Chapter 27
Ivy
Fried food, nineties country music, and laughter drift through the air as we step past the ticket booth, and into the Canyon Creek Summer Fair.
Games and food booths line the wide open field while the rides glitter and flash their lights in the distance.
The warm summer night breeze picks up, lifting Sophie’s dress, and making her squeal, giving her a super hot Marilyn Monroe moment.
Buck and Maggie fall behind, walking slowly hand in hand as we enter the fairgrounds. Sophie and Maverick break off to the ring toss booth immediately, leaving us all behind without a word.
Twins are weird.
Up ahead, Delilah walks between Lincoln and Beau, who are swinging her by her hands.
“I love it here,” I say, more to myself, but Wesley hears it all the same.
“Yeah?” he asks, reaching his hand over, and locking his pinky with mine.
I look up at him, and grin. “Yeah.”
“Iby!” Delilah yells, turning around.
Wes drops his hand just in time, and gives me a small smile. I can’t wait for the day we don’t have to hide it from her. I know we should, but it doesn’t make it suck any less.
“Can we go get cotton candy?” she calls out.
I look over to her dad, who smiles and nods in approval.
Delilah decides it’s me and Uncle Lincoln who are to accompany her on this cotton candy journey, so the three of us set off in the direction of the food booths.
While we wait in line, Delilah begs to ride on Lincoln's shoulders, so he lifts her with ease, plopping her down behind his head. Delilah plays with his mop of curly brown hair while looking over the crowd from her new perch, and chattering animatedly to herself about the rides she wants to try.
Lincoln and I are discussing whether or not his Fish and Wildlife training gives him the upper hand on the water gun game.
“Chicken,” he mutters.
“It wouldn’t be fair. You’ve had official firearm training. I have not,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.
“Ivy, it’s a water gun. Aim and press a button,” he says, already annoyed with me.
“You’re trying to hustle me,” I declare, narrowing my eyes on him.
“Hustle? What–”
“Shut up,” I hiss, and zero in on the blonde bombshell who just walked up on Maverick and Wesley. “Who is that?” I whisper.
Lincoln looks to where my attention has strayed, and sighs, long and loud. “Katie.”
At first, I wondered if she was there to flirt with Maverick, but then she turns her back, blocking him out, and focuses all of her attention on Wesley.
My Wesley.
The super hot, tall, thin, complete opposite of me, blonde twirls a lock of hair around her finger, and laughs way too hard at something Wesley said.
He seems to have said it with a straight face, and looks shocked by her reaction, but it irritates me anyway.
Maverick covers his mouth, chuckling, and turning to abandon his brother.
“Who is Katie?” I grind out.
“A girl who can’t take a hint,” he answers.
“Wes kissed her once in high school and she hasn’t left him alone since.
She’s crazy. And not in a misogynist—every girl is crazy—way.
She’s actually crazy. He’s turned her down a million times.
Sarah used to be his shield for her insanity,” he adds, laughing to himself.
I could do that.
Wes takes a step back, looking around, probably for someone to save him. “Chill, Ivy. You’re starting to scare people,” Lincoln murmurs, nodding and smiling politely at the couple in line behind us.
I realize I’ve been growling, grumbling or somewhere in between while watching the interaction from my nightmares.
Delilah happily dances to the music, completely unaware of my impending rage. Lincoln winces when she pulls his hair, gripping her little leg a little tighter for stability. I tap my foot anxiously while I debate whether or not to march over there to… I don’t know, assert my dominance or something.
No, I should leave him to it. He’s a big boy. He can get out of it if he wants to.
Wesley looks wildly uncomfortable with their conversation, and takes another step backward. She follows, advancing on him again until he’s backed up to the ring-toss booth with nowhere to go. She’s laughing, flipping her hair, and talking with her hands.
Visions of thongs in the backseats of BMW’s flit through my mind, and I grind my teeth. I know in my bones Wesley isn’t my ex, but it doesn’t stop that feeling of uneasiness from sinking in my gut like a lead weight.
“You said she’s crazy?” I ask Lincoln, an idea forming.
“Completely batshit,” he confirms.
I can work with that. A grin creeps in before I can stop it. I bet I can be crazier.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Lincoln says.
I must’ve said that out loud.
Katie steps closer, giving Wesley flirty fuck me eyes, then lays a hand on his arm, practically hanging off of him.
Nope.
My legs move before my brain has a chance to decide what it’s going to do.
“Ivy,” Lincoln calls after me, but I ignore him, and barrel through the crowd.
When he sees me fast approaching, face a mask of rage, Wesley’s eyes widen, then look to Katie, then back to me, then down to the hand she keeps putting on his arm. He starts shaking his head, and trying to scoot around Katie just as I arrive.
Too late, we’re doing this.
I have no solid plan, so I’m just going to wing it. I don’t want to be a bitch to this girl, but I also don’t want her to continue touching someone who doesn’t want to be touched. I could ask her nicely, though by Lincoln’s “Can’t take a hint” comment, I would say that won’t work.
Crazy it is.
Here we go. Hang on to your britches, Wes.
“Hi, baby,” I purr, wrapping my arms around his middle, and plastering myself to his side like a human octopus.
Katie jolts, like my presence surprised her, then looks at where Wesley and I are joined, and removes her hand—her smile falling. Her lips pinch in irritation, and she narrows her eyes on me.
“Who’s this?” I ask, my voice slightly higher in pitch. I make my eyes go wide, and smile so wide my cheeks hurt. I’m sure I look deranged.
“Katie,” she retorts, looking me up and down, with a look of disgust on her face. “Who are you?”
“This is Ivy, my–” Wesley cuts in, anger in voice, and a glower now pointed at Katie.
At the same time, I reply sweetly. “I’m the girl who will follow you home, learn your daily schedule, and slowly sabotage your entire life one inconvenience at a time.”
Wes breaks out into a coughing fit.
Katie blinks. “What the hell–”
“I’m the girl who will dismantle your entire world.
I’ll sign up for pyramid schemes under your full legal name.
I’ll order sex toys in bulk, and send them to your boss’s house, addressed to you,” I chirp, still cheery as ever.
“I’ll hack into your streaming services, and watch all of your shows so you don’t remember where you left off,” I say, lowering my voice to a more sinister tone.
Katie looks to Wesley, incredulity written all over her face. “Don’t look at him. I’m talking to you. You look at me,” I snap.
Her eyes go wide, and her gaze pivots back to mine.
“I will call every single one of your utilities companies, and have them cancel your service. Water? No more. Electricity? You're back in the dark ages, baby.” Maybe one more for good measure. “I’ll enlist you in the military,” I end in a whisper.
Katie’s face has slowly morphed into one of fear, and confusion. She takes a step back, and stutters out, “You know what, I-I think I see my friends–”
“Run,” I whisper.
Katie whirls around, and scurries off, nearly tripping over a kid with a balloon sword.
I drop the act and peel myself off of Wesley, turning to give him a proud smile. He stares at me, blank and unblinking, before slowly breaking into the widest smile I’ve ever seen from him.
Dimples.
I brace my hands on my hips, beaming.
“You’re welcome,” I say.
————
Wesley
Ivy smiles widely up at me, looking proud of her little stunt. I can’t help it, and smile right back at her.
“That was… interesting,” I say. “Should I be worried?” I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and have to stop myself from throwing her over my shoulder and taking her home.
Possessive Ivy is hot as hell.
She pops a hip out and crosses her arms. “Probably not. But… well, she was touching you. And you looked uncomfortable,” she replies, lifting one crossed arm to inspect her nails casually.
I hum in reply, and step closer, looking down at her. “Didn’t take you for the territorial type,” I tease, arching an eyebrow.
She drops her hands to her side, and straightens her shoulders, all acts of nonchalance out the window. “Usually I’m not,” she retorts.
“Usually?”
“But with you, apparently I am,” she admits, crossing her arms again, rolling her eyes and looking off to the side.
“I am with you, too,” I confess.
“Yeah?” she asks, looking back at me now.
My lips twitch. “Yeah. Ask Maverick. When he tried shit with you at family dinner I nearly killed him.”
The flush on her neck, moves up to her cheeks, and all the way up to the tips of her ears.
“And I’m currently planning Chase's demise,” I add.
Her grin grows, and she bites her lower lip. “Good to know,” she says, her voice cracking a little. “I’ll actually need her full legal name, though. I have some plans.”
The laugh that bubbles out of me surprises us both, making Ivy startle in surprise, then laugh with me. I wrap my arms around her, pressing her crossed arms into my stomach.
“It’s not funny,” she mumbles into the fabric of my shirt.
“No, it’s not,” I agree, dipping my head down to speak into her ear. “It’s fuckin’ hot is what it is. I liked seeing you jealous, baby,” I whisper.
She cranes her neck to look me in the eye, giving me a mischievous fucking smile. God, I want to kiss her. I want to do a whole lot more than kissing.
“Hopefully I freaked her out enough. Maybe she’ll stay away for good now,” she says.