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I hate how handsome he is.
I hate how my heart is thundering like crazy.
I hate how I want to kiss him as much as I want to smack him.
“Boooooooo,” I shout, sticking my thumb down as I give him the entrance he deserves.
He frowns as he walks right up to my podium with my flyer crumpled in his hand.
“Boooooooo,” I continue to shout, completely aware of how childish and immature this is, but not caring one bit. “Shame! Shame!”
He comes right up to me, leaning over the podium and covering the mic. I hate how my heart jumps in my chest.
“What are you doing, Ivy?” he asks in a low voice. “Trying to turn the whole town against me?”
“Oh, you don’t need me for that,” I snap. “You’re going to do that all by yourself.”
His brother and sister are lingering by the side of the stage, looking uncomfortable.
“There are no donuts,” Tina tells them.
“This is absurd,” Dane says, dropping the crumpled flyer on the podium. “I didn’t expect this from you.”
The look of disappointment on his face hits me right in the gut.
No, I tell myself. I will not feel guilty. I’m right, not him.
“I’m not doing anything wrong,” he says to the room full of people. “I’m offering fair prices to anyone who wants to sell their business. Matthew Bishop wanted to retire, so I bought Jack Jameson’s Bar and Grill from him. He’s ecstatic and believe me, the wings will be just as crispy and the beers will be just as cold.”
The room laughs which I find infuriating.
“Don’t laugh!” I shout into the mic. “Don’t you see what he’s doing?”
“What am I doing?” he asks me. “I know what makes the Greene Mountains special. We want to preserve that, not destroy it. We’ve been coming here our whole lives. Kendall learned how to swim in Gilmore Lake, and Travis had his first kiss under the bleachers at the baseball field.”
“I’m still looking for her if anyone knows who she is,” Travis says, raising his arm. “Her name is like Lauren or Lisa or Leslie. Something like that.”
“Now they’re taking our women too?” I say, but even I know I’ve lost. I hear the desperation in my tone. I sound pathetic.
“If there’s anyone trying to take over the town,” Dane says, narrowing his eyes on me. “It’s you, Ivy. Why should someone not be able to sell if they want to, all because you’ve decided it’s immoral?”
People start nodding and murmuring. He’s even stealing the crowd from me.
“She didn’t even bring donuts!” Tiffany shouts.
Fuck this.
I grit my teeth and step down from the podium. A sharp pain grips my chest as I suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to cry.
I won’t cry in front of Dane. I refuse to let him see me weak.
So, I rush out of the town hall, bursting out the back door.
Tears flow out before the door slams shut.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ivy
