Ivy shoved one warm sock onto her left foot, then moved to the right one, recalling another interesting tidbit. “Also,” she said, “fingernails grow way faster than toenails—like three times faster—which is good because I can’t imagine keeping up on pedicures if they didn’t.” She smoothed a hand over her sock-covered feet. They were warming already. “Ah, these feel wonderful.” She glanced up to see him nod slightly, the look of satisfaction on his face. As if it were his job to keep her warm and dry and safe…
“Good,” he said under his breath.
“Thank you,” she added.
“Any time.” His gaze drifted to her upper arm. “Looks like the neck of the shirt is a little big.”
She glanced down to see that it had slipped off her shoulder. A blush rose to her cheeks as she slipped it back up to her neck—not that it had revealed anything. Inwardly, her mind was fixed on the developing mystery before her. It was just that, with Easton, she felt bad for bringing up the interview, but that didn’t exactly make sense. If he were anything like the other bachelors, he’d be itching to get that next step out of the way. Which meant that by recording it before her phone died, she’d be doinghimthe favor.
So why didn’t she get the impression that hewasitching to do it like the others had been?
It was time to find out.
Ivy retrieved her phone and took a look at the screen to check the battery.
“We won’t get service unless we head back to the lodge,” Easton said, guessing at her intent.
“Oh, I’m actually wondering if we can do your interview. Before I run out of battery, that is.”
His eyes widened. “Right now? With your phone?”
Ivy nodded. “It’s just for the producers to make a final decision. It doesn’t have to be professional. Ideally, I’d record it on two devices, but since the camcorder’s in the SUV, we may as well just do this.”
“Ah.” He tipped his head back, then nodded a few times. “So we still have to do the interview, huh?” There was that sense of dread she detected.
“This is your chance to go to the final round,” she couldn’t help but say. “The others were thrilled about doing the interview, but I get the idea that you’re not.”
He didn’t argue.
“Why is that?” she ventured.
Easton’s handsome face pinched in contemplation. He rubbed a hand over his stubble covered jaw, the look in his eyes reaching far off, distant places. Searching. Grasping.
Ivy felt herself lean closer with anticipation. What was going on in this guy’s head? And why was it taking him so long to answer the question? Was he trying to think of what she wantedto hear? Was he afraid to speak the truth?
“Just be honest,” she urged.
Easton cleared his throat and, at last, fixed his brown eyes right on her.
A splash of warmth hit her heart as it beat out of rhythm, as if trying to sync with his. She almost wished that it could. Perhaps the connection would give her glimpse at the inner workings of his mind. The mind of that strong, quiet, heroic type.
“The honest truth is,” he started, bending his leg to prop an arm on his knee, “I lost a bet. Doing a show like this reality bachelor whatever…I can’t imagine anything worse.”
What!
Ivy couldn’t tell which part of his confession shocked her more. His outright candor or the fact that this perfectly manly specimen did not want millions of women swooning over him for years to come. Sure, she’d sensed his aversion, but she’d assumed he’d prove her wrong.
He hadn’t; he’d proved her right instead. A rush of tingles skittered through her chest. She liked that he’d opened up to her. Liked that, in a sense, her instincts were correct.
“So if youdon’tdo the interview…” she said in a whisper.
“Then my sister will be furious. She’ll feel betrayed, I guess you could say. Also,” he added with a humorless laugh, “she says she won’t name her baby after me, though I doubt she’d go that far.”
Ivy felt her jaw drop a little. “She’s naming her baby after you?”
Easton nodded. “Yep. She’s thirty weeks along. Well, closer to thirty-one actually, which means that the baby is about as big as a pineapple right now.”
Holy Swoonersons! He just kept getting better. “Wow,” she said. “That’s incredible.”
