Thief (A Bad Boy Romance)(60)
“Fish!” he says with almost wonder, his eyes round as he stares at his tiny catch.
“Yeah, buddy!” I throw my hand up for another high-five, and he smacks it. “You got one!”
I take it cleanly off the hook for him, letting him see it flop in my hand before I toss it back into the water.
He giggles.
“I’m not going anywhere, Stella,” I say as I stand. I glance back at Carter.
“I’ve got a lot of making up for lost time to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ivy
“Hi.”
I glare at Blaine’s smug, tanned, bleach-toothed face in the hotel lobby.
“Oh, hi.”
“Ivy,” he reaches out to touch my arm but I pull away.
“Contractually obligated, Blaine,” I say icily. “That is the only reason I’m here right now.”
He nods, looking contritely at the floor. “That’s fair, I deserve that.”
I roll my eyes. “Please don’t play the victim card. Spare me.”
He nods again. “Thanks for being here.”
“I told you, contractually-”
“No, I know, it’s just-” he shrugs. “Ivy, your brand is better than mine, and we both know it. I know you’re carrying me, and I just want to say thank you.”
“Please don’t.”
I’m literally counting the minutes until this ridiculous thing is over. I’m here to mingle, smile for the branding teams from sneaker and cosmetic companies, and eco-travel destinations. I’m going to smile, I’m going to shake some hands, snap some pictures where I pretend I don’t want to drown Blaine in the punch bowl, and then I’m going home.
To Silas.
“Ivy, I know you don’t believe me, but that whole thing from before, that really was a photoshoot. There’s no one else.”
“That’s great, Blaine,” I say evenly, not smiling.
“I have to go.”
“So we’ll meet here in the lobby before we head out?”
“Fine.”
I think he’s about to say something else, but I ignore him as I turn and step towards the elevator banks. The doors to one open, and I blink as I suddenly come face-to-face with my assistant.
“Ainsley!”
She jumps at my sudden greeting before she focuses on me “Oh, Ivy!”
I throw my arms around her. “What are you doing here?”
She frowns as she pulls away. “Uh, my job?”
I grin. “Sorry I meant I didn’t know you were here here. Are you staying in the hotel?”
She nods. “Yeah, Lori and her crew put me up for tonight too.”
“So how’s Boston been? You’ve just been staying with your friend?”
She blinks quickly. “What?”
“Your friend? Isn’t she someone you went to college with?”
Ainsley clears her throat. “Oh, right, yeah. It’s been fun. How’s home been?”
I arch my brows. “It’s been…interesting.”
“What happened with that guy you hit on the pier?”
I laugh. “It’s a very long story.”
She glances down at her wrist watch. “Can it wait? You have to be ready in two hours or Lori is going to have a fucking meltdown.”
I grin again and give her another quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re here for this shit-show.”
After a long, hot shower, I check my reflection in the mirror in the hotel room mirror. Lori and her team have picked out this slinky black thing with tiny shoulder straps and silver sequins that wash down one side like a wave. I have to give her credit, it looks great.
I finish piling my hair up on top of my head, the slight curl I’ve given it post-shower falling to my shoulders and giving me that “casually elegant without trying” look that I’ve actually spent the better part of two hours trying to nail.
People always forget, even when they do it themselves, that the photographs people post online are the best of a bunch you took. We all forget that what people post about themselves is the highlights reel - the polished and shined side of what are ultimately the same, plain, everyday lives we all have. The same rough patches, the same bad hair days, the same hangovers, regrets, second thoughts, and heartbreaks.
I frown as I think of the way I walked away from Silas down at the docks before I left - at the way I snapped at him like that. Being home in Shelter Harbor and being around him - it’s bringing it all back. It was never simple with us, but I just want it to all be how it was back then.
Fresh, innocent, fearless.
We were like little kids who go barreling down the hill on their bikes - fearless because they don’t know they can get hurt. It’s not until you do fall, and realize how much that hurts, that you’re suddenly more guarded, and more cautionary in how you do it the next time.