Chapter Eleven
“When you’re in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, ‘Damn, that was fun.’”
Groucho Marx
Ivy
The universe was conspiring against me. And the universe’s name was Sienna. Out of all the days she could have gone ice-skating, she chose that day? It was like she knew Jack and I were going to be there, and she wanted to see firsthand how her rumors were wrecking us.
Well, she was about to get a front row seat.
I now understood exactly why women engaged in catfights, slapping each other and hurling verbal assaults.
Until that moment, I’d never wanted to claw someone’s eyes out.
But Sienna’s amber eyes, which gleamed with malice and stared at me from a nearby bench as she laced up her skates, her girl gang at her side, looked ripe for clawing.
Not that I would ever actually engage in a physical altercation, but I now at least understood the rage and how people could snap.
If she did anything to ruin my friendship with Jack, I would . . .
Well . . .
I didn’t know what I would do to her.
What could I actually do to her besides pretend like she wasn’t making me have a nervous breakdown?
That was obviously what she wanted—a crack in the armor of Jack’s and my relationship. Armor that, if broken, would devastate me.
The thought of anything coming between Jack and me made me shudder. And I was smart enough to know that crossing certain lines in a friendship was a risky business. We’d already tiptoed over the line, and it scared me.
To cross over any further would be like playing with fire, and we were sure to get burned. Because what if the rumors were true about Jack’s kissing prowess and I liked the way he tasted? That would open doors I knew would be hard to close.
If we wanted our friendship to last, it was best that we never opened them.
I was just glad that Jack seemed to be on the same page as me—we needed to keep us safe.
Granted, he probably didn’t even want to kiss me, and even if he did, he was an actor. He kissed women all the time, and it affected him zero percent. In fact, it might make him gag if he kissed me. He would act like it didn’t, but I would know.
I didn’t need that humiliation in my life.
I was getting enough of that at the moment, thank you very much.
I dreaded going online to see what was being said about us.
Worse still, the critics were right—we were pretending.
Not to sell movie tickets, of course, but we were selling something: a lot of BS.
“Come on, everyone, it’s time to hit the rink,” Mom sang, forcing me out of my head.
While the older kids stepped onto the ice, none of the adults in my family moved. Not even my dad, who was always eager to keep my mom happy. Their eyes were all glued to Sienna.
I hadn’t had the opportunity to tell them the latest and greatest rumors yet, but they all knew she was Jack’s ex, and they’d seen her posts from the day before.
It had been a big topic of breakfast conversation.
Nothing like trying to enjoy my reindeer-shaped pancakes while my siblings talked about my love life like they were gossip columnists.
I’d known bringing Jack home would turn my Christmas into The Mr. Holiday Show. I just hadn’t realized it was going to be a soap opera with me as the costar.
I wanted out of this role. Stat.
Mom twisted her head in Sienna’s direction and grimaced before turning back around with a strained smile.
“We will let no one put a damper on our Christmas cheer, and I mean no one. We are the Wells family, and this is our time. Now, let’s go have some fun.”
My adorably fierce mom marched off in her designer parka and beanie like she was leading us to battle. I had a feeling that was exactly what this was going to turn into.
Jack stood from the bench where we’d been lacing our skates and held out his hand to me, pulling me up. He stared at me, but his gaze was a million miles away.
I waved a gloved hand in front of his face. “Are you okay?”
“Are you?” he asked instead of answering.
“I’m having the time of my life.” I smirked.
He let out a heavy breath, forming a cloud in the cold air. Without saying another word, he led us out into the fray. Immediately, a group of fans accosted him, all of whom were female and pretended like I didn’t exist.
“Mr. Holiday, Mr. Holiday, Mr. Holiday,” they cried like they’d rehearsed it and had lived their entire lives for this moment.
I wriggled free of Jack’s grip even though he tried to keep hold of me.
Honestly, I was fine with the fangirl situation.
It was normal, and I needed some normality.
Besides, this would give me the opportunity to skate with my nieces and nephews and maybe, just maybe, forget that my fake life was being played out in the tabloids.
I only prayed that the statement that Tori was currently crafting would be enough to quiet the rumors.
I searched for my family among the crowd to the sound of sharp blades cutting across the ice and laughter from those wobbling on shaky legs trying to keep upright.
As I scanned, I noticed all the stares. The kind of stares where people pretended they weren’t gawking at me but totally were.
Not only did they stare, but they whispered about me.
If that wasn’t fun enough, Sienna and her posse glided onto the ice, graceful and controlled like a flock of swans, but with the personalities of vultures. Their voices carried just enough to make sure everyone around them heard. The subject? Jack and me, and our staged relationship.
I halted on the ice and gulped down the frigid air, which froze my lungs and made it hard to breathe. Jack and I had poked the beast, and now, she was on the attack. Except her acting skills were such that her attack almost seemed benevolent. Almost.
“I mean, I’m just happy for them, you know? After everything Jack and I shared, it’s nice to see him moving on . . . even if it is just for PR,” Sienna said in her sickly-sweet voice. Every word was sugarcoated in poison.
Her posse responded with these gems:
“It’s so funny how things like this always happen before a big premiere. It’s almost like it’s planned.”
“Too bad Ivy’s not really selling it.”
“Maybe I should give her some tips.” Sienna giggled demurely. “I do, after all, know Jack better than anyone.”
She made sure to look directly at me. Her eyes dared me to disagree.
Oh, did I ever disagree. I knew Jack better than anyone, even if he kept some of his past hidden from me. Regardless, if Sienna knew Jack so well, she would know that after her public stunts, there was no hope of reconciling with him.
“And I would hate to see anything happen to his career,” Sienna added, her veiled threat landing like a thud in my heart.
It was clear that she was out to ruin his career. Or at the very least, his reputation.
If that realization hadn’t hit hard enough, I caught sight of my siblings and my parents, who had obviously overheard Sienna and her cronies. Through furrowed brows and squinted eyes, they silently begged me to tell them it wasn’t so.
The thought of admitting to my family that I’d lied to them about my relationship with Jack made my stomach roil, especially now that they might actually think it was all to promote Jack’s upcoming film. That was cheap and icky.
Our fake relationship was for noble purposes—like proving Sienna wrong. But really, it was to save Jack’s career.
Where was Jack? I needed him to fix this immediately.
Especially when Paige skated up to me, wrapped an arm around me, and whispered, “Ivy, is this all true? Now that I think about it, you don’t seem like yourself.
Something is definitely off. Normally, you’re sucking the faces off your boyfriends any chance you get. I haven’t even seen you kiss Jack.”
“What? I don’t suck my boyfriends’ faces off.”
Okay, I probably did. I loved to kiss.
“Oh, please.” Paige rolled her eyes. “You are the queen of PDA. Or at least you were. You hardly touch Jack.”
“Uh. How do you know? Maybe Jack’s just shy, and you heard the bunk bed squeak.”
Oh, jeez. What was I even saying? Where was freaking Jack?
Paige gave me a good once-over as if to check if I was feeling okay.
The answer was no.
“Jack is the least shy person I’ve ever met,” Paige pointed out.
“And I thought you said that was just you rolling over and that you were sleeping on the top and he was on the bottom. Which is also kind of weird. I mean, we’re talking about Jack Holiday here.
” She sounded like a star struck teen girl.
“Come on, Ivy. You’re telling me you’re sharing a room with him and you’re not . . . you know?”
Oh, I knew. Believe me, I knew. “Well . . . um . . . yeah . . . we’re waiting.”
Oh, jingle hell. There was nothing wrong with waiting to have sex. Nothing at all. But it was obvious that Jack wasn’t a celibate kind of guy.
Paige tilted her head, scrutiny in her eyes. And it wasn’t only her.
Suddenly, it was as if everyone at the rink was closing in.
Judging.
Watching.
Their looks pressing against my skin, heavy and suffocating.
I had visions of A Christmas Story. That montage where everyone tells Ralphie, “You’ll shoot your eye out.”
For me, though, the refrain was different. It was sharper and colder. An indictment even. And only one word—
Liar.
Jack finally appeared.
I knew him so well I could see in his eyes that his career was going up in flames, but most importantly, there was a rare vulnerability in his expression that said, You’re more important to me.
He was giving me permission to drop our act. He would sacrifice his career for me.
I caught sight of Sienna a few feet away. So smug. Waiting and ready to check the king and win this game of chess.