Page 72 of When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday
I giggled even though what Jack was saying scared the living daylights out of me. “I would never ask you to change your life like that for me. You love being Mr. Holiday.”
“I love you more.”
A few tears leaked out of my eyes. “I don’t know what to think about that.”
And I didn’t. I hadn’t expected this. Sure, I’d entertained my feelings. But it had seemed a lot less scary before Jack started throwing the L word around.
Jack, in a swift move, joined me on the couch. His strong, warm hand landed on my cheek. “I know you’ve felt something for me on this trip. And I’m sorry if you feel like I tricked you into being my fake girlfriend. It wasn’t my intention when I asked to spend the holidays with you—at least not the fake part. But when Sienna showed up at the airport and I panicked and told her we were together, I thought maybe if you could see how good we were as a couple in a pretend situation, you would realize you loved me, too. Because I know you do,” he said so cockily it should be a felony.
“Jack, I don’t know what to feel right now. You ripped the safety net right out from under me, and I feel like I’m free-falling, and the world is literally watching me do it. All while I’m wearing a Grinch hat and snow globe pajamas. It kind of does something to a girl.”
But . . . was Jack right? Was I in love with him?
Oh, gosh, I wasn’t sure I could think about it. Especially right now, when Sienna kissing Jack was making front-page news and I was becoming a household name for all the wrong reasons. Not to mention, my family wasn’t all thathappy with me for lying to them. And I worried that maybe I’d just gotten caught up in all the pretending and I didn’t know what was real anymore.
Jack dropped his hand and sighed. “I know. I’ve thrown a lot at you. For that, I’m sorry. But I’m not sorry for loving you or for the last several days. They’ve been the best of my life.”
“Jack,” I whispered.
He tugged on my shirt and drew me to him, our lips almost touching. “Please, Ivy. Give us a chance. Or at least think about it.”
Oh, it was all I would be thinking about.
Jack’s lips skimmed mine.
His kiss was lethal and had me wanting to give into it, especially now when I knew he really wanted me. But it would only muddle my brain.
I needed to think through this. Think about what a life as Jack’s girlfriend would look like. And yes, Mr. Holiday’s girlfriend, too. Could I handle all the public scrutiny? Did I even want to? And what happened if we broke up? It would devastate me. Could we even go back to being just friends now? Dang that Oscar Wilde. I didn’t want to prove him right.
I pulled away from Jack. “Oh, no, no, no, we are not kissing. Kissing is like your superpower, and you will not use it against me.”
Jack chuckled, pleased with himself. “Superpower, huh?”
“Don’t get an even bigger head over it. You know what women say about your kissing.”
“I only care what you think about it.”
“I think it’s gotten us into a lot of trouble.” I tugged on his Grinch hat. “Now hit the floor and let me toss and turn in peace.”
He kissed my cheek and lingered. “As you wish.”
I nudged him away before I changed my mind and asked him to share the couch. As soon as he dropped to the floor, I curled into myself beneath the blanket, heart thrumming, head pounding.
TheMr. Holiday Showhad turned into a real zinger.
The question now was: Did I want the role of leading lady?
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Friendship is a wildly underrated medication.”
Anna Deavere Smith
Jack
WearingourGrinchhatsof shame, Ivy and I huddled in a corner of the kitchen, trying to assemble a gingerbread mansion while some of her family made offhand comments about how trapped they felt—thanks to the paparazzi swarming outside, just waiting for a glimpse of either one of us.
Ivy’s family wasn’t exactly shunning us. In fact, Jaquelyn had said it was mandatory for Ivy and me to come to the gingerbread mansion–building contest. Obviously, they weren’t happy that we’d lied to them. I felt terrible about it. In my defense, I hadn’t lied about how I felt about Ivy. That should have counted for something.
