Page 57 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
Unfortunately, perception and optics mattered more to most people than the truth.
“I remember everything you say.” I kissed the side of her head, reveling for a minute in her. “Are you feeling better now?”
“This is helping.” She held up the OREO, peanut butter ice cream dripping off the edges. “Here, taste.”
I leaned in and caught the cookie between my teeth—along with a nibble of her finger.
Just a taste of her. Though I longed to kiss the crumbs off her lips and do much more.
I didn’t let go immediately, wanting to see how she wouldreact.
She pressed her lips together. Her breath hitched, and those beautiful questioning eyes of hers locked onto mine. But she didn’t pull away.
It nearly undid me.
There were a thousand things I wanted to say to her, but they would have to wait until Christmas morning when I gave her my gift. In the next few days, I would do my best to prep her for the big reveal—that I’d been in love with her all along.
Maybe then I could tell her about my run-in with Sienna, and we could laugh it off. Or maybe now was the right time to say something.
“What do you think?” she stuttered.
Reluctantly, I let her finger go and chewed and swallowed. “Yummy.”
She cleared her throat, quickly shoved the rest of the cookie back in the ice cream carton, and set it carefully off to the side. It was clear from the way she refused to make eye contact that she knew I wasn’t talking about the ice cream.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” She hastily pulled her iPad out from under the covers.
“Sure.” I chuckled.
I found her flustered state funny, but it gave me some hope. And some pause about telling her now about Sienna and that damn kiss.
“Home Aloneokay?” Her shaky fingers flew across the screen. “Or have you had enough holiday madness to last you a lifetime?”
I knew it was her favorite Christmas movie, and she’d been trying for years to get me to watch it with her. I’davoided it at all costs. But things were different now. I wanted to be different. I wanted to make peace with my past and the holidays.
“It hasn’t been all that bad.”
“Really?” She dared a peek at me. “You’re wearing elf pajamas.”
Laughing, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So, maybe your family’s fashion choices have been a bit much, but it’s plain to see how much they do for your community. I think there would be a lot of disappointed people if your family ever decided to dress normally during the holidays.”
“We’ve definitely made our mark.” Ivy grinned.
“You have, and it’s admirable.” Truth was, I envied Ivy. Her parents had created an amazing legacy. Something she could be proud of.
“I’m just glad you haven’t run away screaming yet. I really want you to love the holidays.”
“Me, too.”
That had her face lighting up and her finger pushing play.
“In that case, get ready to enjoy a holiday cinematic classic. But don’t do that thing where you dissect every frame and what the director did or how you would have delivered a line to make it more believable. Just let go and suspend your disbelief, just like I do when I see you jumping from one plane to another in mid-air.”
“But I did do that.” I was damn proud of that stunt.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t actually on fire,” she teased.
“What does it take to impress you?”
