Free Wicked Dreams by Lily Harper Hart Page B

haven’t watched it with the right person,” Jack said. “I’ll explain the game to you and you’ll be a fan in no time.”
    “I understand the game,” Kelly said. “I still think it’s … kind of slow.”
    Ivy snorted. “She means it’s boring.”
    “No one asked you, honey,” Jack said, winking at her. “Now, be a dear and order our dinner. I wasn’t joking when I said I was starving.”
    “Be a dear?”
    “That’s what I said, honey,” Jack said. “Be a dear.”
    “I’m going to have them add spit in your pizza,” Ivy threatened, but she reached for the telephone. Kelly was having far too good of a time to end the evening now.
    “I don’t want spit on my pizza,” Kelly said.
    Ivy made a face.
    “What? You told me to tell you what I didn’t want on my pizza,” Kelly said.
    It was the first joke she’d made, and Ivy was obliged to laugh. Jack joined in, and when the three of them were done laughing, Ivy placed the call. Putting up with Jack’s mouth – and his incredible body and handsome face – was well worth getting Kelly to smile.
     
    “SHE seems to be adjusting,” Jack said, reclining in one of the plastic lawn chairs on Ivy’s front porch and watching Kelly as she sat on the wooden swing beneath Ivy’s massive maple tree.
    “She does,” Ivy agreed. “She’s still scared, though.”
    “She’s opening up,” Jack said. “I … was wrong about her staying with you. You’ve done wonders for her. I don’t think anyone else could’ve done what you have in such a short amount of time.”
    “Did you just admit you were wrong?” Ivy asked, snickering. “I might have misheard. I just want to make sure I heard what I thought I heard.”
    “You are such a pain in the ass.”
    Ivy waited.
    “Did you hear that?” Jack asked.
    “I did. I’m still waiting for you to say I was right again.”
    Jack sighed. “You were right, Ivy.”
    “Can I go inside and get my phone and record that?”
    “Only if you’re do the same for me,” Jack challenged.
    “I’m comfortable right here.”
    “That’s what I thought,” Jack said, shifting his eyes from Kelly’s back to the stars. “It’s beautiful here. You forget how many stars there are in the sky when you live in the city.”
    “Does the smog blur them out?”
    “Not in Detroit,” Jack said, chuckling. “Don’t get me wrong, the air quality sucks – especially when it’s hot and everyone is running their air conditioners – but it’s not like Los Angeles.”
    “What is it like?”
    “Ah, we’re back to the questions,” Jack said.
    “I’m sorry. You’re entitled to your privacy. I shouldn’t invade it.”
    “Honey, you’ve been one of the most respectful people I’ve ever met when it comes to my privacy,” Jack said. “You’ve gone out of your way to … ignore … the scars on my chest. You haven’t asked the big questions everyone else is dying to ask. Instead, you’ve just sat back and let me do my own thing.”
    “That’s because I’m an amazing person.”
    “You’re egoless, too,” Jack teased, glancing over at her. His heart almost lodged in his throat when he saw her features under the muted glow of the moon. She was breathtaking.
    Ivy shifted so she was facing him, her face unreadable. “What happens to Kelly now?”
    “Now you keep doing what you’re doing,” Jack said. “Make her feel safe. When she’s ready, she’ll tell us what happened.”
    “What do you think happened?”
    “I honestly have no idea,” Jack said, his gaze never wandering from the fathomless depths of her blue eyes. “I … oh, honey, you’re so beautiful it hurts to look at you sometimes.”
    Ivy stilled, surprised at the statement. “What?”
    “I can’t help it,” Jack said. “You drive me crazy. There are times I literally want to gag you. You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in real life.”
    “You didn’t need to add the ‘in real life’ caveat at the end,” Ivy said, her