Page 45 of A Very Merry Matchup
“Yeah, but I had no idea what they were talking about.”
“Pretty sure they didn’t have any idea what they were talking about either,” Ivy says with a quick smile as she adjusts the mittens on her hands. “But the movie isThe Shop Around the Corner. I watched it for the first time a few years ago, and there’s this scene where Jimmy Stewart’s character believes he’s about to meet the woman he’s been exchanging letters with and falling in love with for the very first time. Up until this point, he’s been under the impression that he’s never met her, so now that he’s finally about to meet her, can you guess how he feels?”
“Excited?”
“Terrified. He tells his friend in this scene that it’s like getting a bonus check from your boss. While you’re still holding the envelope, you’re a millionaire. The second you open it...”
Ivy’s shovel scrapes across the pavement as she hefts a fluffy pile of snow into the yard. “I guess I’m not ready tostop being a millionaire, Beau. I want to keep holding on to the dream that I’ll have that perfect family someday.”
“Nobody has the perfect family, Ivy. Holding off on love because you’d rather hold on to something unobtainable is no way to live your life.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve grown up with this—” She waves a hand around her. “Youarea millionaire, Beau. You’ve always known exactly where to find home. I didn’t have that. I had a taste of it with my grandma, but otherwise, I’m still searching.”
“It’s standing right in front of you, Ivy.” I tap my chest. “You’re looking at home right now. When I say I’ll give up baseball for you, I mean it. I’ll find a job with regular hours. One that doesn’t require any travel.”
“Don’t be crazy. Your dream is to play Major League baseball, and it sounds like you’ve got a real shot at it. Don’t give up your dream for me.”
“What if I dream about you more?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
All I want for Christmas is my perfect plan
Ivy
What if I dream about you more?
My knees buckle. “Beau...”
“We made a deal, Ivy. No going back on it now. You promised if you fell in love with me, you’d scrap your perfect plan.”
I hear the dogs bark from the backyard. A neighbor drives by and toots his horn while he rolls down the window to yell, “Merry Christmas.”
I wave back without taking my eyes off Beau. “The last thing I want is for you to give up your dream and regret it.”
“Do you love me?”
“We hardly know each other.”
“We’re standing outside of my parents’ house in matching pajama pants after sleeping glued together on the couch all night. Also pretty sure you caught a glimpse of my bare tush back in September that one time I was walking to the bathroom. We’re not exactly strangers here, Ivy. Do you love me?”
I’m not going to address the bare tush comment. My face is already flushing hot enough to melt the snow. “You’ll eventually resent me for making you give up your dream.”
“You’re not making me give up anything. Didn’t you hear what I said? You are my dream. I want you. I want a family with you. I want us to have enough kids to fill up the entire back seat so we can go on summer vacations where we drive for hours and get all hot and sweaty and crabby with each other inside our little car until we find a dumpy hotel where nothing works right.”
“That’s not what you want. That’s not what anybody wants.”
“I want to be the man that you want, Ivy.”
He is. He already is the man that I want. I don’t know what’s holding me back. Other than this isn’t the plan. And Beau could change his mind. He could go back to baseball. He could break my heart.
How many times did I hear my dad promise my momthat this was his last season? How many times did I hear my mom promise to cut back on her hours? The whole reason I came up with the plan was to avoid repeating my parents’ mistakes.
“I just can’t do it, Beau. I’m sorry.”
I drop my shovel and hurry inside the house. I should leave. It’s only going to get harder the longer I stay. Lucy won’t mind if I arrive a day early.
I’ve just gotten my wet snowy boots off when Cecilia rushes down the stairs with my phone. “Hey honey, this has been ringing nonstop. When I saw it was your mom I thought you might want to answer. I’m sure she’s wanting to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
