FIGHT FOR ME Read Free Page A

didn’t even know it. Whether she liked it or not, thoughts of him weren’t going anywhere.
    She wondered if he’d be at the kindergarten play. He probably would be –it would be his students up on the stage showcasing their acting talents. She hoped he would be there.

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    He was.
    Ivy had barely seen him on Wednesday or Thursday; he hadn’t talked to her except for a few brief “hellos.” But there he was, sitting in the first row of the school’s auditorium that also functioned as a cafeteria and a theatre.
    There were fake trees and rocks and grass on the raised platform at the end of the room. Soft classical music played over the hum of parents chattering.
    Ivy made her way through the parents and folding chairs to the second row. She sat down in the chair behind Lucas.
    “Is the play any good?” she asked jokingly.
    He turned around in his seat and smiled when he saw her. “I definitely think so. You’ll be proud of Emma. She’s a great fairy.”
    “I’m excited.”
    “Jess isn’t coming?”
    Ivy shook her head. “She’s at work. That reminds me…” Ivy took her phone out of her purse and pulled up the camera. “I’m here to film the play for her.”
    “She’s been working a lot lately. Is she all right?”
    Ivy bit her lip. There he went again, asking about Jess. A polite, concerned person would just ask once. Lucas had to be more than just concerned.
    “Yeah, she’s all right. It’s better than working long hours and having to worry about Emma all the time.”
    “That’s very true.” Lucas met her eyes for a moment before turning back to the stage. The music had quieted down and a short, elderly woman with frizzy hair, presumably the principal, walked up to the stage.
    “Hello everyone. Thank you for coming to our kindergarten spring play. I hope you enjoy it. From what I hear they’ve been working very hard on it. Oh, and please no flash photography during the play. There will be plenty of time to take pictures of your children in their costumes after the show.” She smiled and walked back into the audience. A polite smattering of applause filled the auditorium.
    Ivy couldn’t quite follow the plot of the play. She would get to watch it later with Jess, anyhow. She spent a good portion of the play looking at the back of Lucas’s head, neck, and shoulders.
    She could see the way his shoulders moved just slightly when he breathed, how he tilted his head to the side when surprised, how when he laughed he barely moved at all. Though she didn’t exchange one word with him during the entire forty-five minute play, she felt like she got to know him a little better.
    When Emma came on to the stage in her fairy wings and sparkly makeup, Ivy realized just how much she was enjoying staying with her sister. It had only been a few days and already, several times, her heart had beat faster than it had in years. Lucas, however confusing, was gorgeous and represented exciting possibility. Emma was adorable and made her heart warm up every time she spend time with her. Jess was someone that she knew well and really loved.
    It all made her wonder why she had spent her post-college years working all hours of the day in the name of making money and barely making any deep friendships or relationships. As Emma used her magic wand to solve the problems of the entire animal kingdom, Ivy realized that she felt… different. She didn’t want to go back to her surface life in the city.
    She liked it in Paisley.
    She vowed to explore the town this weekend instead of just staying inside with her laptop like she had the past few evenings.
    The curtains opened and the three kindergarten teachers of the school went onstage to bow with their students. Lucas looked just as adorably happy as the students as he bowed, smiling. His hair fell into his eyes and his button up shirt rode up a little above his jeans.
    When it did, Ivy thought she saw a glimpse of a large tattoo on his hip. Did she