Finding Love in Ivy Falls

Chapter Six

MANNY

Do Not Slide Into My DMs

‘I can’t believe you’re tagged in all of these.’

I didn’t like the quiver in Tess’ voice. Hell, I hated any time she wasn’t smiling and happy. And those bluish shadows under her eyes warned she hadn’t slept well last night. Maybe I should have asked to stay, but I was taking my cues from her, and by her body language, and the way she shuffled me and Lou out the door, it was clear she’d wanted to be alone. Needed time to think.

‘Yep. The alerts have been going off all morning,’ I confessed. ‘I’d turn off the damn phone if I didn’t need to stay available in case Lou needs me.’

‘That girl from the square who wanted a selfie.’ Her voice went firm as she stared at my screen. ‘Even though we asked her not to, she still took a picture of you at the festival and posted it.’

I should have known better than to wear that costume in public. Usually I only had to deal with town gossip, but thanks to social media, my choice had turned into a total nightmare.

‘She wasn’t the only one,’ I huffed, not wanting to discuss the dozens of other images I’d been tagged in. Thank God Lou wasn’t in any of them.

‘Can I scroll through?’ she asked.

I gave a curt nod. From her sudden stuttering breaths, it was obvious she’d gotten to the numerous propositions and requests for inappropriate photos.

‘Did you see this one?’ she said with a roughness that chilled me. ‘You’re not tagged, but there’s a specific hashtag the fans use for you.’

Yeah, I knew about the ‘Manny the Zaddy’ bullshit.

‘The picture is a candid. It was taken from across the square, but it’s clearly you pulling Lou out of the apple-bobbing barrel.’

‘What?’ My voice broke as I took the phone.

Sure enough, @mannyfan912 had posted a picture of Lou in a towel after her apple-bobbing escapade. The caption read:

Manny the Zaddy is really the cutest daddy.

‘No,’ I spat out. ‘How can people be okay with posting pictures of my child?’

‘Unfortunately, there are people who have zero morals when it comes to posting anything about a celebrity.’

‘Celebrity?’ I choked on the word. ‘Tess, I am not a celebrity.’

She ran a warm hand down my arm, and I wished it slowed my racing heart, but seeing the photo set off alarm bells in my head.

‘Can I get the person to take it down?’

Her lips thinned. ‘Probably not.’

‘I could reach out. Say I don’t want pictures of my child shared online.’

She gave me a pained gaze. ‘Sadly, I think any communication with this person could only lead to more issues. Encourage her to be even more thoughtless.’

When Torran and I agreed to do our TV show, I never thought people would take notice of me. I wore ratty baseball caps. Wood stain usually colored my fingers and nails. And most days, I didn’t shave because I was too busy feeding our animals. Making sure Lou had her backpack and lunch before we raced out the door for school.

I purposefully stayed in the background while Torran did most of the on-camera work. There were a few situations when I had to explain how we’d refinished the kitchen cabinets, or talk about the hours it took me to restore the home’s staircase, but for the most part, I let Torran be the face of the show.

Unfortunately, my attempts at anonymity hadn’t worked. As soon as Episode Two – titled ‘To Replace or to Refinish; That is The Question’ (corny, yes, I know) – aired, both our business and social media platforms blew up. One day I had 140 followers, the next it was closer to 15,000. I hadn’t bothered to look recently – too afraid, I guess – but Torran’s account was close to 400,000. Thinking about that number made my head hurt.

The majority of the comments and direct messages made me shudder. Some people were kind. Wanted to compliment the show. But most of the DMs were so inappropriate, I started locking my phone, too afraid Lou would see some of the propositions which ranged from marriage proposals to sexual positions I was sure weren’t possible, no matter how flexible you claimed to be.

I’d spent most of my life flying under the radar, keeping my head down and giving Lou the most normal childhood possible. The show was a way for Torran and me to save the important houses in Ivy Falls, as well as bring business to our little town that had been struggling financially for years. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought the attention would become this overwhelming or ridiculous.

Now that someone had posted a photo of Lou, the whole situation made me more uncomfortable than the rash I got after I bought that generic laundry soap at Minnie’s Market.

‘You can start calming things down by asking Lauren to turn off the show’s comments,’ Tess said.

She chewed on her bottom lip. The nervous twitch in her cheek was barely visible if you didn’t know to look for it – but I knew all of her tells. When she was nervous, her leg did a little bounce. If she was deep in thought, she’d pull some hair off her shoulder and twist it around her pinkie. Each day I noticed something new about her, and I loved every moment she let me be in her orbit.

‘Do you still have that account you made so your in-laws could see pictures of Lou?’

‘Hell, is that a problem too?’

She grimaced and tapped at my phone again. A second later she turned the screen to me. ‘I set it to private. No one can get access now unless you approve them.’

‘How do you know how to do that?’

She went back to scrolling. ‘Once I took over the store, I started social media accounts to promote events, new releases and author visits. Every once in a while, we get an inappropriate comment or direct message, which I quickly block and delete.’

‘I didn’t think about people being so… bold. This all happened so fast. Too fast.’

‘I’m sure Torran is getting this kind of stuff too. Both of you should discuss this with Lauren. Ensure the Hearth and Home network is protecting your privacy.’

‘We’re supposed to see Lauren later today after she finishes meeting with your dad. She wants to talk about the “run and gun” style the film crew wants to use to shoot this season.’

‘Look at you being all fancy with the lingo,’ she teased.

I shrugged. ‘When you’re around the crew for long hours, you pick it up.’

‘Well, now you’re learning about the dos and don’ts of social media.’

She handed me back my phone, giving me that sweet-as-sunshine smile that made my brain go fuzzy. I followed her to the back wall, where she ran her hand over the exposed brick.

‘What do you think about this space for the coffee bar? We’ll have to move some displays and shelves. Rearrange a few things about the layout of the store.’

Light flooded in through a small transom window, turning her hair a deep red as she kept talking. It would be so easy to reach out and cup my hand around the back of her soft neck. Pull her into a deep kiss that made her breath hitch. It was something I’d been dreaming about for a while. Wanting for much longer than that.

I must have stared at her for too long, because she reached out and waved a hand in front of my face. ‘Manny, did you hear me?’

‘Yeah,’ I lied. ‘But say it for me one more time.’

She gave an exasperated sigh. ‘I asked if the space would work. How much demo there’ll need to be.’

‘Who’s the one throwing out the lingo now?’ I teased.

She laughed, and I swear a squadron of jets took flight in my chest.

‘I’ll get the original plans. Take a look at this section and make sure there isn’t an issue with load-bearing.’

‘I trust you with whatever you need to do.’

She beamed that bright smile again, and I nearly lost my mind with ache. With each passing day, it grew harder to be around Tess. The light in her eyes, her bubbly laugh, were things I craved. I knew she was still struggling with raising her girls alone. Hurt by what her ex had pulled. But I wasn’t sure how long I could continue to stay in the friend zone with her. Stand so close as her rose and spice scent washed over me and not touch her, not whisper in her ear all the ways I wanted to show her how I felt.

I’d lost Gina nine years ago, and my heart had fewer cracks these days. Time spackling over the parts that used to have dark, deep crevices. I was ready for companionship, possibly love. I wanted that chance with Tess. She’d woven her way into our lives so seamlessly. I woke up thinking about her and all the ways I could make excuses to stop by the bookstore. How we could take her girls and Lou to a movie, or to the Dairy Dip for their favorite ice cream. At night, her gentle blue eyes were the last thing I pictured before I went to sleep.

It was getting increasingly difficult to keep my mouth shut, swallow down my growing feelings while I was around her, but there was an unseen line she’d drawn for us, and I refused to cross it until she invited me into a more intimate part of her life.

‘You sure you’re okay?’ she said as if sensing my mood change.

‘Yeah, I’m all good.’ I swallowed back all the things I wanted to say. ‘Are we still on to take the girls apple-picking on Sunday?’

‘Of course. We can’t wait.’

The sweet tone in her voice shot heat to several spots in my body. My mind racing back to that kiss I wanted so badly.

‘Gotta go,’ I mumbled. ‘Your sister is waiting for me at the old Thomas Place.’

I shoved my phone back into my pocket, ignoring the continuing alerts, and not letting myself wish that one of those proposition texts was from her.