Hollis and Ivy

by Elle Rush

  “I’d love new stuff, but I’m not going to get it. This is the next best thing.”

  “Why not? Can’t you afford—Sorry, none of my business. Sorry.”

  She didn’t mind the question—even if Hollis was playing her and taking all her dirty little secrets back to Annie. Although that didn’t seem like something he’d do after being so helpful earlier. He couldn’t make or break her business in the next week while he was in Whistler. It was all on her. Fortunately, she’d had great role models and refused to bow under the pressure. “Remember the call I got last night? And the paper I was holding? Someone cancelled my holiday vase order. It wasn’t a data entry error. Somebody faked my letterhead and faxed a cancellation notice to my supplier. Maggie has been telling me my luck isn’t truly this bad, but I can’t imagine anyone being so underhanded.”

  “Couldn’t you reorder the vases?”

  “No chance. These boxes I found downstairs are literally going to save me, because the only new ones left to choose from are so generic they won’t win me any points with customers. Now I don’t have to pay for a huge order of holiday containers, which is money in my pocket. My grandmother may have just gotten me and the store through the Christmas season.”

  Hollis was oddly quiet. “Did you say a fax? Like, a paper fax?”

  “Right? It’s certainly one way to avoid leaving digital fingerprints. It was sent from the business center, so it could be anyone.” Although she did have an idea. A vase in Love in Bloom’s window looked surprisingly familiar. She’d already set a reminder for herself to call Brian back on Monday to see if he’d tell her if her entire order had been resold as one unit, or if it had been split up among several people.

  Hollis looked thoughtful. “Will you have enough with your grandmother’s boxes?”

  “I will now. I’ll order some plain stuff as backup, but this will give me an excellent start.” If lightning struck and she went nuts with orders, she’d happily modify standard, red and green vases with Christmas bling from her craft stash. It was a problem she’d love to have.

  “If my opinion makes a difference, I’d say go your own way. I’ve dealt with florists across the country. Love in Bloom fits right in with the big chains. If you want to do that, you’ll always be up against stiff competition. If you deliberately choose to be original, the market will be wide open for you,” Hollis said.

  Ivy felt what her mom had called “her determined look” settle on her face. “You’re right. I’m not Love in Bloom. Let them keep their fifteen-carnations-and-four-sprigs-of-spruce standard designs. I can do unique. My customers will each get a one-of-a-kind centerpiece, bouquet, or whatever they order. There must be a couple hundred ornaments here. I’m going for it.” Her brain spun with possibilities. Maggie was going to have a fit. She’d been after Ivy to broaden her designs since she’d taken over the store. “I may not turn the same profit as Love in Bloom, but at least I’ll enjoy coming to work every day.”

  “How about this? I’ll finish decorating your window and the rest of the store, and you come up with some non-traditional arrangements to mix with the standard ones you’ve already made.”

  “Do you have any decorating experience?” She’d seen what her single, male friends called holiday decorations. Visions of garland hung unevenly along a shelf and a lopsided Christmas tree danced in her head.

  Hollis looked genuinely insulted. “I’d wager I know more about Christmas decorating than you do. If you aren’t impressed by the time I’m done, I will relinquish my personalized Santa hat, which is signed by Santa himself.”

  Ivy grinned. “That’s a serious wager. What will I have to put up?”

  “A second date.”

  “We haven’t even had our first one yet.”

  “If you are that worried about it, I suggest you out-design me.” He pushed up the sleeves of his sweater. “On your mark, get set, decorate!”

  Ivy pulled together a red, blue, and purple blossom-filled explosion with shiny, twisty golden rods that screamed “holiday party.” She made a long, low, cylindrical pot into the base for a lily and holly Yule log and turned a basket into a quiet woodlands-and-moonlight centerpiece for people who were looking for something less traditional.

  But her masterpiece surprised even her. She filled one of the hideous reindeer heads Hollis had found with red, white, pink, and blue flowers and affixed a small pendant to a glass candy cane ornament so the year hung, clearly visible. There was no way any parent would throw it away. They’d remember the baby’s Christmas bouquet every single year.

  She placed her hands on her hips and arched her back. “That’s it. I’m done.”

  “Great timing. Me, too.”

  “Nice job!” they said in unison as they took a minute to admire each other’s work.

  Hollis had aced it.

  He’d used a quarter of the decorations she’d provided—maybe a third—and in her humble opinion, he’d transformed Teague Flowers into a vision that gave the winter wonderland outside a run for its money. He’d augmented the reindeer, turning it from a background character that blended into the four other shades of white in the window into a lively, colorful eye-catcher that pointed to the arrangements Ivy kept handing to him.

  She’d seen him with the ladder but had been concentrating too hard on her own stuff to worry about what he’d been doing. Somehow, he’d hung ornaments and ribbons from the ceiling, creating the illusion of a floating Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which filled a blank space above her work counter. Instead of making any other large displays, he’d added touches of Christmas in unusual spaces. Customers would spy the decorations wherever they looked, but they were they were understated, which was going to work better than what she had originally planned.

  “It’s amazing. And now I have to send you away,” she continued. Ivy took a deep breath. If she could be brave with flowers, she could do the same with Hollis. She wanted this date to go well. Really wanted it. She liked Hollis more by the minute, and it would be a waste if she didn’t let him know it. She had some planning to do.

  “What?”

  “I acknowledge defeat. I need to go home and get cleaned up. I have to get ready for our dinner out. And I have a second-date outfit to organize.”

  “In that case, I will bid you adieu and meet you back here in two hours.”

  For the first time in months, she was happy to lose.

  Chapter Nine

  Hollis

  Hollis could be a gracious winner. When Ivy stepped around the corner two hours later, he became a grateful one, because any man who wasn’t grateful for such an amazing, gorgeous date didn’t deserve one.

  She hadn’t said anything about him moving the copy of the fax she’d been sent. He’d snapped a picture while he was putting away Christmas decoration bins. Maggie was right. Nobody’s luck was that bad, and he had his suspicion as to where all her trouble was originating from.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  He couldn’t believe how difficult that decision had been. Italian was usually popular but included the risk of splashing tomato sauce on his clothes. Sushi generally required chopsticks, and he wasn’t proficient. He’d thought about asking Joel, but the Coffee Run had disappeared by the time he’d come up with that idea.

  In the end, he’d decided to play it safe and wore a red shirt. “I hope you like Italian.”

  “Love it.”

  The breeze from earlier in the day had died, leaving a beautiful, still evening. They dodged tourists scampering back to their hotels with ski bags swinging from their shoulders.

  Ivy twirled spaghetti like a pro. “I love pasta,” she said before she popped a forkful into her mouth. They had already demolished the bread basket and their respective salads. Decorating and flower arranging took more energy than Hollis realized.

  “I never asked… Do you ski? You live here. I know Maggie skis. Joel and Marco snowboard. What about you?”

  “I can ski. I generally
don’t,” she told him. “I’ll snowboard on occasion. How about you? Are you going to hit the slopes while you’re here?”

  “I’m pretty sure you got this when you asked me about the gondola, but I’m not a big fan of heights.”

  “You’re not even going to try the bunny hill? It’s a towrope. Your feet never leave the ground.”

  Hollis laughed. “Nope, not even that.”

  “What do you do for fun?”

  He got her giggling at his fantasy team baseball league stories, especially when he described Nick’s reaction the first time the victory monkey video had appeared on his computer. “Plus, I play real baseball in the summer—softball, really. It’s our slow time at work.”

  They spent the rest of their meal and their walk back to the parking lot behind the store taking turns with funny stories. Hollis walked as slowly as he could to drag out their time together. He’d even talked Ivy into stopping for an ice cream cone. But at the end of the night, he had to say good-bye.

  “Will I see you at the Coffee Run tomorrow?” she asked.

  “You should. I’m here until I’m done at Love in Bloom. I can’t see me finishing up before the weekend.” If he did, he’d happily reimburse the company for a couple more nights at the hotel. They were expecting him back in the office on Monday. Between now and then, he could be where he wanted. He knew where that was. Maybe Ivy would get him on the bunny slopes after all.

  He debated kissing her goodnight. He hoped to have another chance, so instead, he simply told her to have a good night and that he’d see her in the morning. Then she was gone.

  Hollis replayed their dinner in his mind as he started walking back to the hotel. He was almost at the front entrance when he pulled his hands out of his pockets and realized his right one was bare. Since he knew he’d had both gloves when he’d held Ivy’s hand as they walked to her car, he assumed he must have lost it afterward. He backtracked until he was two doors down from Teague Flowers but still hadn’t spotted it. It had to be close.

  He didn’t expect to find a white delivery van idling behind the flower shop, especially not one with a Love in Bloom logo plastered on the side panel.

  He recognized Justin Sprouse, Annie’s toque-wearing delivery man. Before he could ask what Justin was doing, the part-time driver threw open the van’s door and hopped out holding a loosely sealed cardboard box wrapped in a plastic tarp. He set the box under Teague Flower’s fresh air intake duct, removed the wrap, and then bolted back into the van. Hollis flinched at the screech of spinning tires that left rubber on the road.

  A mysterious package left for Ivy by her number one competition? He should probably call the bomb squad—or at least Ivy.

  Hollis approached the package carefully. There weren’t any labels on it. He got close enough to hear the box wasn’t ticking. It was, however, buzzing.

  He watched in dawning horror as a red-and-black insect crawled through the cracks in the folded-over flaps, flitted to the wall, and began moving to the source of the moist air blowing on it. The invader was quickly followed by half a dozen others.

  A lady bug bomb. Not a technical term, but Hollis recognized it for what it was. Teague Flowers was about to be infested with a swarm of ladybugs. They didn’t bite or pass along West Nile, but they got into every nook and cranny and were very expensive to get rid of.

  Hollis had two options. Call Ivy back to the shop, where she’d have to call the cops and report the harassment.

  Or he could return the box to the person who sent it. Technically, arguably, he could say that he saw the Love in Bloom delivery van drop it off. Hollis could claim he was returning it back to its rightful owners.

  He didn’t need to disturb Ivy. She’d had a couple of busy days. Plus, he didn’t want the memory of their date scarred by this minor inconvenience. He’d do the friendly, helpful thing and return the box himself. When he picked up it up, he found his glove beneath it. Hollis considered it a sign he was doing the right thing.

  He didn’t leave it directly under the vent at Love in Bloom. That would have been wrong.

  He gave it at least twelve inches. Maybe thirteen.

  Chapter Ten

  Hollis

  Hollis did not arrive to his customary cup of complimentary coffee and warm croissant sitting on his desk. It took Annie ten minutes to realize he’d arrived at all.

  “I don’t have time to help you today, Hollis. We’ve been bugged. They’re everywhere. I may have to close the store!” Annie was frantically running around with a fly swatter. Every surface was covered in moving red-and-black dots. “Have you seen Justin?”

  “Not since yesterday,” he replied honestly.

  “I need to see him immediately. He made a terrible mistake.”

  Hollis didn’t have time to correct her. He needed to review her papers. Well, one specific paper. Ivy’s story the night before had reminded him of something, and he wanted to check if he was remembering things correctly.

  “Justin, get in here!” Annie yelled as soon as her hapless delivery man arrived. She closed the door behind him, and the shouting started immediately.

  Hollis dug faster. He found it at the bottom of the pile: a receipt from the Whistler Business Center. It didn’t indicate the number faxed, but the time stamp was dated two weeks earlier.

  “I said it wasn’t my fault,” Justin yelled as he stormed out of Annie’s office. “I put it exactly where you told me to, under the vent grill. It was a stupid plan anyway. And you can’t fire me. I quit!” He pulled his toque down low over his forehead and stomped out the door without a backward glance.

  Annie slapped the swatter on his desk, crunching three of the bugs near his calculator. “Hollis, I need to ask you to leave while I get this under control. I’m going to lose a whole day to this mess. It’s all Ivy Teague’s fault.”

  “Like the reviews?” Not that he had any doubt Ivy was innocent of any charges Annie threw at her.

  “Exactly.”

  “I wouldn’t make those accusations. I know for a fact Ivy had dinner out last night with people who can verify her whereabouts all evening. If you like, North Pole Unlimited can start an investigation to find out where the bugs came from. We can’t afford for any of our affiliates to be involved in vandalism.” Hollis chose his words carefully while keeping them all true. If someone were targeting one of their partners, they’d do everything they could to help. On the other hand, if a partner were a bad apple in the barrel—to paraphrase Adelaide—they had to be dealt with just as harshly.

  “That’s not necessary.” Annie walked to the storage closet in the corner of the room and pulled out two cans of bug spray. “I won’t say anything. But it is her fault.”

  She was partially right. Ivy had gotten vengeance without raising a finger. “I have an errand to run. I’ll let you deal with…” He waved his hand around the room, swatting two ladybugs circling his head at the same time.

  His first stop was at the Whistler Business Center. The owner remembered Annie; it was hard not to since he’d had to find the fax machine instruction book since neither of they knew how to use it. The machine’s memory held the last thirty numbers dialed. Imprint Glassworks was the most recent number called. Hollis printed out the memory, paid for the page, and moved on to his next stop.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ivy

  When Ivy arrived in the village on Monday morning, life was fine. Beyond fine. The sun shone brightly without blinding her with its glare. A pair of brand-new, high-end mom mobiles in matching shades of metallic gray were parked one stall apart in her lot of choice, leaving her a spot conveniently close to the Coffee Run. Their owners were nowhere to be seen until three women with matching purses burst out of Love in Bloom, flapping their hands around their heads, screaming, and cursing.

  Maggie, already waiting at the food truck, looked at Ivy in confusion as she fished in her purse for her wallet. “That’s not a normal Love in Bloom customer reaction,” Maggie said.

  “
I’ve got to know what happened in there. Go on, I’ll catch up.”

  Ivy waited for the women to cross the street. She had no idea what they were after, but she was ninety-nine percent certain it had something to do with flowers. She could do that. And offer them a discount if they added a poinsettia to the order. Hollis’s advice was slowly but surely making a dent in her surplus stock. If she had to drag customers off the street into the shop to get rid of the rest of them, she would.

  “Are you okay? Can I help you with anything?” she asked as they approached.

  “Get them off!” the leader said as she slapped herself in the head.

  “Get what off?” Ivy asked.

  “The bugs! I can feel them crawling on me!”

  Ivy didn’t see anything at first glance. Then she spotted a red dot moving on the woman’s shoulder. Ivy brushed the insect away and grabbed the woman’s flying hands. “That’s it. They’re all gone,” Ivy told her.

  “Are you sure?”

  She stood still to give Ivy a chance to work. Ivy flicked a stray bug off the woman’s purse strap, then said, “I’m sure. You’re good.” She performed the same service on the other two blondes, who finally calmed down. It was the first time she’d gotten a clear look at the invaders. How on earth had they ended up covered in ladybugs in December? “What happened?” Ivy asked.

  “We went to Love in Bloom to order our holiday thank-you gifts for our volunteers, but the store was overrun with bugs. Absolutely crawling with them.”

  “That’s horrible.” Ivy managed to say it without laughing. The lights in her shop sprang to life at the other end of the village. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I have a flower store, as well.” She pointed down the sidewalk to where Hollis’s multi-colored reindeer lit up the window. “Among other things, we’re having a sale on poinsettias if you need party decorations. Twenty percent off if you order five or more. Or, if you prefer a more individual approach, we have a guaranteed unique line at Teague Flowers. Although we offer traditional arrangements, you don’t have to get the same centerpieces you see at Love in Bloom or any of the chain florists.”