Page 1 of Resisting the Handsome Doctor
Chapter 1 - Ivy
The invitation sits on my kitchen counter for three weeks before I finally throw it away.
*Blackwater Falls High School – Class of 2010 – 15th Reunion*
The cardstock is thick and expensive, cream-colored with gold lettering that probably cost more than my grocery budget for the month. Someone on the reunion committee really went all out. I imagine it's probably Jessica Morton.
She was class president, prom queen, the kind of girl who glowed. She probably has a perfect life now. Husband, kids, a house that looks like it belongs in a magazine.
I don't know that for sure. I deleted my Facebook account years ago because watching everyone else's highlight reel was slowly killing me.
The invitation goes in the trash on a Tuesday morning, buried under coffee grounds and junk mail where it belongs. I feel better immediately. Lighter. Like I've made a decision instead of just letting one make itself.
Then Levi calls.
"Please tell me you're going to the reunion," he says without preamble.
No hello, no how are you. That's Levi, straight to the point, especially when he knows I'm trying to avoid something.
I tuck my phone between my shoulder and ear, shelving returned books in the quiet of the library. It's almost closing time on a Wednesday, which means the place is empty except for old Mr. Peterson dozing in his usual chair by the window.
"I threw away the invitation."
"Ivy."
"What? I'm not going to know anyone there."
"You went to school with all of them."
"I went to the same building as all of them. That's not the same thing." I slide Pride and Prejudice back into its slot, running my fingers along the worn spine. I've read it probably fifty times. Sometimes I think Elizabeth Bennet is the only woman who's ever really understood me, and she's fictional. That probably says something about my life.
Levi sighs, and I can picture him in his kitchen, phone pressed to his ear while he preps for dinner. He moved back to Blackwater Falls months ago to open Juniper’s, and it's been like having a piece of my heart return home. He's the only person in this town who's ever really seen me. "You know I'd go with you if I could."
"I know, but you’re older. It's fine. I wasn't planning to go anyway."
"Bullshit. You were thinking about it."
I was. For about thirty seconds after I opened the invitation, before reality set in. Before I remembered what high school actually felt like: moving through hallways like a ghost, sitting alone at lunch with a book, watching everyone else live lives I'd never be part of. "Well, I'm not thinking about it anymore."
"Owen's coming."
My hand freezes halfway to the shelf. The Great Gatsby dangles from my fingers.
"Ivy? You still there?"
"Yeah." My voice sounds strange. Thin. "That's... that's good. You guys will have fun."
“You know I can’t go."
"Right. Sorry. I got confused." I didn't forget. My brain is just currently short-circuiting because Levi said Owen's name and apparently I'm still seventeen years old inside.
"He's driving up Friday afternoon. Staying at Granddad's house through the weekend." Levi pauses, and I know him well enough to hear the calculation in that silence. "He asked if you still live in town."
"Why would he ask that?"
"Probably because he wants to see you."
"He doesn't even remember me."
