Chapter Two #2
What was I even thinking? But as I gazed into Ivy’s sapphire-blue eyes, searching for clarity, all I saw was my future staring back at me. The realization sent a rush of courage through me—enough to propose something totally outlandish.
“Ivy, I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend,” I whispered low into her ear, praying no one around us heard me.
A giggle erupted in Ivy’s chest and burst forth into a fit of laughter. “Oh, ha ha. It’s Christmas, not April Fools’ Day.”
She wiggled out of my arms, still chuckling, utterly oblivious to the fact that I was dead serious.
But then her laughter waned, her gaze sweeping the terminal.
The lingering amusement in her eyes dimmed as she took in the sea of onlookers—phones raised, whispers rippling through the crowd.
And then there was Sienna, stabbing at her phone with manicured precision, her glare burning a hole through us from across the gate.
Realization struck Ivy. “Oh. My. Gosh. What did you tell Sienna?” She murmured through her gritted teeth.
This was it. The moment Ivy either forgave me or throttled me in front of the airport crowd. Recklessly but instinctually, I pulled her into a lover’s embrace and kissed her cheek, which was hot with anger.
I worried that I may have overplayed my hand and was hit with the sickening thought that I might lose her.
Maybe the fake route wasn’t the way to go.
But I’d already charted the course, and I was desperate to prove to Ivy that we belonged together.
So, I did what I was born to do. I turned on the Texan charm.
“Darlin’.” I knew she loved my accent, and I was shamelessly using it to my advantage.
Ivy stood frozen against me, waiting for the bombshell I was about to drop on her.
As quietly as I could, I tried to explain the situation.
“Unbeknownst to me, Sienna found out I was vacationing in Aspen Lake, so she booked a trip there, too. She thought we could spend it together, and you know how I get around her.”
Ivy let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.
“Exactly. So, I panicked and told her we were a couple, so she didn’t get any ideas about us getting back together.”
She didn’t react. Just stared. Processing.
Then, she blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
“Why?” The single syllable carried more weight than an interrogation.
“Like I said, I panicked.”
“You don’t panic. You’re the guy who leaves thirty minutes late, never rushes, never scrambles because somehow—miraculously—you always arrive on time.”
She was right. Normally, it was good to be me. But she had no idea what was at stake. What this trip meant. It deserved some panic.
“There’s a first time for everything.”
Ivy shifted in my arms but didn’t pull away. “And out of all the choices you had, that’s what you went with?”
“You have to admit, it’s a pretty solid deterrent.”
Ivy peeked over at Sienna, who looked about ten seconds away from a nuclear meltdown, her arms crossed, nostrils flaring.
“I don’t think she’s buying it. You heard her. We don’t fit.”
Did I detect a hint of disappointment in her voice? Or was I just desperate to hear it?
“What does she know? Any man would be lucky to be with a woman like you.”
“Nice try, Jack. You’re just saying that so I’ll agree to take part in this ridiculous plan of yours.”
“I’m being sincere,” I said, like it was my last confession.
Or maybe my first. Either way, I meant what I said. Any man would be lucky to be with Ivy. I just wanted it to be me.
“Jack,” she lowered her voice. “I can’t pretend to be your girlfriend. We’re friends.”
“Well,” I said, a slow grin tugging at my lips. “Friends don’t let friends fake date alone.”
Ivy scoffed. “Oh, ha ha. You are preposterous. You know that?”
“I do,” I admitted, dipping my head just enough to hint at contrition. “But please, Ivy, can you just help a guy out here? If Sienna finds out I lied, she’s not just going to be mad—she’ll make trouble. The public kind of trouble.”
Ivy tilted her head, her gaze flicking toward Sienna, who looked one second away from wreaking said public chaos. “That sounds like a you problem.”
Did you see how stubborn this woman was? Not that I blamed her—I had it coming. But she could throw a guy a bone. A guy who loved her, no less.
“That’s fair, but I am going to be with you and your family for the next two weeks. Do you really think Sienna won’t try to make it our problem?”
Ivy’s eyes widened and then closed, the gravity of the situation bearing down on her.
“I knew this was going to be the most Mr. Holiday Christmas ever. I just wanted a nice, quiet Christmas, Jack. Is that too much to ask?”
I tugged a strand of her dark, silky hair, letting it slip between my fingers, knowing how Ivy felt about my Mr. Holiday side, as she called it.
“It still will be. We’ll just be a little cozier now.”
She exhaled sharply, skeptical but not entirely retreating. “How cozy are we talking here?”
I wanted to tell her as cozy as two people can get, but I didn’t think that would play out too well.
“Just cozy enough to make it believable.”
She bit her lip. “This would only be if we ran into her, right?”
I shook my head, slow and deliberate. “Sorry, darlin’, no. We’re going to have to sell it to everyone to make it believable.”
“Everyone? Even my family?”
“Especially them. If they don’t believe us, no one will.”
“But if we explained to them what was going on, they would understand and play along.”
She was killing me. Why couldn’t she just agree to my plan? “We can’t count on that. Someone’s bound to accidentally slip up, and before you know it, you’re in the tabloids and being labeled a con artist and gold digger.”
Ivy swallowed hard. She gripped my shirt until her knuckles whitened. The thought of her being in the tabloids sank in, and I watched her work through the worst-case scenario in real time.
Finally, she exhaled. “This is ridiculous.”
I pulled her closer to me, thinking it was more like genius, but I didn’t mention it. Her head landed on my chest. I took a moment to breathe her in while stroking her hair. Could she feel how right this was? The two of us together?
“Jack, I don’t want to lie to my family. They don’t even know you’re coming,” she admitted. “I thought I would surprise them.”
Huh? I hadn’t seen that one coming. But it could work in our favor.
“Think of how surprised they’ll be when we tell them we’re together.”
I honestly didn’t think they would mind. After all, they loved me.
“But it will be a lie.”
“My lie, not yours.” Hopefully not a lie at all by the end of the trip.
Ivy searched my face, something unreadable flickering across her own. Her lips parted like she had more to say, but she hesitated, pressing them together instead.
I held my breath. Maybe—just maybe—she wanted this more than she was willing to admit.
Sienna marched right up to us and crashed the party.
“Please, Jack,” she pleaded. “Just tell me this is a joke. We’ll laugh it off together on the slopes. You can’t be serious about her. I just can’t believe it.”
Before I could react, Ivy spun around and hit Sienna with that fiery look of hers that I both feared and adored. There was nothing sexier than an irate Ivy.
“Believe it, Sienna. Jack and I are together,” she said, each word punctuated enough to make anyone believe her. And yet . . . her hands shook.
For a moment, I reveled in the victory. Unbeknownst to Ivy, she’d just opened the door for us.
Sienna stood frozen, her eyes glazed over. She wasn’t accustomed to not getting her way. But then—she straightened, squared her shoulders, and set her sights on Ivy.
I knew that look. She wasn’t about to play nice.
“Well . . . we’ll see about that,” she said, her voice sickly sweet. “See you soon, Jack.”
She blew me a kiss, turned, and pranced off, her determined heels clicking with the promise of trouble.
Ivy fell into my arms, her voice barely a whisper. “You so owe me.”
I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly against me. For a moment, everyone else faded away, and all I could feel was her warm, trembling body against me.
“I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”
“You better believe it, buddy. What am I going to tell my family? What have I done?” she lamented. “More like what have you done?”
I liked to believe I’d done the right thing. Ivy and I belonged together. Now, I just had to make her see it—make her finally admit it.
Easier said than done.