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Chapter 26
Ivy watched in horror as Amari put the diamond ring onto her left hand. Ivy’s eyes grew wide.How could that be happening already? They barely know each other.Every promise that she had made to herself about not caring about Nick flew out the window. Ivy was angry. Jealous. Sad. Pissed off. She stared through the binoculars as Amari threw her head back and laughed her twinkly laugh, the one Ivy knew she used when she was truly flirting. Ivy wanted to rush into the winery, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t allowed. Ivy watched as Amari waved her hand in the air, showing off the engagement ring—just like they did on the finale ofThe Bachelor.
This can’t be happening! Engaged! So it’s true. Nick is in love with Amari.Ivy put down the binoculars. She looked devastated.
Pete patted her on the arm. Ivy jumped with a start. She didn’t realize that Pete was standing next to her. He’d returned to the truck to pick up a bounce board. “Did you see anything?”
“I saw a vulture!”
“That’s okay. You don’t usually see the bald eagle on your first try. You’re just learning.”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Just relax. All good things come to those who wait. Better to be patient. Don’t give up too quickly.” Ivy wondered if he was talking about birds or about something else. She watched as Pete carried the bounce board back to the indoor set.
Drew walked outside for a cigarette. He’d been trying to quit. In fact, he had. But the stress of the movie shoot had made him want to smoke again. He walked over to the grip truck to get a light. “Ivy?” Drew was surprised to see her there.
“Sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be here.”
“Hey, I don’t care where you are. That’s Amari’s problem. But you know she’s on set right now. So I wouldn’t go into the winery.” Ivy nodded. She knew exactly where Amari was, and she was trying not to explode. She was furious with Nick. How could he propose to Amari when he’d only known her for a month? “You okay?” Drew asked. “You don’t seem like yourself.”
“I just have a lot on my mind,” Ivy said.
“At least you don’t have to worry about your next gig. You’re going to do a great job onCaptain Midnight.”
“Oh. Right.” At that moment, she noticed that Nick walked out of the winery and into the vineyard. Ivy felt stuck between wanting to run after him and having to deal with Drew.
“You want to do it, right?” Drew asked.
Ivy breathed in deeply. She felt caught. She had made her mind up. But she couldn’t tell him. Not yet. She needed to get back on her movie set first. “I think so. But first I need to check with my agent.”
“Actually, you don’t. I talked to Charlotte Adams last night about theCaptain Midnightrewrite, and she was thrilled. But she sounded surprised. Said you hadn’t told her yet.”
Now Ivy really felt trapped. “It’s on my to-do list.”
“Well, move it to the top of the list.”
“Drew!” Bruce called out from the open door. “We need you on the set!”
He stubbed out his cigarette. Ivy felt like she’d been saved by the proverbial bell. “Talk later,” Drew said to her and rushed back inside the winery.
Ivy lifted up the binoculars again. She focused back on the winery. Nick was gone. The Poison Ivy bottle was back in place. Ivy looked toward the vineyard to search for Nick. She was determined to find out what was happening.
Ivy scanned the foliage and stopped. Bingo. She had spotted Nick. Ivy put down the binoculars and walked toward the lake. The water was shimmering. It was a gorgeous sunny day. She marched toward Nick, anger building. He seemed to be lost in thought as he paced through the vineyard, looking for signs of ripening. As the end of July was almost upon them, Nick knew that the mid-August harvest would soon be happening.
“Nick!”
He looked up. Startled. He was taken aback to see her. “Ivy!”
“Hi. I’ve been trying to find you.”
“Here I am.”
“I can see that.” Ivy was suddenly losing her nerve.
“Surprised to see you at the winery. Amari told me she kicked you off the set.”
“You know that Amari doesn’t really like you. She’s just been fake-liking you. It started when we needed to convince you to let us use the Shepherd Winery location.”
