Chapter Six
I vy arrived at Kayley’s Refresher, ready to meet Roman for their date. She’d spent an absurd amount of time trying to decide what to wear, eventually going for friendly and casual. She’d chosen blue jeans with a cute, collared, pink pastel top. She had a light rose-colored jacket in case it turned cool, and, of course, she wore open-toed shoes to show off her pale blush toenails. She’d left her hair up in her usual ponytail. She didn’t want to appear too eager. It was just Roman, after all.
Ivy bit her lip, cursed her triviality. That wasn’t fair to him. Roman was a great guy.
He was.
She straightened up, took a breath, and spotted him at a dark blue picnic table in the center of the park-like grounds.
When he looked up, she waved and wove her way through the colorful tables. The place was starting to fill up, and it was still early.
“Hey,” she said. Roman stood, balancing himself with one hand on the picnic table.
He nodded and grinned. “I’ll place our order. What would you like?” He teetered a little.
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. It’s so far.” It wasn’t really, but on crutches might prove a challenge.
He laughed. “I’m buying. What would you like—well, besides a raspberry cheesecake milkshake?”
Ivy grinned. “Just a basic burger and fries—well…” She bit her lip.
“Garlic fries?”
Ivy nodded. “Yes, please. Kayley’s garlic fries are the best. But only if you are too.”
Roman grinned. “That can be arranged.”
He took off. Even on crutches, it was clear he was athletic. It occurred to Ivy how her words might be interpreted, and she could have kicked herself. OMG, garlic fries but only if you are too? Now, he’d expect her to kiss him.
She scrunched her face in thought. Did she want to kiss him? She plopped down on the bench. With a head tilt, she pictured herself kissing Roman. Hmm, what would it be like? She let her imagination take off. Would it be soft or passionate? Sweet or hungry? Her heart jumped at hungry. When she thought of hungry kissing, she wasn’t picturing Roman at all. Her imagination took off like a kite, soaring at the thought of hungrily kissing Jaxon, and Jaxon…was suddenly smack dab in front of her in dark jeans with a sky-blue tee, looking so delicious she could just gobble him up.
Was she hallucinating? Good lord, she was losing it.
“Hi,” he said with his lopsided smile.
She blinked. He was there, really there. Like she could conjure him into existence just by wishing. “Oh, hi.” He was real and right in front of her, and she felt herself break into a bright, delighted grin. Suddenly, there were loud whoops and thundering feet as the Little Leaguers rushed by, jockeying for seats at the remaining picnic tables.
One of the boys bumped into her.
“Sorry about that,” Jaxon said to her and called after the boy, “Kenny, get back here and apologize.”
“Oh, sorry, lady.”
“Sorry, Miss Wayland,” Jaxon corrected.
“Sorry, Miz Wayland,” he called, racing off.
Color flooded Ivy’s cheeks at her earlier thoughts. Hyperconscious at how she must appear after imagining a make-out session with the man in front of her, she knew her voice came out breathy. “You’re here with the team, I take it.”
Jaxon just grinned at her. After a long moment he blinked a couple of times and nodded. “Yes, they won a really tough game, so I thought a reward was in order.” His expression hopeful, he added, “You could join us.”
Roman chose that moment to reappear and swing his crutches up and around, barely missing smacking Jaxon in the back. He slid an arm around Ivy’s shoulders. Ivy felt a definite shift in the air. Both men grew taller. Were they taking a stand?
Over her?
“So, Jax, looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you with that crowd.” Roman nodded toward the Little Leaguers. “You better get over there before they get out of hand.” He spoke with an edge and pulled Ivy in close, staking his claim. He leaned down and spoke softly by her ear, but loud enough for Jaxon to hear. “I got us extra garlic fries to share.”
Roman smirked.
Jaxon’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the blatant implication. His lips tightened before he gave a brisk nod at Roman. “You’re right, I better get over to my charges.” To Ivy, he gave a resigned smile.
She watched him walk away and shake his head before rounding up his team to place orders at the counter.
Roman pulled her attention back. “I arranged for Kayley to bring our order out.” He put a plastic number seven on the table, and Ivy turned her focus to him. She would do this date properly.
She gave him a bright smile. “Tell me about your store.”
“Really?”
“You bet. We’re both business owners. I want to hear all about yours. Did you get all the inventory put away?”
Pleased, Roman launched into his day at work. It was interesting at first but somewhere amidst the details on the difference between number 45 screws and number 47 screws and the supplier mixing them up, Ivy’s mind began to wander, as well as her eyes. She could see Jaxon with the boys, laughing and joking. He was great with those kids, easygoing yet firm, letting them blow off steam but keeping it all under control.
She wondered why he didn’t have his own kids. He’d been married and seemed like the type. Perhaps he and his wife had run out of time. Ivy tried to concentrate on Roman, who was now talking about adding a home improvement section.
“That’s a great idea,” she said, and continued to picture Jaxon as a dad.
She wanted kids someday, after she achieved her other goals.
She blinked. Her goals, that’s right. She was here to make them happen. Ivy settled into hearing all about front doors, back doors, screen doors, and Dutch doors.
My, but this was going to be a long date.
*
Jaxon didn’t know what to think. Ivy on a date with Roman? They made a handsome couple. But when did that develop? It had to be recent. Suddenly his whole baseball team was in love with his girl. The Rebels couldn’t get enough of Ivy’s cookies, her time, or her company.
He kept an eye on the boys busy blowing wrappers off their paper straws, aiming for each other’s heads. He let out a sigh. He’d waited too long to ask Ivy out, but it shouldn’t matter. He was moving to Boston, taking a job with the development company to design affordable housing.
Cookie-cutter housing.
His heart died a little at the monotony of it, but it was a means to an end. No matter that he had decidedly better ideas for affordable housing than what he was being hired for. Or that he could design more attractive units with the same budget. It wasn’t what his new employers envisioned, and they’d be paying him to do exactly what they wanted.
Candace always insisted they move away from Hazard. She’d hated the town, so they’d argued, often.
Vehemently.
Now, he saw her point. The way everyone treated him like a tragedy, well, she’d been right. No way could you remake yourself in a small town. He’d struggled to persuade her to move here. Candace, ever the city girl with an adventurous streak, she’d missed the weight machines at her health club, her sports supply store, and high protein takeout. She’d urged him to move to New York, but when Jaxon balked she’d set out to convince him to relocate to Jersey City. She’d only conceded to giving Hazard a try to make their marriage work. Of course, she made it clear he owed her. An adrenaline junkie, Candace loved city life and extreme sports vacations.
All he’d wanted was stability. His childhood had consisted of a dozen different schools, as his parents forever believed the next move would be the best. It never was. One crowded apartment complex led to another, until Jaxon ached for a community where he belonged.
But how had that worked out? After Candace died, he’d moved out of the small cottage they’d rented during his marriage into an upstairs apartment in his building. Back to living in a cramped space, he’d donated all her exercise equipment to Community Projects. They’d been building a life. Now, it was all for nothing.
Still, he loved working with the Little Leaguers. Leaving would be tough. He’d planned to coach them over the years. The kids finished eating and were whooping it up again, wadding up food wrappers to launch at each other. He stood to draw their attention. Once he got them organized, he had them start calling their parents for rides.
A successful day for the team, and apparently a successful date for Roman and Ivy.
She looked fascinated by every word dropping out of Roman’s big mouth. Jaxon had never thought Roman the most interesting of his friends. I mean, sure, as an architect Jaxon could appreciate hardware as much as the next guy, but Roman talking about ordering stock was a bore. But not to Ivy, or perhaps they were talking about something else. They might be making plans.
He needed to focus on his own plans. He still needed to find a neighborhood in Boston, one close to his new job, and near a park. Sighing at the number of details he still needed to work out, he put it out of his mind and thought about checking in on the sets he’d designed for the theater troupe instead. He should make sure they’d held up for opening night.
First, he needed to head home and take Montgomery for a walk. The little Scottie was supposed to have been Candace’s dog, a gift she’d detested. Jaxon gave one long, lingering glance at the fresh-faced, fascinating Ivy before he waved at the last Little Leaguer getting in his parent’s SUV.
*
A cool breeze kicked up as Ivy sat listening to Roman expound on his business plans. She shrugged into her jacket, noting everyone else had left. Blue sky had dimmed to twilight. She rubbed her arms, hoping Roman would notice. At her hint, he ducked his head. “We should probably head out.” She nodded, relieved the evening was coming to a close. Roman was great to look at, but not much of a conversationalist. Well, unless hardware was your thing.
She could appreciate his enthusiasm for his future, but he’d shown no interest in hers. He hadn’t asked her a single question about her own business or plans. The entire evening had centered on her admiring his clever business acumen.
She waited while he got situated with his crutches on the uneven ground, and they took their time winding back to their cars. Wind tossed her ponytail, strands slipping free to spill across her eyes. Self-conscious, she sought to smooth it down.
Once at her compact car they’d stood, Roman leaning on his crutches. His eyes flicked to her wayward hair and lit up.
Oh lord, she probably radiated tousled and inviting. She hated how out of control her hair became when loose. Before she could slick her hair back down, Roman, so much taller, braced a hand to the hood of her Mazda. He angled down, just far enough for their lips to meet. Clearly, she’d been correct. The sharing of garlic fries led to expectations. Ivy hated to disappoint. Roman was a decent guy—if a bit dull—and really, it was one kiss, what was the big deal? That’s how dates went, right? A meal shared, conversation, and a kiss good night.
But as Roman swooped in to make first base, Ivy froze. In the last instant, she turned her head. Soft, puffy lips brushed over her cheek in a wet smear.
Ivy cringed at the awkwardness, hoping she hadn’t offended.
Roman straightened and gave her a gentle smile—rather sweet, really. She resisted the urge to wipe the wetness from his kiss off her cheek. She wouldn’t be rude.
“Would you like to go out again?” He gave her a patient look as if recognizing she wasn’t a girl to kiss on the first date. The yearning in his dark brown eyes almost had her saying she’d need to let him know. But a request for a second date clearly indicated he thought they were making progress. Ivy knew from her own dating experience that letting someone down “easy” and ghosting them was the worst.
She shook her head. “I enjoy your company, Roman, but…” He nodded in acceptance, truly a gentleman.
“Friends,” he said.
“Friends,” she agreed.
He gave her a wistful smile, and even while balancing on his crutches managed to open her car door and wait while she got in. Once she started the motor, he stepped back and gave her a wave. Ivy pulled away and paused to make sure Roman was able to maneuver to his truck and get in before she turned onto the country road back to town.