Page 24 of Touchdown
Me
No promises.
Ivy
I’ll allow one glare. Two if he deserves it.
Me
And how do I know what your criteria are?
Ivy
You’ll know.
I slid the phone into my pocket and let the smile sit where no one could see it. I didn’t think about the guys anymore. My mind was filled with Ivy.
It didn’t matter what she was doing. I wanted to be with her.
11
IVY
The buzz of a dryer filled the salon, steady and soothing after a long day. My last client was running a few minutes late, which gave me a rare pocket of calm. And the chance to scroll through my text thread with Saxon for what was probably the hundredth time.
Saxon
Still thinking about last night.
The message had come in shortly after I woke up, and I’d been smiling ever since. It wasn’t long or poetic, but it didn’t need to be. Just like him, the text was impossible to ignore.
Then there was the banter we’d exchanged throughout the day. I’d been surprised at his easy humor and butterflies had erupted in my stomach when I thought about how I was the only one who seemed to see this side of him.
“You’ve been staring at your phone for five minutes,” Missy called from the front desk. “Should I give you two some privacy or…?”
I rolled my eyes, fighting a grin. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?” she singsonged, dragging the words out. “Because I’m pretty sure your face lights up like Times Square every time a certain wide receiver texts you.”
I pointed my comb at her. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Oh, I am.” She flashed me a wicked smile. “I’m rooting for the touchdown.”
I groaned, but the heat creeping up my neck betrayed me. “You’re unbearable.”
“Admit it. You like him.”
I tried for a breezy shrug, but my grin gave me away. “He’s…nice.”
“Nice?” Missy gasped, clutching her chest like I’d committed a crime. “Girl, he looks at you like you hung the damn moon. That’s not nice, that’s smitten.”
Before I could respond, Lorna poked her head out of her office, laughter dancing in her blue eyes. “Is Missy making you blush again, Ivy?”
“Always,” I muttered, busying myself by wiping down my station even though it was already spotless.
“I think it’s the guy more than Missy that’s getting to her,” Gloria drawled from her station.
Lorna smiled knowingly. “With how much time they’ve been spending together, I think she’s earned the right to blush.”
