Hey Friends!
Just to give you an update, Dreaming of Ivy is almost done! I just got the cover yesterday so without further ado:
I know, I know! Gorgeous, huh? And in case you were curious, here's Chapter 1:
Chapter
1 - Nerves
You're never going to guess what happens next. Big hint. Becket :)
Okay, okay, I'm done torturing you. Hope your summer is fabulous so far - if not, grab your Kindle, a blanket and get outside and get some Vitamin D :)
Hugs,
Shannon
Just to give you an update, Dreaming of Ivy is almost done! I just got the cover yesterday so without further ado:
I know, I know! Gorgeous, huh? And in case you were curious, here's Chapter 1:
Chapter
1 - Nerves
Ivy wrapped her arms around her
knees as she stared out over the gray, choppy water of the Puget Sound. Kenya, her labradoodle nudged her knee with
her nose and she automatically ran her hand over the springy curls of her dog.
“Go play Kenya,” she urged and
smiled as the dog wandered off to nose a suspicious pile of dried seaweed.
She sighed as she watched her sister
Rayne and Cleo come into view. They’d gone for a walk down the shore but were
already coming back. She frowned and
closed her eyes as a little sigh slipped out.
Having her own personal bodyguard and an overprotective sister meant
that it was very rare to have any time to herself to just sit and think. She could hide out in her room at home, but
there was just something about staring out at the water and feeling the salty
breeze on her face that brought peace like nothing else.
That was what she was after today. A
little peace. She glanced at Rayne and
Cleo and relaxed a little as they looked like they were going to pause for a
little chat. Probably talking about
Rayne’s upcoming wedding to Garrett Murphy.
Ivy smiled a little as she rested
her chin on her knees. Growing up with
her parents meant that everything was controlled. Their diet, their schedule,
their school and teachers, the subjects they studied, their friends, their everything. She had grown up watching Rayne rise to the
occasion as the perfect daughter. She was beautiful, poised and luckily enough,
a very talented pianist which fit in with their parents list of
requirements.
Rayne had left home at nineteen to
travel the world and play the piano. In the beginning she had loved it and had
enjoyed the spotlight, but their parents had pushed for more and more. They
wanted more acclaim for their daughter. They had wanted it all. Until Rayne had
begun looking tense and unhappy and tired. She’d burned out and when she’d
confronted their parents about taking a break they’d laughed at her.
And Ivy had sat back and watched and
had done nothing to help her sister. But
in her defense, her parents weren’t in the habit of listening to their troubled
daughter. In every way that Rayne had
risen to the challenge and become the woman their parents had dreamed of, she
had gone the opposite direction. Poor grades. Poor social skills. Poor
self-esteem. Poor everything except for her bank account. The only place she
had enough.
Growing up wealthy meant she never
went without clothes or food or cars or entertainment, but it also meant her
parents had the privilege of pawning her off on tutors, therapists and camps.
While her parents had been busy traveling the world with Rayne, she’d been left
at home in the hopes that someday her mom and dad would return home and find
her a changed woman. Normal. Happy. Perfect.
Ivy smiled grimly at the darkening
skies and shook her head. A few years
ago when she’d switched therapists, she’d found someone who had seen past all
of the years of neglect to what lay underneath it all. A bad case of O.C.D. and the dangerous signs
of anorexia that went hand in hand with it.
She’d been admitted to a facility that specialized in eating disorders
and had stayed for six months. During that time, she had been given the correct
medication to treat her O.C.D. and given the skills she needed to deal with
life and her eating habits.
She’d also learned something
amazing. She was okay. And hadn’t that come as a shock to her
parents. Take away the O.C.D. and add in quality therapy and she was well on
her way to being and feeling normal. Ivy
grinned as the wind lifted the hair off her face and pushed against her.
Before her parents had died in the
car crash, she had been in the process of finding an apartment and moving
out. Rayne had been a huge support and
had gone up against their parents on her behalf and she’d forever be grateful
for that. But then her parents had died and she’d gone spiraling back down into
the dark. Rayne had been forced to take
her to psychiatric hospital for a couple days until she’d gotten herself
together.
But living here in Fircrest
Washington with Rayne and Cleo she was gaining her strength. She was stronger
every day and she was finding her own path.
And for the first time in her life,
she was happy.
Happy and yet vulnerable too. It was
a scary thing to know that someone might want you dead. Since moving to Fircrest, she’d been shot in
the arm and shoulder by a drive-by shooter and had ended up moving across town
to live in Garrett’s house. And then a
few days after that, Rayne had been attacked. Luckily it had happened right
across from their house and Garrett had been there to save her, but it had been
close call. With the man behind bars awaiting trial, they felt relief, but
Garrett was positive that whoever hired him was just going to hire someone else
to try again.
Rayne tried to hide the fact that
she was worried, but she knew her sister.
On the other hand, they now had a small army of people looking out for
them. Garrett, her sister’s fiancé was a
Marine and he was always around the house doing little projects with the
yard. His business partner and friend,
Becket Lowell was in the habit of showing up at the oddest times too and she
suspected he was there to keep an eye on her.
Good thing she didn’t mind that one
bit since he was gorgeous, but sometimes he made her nervous too. Sometimes
she’d catch him looking at her with a quiet, intense look in his eyes and she’d
end up stammering and blushing and running away.
Ivy grimaced and ran her hands
through her long, brown hair. It was so
mortifying to finally be around a man she would love to date and at the same
time have the social skills of an eighth grader. Good thing she could hang out
with Asher, Garrett’s younger brother.
He had hired her as the lead singer in his band, Murphy’s Law a few
months ago after hearing her sing karaoke.
They had fun singing in bars and other small venues around Fircrest and
Tacoma but it was very laid back which worked for her. A high pressure music career would send her
into the nearest closet.
Asher had been talking lately about
hiring a publicist and a manager but she had vetoed that. She didn’t want to
travel on a bus with a bunch of guys. She finally had a home and she wanted to
stay there. Music was fun but not at the expense of her emotional health.
No, she had finally found a place
she belonged. She no longer lived in an empty mansion in San Diego. Now she
lived in an old home built in the early 1900’s with her sister and Cleo and
five dogs. Sometimes it was so noisy and full of people she felt like covering
her ears. But usually, it just made her
smile.
She stared up at the gray and stormy
sky and knew they’d be leaving soon before they got drenched. She closed her
eyes and searched for peace and then gave up. Her problem wasn’t internal, it
was external. Asher Murphy had asked her
to dinner and she didn’t know what to do.
She couldn’t talk to Cleo about it because she knew Cleo had hopes of
dating Asher herself and the thought of hurting Cleo made her sick to her
stomach. She could talk to Rayne about it, but Rayne was so happy and in love
that it was hard to fit into the same room with her and her big smile.
Plus, she already knew what Rayne
would say. Do what you think is right.
Yeah, so easy. And it would be. It’d be the easiest thing in
the world to date Asher. She was
completely relaxed around him. They laughed and got along like long lost
friends. He was a guy she could burp
around and not be embarrassed. But he was pushing for more and she didn’t know
what to do. She didn’t want to hurt his
feelings but more than that, she didn’t want it to affect the band. The other guys were always teasing her that
Asher always dated the lead singer. But for
some reason that just made her uncomfortable.
Was it possible to be friends with a
man without it having to turn romantic?
She groaned and stretched out her legs.
If Becket would just ask her out then she could keep Asher at arm’s
length, but no matter how many times he would stare at her with that warm,
intense look in his eyes, he had never once asked her out. Of course if he had, she’d probably have
passed out on the spot, but it still would have been nice.
You're never going to guess what happens next. Big hint. Becket :)
Okay, okay, I'm done torturing you. Hope your summer is fabulous so far - if not, grab your Kindle, a blanket and get outside and get some Vitamin D :)
Hugs,
Shannon
