Page 79 of Tempest

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Sunday

Ivy stood in front of her bathroom mirror and finished doing her hair while Ryan stood in the doorway reading texts on his phone. “I’ll be done soon. Why don’t you go on out to the living room and wait for me?”

His eyes flew up, and his eyebrows drew together. “Am I crowding you?”

“Kind of. No harm can come to me while I’ve got a curling iron in my hand. Unless you consider that one time I set my hair on fire. I was thirteen and just learning how to tame the wild mass of hair on my head. You have to understand that having good hair in Texas is more important than almost anything. Given the state of my hair, I need a lot of time to tame it into some sort of acceptable style. Anyhoo, I was home alone after school and I decided it was the perfect time to practice getting my hair straight. Mama had purchased some gizmo on TV that I had begged her for. It promised to take my naturally curly hair and turn into a crown of rolling beautiful waves. It had come in the afternoon mail, and I decided to get started on those waves as soon as I could. I plugged the thing in and grabbed a book. I figured it was going to take a while, so I could finish Pride and Prejudice while I straightened my hair.”

“How did you manage to set your hair on fire?”

“Did I ever tell you how much I love Mr. Darcy? I guess not, given your blank expression. I got so into the story that I didn’t realize how long I had the iron on my hair. It was only the smell of burnt hair that got my attention. By the time I got the thing untangled, I had lost a big chunk right in the middle of my head. It was so traumatic that it took me almost five years before I could go near a curling iron. Come to find out, the gizmo that I ordered was faulty. The company ended up in a lawsuit because burnt hair happened to a lot of people. Not just geeky girls with wavy hair from Texas who loved Jane Austen.” Studying her hair, she decided she was finished. “This is as good as it’s going to get.”

Ryan ran his fingers through her hair and then leaned over and kissed her. “When I saw you unpin your hair in the bar, I thought about how pretty it was. I imagined it falling like a curtain over us as you lay on top of me. Turns out reality beat that fantasy to shit. Your soft hair trailing across my stomach last night when you…”

Her hand covered his mouth. “We are about to go to church. We do not need to be discussing what happened on Saturday night.” Pushing his chest, she waited until he stepped back. “Put your mind on God while we’re in church.”

He followed her out of the bedroom and put his hands in his pockets. “How long does my mind have to stay there?”

“Until we’re having coffee and donuts in the courtyard.”

“For the record, last night was a religious experience, and I think we should do it again tonight.” He took her hand and led her out of the house. “It’s important to respect what God has given us and celebrate it.”

“I suppose your celebration is a naked one.”

“Only kind there is, honey.”

He opened the car door and she got in. “Can’t argue with that,” she mumbled to herself. When he got in and buckled his seat belt, she laid her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s try and get through church without a scandal. It may be difficult, but I think we should try.”

“No scandals…got it.” He winked and drove them down the street.

“There are going to be a lot of curious people, and I should warn you that the women of Dripping Springs are not shy about asking questions. Some people have compared them to a pack of piranhas. Which doesn’t make any sense, because as I far as I know, piranhas don’t travel in packs, they travel in schools. That’s more of a rabid dog thing.”

“I get it, honey.” He patted her leg and drove calmly toward the church.

“All that sniper cool you have may be used up today at Grams’ lunch. I thank you in advance for going with me today.”

“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he replied.

“You are too good to be true, Ryan Cordell.”

“Feel free to show me your appreciation the same way you did last night.”

“If you make it through church and lunch and still want to talk to me, then you can count on it.”

He pulled into the church parking lot and turned off the engine. “Give me a couple of minutes. I need to replace the pictures in my head with godly ones. It’s going to take a few minutes.”

She flipped the mirror down and checked her lipstick. “Take all the time you need.”

***

Ivy ate her second donut as she looked around the courtyard. She had a distinct feeling that sharks were circling and waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Apparently, the little trip she and Ryan took to Fabar’s a couple of weeks ago was still fresh on everyone’s mind. Why did she get herself into these pickles? There would be long stretches of perfect control and behavior, and then she’d snap like a rubber band and do something so fabulously inappropriate that it would be talked about for years. Ryan ambled over and seemed relaxed and happy. He handed her a cup of coffee and studied her. “Don’t say anything.”

“I’ll bet everyone is wondering how many condoms we have left, if any.” He waved to some women and then winked.

“Stop encouraging them. You’re adding fuel to their fire.”

“You started this bonfire, and it’s my job to enjoy it. The prettiest woman in the world is my girlfriend, and there are at least fifty people in this courtyard who are jealous as hell.” He looped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. “I may add a little lighter fluid and give you a real kiss, just to see what happens.”

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