Page 80 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
But it wasn’t just that. Not even close.
When I was upset, his was the first hand I reached for. When I had good news, he was the one I wanted to celebrate with, even if I was dating someone. And apparently, we already had a house together. Somehow I’d missed that memo.
But I didn’t want to miss another thing.
And if I was being truly honest with myself, I didn’t want to miss my chance with Jack. Look at our history. It was pretty incredible.
“You’ve always made me feel safe,” I admitted. “Well, until recently. Not that you make me feel unsafe. You know what I mean. But I’m scared. I don’t want to lose you. And being in the spotlight is hard.”
“I know it is. And like I said, I’m scared too.” His lips brushed mine. “But I think our history tells us we can do anything together. Even sharing the spotlight. And . . . being more than friends.”
“Jack, are you asking me to be yourrealgirlfriend?”
“I was kind of thinking bigger.” He wickedly grinned. “But girlfriend works for now. I don’t want to scare you off.”
Oh, he definitely knew how to get the pulse racing. Not that his homemade history book hadn’t already made his intentionsabundantlyclear.
“Let’s start with girlfriend,” I said, “and leave the door open for future title-change negotiations.”
“Well,” he groaned. “Be warned, I’m an excellent negotiator.”
“Maybe,” I said playfully. “But it did take you seven years to prove me wrong.”
“I just let you think you were right for seven years.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s not argue.”
“What should we do instead?” he said in his sultry Jack voice, leaning in closer.
“We should probably kiss. A lot. I want to make sure I’m really nailing the girlfriend role.”
“I guess Santa decided to bring what I asked for. It’s going to be a merry Christmas after all.”
“Very merry.” I pressed my lips to his, ripping off his Grinch hat of shame.
His hand slid up, fingers threading through my hair as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. Slow. Intentional. Reverent. And oh so Jack.
I carefully pushed the best book I’d ever read to the side and crawled onto his lap, wanting to be as close to him as possible.
Jack tightened his grip, granting my wish. His mouth moved against mine with a sort of delectable patience, like every second he held back was just fuel for the fire building between us.
In my mind, I started chantingBurn, baby, burn,but Mom quickly extinguished those thoughts.
She barged in unannounced, and Jack and I sprang apart like guilty teenagers. The kiss broke with an audiblepop—the kind that would properly make me cringe for the next few days every time I thought about it.
“Oh,” Mom said, one eyebrow arched with alarmed satisfaction. “I came to check on you, but I see you’re feeling better.”
I cleared my throat. “Much better. Thank you.”
“It looks like we aren’t faking it anymore.” Mom’s tone bordered on pleased andI’m still a little salty with you for lying to me.
“Uh, no. Um, actually, Jack and I have decided to be a couple. A real one.”
“I’m so happy for you. Now put your Grinch hats back on,” she half-heartedly snapped, trying to muster up some sternness. “It’s time for dinner.”
“Okay. Thank you. We’ll be down in a minute.”
Mom’s stern exterior turned into a sly grin before she flitted out.
