Page 40 of Decked Out with Ivy

“Just ignore him,” Trey said. “He gets cranky when people don’t treat him like God’s gift to the universe.”

“Sounds like a lot of people in Hollywood I know,” Cody said, and Trey laughed.

“I can imagine. Come in. Can I get you something? A beer?”

“He doesn’t…” Ivy stopped, not sure how to explain Cody’s odd situation to Trey. He didn’t have a problem and could drink, but the public couldn't know about it.

“I’d love one.” Cody wrapped his arm around Ivy’s shoulder and pulled her close. “No cameras mean I can be myself. Let’s have some good old-fashioned Christmas fun.”

It also meant he trusted her family. He didn’t know her family, but he trusted them, and for her, that meant more than anything Santa could put under her tree.

In the kitchen, Trey handed Cody an IPA from Five Leaf Brewery and then cracked one open for Ivy.

“And the drinking has commenced,” Ivy’s mother said.

“What, just now? It’s been going on since the game started,” her dad said as he reached into the fridge and retrieved a beer. “Good to see you again, Cody.” They had met at the ugly sweater party and bonded over their shared love of Clark Gable. With a beer in hand, he returned to the game.

Mom grabbed a bowl and placed it on the counter. “Keys,” she said and was met with sighs around the kitchen. “You know the drill. You must stay an hour for every beer you drink, and then you can get your keys. If not, you’re sleeping wherever you find a spot, or you can call an Uber.”

Cody patted his empty pockets with a smile. “I got a ride here.”

“Smart man.” Mom shoved the bowl at Trey, who dropped his keys with an eye roll. “I’m not twenty-one. I know my limit.”

“You will always be a baby in my eyes,” Mom said. “Sorry. Not sorry. Next!”

Everyone dropped their keys into the bowl, and Mom left the room, hiding it so no one pulled a fast one on her. Not that anyone would. She would be disappointed, and that was somehow a thousand times worse than anger.

“Is that you?” Cody stared at a framed picture of Ivy with jet black hair. It was a picture of her after she signed the papers for the business and was officially a business owner.

“It was her emo phase,” Rome said.

Ivy lightly swatted at his chest. “No, it wasn’t, you idiot. I had just bought the tuxedo shop, and I wanted people to take me seriously. My whole life had been filled with blonde jokes, in no small part thanks to these jerkheads.” She motioned toward Rome and Trey, who both had a form of blond hair themselves. “I thought black hair made me look intelligent. Professional.”

“She ruined her beautiful hair,” Mom said.

“Let’s not talk about the nightmare it was for her to go back to blonde,” Poppy chimed in from the tablet set up on the kitchen island. Ivy had spent almost an entire day at the salon and had to go back two more times after that.

“It was a process,” Ivy said, but didn’t expand on details. “Anyway, so yes, I had black hair for a while, and I’ll probably never do that again.”

Cody tugged at a blonde strand. “I like the blonde, but you look hot either way.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Are we ready?” Mom called out, so Dad and Uncle Richard could hear her, too.

“In a minute,” Dad said. “The Patriots are second and goal.”

“For crying out loud.” Mom sighed, then looked at Cody. “Since this is your first time, I’ll go over the rules while we wait for them.” She motioned toward the living room. “Each person gets their own station. Each station is supplied with gingerbread to make a house and two gingerbread men.”

“One gingerbread man and one woman,” Cynthia corrected.

“Excuse me,” Mom said. “One of each. Every station also has the same amount of candy and a bag of frosting to pipe and assemble your house. You could have brought more supplies if you needed, but I see you’re not here to win.”

Ivy stifled a laugh as Cody’s eyes widened. “Once again, Ivy didn’t fill me in on the important details.”

Ivy reached into her back pocket and pulled out the outline she had been working on.

Cody pointed at the paper. “Do you seriously have a blueprint?”

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