Three Blissful Days, page 7
The door opened, and Susan came speeding out. “I can’t believe what I just saw. You and Kendall? Really? How did you keep that from me?”
“Not really. She needed help. Her ex is a nightmare, and I felt bad for her.”
“But she’s staying at your place, right?” Excitement bubbled in Susan’s voice.
Ivy shook her head. “She’s friends with Noah and is going to stay with him.” She glanced around. “But don’t tell anyone. She needs her ex to think we’re involved.”
Susan tugged her down the pathway. “I want to hear every morsal of this whole story.”
“Kendall told me that her partner, Cassie, had ended their relationship abruptly a while back, before summer, I think.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, but they were professional partners as well, and Cassie recently pulled the same crap with her on that.” Ivy kicked a stray rock out of her path.
“But they’re both here to present for the landscaping contract?”
Ivy nodded. “Kendall said she wrote up the bid and sent it in. Cassie wasn’t interested in it.”
“And now she is?”
“Apparently.” Ivy shrugged. “I got a dose of Cassie this afternoon when I was showing her around. She’s a real piece of work—knows nothing about the park at all and has some weird ideas for the renovations. Thinks they should just tear the lodge down and rebuild.”
“Well, we don’t need that.” Susan stopped and put her hand on her hip. “I know you were a bit miffed at Kendall when she arrived. What’s your impression of her now after showing her around?”
Ivy smiled. “She knew all the history of the lodge.”
“Really?” Susan’s voice rose.
“Yeah. I couldn’t believe it.” It had been refreshing to talk to someone who actually had done some research about the lodge and the nature surrounding it.
“Changed your opinion about her then, have you?”
Ivy nodded. “I made a snap judgement, and I was wrong about her. Kendall is really very nice.”
“And cute.” Susan grinned. “And now your pretend girlfriend.” She danced around. “I absolutely love this situation.”
Ivy laughed. “I knew you would. You have to keep all of this a secret.” She drew her eyebrows together. “I mean no one else can know. Not even Charlie.”
Susan put her thumb and forefinger to her lips and twisted, locking in the secret. “I promise I won’t tell anyone. What are you going to say to your parents?”
Ivy felt the ball drop in her stomach. “I hadn’t thought about that.” She sighed. “Guess I’ll have to tell them the same story as everyone else. You know my mom can’t keep a secret to save her life.” They’d have to stage a breakup at some point in time, or her mom would be hurt when this was all over and the truth came out.
“True. But if you like Kendall and she likes you, maybe it won’t be a lie after all. Could be the beginning of something gloriously romantic. You never know.” Susan was always optimistic.
“I wouldn’t count on that. She doesn’t even live here.”
“Where does she live?”
“I have no idea.” Ivy rubbed her forehead. “It hasn’t come up yet.”
“Well, you’d better get on those details, or this is going to blow up really quickly.”
“I know. We’re having dinner tonight.”
“Like a date?” Susan’s eyes widened.
Ivy shook her head. “Not a date. A fact-finding mission.” Ivy questioned her own judgment in getting herself into this whole mess. Yet, oddly, she was looking forward to visiting with Kendall. She seemed to really love nature and was easy to talk to. If nothing else, it gave her something to do in the evenings.
Chapter Fifteen
Kendall pulled each thermal shirt and sweatshirt from her bag one by one and tossed them onto the bed. Next, she went through her bottoms. Athletic leggings that she’d brought for hiking, casual jeans, and joggers for relaxing. She unzipped her suit bag and took out the suit and blouse she’d included for the presentation. That wouldn’t do either. Why hadn’t she thought of packing a couple of nice sweaters or a dress to wear? She wouldn’t wear athletic pants or a sweatshirt to dinner for the first time with anyone, let alone a date. At least she’d thrown in a pair of ankle boots that could dress an outfit up or down.
Taylor, her friend Noah’s girlfriend, came into the room carrying several items of clothing on hangers. “My pants won’t work for you.” There was a definite height difference between them. Taylor was a petite five feet, three inches tall, and Kendall was five feet eight. “But I have some nice sweaters you can choose from. I tend to wear larger-sized tops to cover the girls better.” She held one of the sweaters to her chest.
“That’s so sweet of you.” She took the sweaters from Taylor and looked at them one by one. Then she chose a burnt-orange tunic, held it up against herself, and looked in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. “This one might work.”
Taylor nodded. “The color brings out the brown in your eyes.”
She glanced at her own eyes in the mirror. It definitely brought out the chestnut flecks in the brown. “This one it is.” She handed the others back to Taylor. “Thank you so much for this. I should’ve planned better.”
“Who knew you’d have an instant girlfriend?”
“Right.” She’d already confided in Taylor about the ruse. Should she have done that? She wasn’t sure, but keeping it from her would put Noah in a bad spot.
“I’ll leave these in case you need something else over the weekend.” Taylor hung the remaining sweaters in the closet. “Ivy’s a nice girl. I like her.”
“Do you know her well?”
“I wouldn’t say that we’re best friends, but we hang out some when she’s here grooming her horse.”
Kendall sank onto the bed. “Does she date much? I mean, does she have someone I should be aware of lurking in town?”
Taylor laughed and shook her head. “No. As far as I know, she doesn’t date at all. Hasn’t in quite a while.”
“She mentioned something about a waitress at the lodge that Susan keeps setting her up with. What about her?”
“June?” Taylor’s voice rose. “She’s way too immature for Ivy. I doubt they have anything in common.”
An odd sense of relief rushed through Kendall. “Great. Thanks. That’s helpful. I didn’t want to have any run-ins with jealous lovers.” She had enough of that here already.
“She’ll probably take you to her favorite Italian restaurant over on 3rd Street. It’s been there a long time. You can use that as your first date spot.”
“Great idea.” She plucked her computer from her bag. “I’ll look at their menu online to find some dishes we might have eaten.” She glanced up at Taylor. “The more we prep, the more realistic it’ll sound when we tell people the magical story of how we met.” She grinned. It would have to be a story that even Kendall herself would believe and possibly even wish had actually happened. “What’s the name of the restaurant?”
“Enzo’s. They have pizza and pasta.” Taylor sat on the bed next to her. “I’ve only been there a few times, but it was really good.”
“That’s easy.” She pulled up the menu from the restaurant on her laptop and scrolled to the main courses. The menu had so many items listed Kendall had no idea what she or Ivy would order. She turned the screen for Taylor to see. “What do you usually have there?”
“My go-to is spaghetti and meatballs.”
“What about Ivy?”
“Chicken piccata or linguine Bolognese. If you say she ordered anything else, they’ll know you’re lying.”
Kendall raised her eyebrows. “Every time she eats there?”
Taylor shrugged. “She likes those dishes.”
Kendall pulled her lips into a sideways grin. “Nothing wrong with being predictable. Makes it easier for me. I’m partial to shrimp scampi, along with a house salad and garlic bread.” Her stomach growled as she set the laptop aside and stood. “Now I’m hungry for Italian food. I hope that’s what she has planned.”
Taylor stood, crossed the room and leaned against the door jamb. “Be careful with Ivy. She’s really sweet and, from what I hear, doesn’t play games.”
“I don’t plan to hurt her. This is all just for the weekend. Besides, she’s the one who suggested it.”
“Nevertheless, she might look tough on the outside, but she’s very vulnerable.”
“Oh. How do you know that?” How close were they? What was Taylor keeping from her?
“She was here a lot after her last breakup. Rode for hours on end. We talked quite a bit too. The woman took everything she had—squeezed every bit of compassion out of Ivy and then left her broken-hearted. It wasn’t pretty.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” A knot formed in her throat. “Does the woman still live in the area?”
Taylor shook her head. “Moved out of state, thankfully. Ivy didn’t need to be reminded of her in any way.”
“I would never do that to her or anyone else,” Kendall said sincerely. It made her sad to find out that someone had taken advantage of Ivy and broken her heart.
Taylor gave her a wary look. “I’ll take you at your word.” She turned and left the room.
Why wouldn’t she take her at her word? Kendall had never treated a woman badly and resented the fact that Taylor might even think she would. She had to face the fact that her tenuous relationship with Taylor would probably never change. She checked the time on her phone, already five thirty. She needed to finish getting ready. Ivy would be here soon.
Kendall’s ankle boots clicked as she paced the rail-framed porch while waiting for Ivy to arrive. She hadn’t expected to be so nervous tonight. The information Taylor had provided earlier had been unsettling and made her angry that anyone would treat Ivy badly. She pulled at the hem of the burnt-orange tunic sweater she’d chosen from Taylor’s offering, hoping it covered her butt enough. Even though it was larger than the rest, it was still shorter than she preferred. The athletic leggings she’d brought were very form-fitting and outlined her shape more than she’d expected. It had taken her much longer than necessary to get ready. Thankfully Taylor had come to her rescue. There it was again…that feeling about Ivy. This wasn’t a date, but she couldn’t help thinking it was…hoping it was.
Noah whistled as he stepped out onto the porch, breaking through her thoughts. “That outfit oughta make anyone think you’re dating.”
“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.” The deputy uniform fit him well.
“Women love a man in uniform.” He winked. “You nervous?”
“A little.” She nodded. “I just want to make sure we’re believable as a couple.” Kendall had filled Noah in on the whole room debacle when she got there this afternoon. He and Taylor had been super understanding, which was nice. She’d worried how Taylor would react to her staying with them. Taylor had always been a bit jealous of Kendall’s friendship with Noah. Plus, old stories and inside jokes always made the situation worse, and Kendall didn’t know how to avoid them or find a way to include Taylor in them. Sometimes she just didn’t get their jokes. Most people didn’t get them because they were based on their past experiences together. She would make a real effort to keep those to a minimum during this visit. No need to upset her hostess.
Kendall’s stomach jumped when she heard the rocks on the driveway crunch and saw the dust trail forming in the distance. Ivy was just about here.
Chapter Sixteen
Ivy let her foot up off the gas, and the truck crawled down the tree-lined drive to Noah and Taylor’s ranch house. It wasn’t dark yet, but even if it were, she could make the drive with her eyes closed. She’d spent more than enough time here after her last breakup. The back of her neck burned at the memory of that miserable time in her life. She pushed the unwanted reaction aside and focused on her positive feelings for Kendall and the night ahead. Drinks, dinner, and whatever else Kendall might be interested in. She was looking forward to getting to know Kendall, even though she would be here for only a short time. Ivy had put herself in a precarious position and hoped to make the best of their time together.
She spotted Kendall as soon as she cleared the trees. As she drove closer, her stomach bounced at the sight of Kendall dressed in black leggings and an orange top that fell only halfway down her thighs. She took in a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her belly, glad she’d taken time to prepare appropriately for tonight. She’d pulled several shirts from her closet that would’ve worked for a meet-up with friends but had settled on a dark brown pearl snap that she reserved for special occasions. It went well with her dark blue jeans and ostrich cowboy boots, which she’d recently conditioned and polished.
She pulled up to the front of the house and got out.
Noah met her at the steps. “Good to see you, Ivy.”
She nodded. “You too. How’s my horse?”
“Good. Figured you’d be by tomorrow to give her a ride as usual.”
“I will be.” She glanced at Kendall, who was now standing next to him. She looked even prettier close up. Ivy slowly took her in. “You look great.”
“Thank you.” Kendall smiled widely. “You look pretty great yourself.” Kendall stepped down off the porch onto the driveway and then turned back toward Noah. “I shouldn’t be late, but don’t wait up for me if I am.” She glanced back to Ivy. “I think I’m in good hands.”
Ivy nodded. “I’ll get her home safely.” She headed to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. Kendall followed her and took the hand she offered to help her climb into the 4x4.
“I made a reservation at a nice little Italian place in town. I hope that’s okay.” It was a cozy place with sections and private rooms. Ivy thought it would be better to not have spectators while they worked out their stories.
“Sounds great. I love Italian.”
Then silence filled the cab of the truck, the drive becoming increasingly uncomfortable. “Okay. Let’s go over how we met again to make sure we have our story straight,” Ivy said to get the conversation moving.
“So, we’re telling people that we met through Noah, right?”
“Yes. That’s the most believable story. We’ll both say you were
here for a visit, and we met at some kind of party he had over the weekend.”
“What was the party for?”
“I don’t know. No special occasion. Just a summer cookout. Maybe I was there riding, and they invited me to stay for dinner.”
“Good call. One less detail we have to remember.”
“And we started chatting while we were helping in the kitchen.”
“I complimented your sweater or something.”
“Blouse, not sweater. It was summer.”
“Let’s just leave that detail out.” Ivy searched her mind for something they might have in common and landed on her large collection of books and DVDs at home. “Do you like reading or watching movies?”
“I do.” Kendall’s eyes widened.
“Then let’s say we started talking about movies or books.”
“Or both. Maybe about how well some books translate into movie adaptations.”
“Exactly.” Ivy felt they really did have a connection. “And then we really hit it off talking about our interests when we found we had a lot in common like horseback riding and hiking. It was so natural.” It is natural.
“Right. Then, after chatting for a bit at the cookout, I asked if you’d like to continue the conversation over dinner later that week.” Kendall seemed to know what she wanted, so that seemed plausible.
“Which I happily agreed to. And the rest was history.” Kendall smiled, and Ivy’s stomach bounced again. “We’ll need to remember a few key details, like the day we met and when we had our first date, little things I was wearing or carrying. That will help our story seem authentic if anyone asks any questions later.”
“True. Can we go with what we’re wearing now, or will that be suspicious?”
“I think we can make it work. We’ve been out together several times, so we’re bound to have repeated outfits. Although I did borrow this tunic from Taylor.”
Ivy glanced at Kendall’s shirt. It brought out the bourbon tones in her brown eyes. “Not that I know her whole wardrobe, but I don’t think I’ve seen her wear it before.” Even if she had, she didn’t remember anything ever looking that good on Taylor. “It looks really great on you.”
“Thank you,” Kendall whispered, her cheeks reddening.
Ivy hadn’t intended to embarrass her, but the words had just spilled out. Kendall was a beautiful woman, and Ivy found her very attractive.
“How about you tell me why you got into landscape design?” Ivy asked.
“Mostly to make a difference in my community. I liked the idea that I can have a tangible impact on beautifying my surroundings. Also, it gave me the opportunity to work for myself, which wasn’t always great. If work has to be done, and there’s no one else to do it, the work falls on me. I’ve spent a lot of long hours finishing projects.”
“I’m sure you have. Otherwise, the state wouldn’t have invited you to present.” On their walk earlier today, Ivy had seen how passionate Kendall was about her work and about nature.
“The possibilities are endless. Most people can’t even imagine how many combinations there are in visual design. Colors, shapes, and textures. Mix and match the elements, and you have a whole new experience.”
“I admire your passion. I’ve always loved and respected nature, even as a kid.”
“I never could shake it. Designing nature has always been my dream. I bought my first drafting table when I was in high school, but jobs were scarce for my parents, and I had to help our family survive, so I took a different path. I went to college, paid for by grants and student loans, and worked part-time in the evenings to help pay the bills.”
