Page 49 of Undeniable

“The best surprise.” She glanced around my shoulder, and I turned to follow her line of sight. Behind me, Ivy had effortlessly joined the group we’d walked into, which appeared to be working on final festival preparation.

Like she felt my eyes on her, Ivy turned from where she stood with her mom and a few others. Our eyes connected and I noted the slight upturn of her lips. Not a smile, but it was so close. I returned her partial smile with one of my own.

We stared at one another for a moment, something passing between us, before she clasped her bottom lip between her teeth and turned away.

I gazed at her back for a moment longer until I turned to ask my mom how it was going and how I could help. My words fell away, though.

I’d seen the look on her face too many times before. It was the expression she wore when she thought, or better yet when sheknewI was withholding information. Her eyes darted between me and Ivy.

“You two came together?” she questioned, and I let out an exasperated sigh.

She patted my arm and pointed to Ivy once again like I didn’t already know who she was referring to. “Don’t sigh at me. Why did the two of you drive together? Last I heard, you two still weren’t speaking.”

“We’re speaking,” I muttered because I had no better explanation and it was the closest thing to the truth.

“You know I’m going to need more information than that.”

Thankfully, everyone else in the house had already gone back to the tasks we’d interrupted, so they weren’t eavesdropping on our conversation. Explaining to my mom that Ivy and I were no longernotspeaking was difficult enough.

“Nothing else has really changed. And her giving me a ride was… she was just being nice. I didn’t have any other way of getting here. Can we drop it, please?”

I might have begun speakingtoIvy, but talkingabouther was still very, very low on the list of things I wanted to do.

Mom appraised me for a moment, her mouth in a sharp line before she sighed. “Fine, but I will not drop this. I like to know what’s going on in your life and in your head.”

Maybe she would know better than I did what was going on inside my own mind. I could barely understand it.

“Sure. So, where should I put my stuff?”

Her face dropped, and she glanced around the living room, tucking a piece of her shoulder-length blonde-and-gray hair behind her ear.

“Well, honey, we’re at capacity here. And I can’t throw out your uncles or cousins. Maybe we can check the B&B in town and see if they have any rooms available?”

“Already checked,” a woman seated in a chair only a few feet away added. “They’re at capacity and so is the hotel in Smithson.”

Shit.Ivy was right, of course, and it looked like I’d be finding a space—if there was any—to lay a sleeping bag on the floor. My parents’ house was completely covered, top to bottom, in decorations, signs and equipment for the festival. Trying to find any room would be difficult.

Maybe if I was lucky, Ivy’s parents would let me sleep in their shed with the industrial-sized fan.

“Crap, I’m so sorry. Maybe we can—”

“Wait, Jules,” Ivy’s mom, Catherine, interrupted from behind me.

“Mom, do not—” Ivy started to argue, but her mother waved her off.

“We still have the trundle bed in Ivy’s room. You mind sleeping on the trundle and rooming with Ivy for the next few days?”

Catherine’s green eyes were slightly lighter than Ivy’s and were fixed on me. The hopeful gleam they reflected and her optimistic expression made me shrug. Knowing Ivy wouldn’t be too excited about the prospect of bunking with me, I looked back at her.

I couldn’t ignore the way my stomach twisted and flipped at the possibility of sleeping mere inches from her for three nights. And had I not been staring directly at her, I would’ve missed the fleeting curiosity that sparked in her eyes. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared, but I knew my own eyes weren’t deceiving me.

Her eyes had always been expressive, even when she was otherwise unreadable. But I’d missed that little spark. I never thought I’d witness its intensity again.

Among my chaotic thoughts, that one was easy to decipher. Not even animosity like ours could stifle our connection or our attraction. IwantedIvy Sharpe in every single way. Being so close to her the past few weeks made me realize that I’d never stopped. And I’d bet similar thoughts were warring in her own mind. Whether she’d own up to them or not was something completely different.

“Yeah, why not?” I held Ivy’s heavy stare as I smiled. Her scowl was expected and nearly made me laugh.

“Great!” Catherine clapped her hands together and turned to her daughter. “Don’t make that face. You will survive three days. Now, come on, I need your help with this.”

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