IVY
The following week, I was a distracted mess. I checked in multiple guests and sent one of them to the wrong cabin twice. I knocked over a potted plant, smashing the terra cotta planter into a million tiny pieces. And every time I answered the phone, I kept forgetting to greet callers with the required 'Good morning/afternoon Whitefish Resort,' and instead answered sharply with a cold, hard hello. Arlene got snippy with me for not following proper protocol. Living in close quarters with Rhys was proving to be a challenge. He was every which way I turned and usually shirtless. Keeping his secret from everyone at the resort was one thing, but still being expected to keep his secret from Blaine was starting to weigh heavily on my conscience.
I had no idea what Rhys's plans were or why he was here. For all I knew, a summer in Montana could turn into forever, and I would be forced to see him all the time – as Blaine's girlfriend. I shivered at the thought of sitting across the table from him at a Sunday family dinner. I had to remind myself that my mind and body were not allowed to be ruled by my old feelings for Rhys. I ended that problem a long time ago. I was an intelligent and capable woman who could control her urges over her boyfriend's hot older brother.
"Can I stop by the ranch later?" Missy asked as we walked out of the lobby into the warm evening air.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," I said.
She turned to face me. "You've been acting a little off lately. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine." I lied, feeling like the world's worst friend. I wanted to tell Missy everything but knew it wasn't wise. I promised Rhys I'd keep his secret, just like he promised he'd keep mine.
She flicked her long brown ponytail from hanging over her shoulder. "Are you walking up to the Wyatt ranch alone?"
"It's not that far," I assured her, awkwardly stalking away toward the private road.
"I think you should get Charlie to drive you; it's. It's getting dark outside," Missy said.
"Thanks, but I'm fine. I'll call you later, okay?"
At eight o'clock, I found myself alone and igniting a small fire in the fireplace. I made tea and dug out a novel from my duffle bag. As usual, Rhys was nowhere to be found, so I sprawled on a leather chaise.
Thirty minutes later, I had finished one chapter, managed a quick FaceTime session with Blaine, and started feeling restless. Rhys's continued disappearance was starting to worry me. Seriously, where did he go every other night?
The doorbell rang, jumping me out of the chaise. Who was here? I crept across the floor and stepped into the entranceway. I pressed up onto my tippy toes and looked through the peephole on the front door. Shit!
Missy, Grayson and Charlie were huddled together on the front porch.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, trying not to sound too nervous.
"You promised you'd call me, but you didn't. I was worried, so I thought we should come and check on you." Missy said with the utmost sincerity. I couldn't believe I forgot to call her. I was losing it.
"Sorry, Missy, I forgot," I said.
"Are you going to invite us in?" Grayson asked. "I brought my swim shorts for the hot tub." He waved a pair of red and blue striped shorts from behind his back.
Missy elbowed him in the stomach. "Grayson," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Let me guess, you all came prepared?" I laughed.
"Come on, Ivy. It's just us. Blaine wouldn't mind, " Charlie said, flashing a convincing grin.
He was right; Blaine definitely wouldn't mind if I had friends over. He would encourage me to have friends at the ranch, even if they were male. And even though Blaine was notorious for throwing a party when he was home for the summer, I had an unexpected roommate secretly using this place as a haven. Rhys hadn't given me the okay to let people know he was back in Moose Creek, and I didn't want to break his trust. Especially since he was keeping my secret about my unresolved school debt. I dreaded the possibility that Rhys could walk through those doors unannounced at any moment. If he showed up right now, he would probably be furious.
I nervously chewed on my lip, letting Missy push past me and into the kitchen. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope Rhys didn't show up anytime soon. Not letting them inside was more suspicious than shooing them away, right?
"Holy hell. I don't remember this place being so huge." Missy spun around to take in her surroundings.
"That's probably because every time you've been here, it's been packed with people, and you were drunk," Charlie laughed.
"You guys can't stay long," I closed the front door and chased after them.
"Why not?" Missy raised a brow. "You're all alone. Don't you want company?"
"I'd like to get to bed early."
She rolled her eyes, opened a cupboard door, and started looking for something. I stormed over to her and closed the cupboard door on her face.
"What on earth are you looking for?"
"Geez, you're cranky today," she said. "I was just seeing if there was any alcohol."
"We won't stay long," Charlie must have sensed my tension because he gripped my shoulders to calm me down. "Just an hour in the hot tub...please?"
I sighed. "Fine."
I was as good as screwed anyway. They weren't planning on leaving.
"Can we please find some alcohol now?" Missy asked and pulled open the cupboard door again.
"Yes, but let me pick something out." I nudged her out of the way with my hip. I didn't want her to find the bottle of whiskey I saw Rhys tuck into the cupboard this morning.
When Grayson and Charlie let themselves out through the patio doors and climbed straight into the hot tub, Missy lingered beside me in the kitchen.
"What's going on? I can tell something's on your mind. You've been a jittery mess all week."
I buried my head further inside the cupboard and ignored her question. I pretended to busy myself with what booze to choose when I already knew the cheap bottle of vodka inches away from my face would be my choice.
"You can't ignore me forever," she said.
I closed the cupboard door and held the bottle out. "Vodka?"
Reaching over, Missy plucked the bottle out of my grip. "Whatever. As long as it can get me drunk." She unscrewed the cap and took a sip right from the bottle. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and passed the bottle to me to do the same. "Now, you were about to tell me what's happening with you."
Of course, I wanted nothing more than to tell Missy what was happening. She knew about my Rhys obsession since elementary school and the devastation he had caused me in high school. She even warned me once I started dating Blaine that I was headed for trouble dating Rhys's younger brother. She was right to warn me the first time.
"Nothing is going on," I assured her and sipped from the bottle.
She hopped off the countertop and narrowed her eyes at me, "Fine, if you don't tell me, then I will get you drunk and let the booze do the talking."
She took the bottle from my hand and poured us a drink, mixing it with Spritee and lime juice.
"Not a chance," I laughed. "I'm getting my bikini on. I'll meet you in the hot tub."
Sitting in the hot, steamy bubbles, the four of us drank and laughed. Charlie kept us in stitches with stories about his college adventures and life in a fraternity. Grayson poked fun at Arlene and did impressions of her flirting with fishermen. Missy kept our drinks coming, and I completely forgot about Rhys and his potential return.
Feeling quite blurry around the edges, I offered to get us something to snack on. I stumbled out of the hot tub, slid open the patio doors, and wobbled into the kitchen. I dug around in the pantry and found a few bags of chips and pretzels.
"Why is Charlie's truck in the driveway?" Rhys's voice made me shriek.
Shit! I pulled my head out of the pantry and caught his eyes blazing in my direction. He tossed his car keys onto the kitchen island.
"Ohmigod, Rhys, I can explain. Don't go on the deck," I said, my voice slurring. I scurried around the island to keep him from becoming visible to my guests.
"Are you drunk?" Rhys gripped my chin with his fingers and looked down at me.
"No."
Rhys's gaze travelled down my body, stopping in two places: my chest and my hips. "Why are you wearing a bikini?" his eyes widened, and his brows arrogantly pushed together. "Is someone here?"
"It's not what it looks like..." His deep hurt was in his voice, his face, and his eyes. I had failed miserably at doing one thing he had asked me to do: not let anyone know he was there.
"I told you I didn't want anyone to know I was here yet."
"I know, I'm sorry. They just showed up." I nervously bit my lip.
Rhys raked his fingers through his hair. "Who's here?"
"Charlie, err...Grayson, err...and ah, oh yeah, Missy." My slightly drunk mind was lost in thought, having stared at his mouth.
"Great," Rhys growled, looking down at me. "Please put some clothes on."
"Why? I'm going back in the hot tub." My drunken voice turned up a notch, and even I could hear how ridiculous I sounded.
"Wearing that bikini?" his voice levelled.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked, looking down at my chest.
His eyes assessed my lack of attire as he stepped closer and whispered, "It's incredibly distracting."
He took a step closer and closed the space between us. He was so close I could feel his warm breath against my cheek, which immediately caused goose bumps to spread all over my skin. I knew I should take a step backward, put myself at a safe distance, and remind us both of Blaine, but I couldn't seem to gravitate away from his presence.
"Ivy!" Missy's voice echoed from the kitchen. "Where are you?"
Rhys quickly stepped backward, cleared his throat, and nervously entered the kitchen. I appeared behind him just in time to see Missy's jaw drop. She then shifted her eyes between the two of us.
"Hey, Missy," Rhys casually greeted her.
"Holy shit! I' 've seen a ghost or Rhys Wyatt under that long dark hair. And are those tattoos all over your forearms?" A devious smile crept on Missy's lips. She shot me a knowing look.
"Yup," Rhys said as he opened the refrigerator.
Missy's eyes darted to me. She shook her head with a wicked grin and mouthed, "You're busted."
"So, how's USC?" Missy eyed his tattoos running up both his forearms.
"Good," Rhys mumbled and poured himself a drink.
"Wow. You look so different," she said, staring him up and down and inching closer. "But like good different."
"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," he replied.
An amused grin curled on Missy's lips. "How long have you been here?"
The three of us stood awkwardly as Rhys took a long, slow slip of his drink.
"Not long." His eyes lifted to mine. "Are Charlie and Grayson outside on the deck?"
I nodded, and he walked past Missy and through the patio doors. As soon as he was gone, Missy's eyes lit up. "I knew something was going on with you. What the hell is Rhys Wyatt doing here?"
I bit my bottom lip, "I don't know because he hasn't exactly told me, okay? When I showed up, he was here."
Missy let out a hard laugh and shook her head. "Oh boy, this is trouble."
My face flushed as her eyes tore into me with silent accusation.
"No, it isn't."
"He's smoking hot, laced in tattoos, looks a rock star, and you're going to stand there and try to convince me that staying here isn't trouble?"
"I'm with Blaine," I reminded her.
Missy gave me a dubious stare. "You've been in love with Rhys since kindergarten."
I blushed, knowing full well Missy knew everything there was to know about my little infatuation with Rhys, including the humiliation he once caused me on the night of his Senior class graduation party. The gentle reminder of my past with Rhys caused a tightness in my chest.
"Except I am in love with Blaine now," I reminded her.
Missy didn't respond right away this time. Instead, she poured us another drink and handed it to me. "Just be careful," she finally said. "Because regardless of whether or not you love Blaine, Rhys couldn't keep his eyes off you in that bikini."
I listened to her words, but I wasn't sure I understood what she was saying. I was confused. Rhys would never look at me like that. He made his lack of attraction to me crystal clear three years ago. Missy's comment was almost comical.
"You think Rhys Wyatt couldn't keep his eyes off me?" I laughed.
"Come on, Ivy. You can't be that surprised."
"Rhys has never given me the time of day. There is no reason for him to start now."
She raised her eyebrows. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? Geez, Ivy. You're not that cutesy-wootsy, flat-chested nerdy girl wearing glasses anymore. You've grown up...a lot...especially since the last time Rhys Wyatt laid eyes on you."
I didn't respond. I knew I had changed physically from then to now, and I also knew I was no longer just Eddie Bishop's brainy little sister to Rhys. But I was also with Blaine now, and Rhys would never see me like he did all the other girls, regardless of my chest size and choice to wear contact lenses.
"Just remember, Blaine's an investment. Rhys is a gamble. Think with your brain, not your vagina, and you may survive this summer."
"You're overanalyzing things, Missy." I grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry and walked towards the patio doors.
Missy laughed. "Well then, this should make for an interesting night."