Page 66 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
This couldn’t be good.
“Is everything all right? Did Jack promise Emma a puppy for Christmas? I told him not to.”
Granted, I was tempted to buy her one. It was her dimples and those big eyes of hers. They got me every time.
“He better not have. I’m already this close to testing whether Coke really can dissolve bones.”
“Whoa, whoa. That’s a little much, even for you. He can’t have done anything that bad.”
Paige let out a huge breath. Then, with the dramatic flourish of someone unveiling a state secret, she reached into her bra and pulled out her phone.
I had to say, it impressed me she could conceal a phone in there.
“Baby sister . . . ,” she said, almost gently. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but . . . well . . .” She turned the screen toward me. “I’ll let the photo speak for itself.”
And it did.
Loud and painfully clear.
Jack kissing Sienna at The Market smacked me in the face like a ton of bricks. The hit was so hard I couldn’t breathe. But somehow, I managed with trembling hands to grab the phone. I needed a closer look to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
Why would Jack do this to me?
No wonder he’d been acting so strange the night before when he got back from the store and had been constantly checking his phone today. And here I thought he was being so sweet, rushing off to get my favorite cookies and ice cream and even a heating pad. Turns out it’d just been a cover. A convenient excuse to cozy up with his ex.
And ugh, I had kissed those lips that had just been on Sienna’s. I wanted to vomit.
If the photo weren’t awful enough, the caption by none other than Tae Cho twisted the knife Jack had shoved in my back. Jack’s own words were ringing in my head: Tae didn’t manufacture situations or manipulate photos.
Well, well, well . . . look who’s getting festive at The Market. Mr. Holiday and Sienna Davenport caught looking very merry and bright. Sorry, Ivy—guess some traditions die hard. #HolidayHeat #ReboundOrRematch
I slammed the phone down on the table, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. Waves of humiliation crashed over me.
If Jack had wanted to end our fake relationship, he could have just told me so. I would have been more than happy to. Instead, he’d made me feel things I never should have. And there I’d been, kissing him every chance I got.
Paige took the chair next to me and grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head, unable to speak. I’d just lost my best friend in the whole wide world.
To make matters more fun, Mom walked in.
“Hey, honey, Cami’s ready for you and—” She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes locking on my tear-streaked face. “Oh, Ivy, what’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth, but all that came out were squeaks and a sob.
Paige, never one to hold back, jumped in for me. She yanked her phone up like it was Exhibit A.
“This happened. Jack is a cheating bastard.”
Mom’s eyebrows flew up. “Now, Paige, we’ve had this discussion before. We don’t use language like that with children around.”
“Then maybe you should cover their ears,” Paige snapped, her tone unrepentant. “Because I haven’t even started yet.”
Mom snatched the phone and stared at the screen. Her face flushed so fast, she looked like a red Christmas ornament about to combust.
“Someone bring me the Grinch hat of shame!”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Especially when the entire family, including Cami, came running in. Apparently, no one could resist finding out who’d earned themselves a turn in the Grinch hat.
