Page 23 of Summer Serenade
CHAPTER SIX
Sunday morning, a knock sounded on Ivy’s door. Still in bed, she blinked open her eyes. Sunlight streamed in through the edges of the blinds, but she didn’t feel rested. On the pillow to her left, her cat, Pearl, slept soundly, her gray body stretched out and her front paws reaching toward Ivy.
Ivy grabbed her cell phone off the dresser that also functioned as a nightstand. Ten o’clock. Not that late considering she’d been up off and on all night. A text from her uncle told her he’d be by later with a nondisclosure agreement from Nash Bennett.
She sighed.
Of course Nash would want her to sign one. Given the way he’d looked at her last night, he probably thought she was a manic fan or something. She would happily play that role if doing so meant she’d never see him again.
Another knock.
That had to be her uncle. She would sign the NDA and then forget about Nash once and for all.
Ivy crawled out of bed and then shuffled a few feet across the carpeted floor of her studio apartment. At least she was decently dressed in a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirt. She opened the door.
Her jaw dropped.
Nash Bennett.
He wore a beanie instead of the cowboy hat he was known for but no sunglasses. She stared, not quite believing it was him. Her fingers tightened around the doorknob.
The action snapped her out of being dazed. She didn’t want to talk to him. Now or ever.
Ivy went to close the door except a booted foot stopped her. She tried pushing, but the door remained half-open with him in the way. “Move your foot.”
“I have to talk to you.” His gaze implored her. “Please, Ivy. Hear me out. A few minutes is all I’m asking.”
A new neighbor who worked at the gas station exited his apartment. He glanced her way. “You okay, Ivy?”
Was she? She had no idea but found herself nodding and waving to the guy whose name she’d blanked on. He headed toward his car.
Ivy glanced around to see if anyone else was in listening range. “If I hear you out, will you leave me alone?”
Nash exhaled. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.” She’d told him that last night.
Hoping she didn’t regret this, Ivy motioned him into her apartment. That was as much of an invitation as she would extend.
As he entered, he removed his beanie. “Thank you.”
She closed the door behind him.
Surveying the room, he fingered his beanie.
Ivy could only imagine what he saw—a tiny apartment that needed to be cleaned. He probably lived in a mansion on a huge piece of property. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nice place,” he said finally.
Her bed was unmade. Dirty clothes lay in a pile on the floor next to her shoes. An electronic keyboard, guitars, notebooks, and pieces of paper covered the table next to the small kitchen and both chairs. But the rent was affordable and allowed her to save money each month. Pearl didn’t seem to mind the cozy quarters. Neither did Ivy.
“It’s a mess.” No sense denying the obvious. “I wasn’t expecting company.”
“I didn’t think you’d take my call. Not that I have your number.” He stared at her bed. “You have a cat.”
“Pearl.”
Hearing her name woke the feline. She stretched more until she was on Ivy’s pillow, too.
