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Ivy continues to scold me and I hold back a giggle. “No… well, yes actually. I wanted to make sure you’re doing okay.”
“Totally fine, everything’s under control.”
I’m sure it is. Over the last week, I’ve seen how Ivy works. She’s calm and patient, has this incredible confidence… because she literally knows everything. The woman is on top of every detail, is aware of every single thing that’s happening around the Inn. How she manages to stay on the ball is beyond impressive.
“Happy to hear it,” I say with a smile. “But honestly, let me know if you need me and I’ll get Ethan to drive me back in a heartbeat.”
“Don’t even think about it. Now, enough about me, tell me about the road trip! I’m basically a twenty-three-year-old grandma, let me live vicariously through you.”
I give her a rundown of everything that’s been going on. I tell her about how surprisingly fun the paintball game was, and how I almost died via spider. I tell her about my horrendous snoring in the car, and the sobering moment we stopped at the cemetery.
The one thing I don’t tell her about are the alleged “sparks.”
“That sounds awesome, Val. I bet Ethan’s glad to have you along for the ride.”
I pick at a hole in my shirt. “I hope so. I’m glad I came. Feels like a nice way to honor his granddad.”
“That’s great. Though I was wondering—” she cuts herself off. “No, never mind.”
I frown, stop my fiddling. “What?”
“It’s nothing. I don’t want to overstep.”
Now worried that this is work related and she actually does need me back, I press on. “Seriously, Ivy. What is it?”
“Well… has anything ever…” When she speaks again, her voice is almost a whisper. “Happened with you two?”
Oh. Wasn’t expecting that.
My mind goes into shock/panic mode… AKA I start laughing like a maniacal Disney movie character. Goodness knows why that’s my gut reaction.
“Hahaha!” I laugh away for about a year. “What makes you say that?”
“A few things.” Ivy doesn’t sound convinced by my incessant cackling. “I swear I saw something between you two.”
“Like what?” I ask before I can think it, before I can mask the raw curiosity in my voice.
“Like… you seemed different around him, more relaxed. And he couldn’t keep his eyes off you the entire time we were talking.”
I press my hand to my cheeks in an effort to cool them down. “No way. We were only all together for, like, five minutes, and for most of those minutes, he was talking to me anyway.”
Ugh. Why do I sound like a teenager talking to her best friend about her crush?
“Whatever you say.” Ivy’s voice has this smug, knowing note to it that is completely uncalled for. “I thought there was something between you two, but clearly I’m off my rocker.”
She laughs and I cough out a half-hearted chuckle. Something is swirling deep inside me, rising up from my stomach and making my heart race. I shoot to a stand and start pacing around the room. “No, nothing. I mean, we dated for a bit in high school, but that’s long over now. And besides, everything with Randal is so fresh. I just want to be single...”
I trail off. Don’t hear Ivy’s response.
Because my pacing has taken me to a window overlooking the parking lot of the hotel and I’ve spotted a very toned, very shirtless Ethan placing a duffel bag into the car.
My logical brain knows that I should look away, but I physically can’t. My eyes devour his muscular arms like they’ve been starved. The tight ropes of muscle in his back shift as he adjusts the bag, showing off the two dimples peeking up from above his black athletic shorts. His skin glistens in the morning sunlight—he must’ve just come back from a run.
As he turns back to grab another bag, he runs his hand through that thick hair of his, and the sight of his bicep popping almost makes me topple over.
“Val?”
I swallow thickly. Heaven help me.
