Page 17 of Sack

Ivy looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.”

Marco nodded and scampered away again.

Ivy reached over and flipped back the cloth napkin covering the bread. “Mmm… it smells so good.” She grabbed a piece and tore off the crust, popping a bite of the soft center into her mouth.

All Colt could do was stare as her tongue came out to lick at the garlic butter coating her lips.

“What? Do I have crumbs on my face?” She swatted by the side of her mouth.

“No… I was watching you lick your lips. I can’t seem to stop staring.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Are you…” She took a sip of her soda and plonked the glass down before staring him in the eye. “Are you hitting on me?”

Ivy

Ivy gave herself a mental head-slap. She did not just ask that.

Colt’s forehead puckered and she couldn’t tell if he looked disgusted, confused, or amused.

Maybe all three.

She held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. Sorry, I tend to blurt things out before thinking. Just ignore me while I extract my foot from my mouth.”

“No, it’s me who should be sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You seem to have that effect on me.” He shook his head as though annoyed with himself. “And, I shouldn’t have said that, either.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Listen, I’m going to be honest with you.”

Honesty was good.

“I find you very attractive. No, if I’m being completely honest, I think you’re gorgeous.”

Okay, so far this honesty business did not suck but she sensed abutcoming on.

“But…”

Yep, there it was.

“I can’t get involved with anyone right now. I need all my attention focused on this upcoming season with no distractions.”

Well, that was a bubble burster, but it was probably for the best. “I can understand that. Besides, mixing business and pleasure is never a good idea.” She wanted this account. It would be the boost she needed to get her company recognized.

His shoulders deflated in relief, and he smiled. “Good, so we’re on the same page?”

“Not only the same page but the same paragraph. No, the same sentence, even.”

He picked up his glass and held it aloft. “To a productive yet platonic business relationship.”

Ivy picked up her soda and clicked his glass. There, settled. Now maybe she would stop stalking him on the internet.

Yeah, the odds of that happening were about the same as that oceanfront property in Arizona actually selling.

Pizza consumed, her stomach so full she had to sneakily unhook the button on her jeans, Ivy held in a groan as she reached down to grab her notebook from her bag.

“I made a few notes.” She flipped to the correct page and went over the key points she thought were most important.

Colt paid attention. His eyes stayed focused on her and never once looked away. He even asked all the right questions.

She followed up with, “So, I think with a good campaign strategy, you’ll see an increase in donations.”

“That would be great. As it is now, our online donations only make up ten percent of our funding. Most of our donations come from local fundraisers.”

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