19. Ivy Jade
Ivy Jade
Even though Romeo scared the living lights out of me earlier, part of me desired to hang back with him, talk to him, and get to know him a little. Even if High Jynx had been at the forefront of my mind during my startled state. We had looked through books together—very briefly.
I didn’t say a whole lot to Ro, but it was cute how he tried to keep our conversation going as much as possible.
I had this internal feeling about him—a good feeling—like he was trying to impress me.
Had I still been that same Ivy Jade from high school, I would have flipped a lid with enthusiasm.
And while Ro was charming and alluring, there was something equally compelling that pulled me back to High Jynx.
That shouldn’t have been possible, I mean…
what kind of money could a performer make, or what type of connections could he have?
None that Mami would care about. At least—it sounded like—Ro had a great career ahead of him.
When Ro pulled out Frankenstein by Mary Shelley from the shelf, I wasn’t surprised. All these horror enthusiasts were the same. He did ask if I had read any romance novels with a dark knight.
Good question.
I was so close to telling him the truth about my ‘Little Women’ dusk jacket and the fact that I was reading ‘Unmasking My Bright Knight’ instead.
Maybe I had become too accustomed to Mami’s criticism, so I just assumed everyone would look down upon it like she did.
So what if the series was steamy… it was still a book, not a hand grenade! Chill!
Tallulah stood beside me. She was dressed in a beautiful black silk slip dress with black dahlia flowers all over it. It was perfect for a garden date. She really did look so gorgeous.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you and Ro were up to something in that library.” Tallulah raised a sarcastic brow.
“No!” I kind of shouted, but then lowered my voice. “Nothing happened in there. I was simply looking at the books. Curiosity had me checking through their catalog, but… nothing as impressive as my own collection, and then he… Ro scared me.”
“He scared you, huh?” She nudged my shoulder. “And then what happened?”
“There’s no story here, you gossipy little ghoul! Seriously!” I told her sternly.
She'd better quit while she was ahead. I couldn’t blame her, though; it wasn’t like she knew anything about my crush on High Jynx.
If I told her, though, she’d probably geek.
Rightfully so, this was a monumental moment for me, and I couldn’t even share it with her, because…
well, I swore myself to secrecy on this one.
I just couldn't admit it out loud. Admitting it out loud made it real.
“Then why the red cheeks?” she asked.
Quickly, I brought my manicured fingers up to my cheek. “Shut up! That’s just my blush powder.”
“Sure,” she gawked, still not convinced that nothing had happened in that damn library.
Did I want something to happen? Maybe? I don’t know.
I snuck a glance over to where the men stood, talking amongst themselves.
All the other men here wore suits daily. Not my brother, though, and certainly not Ro. Ro did look really great, even if he was dressed like some theatre nerd in an emo band. I mean, it was sorta cute—in an angsty kind of way—rebellious to the status quo like Roman Knight and the evil empire.
Something about him being in all black kind of did something to me. I had the gross impulse to yank on his hoodie strings and pull him toward me, and I didn’t like that I had those feelings for him.
“You’re impossible,” I told her.
“I mean… why not Ro? Look at him.” We both turned around to face the group of men shamelessly. “He’s got beautiful dark hair, icy blue eyes you could fall in love with, and his lean yet bulky body is downright sexy. Right?”
“Then why aren’t you marrying him on Halloween?” I said all snarky.
Tallulah let out such a loud, over-exaggerated laugh that the entire foyer and outdoors grew quiet, and everyone looked over.
I grabbed her shoulder and turned us back around.
“The only person I love is your brother,” she said.
I looked over my shoulder to glance at Romeo one last time. His eyes were already fixated on me; annoyingly kissable lips and height to climb.
Five seconds… six… seven… eight seconds of prolonged eye contact until I looked away. That kind of stretched-out gazing wasn’t normal. It had the butterflies in my stomach rigorously flitting about.
“There’s always Vann. He’s pretty cute. He’s a construction worker who has worked on countless projects with Gustav. Who doesn’t love a handyman?” she smiled. “Then there’s Derek from the Dominican Republic. Literally… his photo is filed under tall, dark, and handsome in the dictionary.
“No thanks. We have plenty of handymen in our network. Families that have worked with us for decades.” It was true.
“Fine, fine, fine,” she said. “How about—”
I cut her off. “I’m not interested in anyone from the groom’s party.”
Tallulah mulled over my statement. “I heard Ro is single,” she emphasized.
“So?” I asked. “Aren't you forgetting about Antonio? My fate is sealed. I'm taken… sorta-ish.”
“Ah,” she turned away. “Right. She wants the best for her little angel. I bet she’s thrilled your brother is marrying me.”
I turned my full attention back on Tallulah. “Don’t mind her. Even after Mami cut him off, Gustav was still well off with the name he’d made for himself. Right? Who cares what she thinks, anyway?”
Tallulah crossed her arms with the biggest attitude I’d ever seen. “You seem to,” she said without hesitation.
“That’s not true,” I frowned.
“Then why not give Ro a chance? You’re practically glowing as we talk about him. He hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off you this entire trip. That sexual tension between you two during ax throwing yesterday? WO! That was caliente.”
“You’re out of your mind!” I told her, my cheeks burned with fury.
“Not to mention, lately you’ve been smitten with him. It’s so obvious.”
How dare she?
“Am not!”
“Yes, you are! It’s okay to try things with someone who looks ‘unconventional.’ The man makes money from what I hear. I’m surprised that he and his girlfriend broke up. She’s crazy to let him go. That reminds me… where have you been these last few nights?”
Drastic subject change. My heart dropped out of my stomach.
“Nowhere. I’ve been nowhere.”
“As if. You have been running out early from the nightly activities.”
“I thought I was relieved from them. Remember?” I pulled back my long sleeve and showed her my healing pink scrapes and bruises along my arm.
“Okay, you’re right! I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d really be ditching out. After all, you chickened out of the haunted house; you didn’t finish it!”
“Don't be such a bitch,” I said, then clasped my mouth with my hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it—”
“I like this new Ivy Jade,” Tallulah remarked. “She’s feisty… in a good way.”
I let out a small gasp. “As opposed to…”
She smiled. “Let’s meet with everyone outside for lunch. The caterers are here, and they have a lot of food. Let’s not make them wait!” She hooked her arm into mine as we made our way through the crowds of groups.
“Have you noticed the best man hasn’t been hanging around with us at night? I bet that’s upsetting for Gustav. Leo was saying he may be coming back,” I overheard one of the men say as we walked by to get outside.
I hadn’t talked to Gustav about the wedding much. What was Romeo up to? He seemed to get along well with everyone. Was he hiding out in the library?