Ivy | Day 1 | The Party
To say that Ivy was amused by what had just happened would be an understatement.
“So, Virginia beach …” she said, tilting her head at him with a small smile. “I’m surprised by …” she paused, choosing her words carefully in case anyone overheard them, “… how much you remembered.”
“It was a special day.” He shrugged nonchalantly though the blush in his cheeks was still visible.
“It was a special day,” she agreed, playing along. “What uh … what made you bring it up in the first place?”
“Hutch asked.”
“I see.”
Ivy would be lying if she said that she wasn’t impressed by the level of detail he’d managed to convey for someone who’d been put on the spot like that. People had been staring at him the entire time, yet he still somehow managed to get through it with ease.
“Excuse me.”
A guy, with ash brown skin and an attractive face, attempted to squeeze through them holding two champagne flutes in his hands.
Ivy and Holden both moved to the side to let him pass, and it was only then that she realised Holden still had his arm around her.
“You can let go of me now,” she told him, but Holden wasn’t listening. He was staring at something or someone, a slight frown creasing his forehead.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“Girl with the red hair,” he muttered quietly into her ear. “Your 3 o’clock.”
Ivy threw a quick glance directly to her right and spotted the girl in question standing at the far end of the room.
“What about her?” she asked.
“She’s been staring at me ever since we got here.”
“Maybe she thinks you’re cute,” answered Ivy in amusement, “in a dorky kind of way.” But Holden looked far from amused. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she told him, before her eyes glanced around the room for where the drinks were being served. “I’m going to get some champagne. Try not to get into anymore awkward situations.”
With that she left Holden to mingle with some of the guests. Gathering, the skirt of her dress she headed towards the open bar, until she was stopped by Janet, Hutch’s wife. Standing beside her was a girl with dark locks and even darker eyes.
“Ivory, why don’t you join us?” Janet smiled invitingly, passing Ivy a spare champagne flute she’d been holding. “We were just discussing our Honeymoons and how we wish we could go back.” She tipped her head back to laugh. “Briana, here, was telling me about her trip to the Maldives.”
The girl smiled showing pearly white teeth. “We stayed in the Velassaru resort.”
Janet’s eyes widened. “What a coincidence. Hutch and I stayed in the same resort for our wedding anniversary. The restaurants there were just fabulous. Which one was your favourite?”
If Ivy didn’t know any better, the girl before her suddenly looked a little nervous. But she recovered well. “We preferred the private dining experience.” She took a few of the hor d’oeuvres from one of the passing waiters in an attempt to avoid any further questions on the matter.
So the hostess decided to turn her attention to Ivy.
“Where did you go for your Honeymoon?”
Ivy swallowed, throwing a slight glance at Holden suddenly wishing he was here with her. Unfortunately, he had his back to her and appeared to be in polite conversation with a male guest. The irony, she thought inwardly. She had told him not to get himself into anymore awkward situations and here she was in one herself.
“We went to Thailand,” she answered finally. Ivy had spent her summer there a few years back and so she felt confident enough to be able to discuss it without the risk of getting caught out.
“Aren’t you lucky?” smiled Janet. “Thailand is a beautiful place. Unfortunately I’ve never been. They must have some amazing Honeymoon resorts.”
And then it occurred to her. Ivy may have spent a summer there, but she sure as hell didn’t stay in one of the Honeymoon resorts. Instead she’d spent it in an average four star hotel in the middle of the city which she had shared with four of her close friends.
“Yes, the resorts are pretty amazing,” she agreed nonetheless, taking a sip of champagne. She needed as much liquid courage as she could get to get herself out of this hole.
“Which resort did you stay at?” asked Janet. “I was thinking of surprising my husband with a vacation there.”
Great. Ivy met Janet’s enquiring gaze and had the distinct feeling that she was being tested. If that were the case, she was in serious danger of failing.
“It was a water resort,” Ivy answered, feigning confidence. She wondered how Holden had managed to do it, to lie so easily under this kind of pressure and still make it sound so damn believable.
Janet raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Aren’t most of the resorts in Thailand water resorts?”
“Well, yes,” Ivy smiled to hide her growing nerves. “I meant to say that we stayed in an island.”
“What was it called?”
“The Naka Island.”
Ivy had to bite her lip in order to contain the sigh of relief she felt upon hearing Holden’s voice.
If Janet had seemed surprised by Holden’s sudden appearance and interruption, she hid it well. “I’ve heard about that place,” she nodded. “Were there any activities available?”
Holden shook his head. “Not much aside from kayaking, but we didn’t mind. We spent most of the Honeymoon in our hotel, isn’t that right?”
He shot her a cheeky smirk which led to an amused chuckle from Janet. Ivy, on the other hand, had to hide her frown. It wasn’t the insinuation behind Holden’s statement that irked her, it was the fact that she had needed him to save her in the first place. Ivy didn’t like it, depending on someone, especially a man. It made her feel weak, and she hated feeling weak.
She really needed to iron out her and Holden’s story, particularly their past. She needed to know anything and everything about their lives down to the last minute detail. It was the only way she could get through this because failure was not an option.
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