a quack.”

The last line was clearly a jab at Ivy.

She clutched the phone, mortified, her cheeks burning hotter.

Afraid he’d gone too far, Jamison quickly added, laughing, “Just kidding. Don’t take it seriously."

“It’s fine,” Ivy managed a laugh herself, then admitted honestly, “I didn’t know you very well at first. I guess I was being a little narrow-minded.”

Jamison looked genuinely surprised, one eyebrow quirked, the smile lingering on his lips. “Well, that’s a first–hearing an apology from you.”

She fell silent again.

After a moment, Jamison decided to get back to business. “About Micah–don’t worry. He won’t be bothering you anymore, and his parents aren’t upset with me. On the contrary, they’re grateful I helped them keep him in line.”

“That’s good…” Ivy was a little surprised. Remembering something Katrina had said, a mischievous thought popped into her head. “You seem to like managing kids. Why not get married and have one of your own to look after every day?”

Jamison laughed. “Who told you I like looking after kids?”

She shot back without thinking, “Didn’t you spend yesterday cuddling a baby and soothing her?”