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  Ivy threw herself onto the couch. She hated lying. Now that she didn’t have to worry about her sisters calling back, she had another concern and it was even greater than the first. She knew that Jonathan and his brother Marc, her brother-in-law, were almost as close as she was with her sisters. Would he really be able to keep a secret from him?

  Chapter 3

  Meeting with the executive producers of the reality show, the Wedding Industry Association and the Wedding Channel turned out to be more nerve-wracking than Ivy had thought. She had no idea that there would be so many people involved. As soon as she arrived, she learned they planned to tape her first episode in a couple of weeks.

  That episode would be the premiere of the nine-episode series between the three planners airing in the fall. Hers would be titled “Here Comes The Bride—Chicago with Ivy Hart”.

  She was thrilled that they added the tagline she used in her video presentation for her show: “Where wedding dreams that last a lifetime begin.”

  Entries poured in from wedding hopefuls in a casting call from the Chicago area newspapers, national TV ads and The Wedding Channel website. Finally the producers decided on the three couples from the Chicago area whose weddings Ivy would be arranging.

  A large notebook filled with photos of the first couple, their bios, and, finally, their wedding wishes was given to Ivy. She had to study them and prepare a wedding timeline for a meeting with the bride and groom. This would be held in the next week. Ivy’s plans for a platinum wedding on a shoestring budget would have to be condensed into a one-hour episode.

  Ivy concentrated on the facts and tried not to get overwhelmed with a lot of the details. She concerned herself with the things for which she was responsible and let the producers do the rest. She just hoped the couple wouldn’t be difficult.

  Ivy said her goodbyes and assured the producer that, if she had any questions, she’d be in touch.

  * * *

  Super Bowl Sunday was a big event in the Hart Family. It always had been. A large number of their extended family and friends showed up to eat, watch the big game and have fun together, while some of the women who didn’t enjoy football spent their own time catching up with the happenings of their families.

  But Ivy wasn’t at all pleased when she pulled into her parents’ circular driveway and saw Jonathan’s black SUV parked against the curb. Still she knew that asking that he not be invited would only raise suspicions, especially since he’d been attending the annual event for several years.

  She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d left her home more than a week before. Communicating with him would only be a reminder of their carelessness . . . and a reminder of her eager responses to his hands and lips that night in Vegas.

  Ivy jumped out of her dark blue BMW and went to the back to retrieve her contribution to the party. At home, she’d prepared a pasta salad and three-bean casserole, and on the way over she’d stopped by Subway to get some sandwich platters to go along with all the other food she knew would be served.

  She walked around to the back door, leaned inside, grabbing the platters first. When she suddenly heard Jonathan’s voice, she nearly hit her head on the roof of the car.

  “Need some help?” He stood behind her.

  His immediate appearance made her suspect he’d been watching out for her.

  Ivy stepped back, straightened her spine, turned and handed him a sandwich platter. “Thanks,” she said before pulling out another one, placing it on top of the first.

  She continued to remove the food from the back seat of her car.

  “I can take one of those bags, so you won’t have to carry so much,” Jonathan said.

  “I picked up the last of it. I think I’ve got it.”

  Without saying another word, she strolled in front of Jonathan wondering if he was watching her as they walked into the house.

  Ivy prepared herself to remain calm and not become paranoid. Nobody else in the family knew she was Mrs. Jonathan Damon. She wanted to keep it like that.

  * * *

  As soon as they walked through the door, everyone inside yelled, “Surprise.”

  Ivy almost dropped her casserole. Her heart pounded like she had just finished running the Chicago Marathon. She was already being paranoid, but to meet with such a response when she walked in with Jonathan . . . she didn’t know what to think.

  Lili took the casseroles from her and motioned for Jonathan to follow. The two of them disappeared into the kitchen.

  Her other sisters, Rose and Violet, ran to her and threw their arms around her. “Congratulations, Vee!”

  Ivy’s shoulders went as stiff as a new pair of jeans. What the heck was going on? Her sisters had already taken her to dinner to celebrate her hosting gig, and their parents had come, too. Why were they congratulating her now?

  She scanned the room to see who was there. She hadn’t seen her Aunt Elizabeth or her Uncle Joseph at a Super Bowl party in years. She was just as surprised to see her cousin Irene, who always had an excuse for not coming. Ivy couldn’t believe so many people had come out. Her cousin Destiny was there with her husband Nicholas, and family friends Vanessa and Keith sat on the couch.

  Good Lord, had Jonathan talked? Ivy hugged her sisters, hoping someone would say or do something so she would know how to respond.

  Before she released them, she scanned the room looking for Jonathan. Once she spotted him she raised her eyebrows, anticipating he’d recognize she needed help. “Oh, my goodness, you guys didn’t have to do this.”

  Jonathan came over to stand next to her. He helped her out of her coat and handed it to one of her relatives before saying, “You should have seen Ivy when they called her name.” He turned to Andrew, her father. “Mr. Hart, it was truly a Kodak moment.”

  Ivy turned to smile at Jonathan, hoping he saw the relief in her eyes. Turning back to the others, she said, “It was an incredible moment.”

  “I heard you guys partied like rock stars,” Violet said as she walked back into the room carrying a sheet cake.

  Tears sprang into Ivy’s eyes. She didn’t realize that Jonathan hadn’t moved from her side until he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She was truly overwhelmed by the lengths her family went to surprise her.

  “Did Lili bake this?”

  “Of course,” her sister answered, beaming with pride.

  “It’s so pretty.” Ivy looked at the white rectangular cake with bunches of roses in all four corners and the words CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STAR written in the middle in purple script.

  She glanced around the room at the beaming faces of her family. “You really shouldn’t have. We already celebrated.”

  “Yes, sweetheart, but that was our celebration,” her mother, Louvenia, said. “We wanted to mark the occasion again today with friends.”

  “That is, if there’s any cake left over when the rest of them get here,” Marc Damon said, his arm around Rose.

  “I think Lili did a good job,” Rose said.

  “It’s a lemon cake filled with raspberry buttercream.”

  Ivy hugged Lili. “You really outdid yourself on this one, my sistah. The roses look so real.” Ivy wanted to reach out and touch them.

  “You know better. They’re made out of sugar paste,” Lili said. “Are you going to cut it now?”

  “I can so that we can serve it with the rest of the desserts.”

  “Wait, girls, I want to get a picture of Ivy cutting the cake,” their father yelled as he rushed from the room to get his camera.

  “Go on into the dining room,” Louvenia suggested. “I don’t think there’s any room on the table in the kitchen.”

  Everyone filed into the large dining room area and gathered around the rectangular table, which had both leaves in and seated eight. Ivy stood at the head of the table, keenly aware of Jonathan standing slightly behind her.

  She picked up the cake cutter when her father returned and motioned to cut into the cake, but Andrew stopped her.


  “Wait, sweetheart.” Andrew held up his hand. “Jon, why don’t you get a little closer to Vee? Since you were there with her for her big win, I want you in the picture.”

  Ivy tried not to show anything on her face.

  “You deserve this,” Jonathan whispered, his lips almost grazing her ear. Ivy wanted to lean into him. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

  “Now cut your cake,” he said, speaking normally.

  Everyone applauded as she cut into the sweet confection and placed the slice on an empty plate nearby. She felt calmed by Jonathan’s words, and at that point all thoughts of her secret being revealed disappeared.

  Ivy looked at her watch. “Isn’t it almost time for the pre-game show to start?” She picked up the small plate and pinched the end of the cake. Popping the little piece in her mouth, she moved from behind the head of the table. “Let’s get something to eat and watch the game.”

  Forming a single file line, as many as could fit in her parent’s eat-in kitchen, filled their plates with the variety of foods that had been placed on the table.

  There were hot dogs, bratwurst, polish sausage, potato salad, pasta salad, three bean casserole, fried chicken, chips, spinach dip, chili, hamburgers, spaghetti and meat balls and all the condiments. The beer, sodas, juice boxes, punch and flavored water were submerged in ice within three coolers that sat in various areas of the kitchen.

  As soon as their plates were prepared, they headed to the family room and balanced them on their laps while gathered around the large television there, which was tuned in to the pre-game show.

  Ivy took her place in line. Amid all the loud whiffs and comments about how good everything looked, she realized how foolish she’d been to think that her family’s cries of “surprise!” were due to her marriage. They’d be shocked to learn she and Jonathan were married, and they’d want to know what was going on, how they’d managed to keep a courtship—Ha! That was a good one!—a secret, why weren’t they living together. They wouldn’t just break out in a celebration any more than people really broke out in a song the way they did in Broadway musicals.

  Eventually only Jonathan, Violet and Ivy remained in the kitchen. “Can I get you something, Jonathan?” Violet asked.

  Ivy stared at Jonathan. She wondered why he was still in the kitchen. He certainly couldn’t fit another thing on his plate.

  “I was going to get a beer.” He was trying to steady his food and pick up the bottle of MGD out of the cooler that sat on the floor. His gaze went to Ivy.

  “Can you get it for me?” he asked, giving her a big smile.

  “Sure.” Ivy reached down, opened the lid of the large red cooler next to the wall and retrieved an ice cold bottle of beer.

  She handed it to him and watched as he left the room. She then picked up a paper plate filling it with food. She and Violet walked out of the kitchen and joined the others to enjoy the football game.

  * * *

  Jonathan couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He discreetly watched as she ate and cheered on her favorite team. She was clearly having fun, and didn’t seem burdened with the fact that they were married.

  He’d enjoyed being with her in Las Vegas, but sharing and celebrating with her family was an honor. His brother might be the one married to a Hart sister, but the family had always treated Jonathan like one of their own.

  It had troubled Jonathan not to be able to call and check on her, but he respected her wishes. After all, he was the one who told her to call if she needed anything. She hadn’t, but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to speak to her in private . . . and what better opportunity than during the party?

  As they finished eating, Jonathan rose and made his way through the people who sat on big floor pillows, and as he passed the card table where Ivy and Violet sat, he bent and whispered in her ear.

  It must have been hard for her being around her family and holding onto this secret. It had to be emotional. Jonathan only wanted her to know that he supported her, or so he told himself.

  “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “About?” Ivy asked. She nervously glanced over at Violet, who wasn’t particularly paying them any attention.

  Jonathan replied in a slightly louder voice. “I wanted to talk to you about the special order for the table linen for the Stone wedding reception.”

  “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

  “No, we have to give the supplier an answer first thing in the morning.”

  “Shhh!” Violet said, pressing her index finger against her mouth. “Go in Daddy’s office and talk, I’m trying to watch the game.”

  Jonathan wanted to kiss Violet. He wanted to be alone with Ivy, and she’d just set it up for him.

  Ivy stared at her sister and Violet hunched her shoulders. “What? Just go in the other room and talk to him, Vee. He’s just like you, talking business on the weekend.” She waved them away.

  Ivy dropped her fork, pushed her chair back from the table and got up.

  She tossed her plate in a nearby trash can. Jonathan did the same before following her to her dad’s office.

  Jonathan noticed Ivy didn’t bother closing the door once he stepped inside the room. They could still see everyone in the other room, and the people in the other room could still see them.

  He was impressed with the décor in Andrew’s office. The dark muted tones of the wall, the characteristic charm of the mahogany desk, which was filled with folders marked with bride and groom’s names and wedding dates created a relaxed and serene atmosphere.

  Andrew had been a wedding photographer for more than a quarter of a century. Several photos lay on top, which Jonathan figured were the proofs. He was so busy looking at the photos that he hadn’t realized Ivy was speaking.

  “Okay, Mandy Stone is supposed to contact me in the morning. What’s the problem?”

  “How’ve you been, Ivy?” he asked.

  A crease marred her forehead. “What do you mean?”

  Jonathan stepped closer to her. “I didn’t like the way we ended things the other morning.”

  She rushed over to the door, peaked out and then carefully closed it. “Would you keep your voice down? Someone might hear you.”

  “I thought you said there was a problem with the Stone wedding.”

  “There is, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.

  “Tell me about the problem with the Stone wedding first.”

  “The table linen manufacturer came back with a ridiculous price for the beaded chartreuse overlay Mandy wanted.”

  Ivy nodded. “I called your office and told your assistant to go ahead and place the order. Mandy’s mother said she didn’t care about the cost.”

  Jonathan already knew that, but he hadn’t known any other way to get her alone.

  “Good, I’ll just make sure Myra ordered the linen in the morning, then.”

  Ivy straightened. “I hope the game hasn’t started.” She headed for the door, and then turned back around. “I thought we really had a problem.”

  Jonathan walked over to her, all the while thinking this would be his only chance tonight to talk to her privately. “I want you to go out with me,” he blurted out.

  Ivy wondered if he could hear the accelerated beat of her heart. He was so close, looking at her so intently, that she had to look away.

  As if she didn’t have enough complications in her life, he had to add more to it.

  Feeling the need to pull herself together, she finally responded. “No, Jonathan. We don’t make the right decisions when we’re together.”

  Jonathan reached out, lifted her hand and held it in his grasp. “You won’t even consider it?”

  There was something happening between them; Ivy could feel it, but she didn’t dare try to figure it out. Not with all that was going on in her life. She pulled her hand back and was relieved when he let it go.

  “I don’t know how many ways I can tell you no,” she said. “Should I say it in
Spanish? In Japanese? Will you get it then?”

  Jonathan threw back his head and laughed. “You got jokes. Hey, as the old people say, strangers can get married, but you really should know each other before you get an annulment.” He gave her his best smile.

  Ivy tried not to laugh. “That is ridiculous and you know it.”

  Jonathan, satisfied that his story was working, tried to keep from laughing himself. So with a straight face, he continued his tale.

  “No, seriously, my Aunt Rachel told me about a friend of hers who married a stranger, but before she got the thing annulled they went out on a couple of dates. Especially after she found out the man was wealthy.”

  Ivy frowned. “Staying with someone for financial reasons isn’t love,” she said.

  “No, it isn’t, but this woman stayed on even after he’d lost all his money.”

  “Really? So she did love him.”

  “Sure she did, and they’re still together to this day.”

  Ivy glared at him for several moments. She doubted that the story was true. “I’m going to ask Ms. Rachel about this.”

  “Go out with me, I promise you’ll have the time of your life,” he said, ignoring her last remark.

  Ivy sighed in resignation. “When do you want to go out?”

  “Friday if you’re free. We have two receptions planned, but its Myra’s turn to supervise the events.”

  “This coming weekend I really need to study the portfolio the producers of the show gave to me. I’m meeting with them next Thursday. I’ve also been asked to write a column for the weekend edition of the Post-Tribune called ‘Big Weddings, Small Budget’. The article will run in next Sunday’s paper.”

  “Even more reason to relax and have a good time. And I could help you with the article,” he offered, hoping to persuade her to say yes.

  There was a war going on in Ivy’s mind. On the one side, she didn’t want anything else to do with him. On the other side, she hadn’t been on a date in a long time. And if she did maybe he would leave her alone.

  “This Friday it is then.” She opened the door and walked out, leaving Jonathan alone. His lips curled up in a smile.