Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(25)

And she meant it, she reminded herself. You need to let go of the idea of having him in your life.

“Make this your best one yet,” Tina yelled at them. “Especially you, Ivy Snow, you’re slacking.”

She was. Because while Haley had been getting lucky since the hike, all Ivy had been doing was thinking about getting lucky. It was all Kel’s fault. He’d kissed her, really kissed her, and apparently all her brain cells had leaked out.

It was the only explanation she could come up with for why she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Or the kiss.

She hadn’t seen him since. The night before last she’d taught her once a month cooking class at the rec center, which she did for extra cash. Last night she’d had dinner with Sadie, who’d said Caleb and Kel were up north in Sonoma on a friend’s horse ranch.

Just as well.

She’d lied to him and he’d caught her at it, and while he’d said he understood, she knew he couldn’t really understand at all.

Or forgive.

He wasn’t that guy.

So it was for the best that she not see him again. She just wished . . . hell. She wished it wasn’t for the best.

“Hands up!” Tina yelled. “Bust it out with every ounce you’ve got left, and you’d better have lots of ounces left since we’ve still got twenty more minutes to go.”

Oh goodie. Twenty more minutes. Ivy tried to concentrate, but there was a lot tumbling around in her head, and though she always, always had reasons for doing the things she did, this time she was having trouble remembering why she’d ever thought letting Kel get close was a good idea.

And that kiss . . .

She sighed. Yeah, it’d been her idea, but when he’d teasingly boasted about his skills, she’d dismissed his promises as pure—and stupid—male ego. And then one touch of his mouth and she’d just about forgotten her own name. He’d truly dazzled her.

Only she hadn’t dazzled him quite as much if he’d still been able to keep his wits, enough to call her out on her lies about Brandon.

It was second nature, making up stories. Hiding in plain sight was what had always kept her safe, like when they’d been living just outside of Atlanta through one very hot, humid summer. Her brother—charismatic, charming, and actually very sweet—had been chasing one get-rich scheme or another as always. He had the best of intentions—or he tried anyway—if not a gray moral code. So mostly when Ivy would get home from school, her mom would still be sleeping and she’d be on her own. Truth was, she liked those hours alone best. But that day in particular, being alone had worked against her because when Brandon screwed over his new—and scary—associates, they’d of course come looking for him.

They’d been conning drunks at the pool for weeks. But Brandon had gotten greedy and stupid at the same time, and thought it’d be a good idea to turn the con on his guys, stealing the whole pot for himself.

Good thing she’d been skinny back then, because once again she’d been able to escape out of a window and run.

Just one of many, many times.

It’d never occurred to her to call the police for help. The police were the ones who brought her mom home late at night after she’d started a fight in a bar. Or her brother when he’d done something stupid. He usually ended up in juvie. Such as when he stole her new principal’s car and crashed it. They’d had to move, which they’d done a lot, but Ivy hadn’t minded that time because she liked where they’d ended up.

Until Brandon had gotten high with some friends and burned their trailer down, leaving them homeless.

So it was really no wonder that she’d learned to have her own back because there was no one else to have it for her.

Hence the kickboxing class.

They’d lived in their car for a while after that, in a different town. Just par for the course. It’d been about survival, with things like material possessions and friends being a luxury she couldn’t afford.

Besides, even if she’d been the sort of girl who easily made friends, she never could’ve had them over or let them into her world. What if Brandon, or one of his guys, did something stupid and someone got hurt? And the odds were in favor of him doing just that. She couldn’t risk it, so she hadn’t.

When she’d run away to go off on her own, she’d actually thought she’d never have to worry again. But she’d made mistakes. She and her mom kept in casual touch every few months and Ivy hadn’t thought to tell her mom not to pass her current whereabouts on. So just about every time she’d started over, working in bar kitchens mostly, Brandon had shown up, flashed his forgive-me smile, and played the family card. Lonely and anxious for a friendly face, she’d usually fallen for it and let him suck her into his vortex, where he’d then ruined everything. Like the time she’d been in LA working at food services at one of the studios and Brandon had talked his way in to see her and then stolen a bunch of costumes. He’d sold them for big bucks and got her fired and nearly arrested as an accomplice.

After that, she’d gone back to moving around more often so no one could pull the rug out beneath her. She’d still been underage, but had portrayed herself as legal so as to not get social services on her ass. She’d stuck to kitchen jobs and lying low.

But that had gotten old, and she’d yearned for more. It’d been a few years since she’d seen Brandon, so . . . She told herself it was okay to settle down and make a place for herself, including friends. And she’d done just that here in San Francisco. She loved her life here, loved being her own boss, loved the people in her life, loved everything about it. But . . . even she knew you didn’t lie to those you cared about.