Page 34 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
Suddenly, I was the terror stricken one.
Chapter Ten
“Love is blind; friendship tries not to notice.”
Otto von Bismarck
Jack
IneverthoughtI’dsay this, but I was glad Sienna showed up when she did. If not, Ivy might have gotten me to spill my guts. I wished she would just drop it. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate her care and concern for me, but I didn’t need to give her any more reasons to doubt the viability of a romantic relationship with me.
My family—if you could even call them that—was nothing like Ivy’s. No need to torture her with my memoriesand scare her away. The stubborn woman was already giving me a run for my money. Hadn’t she felt how amazing it was to wake up next to each other that morning?
Her sleepy smile, and the way she had laughed first thing upon waking up, had made me want to capture her supple lips and show her exactly how I felt about her. But then she’d said, “Good morning, friend,” and just like that, ice-cold reality doused my plans.
And here I’d thought I was such a genius, telling her she was right about men and women being able to be friends. Sure, she might have relaxed around me, but she was also apparently prepared to die on the hill of platonic male-and-female relationships.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Ivy’s eyes darted around, panicked.
I’d known running into Sienna on this trip was inevitable. I’d just hoped it would be later rather than sooner.
“Just act like you can’t get enough of me,” I said with a teasing air, but I meant every word.
“I’m being serious here,” she gritted out.
“I am too. The more she believes we’re together, the quicker she moves on.”
At least I hoped. And with any luck, Ivy would finally figure out we were the real deal. But more and more I worried it was going to take more than luck. I needed a miracle. A Christmas miracle.
If only I believed in them. I’d given up on Christmas andmiracles a long time ago.
“Ugh. Fine.” Ivy grabbed my hand and marched us over to the rink like she was leading me into battle. She sure knew how to keep a guy’s ego in check. Not that mine wasn’t still mostly inflated.
Unfortunately, judging by Sienna’s outfit—and the matching energy radiating off her friends, Blair and Margot—they had come to ice-skate, too.
All three wore coordinated pastel plush coats, tailored leggings, and sleek boots. No doubt designed by Margot and Blair. Their alliance with Sienna was more transactional than personal, though their online praise of her made it sound like a friendship written in glitter.
Truthfully, Margot and Blair were far too nice to be close friends with someone like Sienna. But they faked it well. Sienna had put them on the map in the fashion world. And for that, they’d sold their souls to her.
In some ways, I had done the same. Sienna knew how to carefully craft webs and lure people into them. It didn’t help that our on-screen chemistry was palpable. And I had been attracted to Sienna at one time. But I regretted letting our professional lives spill over into our personal ones.
Sienna’s radar was still intact and even though a horde of teen girls had surrounded her and her friends, she zeroed in on Ivy and me. Her eyes lit up and said,It’s showtime.
Oh, hell.
If that wasn’t scary enough, my phone buzzed alarmingly in my pocket. I’d been in Hollywood long enough to know something unpleasant was about to go down. I tugged onIvy’s hand to slow her while I reached into my jeans and fished out my phone.
It was my PR manager, Tori. This wasn’t good. She knew better than to call me while I was on vacation unless it was an emergency.
I maneuvered Ivy behind one of the dozens of decorated trees in the square, trying to afford us some privacy.
“What’s going on?” Ivy whispered, swallowing hard, noticing the name flashing on my phone’s screen like she knew a hammer was about to drop.
I wanted to tell her there was nothing to worry about, but I couldn’t. All I could do was wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to me before I answered the phone.
“Tori,” I murmured.
“Jack, I hate to interrupt your trip, but we have a situation. Reports are circulating claiming your relationship with Ivy is staged to promote your upcoming movie about friends to lovers. It’s gaining traction fast, and we need to decide how to handle it before it spirals.”
