She shrugged. “Keeps me busy.”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t sure what it was, but something was definitely off here.
“You know, small town. Take work where you can get it.”
She looked more uncomfortable than he’d ever seen her and Tanner couldn’t help but wonder why. Was she embarrassed that he’d discovered she worked more than one job? She shouldn’t be. He had nothing but respect for hardworking people. “What do you do here?”
“Oh, a little bit of everything, I guess,” she said, a little vaguely. “Whatever needs doing. Shearing the trees, watering, weed removal when they get bad.” She kicked the toe of her boot at one of the offending weeds. “You know, farm stuff.”
“Right. And wedding planning.” He studied her and noticed that her gaze hadn’t met his squarely since the first moment she’d spotted him. Strange behavior for the most upfront, unafraid of confrontation woman he’d ever known.
“But what are you doing over here?” she countered. “I thought you pretty much considered this place enemy territory.”
Yeah, he had. Now though, standing in this forest of neatly tended trees with the sound of children’s laughter ringing out around him, he couldn’t really remember why.
“Well, I started thinking and realized that you might have been right about something.”
“I like it already,” she said.
“I’m sure,” he said wryly. He’d never known a woman yet who didn’t love hearing that she was right about something. “Anyway, you said I should have talked to the farm owner and I realized that you had a point. Thought that before I try to find the owner though, I should look around. Get a feel for the place.”
“And, what do you think of it?”
He nodded, letting his gaze slide across the area as he said, “It’s…nice. I met a little girl, helped her fix the name tag on her tree.”
Ivy smiled at him. “That’s part of the Adopt-a-Tree program.” She started walking back toward the front of the farm and Tanner fell into step beside her, listening as she continued.
“The wooden ornaments are just used for identifying tags now. That’s why they’re in plastic sleeves, to protect them from the weather. But when the families come to cut down the tree, the tags go home with them as a keepsake ornament.”
“Ellie did seem proud of the job she did on it,” he mused.
Ivy laughed. “All of the kids are. And you wouldn’t believe the different artwork they come up with. I’ve seen everything from daisies to space aliens on those tags.”
“Well sure,” Tanner said, “Merry Christmas Aliens.”
“You got it,” she agreed, laughing. “Anyway, we’ve got a craft table set up in the gift shop. The kids decorate the tags, then go out with their families to choose their tree. They get to hang the first symbolic ornament on it to stake their claim.”
He’d picked up on one word in that description. “We have a craft table?”
She shrugged. “Well, I just meant we as in Angel Christmas Tree Farm. Anyway, most families tend to make a day of it when they’re here to choose their trees. They come and have lunch, let the kids paint and then head into the farm to look for the perfect Christmas tree.”
He lifted his gaze to the trees they passed. “They all look pretty perfect to me.”
“Isn’t that a nice thing to say. And here I thought you hated Christmas.”
“Hard to hate a tree,” he said.
“There might be hope for you yet,” Ivy said, turning her face up to his. He stared into her blue eyes and felt something in his chest tighten. When a slow smile curved her mouth, that tightness became almost unbearable.
All he could think about was grabbing her and kissing her until the deep, raw hunger inside him was eased. But he couldn’t do that here and now. So the only safe bet was to keep moving.
“Since you work here,” he asked, “can you take a break and show me around?”
“I’d love to.”
“You won’t get in trouble with the boss?”
Her mouth quirked. “I think the boss will understand.” She tucked her arm through his and he felt the heat of her body pressed against him. “What do you want to see first?”
Her naked, but that probably wasn’t what she meant. So he dialed back on the desire pumping through him and decided to assuage a different kind of hunger for the moment.
“Honestly,” he admitted, “how about the snack bar? Ever since I got here, I’ve been smelling those hot dogs.”
“No wonder you’re hungry. You’re awake early today. I’m not even due at your place for another three hours.”
“Yeah,” he said, his gaze caught on the way the sunlight played on her hair. “I seem to be doing that more and more lately.”
Her smile widened. “I’m glad. You should see the sun occasionally, Tanner. Don’t want to turn into a mole.”
He didn’t say anything, but privately, he knew the reason for his switch in hours had nothing to do with sunlight. It was all about seeing her. Spending more time with her when she was at the house. Listening to her and laughing with her.
And as he followed after her on the way to the snack stand, his gaze dropped to the curve of her behind and he told himself that getting up earlier certainly had its perks.
Six
Ivy was finally starting to relax enough to enjoy having Tanner on her farm. When she had first spotted him standing in the sunshine, Ivy’s heart had nearly stopped. In a flash, dozens of thoughts had rushed through her mind, most of them revolving around how to keep him from finding out she owned the farm. But she needn’t have worried after all. Her employees all knew that she was working part time for Tanner. And they knew why.
She glanced up at him as they walked slowly down a row of Scotch pines. His gaze was sharp and constantly moving. He was taking it all in and she couldn’t help wondering what he thought of her home. Of her family’s pride and joy.
But she couldn’t ask. Couldn’t even hint at her real identity—which went against the grain for her. She hated lying. And for the first time since she’d met him, Ivy had actually lied to Tanner. Before, it had all been omissions, just keeping quiet about the truth. Now, she’d been forced to actively lie and she wasn’t very comfortable with that.
Still, she couldn’t see that she had any choice, so she was trying to make the best of the situation. Now that she had him on her turf, she was going to take full advantage of it. They shared hot dogs and sodas, then she took him on a tour of the gift shop. One of the girls working the shop had taken one look at Tanner and practically melted on the spot. But then, Ivy couldn’t blame Kathy for that, she supposed, since she felt the same way. Every time she got anywhere close to Tanner, her body lit up like a summer fireworks show.