Before Ivy can respond, my dad steps in, catching my mom by the shoulders before she can go in for a second hug. He’s like a sun-aged version of me. Same build, same admiring eyes I recognize now, because I wear them too.
“So this is the girl who keeps our boy in check?” he says, chuckling.
“Oh, you know it.” Ivy smirks. “And it’s a full-time job.”
“Hey,” I speak up, “I still bring a healthy amount of chaos to this relationship.”
She leans in, kissing my cheek like it’s punctuation. “Exactly. That’s why it works.”
My mom squeals like she just won the lottery (honestly, same).
“You’ll have time to interrogate her later,” I tell my parents, steering Ivy forward. “She’s got people waiting.”
The familiar faces of marine biologists are scattered around the room.Orson is holding court by the window, already mid-lecture to a table of townspeople who definitely did not sign up for his “Seals vs. Sea Lions” TED Talk.
Dr. Echols found his tribe after the campaign: the internet, where no one is safe from his obsession. Blaze, ever the enabler, helped him start the account @dr.scepter.echols. Overnight, hegrew to 400,000 followers, all of whom now know more about marine mammals than they ever wanted to.
Near the register, Sienna locks eyes with Ivy. They collide like magnets, arms tight, laughing. They became absolute besties after their shared time at the Saltwater Saviors’ weekend. Ivy appointed herself Sienna’s personal Cupid, and so far, she’s had six setups and… no successes. Still, Ivy’s got a shortlist(I’ve seen the spreadsheet)and God help whoever’s on it.
Hours later, at the corner booth, Ivy holds a fork in one hand and a slice of my mother’s key lime pie in the other. She lets the first bite melt on her tongue and yeah… she’s having a religious experience. It’s that damn good. My dad shouts something over the roar of the crowd, the punchline swallowed by the chaos, and Ivy just loses it. Head back, hand slamming the table, no filter, just pure, unbridled joy.
I feel that laugh in my chest like she’s rewired something permanent.
I scan the room. Blaze, still livestreaming. Orson, still correcting. Sienna shaking her head at both of them. This crew of unlikely heroes showed up for a weekend job and ended up rewriting my entire story.
Ivy catches my eye across the room.
She mouths: Your mom’s pie.
I mouth back: You owe me.
She winks, then takes a bite of her pie, slowly this time. Her tongue curls around the fork tines, licking the frosting clean with light, sensual laps. Andfuck, I’m squirming in my seat.
She holds up her glass of water—eyes locked on me the entire time—and wraps her wet lips around the straw. She sucks hard and swallows slow, that faint movement in her throat driving me wild. Another long pull has me gripping the edge of the table.The vixen.
God, I love her.And the fact that she’s mine? Still blows my mind.
I catch her hand and steer her outside before my mother can offer Ivy a third slice of pie.
The screen door bangs shut behind us, muffling the room noise inside: Blaze’s running commentary, my dad’s booming laugh, and Orson’s nasal corrections. Out here, it’s just dry desert air, cooling fast, and the hum of the vent overhead.
We round the corner, and Ivy jerks to a stop, her heels kicking up a cloud of grit.
“Cole.” She tilts her head back, her gaze traveling up and up. “Is that the ball?”
“Yup. Eighth wonder of the world. And the only wonder in Glenmire.”
It’s a massive, tangled disaster of black and neon-colored extension cords all coiled into a ten-foot-high sphere of absurdity. It looks like a giant, electrified ball of yarn, and next to it a sign reads:The World’s Biggest Ball of Extension Cords.
“The campaign I told you about,” I say, leaning one shoulder against the siding. “The one that kept this town from going dark. People dug up cords from garages, junk drawers, under their damn couches…” I pause, rubbing my neck. “Yeah, it’s stupid. I know.”
“Don’t,” she says softly, her eyes still on the monument. “Don’t call it stupid. This is the heart of the town, Cole.Yousaved this place.”
She looks at me, her face glowing, and she makes me feel ten feet tall. I reach into my jacket and pull out two fresh extension cords and a permanent marker.
She takes them, and her gaze holds on me. “Did you pre-plan this moment?”
“Maybe.”
