“And that would be just fine with you?”

I groaned. “You’re a broken record. Why can’t we talk about your uterus or something? Braxton Hicks contractions? Mucus plugs? I’d take mucus plugs over this.”

“I mean, if you really want to talk about my body fluids, I’m here for it. Just not as an avoidance tactic. You know,” she said, stepping closer and lowering her voice, “I heard him talking to Kash in the greenhouse yesterday about you, and it was all hearts and flowers.”

“Well, we do work in a flower shop.”

“He likes you, Tess,” she insisted.

“For now. For right now. I can’t expect anything else but that.”

She eyed me. “Tess, let me tell you something. Something straight from the mouth of your fling queen.” She paused. “Are you listening?”

I folded my arms, frowning at her. Because I was a hundred percent sure I didn’t want to hear what she was going to say.

“I’m listening,” I assured her.

“Flings don’t happen every day for three weeks. Flings don’t spend every waking minute with each other. They don’t eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Whatever this is, it is not a fling. Luke and I? We had a fling—it was never going anywhere, and neither of us wanted it to. He and I fooled around for ages, but never, not once, did he ever look at me like he looks at you. So I’d encourage you to think about that for a hot second and figure out what your next move is. Because if you aren’t interested in dating him, you’d better quit this. Now.”

Cold dread shot through me, followed by a hot burst of possession and defiance at the thought of quitting Luke. I didn’t want this to end, and I didn’t want to walk away. Where would I even go? Wherever I was, so was he. And his presence was the bright spot in every single day.

I didn’t even have to speak.

Ivy lit up with smug certainty. “Aha! That. Right there.” She pointed at my face. “That feeling you have right now? That raging no that just screamed through you? That’s why he’s your boyfriend. And he wants to be. So quit fighting it and just say so already, for God’s sake. It’s not like everyone doesn’t know anyway.”

I sucked a noisy breath through my nose since my jaw was locked shut.

Ivy looked mighty proud of herself. The sight made me want to both cry and throttle her.

Because she was right, and the realization that Luke and I were in a relationship was an ice bucket on my thin delusion. And here I’d been, so happy pretending, and along came Ivy, who had to ruin everything with her damnable truth, the one I’d been avoiding. But now, it had been said. And once a thing was said, the only thing you could do was own up to it.

Ivy rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand what the problem is, Tess.”