Page 42 of Second Chance Christmas

“If anyone were to ever plan an accident, what better place than in front of a fire station?”

“Almost kismet, if you ask me.”

Ivy’s brows knitted together. “That’s a heavy word to toss around. You sure you want to use it?”

He leaned a little closer until she could feel his warmth. She put more effort into tearing off another chunk of bread than needed.

“Unless you want me to use serendipity.”

She scrunched up her nose.

“What else would you call it, then?”

“The Ivy Effect in retro.”

His brow arched in puzzlement.

“Never mind. Just lucky. I guess if you have enough bad luck, some good is bound to come around.”

That earned her another quizzical look. “What do you mean by bad luck?”

She huffed a sigh. “Don’t laugh, okay, but it started way back in kindergarten. But I swear the day I walked from our wedding it grew tenfold.”

He gave a deep sound. A grunt of understanding she guessed.

When she brought her eyes up to his they were focused and full of understanding. “You know, Ivy Sunday, don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, sweetheart. Nobody here is holding grudges.”

She didn’t deserve him. He was too fucking good for anyone. Damn him.

“At some point, we need to though. I hurt you.” To be honest it started the day she was born. Why she didn’t know. Bad luck of being the first-born girl of the family. Who knew? It only seemed to get worse the day she said goodbye to him. That deserved a deeper look now that she thought about it, but later when she could focus on more than his tantalizing cologne or whatever he used that had her wanting to lean a little closer and breathe a little deeper.

“You did. Don’t expect me to lie about that. I can’t. But you had to do what was best for you. I can’t hold that against you.”

Silence fell between them. If she could feel any lower it would be a fucking surprise.

“I hate the idea of you at the B&B all alone and with no help. Let’s recap the situation.” He served them each a glass of apple juice, brushing her shoulder with his arm as he replaced the pitcher on the table.

“Sorry. No wine. On duty and all that.”

She nodded her understanding.

“You’re trapped and all alone in an eight-bedroom B&B with massive amounts of paints, little twinkly lights, and spotty power and have fifteen, maybe twenty people, due in a few days’ time all expecting the Winters holiday treatment.”

“You forgot the baking, the cooking, the replacing of light fixtures and sole caregiver to one very attention-hungry golden retriever. So yep. That’s my holiday horror story in a nutshell.”

“Max is a handful. But you forgot one thing.”

“You’re right.” She scooped up another mouthful. “I’m being stalked by a huge reindeer that has a fixation for my twinkly lights and cookies. I can’t redecorate so I can scratch that off my list. Silver lining?” She shrugged. “Thinking about it, maybe I should thank her for that.” She retrieved her planner from her bag. “I guess that’s one thing I don’t have to buy either.”

“Big mistake,” Aspen warned. “Nothing will save you now that she’s found a friend who will feed her cookies.”

Her attention moved from her notes to Aspen’s tempting gaze. Like the richest coffee and so full of sin she didn’t dare tempt fate and do what she was thinking--stealing another kiss.

This isn’t real though, she reminded herself.It’s just a fantasy whirlwind of excitement and emotions getting tangled together. Nothing real.

Ivy shifted and as she moved, her hand brushed over his thigh.

The slow smile of his should be outlawed. It made her forget about everything instantly.

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