Page 10 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
Ivy peeked over at Sienna, who looked about ten seconds away from a nuclear meltdown, her arms crossed, nostrils flaring.
“I don’t think she’s buying it. You heard her. We don’t fit.”
Did I detect a hint of disappointment in her voice? Or was I just desperate to hear it?
“What does she know? Any man would be lucky to be with a woman like you.”
“Nice try, Jack. You’re just saying that so I’ll agree to take part in this ridiculous plan of yours.”
“I’m being sincere,” I said, like it was my last confession.
Or maybe my first. Either way, I meant what I said. Any man would be lucky to be with Ivy. I just wanted it to be me.
“Jack,” she lowered her voice. “I can’t pretend to be your girlfriend. We’re friends.”
“Well,” I said, a slow grin tugging at my lips. “Friends don’t let friends fake date alone.”
Ivy scoffed. “Oh, ha ha. You are preposterous. You know that?”
“I do,” I admitted, dipping my head just enough to hint at contrition. “But please, Ivy, can you just help a guy out here? If Sienna finds out I lied, she’s not just going to be mad—she’ll make trouble. The public kind of trouble.”
Ivy tilted her head, her gaze flicking toward Sienna, who looked one second away from wreaking said public chaos. “That sounds like ayouproblem.”
Did you see how stubborn this woman was? Not that I blamed her—I had it coming. But she could throw a guy a bone. A guy who loved her, no less.
“That’s fair, but I am going to be with you and your family for the next two weeks. Do you really think Sienna won’t try to make itourproblem?”
Ivy’s eyes widened and then closed, the gravity of the situation bearing down on her.
“I knew this was going to be the most Mr. Holiday Christmas ever. I just wanted a nice, quiet Christmas, Jack. Is that too much to ask?”
I tugged a strand of her dark, silky hair, letting it slip between my fingers, knowing how Ivy felt about my Mr. Holiday side, as she called it.
“It still will be. We’ll just be a little cozier now.”
She exhaled sharply, skeptical but not entirely retreating. “How cozy are we talking here?”
I wanted to tell her as cozy as two people can get, but I didn’t think that would play out too well.
“Just cozy enough to make it believable.”
She bit her lip. “This would only be if we ran into her, right?”
I shook my head, slow and deliberate. “Sorry, darlin’, no. We’re going to have to sell it to everyone to make it believable.”
“Everyone? Even my family?”
“Especially them. If they don’t believe us, no one will.”
“But if we explained to them what was going on, they would understand and play along.”
She was killing me. Why couldn’t she just agree to my plan? “We can’t count on that. Someone’s bound to accidentally slip up, and before you know it, you’re in the tabloids and being labeled a con artist and gold digger.”
Ivy swallowed hard. She gripped my shirt until her knuckles whitened.The thought of her being in the tabloids sank in, and I watched her work through the worst-case scenario in real time.
Finally, she exhaled. “This is ridiculous.”
I pulled her closer to me, thinking it was more like genius, but I didn’t mention it. Her head landed on my chest. I took a moment to breathe her in while stroking her hair. Could she feel how right this was? The two of us together?
