Click.
I let Addie slide down as I looked at my phone. Damn, she really had hung up on me. My eyes found Ivy’s, and I noticed her amusement had only increased in the past few minutes.
“Nope, don’t say a word,” I growled out as I looked over at Addie, who was dancing with Chief. I made a mental note to head to the butcher shop tomorrow and get Chief a bone. He was doing more than his fair share at the moment.
Ivy jerked her head toward the kitchen in a clear indication that I should follow her. For whatever reason, I found myself doing exactly that. Following her swaying hips down my hall was no hardship, that was for certain. The movement almost hypnotized me, but then I realized she was talking.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Ivy spun to look at me from her spot by my island. Her smirk increased in wattage by at least double. “I said,Just Jake, that I was looking forward to meeting your mom next weekend.”
“What? No, no way, no how.”
“Whyever not?”
I was momentarily distracted by Addie racing around the island with her little hands dancing in the air. Chief was following her like the champ he was. Addie skidded to a halt in front of me, spun around, and said, “Want to see my shimmy, Just Jake?”
Looking at Ivy in confusion, I looked back at Addie. “What’s a shimmy?”
Addie immediately began to dance while shaking her body back and forth. Lord help us all. After about thirty seconds, she called, “Momma, music.” She took back off toward the living room.
“Do you care if I connect to your Wi-Fi to play some more music?” Ivy asked while scrolling.
“What?” I shook my head, trying to clear it from all that was whirling around. “No, that’s fine.” She handed me her phone, and I put in the info and then handed it back. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Who was calling now? My luck it would be Lou Williams. She and her husband, Verdell, ran around with the grandparents in town, and she was the queen of all gossip for Highland Falls. The way my luck was running tonight, she was calling for an exclusive for the town’s social media page.
Sliding my phone out, I was relieved to see a text instead of a call. Even better, it was the group text I always had going with my siblings. Moving over to the window to get out of Ivy’s way as she was plating Addie’s food, I opened the message.
“I’m going to finish browning the meat for the chili,” Ivy called over, doing her own shimmy to Fleetwood Mac as she moved. Watching her, I was hit again with how right it was to see her in my house, cooking in my kitchen.
Pull your shit together, I told myself. My phone vibrated again. I looked down and wished I hadn’t.
Steph:Who’s Ivy?
Drew:This is fun, sis. Are we doing a guessing game?
I groaned. Getting to our sister, Steph, was an unfair move by Mom. I wouldn’t be hearing the end of this for a while.
Me:No one. She’s just a neighbor who needed some help, and because Mom’s timing is impeccable, she called when Ivy was here.
Drew:Wait a second. Is this Bookstore Ivy?
Steph:Bookstore Ivy? Tell me more.
Fuck my life.
Drew:Seriously? Jake hasn’t told you about Ivy? That’s all I’ve heard about for the past six months or so. She drives him crazy, but I think he protests too much.
Steph:Interesting. What else do you know about her?
Drew:She has a kid, somewhere in the range of one to six-years-old.
Steph:Good Lord, Drew. That is not a range. That’s half of childhood.
Drew:Can we go back to focusing on the fact that Jake has the hots for a woman with a kid?
Me:Am I needed for this conversation? And Drew, go to hell.
I moved back to the island and jerked open a drawer. Dropping my phone in it, I slammed it as the vibrations continued.
