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“Thanks.” Ivy gives me a shy smile, then hurries into the inn. I sit back and relax, the sound of the waves in the distance calming me down a little.
I haven’t been this nervous around a girl since the seventh freaking grade.
A few minutes later, Ivy’s back, wearing a navy blue sundress and leather lace-up sandals. Of course, she’s stunning as fuck and I have to work to avert my eyes away from the soft swells of her breasts peeking out the top of the low-cut neckline.
I fiddle with the radio on the cart as a distraction, settling on a local country station, and we drive the three minutes to the amphitheater listening to Luke Combs crooning about making love.
Poor choice of tune—not helping the stiffy situation.
The area around the amphitheater’s buzzing with people, and I can’t find anywhere to park.
“I guess I’ll drop you here.” I stop at the grassy edge of the amphitheater.
“Thanks for the ride.” Ivy glances over at me, her eyes wide and sincere.
“Sure, no problem.” I clear my throat, my palms sweaty. “Listen—do you have plans tonight?”
Ivy fidgets with her skirt, but doesn’t break eye contact. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“I thought maybe we could grab a drink, a bite to eat. I can show you around town.”
She gnaws on her lip and now I’m doubting myself.Maybe I’ve lost my touch with the ladies…
“Sure.”
I don’t know who’s more surprised by the answer—her or me. I swallow down the‘Really?’that almost pops out of my mouth, trying to at least feign coolness.
“Awesome. Want me to pick you up, say, seven?”
“Sounds good, Maddox.” She flutters her eyelashes at me and my cock takes notice, standing at attention.
Reaching her hand out, she brushes her fingertips on my arm. “Thanks for today. I appreciate the save.”
Then she floats away to join the others clustered around the trailers.
And now I’m one step closer to my own Christmas in July miracle.
7
IVY
The restof the day flies by in a blur because all I can think about is my date with Maddox tonight.
I have no idea why I said ‘yes’ to him.
I shouldn’t have, I know, but he was so sweet and kind this morning, I didn’t have the heart to say no.
And you didn’t want to, a tiny voice whispers. My heart pounds, remembering his firm grip on my hand as he helped me into the boat. How he rescued me from the stingray, then went out of his way to drop me off at rehearsal.
Luca was never that thoughtful, even when we first met.
Luca’s number one priority was and always will be Luca.
I shouldn’t have married him, but hindsight’s twenty-twenty, right? At the time, I was much younger and more than a little starstruck. To have Luca Franzino, star of the Christmas Network, pay any attention to me at all was surreal.
Now I know it was more abouthisimage than anything else. I was up and coming at the Christmas Network and he was a bad boy trying to polish his less-than-sterling reputation because it didn’t fit with the image of the network.
After nine months of a whirlwind romance, we tied the knot. A real-life fairytale, televised on the Christmas Network, my own Happily Ever After.
