Page 17 of Decked Out with Ivy

“Shit!” he called, just as he swayed forward.

Ivy dropped the saw and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He swore if he fell, taking her with him, and they wound up in the quintessential Christmas movie position, he was going to pack up his shit and go home. But she managed to steady him, letting him regain his balance.

“Thank you,” he said as she continued to hold on. “I’m good.”

She slowly let go, holding her hands on either side of him as if she was ready to catch him again if he fell. Now that he knew how useless the soles of his shoes were, he’d be taking more measured steps.

“You sure?” she asked, and when he nodded, she dropped her arms and moved away. She held her mittened hand up. “Don’t move.” She hurried into the building and reemerged a couple minutes later, holding something.

She came to a stop in front of him with a massive smile on her face. The cold air had reddened her cheeks and the tip of her nose, making her even more adorable.

“What is that?” He pointed to whatever it was she was holding.

“Ice cleats. They’re like snow chains for your car but for your shoes. Here.” She bent down in front of him. “Put your hand on my shoulder and lift your foot.”

He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. He rested his hand on her shoulder, making sure not to lean too heavily as he lifted his foot. She got to work, putting the monstrosities over his shoe. She tapped his knee, and he put the one leg down, lifting the other.

“There,” she announced and pushed from the ground. “Take a step, see how they feel.”

He walked on the same spot that nearly sent him face-first and didn’t even wobble. “They’ll work.”

She clapped her hands together and bounced. His lip cracked at the edge, unable to keep his smile at bay. He hated to admit that her joy was contagious.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Good, and on the walk there, you can tell me all about this DUI.”

Any joy that he had completely fled as, once again, his past swept in, blocking out the light and covering him in darkness.

Chapter 7

Cody’s entire body froze at Ivy’s words. She didn’t want to put him on the spot, but she was curious by nature, and that paparazzi gave a little too much insight with not a lot of context. Ivy could have easily slipped out her phone and looked it up, but she didn’t want the headlines. She wanted to truth from Cody’s mouth.

A DUI was a serious offense. She had a strict rule: if she was driving, she could have one drink, and she had to stay for at least an hour.

“I was roofied,” he said, and she staggered backward, her breath catching in her throat.. “No one believed me.”

“Roofied? But why? By who?”

“There are parts of the entertainment business that are cutthroat, cruel, manipulative. People see me as a means to an end. A big payday. Like that jack-off said, if he can get a picture of me fucking up, those pictures would be worth a lot more money. I don’t know who slipped the drugs in my drink, but I had one beer that night. A half a beer, really. I got a call from my agent that she was in the hospital. Turned out, it was nothing. A dizzy spell brought on by dehydration and low potassium. But I didn’t know that, so I got in the car and headed toward the hospital. It took me all of two seconds to realize something wasn’t right, but I was already driving. I was about to pull over when lights flashed in my rearview.”

He shook his head, glanced at the ground, then locked eyes with her. “I already had a reputation for partying. My last girlfriend liked to party even more, then fight with me in front of the cameras for the attention. I didn’t love the attention, but I liked to party. That night, I skipped the driver because I wasn’t planning to stay long—just a quick visit to see a friend.I got arrested, missed a shoot, and messed up the whole film’s schedule. The director wouldn’t listen, and I got blacklisted. Now, I’ve got a suspended license, forced into AA meetings, and the world thinks I’m in recovery when I never had a problem.”

“That’s not fair,” Ivy said.

“That’s Hollywood for you.”

“You have no idea who slipped something in your drink?”

“I have a feeling the bartenders worked with the paparazzi. Get us nice and sloshed, so when we stumbled out of the club, they’d get their money-making shot. The bartenders probably got a cut. That night I was the biggest name there. I was nothing more than a dollar sign to them.”

“How can they get away with that? Couldn’t they have tested your blood? It would have proved—”

He held his hand up. “I’m a guy. When it comes to things like this, it’s not easy to convince people. I eventually got them to test me, but at that point… GHB only stays in your bloodstream for ten hours, tops. It was at least twelve hours later, so nothing showed. It’s my word against the world.”

She took his hand in hers, looking directly into those piercing green eyes. It might have been him against the world, but not anymore. “I believe you.”

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