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Calm down. You’re still walking around with a hole in your pants.
Ivy’s brow suddenly wrinkles and her mouth twists. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say quickly. “Why?”
Her eyes drop down to my waist level. “Because you’re… well, you’re…”
All at once, I realize that, while I was thinking about the hole in my pants, I was actually touching where the hole would be beneath the blazer.
AKA it looks like I’ve been standing here rubbing my butt.
I drop my hands immediately. “My pants ripped!” I basically shout.
Ivy looks understandably shocked for a fraction of a second and I wonder whether I’ve lost my job within the first few seconds of starting. How on earth am I going to explain this to Carmen after all the time she put in helping me with my makeup?
But then, Ivy snorts. Lets out a loud laugh. “Been there. And you’re in luck, I think I have a spare skirt here somewhere. I went to the gym at lunch a couple days ago and brought a change of clothes. It’s a little habit I’m trying to get into. See?”
She proudly holds up a forest green athletic shirt and a pair of black leggings. I offer a smile, cheeks still flaming, but before I can say anything, she dives back behind the front desk.
When she emerges again, she’s holding a piece of black fabric. “Skirt to the rescue!”
“Are you sure?” I shift on my feet.
“Yes. Please. I know how nerve wracking your first day at a new job can be. Especially when things aren’t exactly going according to plan.”
I smile gratefully and run to get changed, my cheeks finally starting to cool down. I scramble out of my pants, and wince when I see the ginormous tear across the posterior.
It occurs to me that I might not have been so deathly embarrassed earlier had it been anyone but Ethan. Seriously, though, why did he have to look like that? It’s almost comical how attractive he is now. Even up close, the only flaw is the lone scar on his nose. And his slightly lopsided smirk when he called me “Teeny.”
I still don’t know why he gave me that nickname. It certainly can’t have anything to do with my curves, which I’ve been trying hard to embrace lately.
This might be the sole thing I have in common with muscly club bouncers called “Tiny.”
As I slip back into my blazer, Ethan’s familiar, warm, almost firewood-y scent hits me. All of a sudden, I’m thinking of the cozy nights we spent together, wrapped up in blankets and talking for hours. Even now, the scent makes my head spin.
It’s enough to make a girl almost forget our entire history together.
Almost.
Because I haven’t forgotten what happened, and the reminder is like being dunked into a bucket of ice water.
I head back to the front desk, bow my head shyly. “Thanks again, Ivy.”
“Anytime. I keep telling myself that I need to bring an extra suit to work. Maybe this’ll kick my butt into gear and make me do it.”
“Yeah, my ex was all about having a change of clothes ‘just in case,’” I say dryly. “You should’ve seen how many bags he’d bring on vacation, it was—” I stop myself, smile faltering. I shouldn’t be talking about Randal. Not when I’m so focused on moving forward. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay,” Ivy says, kindly overlooking my useless contribution. “Was it recent?”
“A few months back. But it was for the best, honestly. No sense talking about it.”
Ivy suppresses a yawn. “Well, no one else is checking out today and we’re only doing training for the next few hours. Plus, I do enjoy some idle gossip to start the morning, sooooo… spill.”
She waggles her eyebrows and I chuckle, getting comfortable behind the front desk. I’m surprised how at ease I feel given that this is my first day of work. “Well, we were together for three years, but he broke up with me this past Valentine’s Day.”
The smile falls off Ivy’s face. “He didn’t.”
“He did.” I nod, mouth turned down. “Breaking up with a girl called Valentina on Valentine’s Day. He thought there was some tragic irony to it.”
