‘So, you wouldn’t mind if Tessa got ready with us?’ Ivy asked.
‘Of course not, my darling,’ her grandmother replied. ‘In fact, I think I shall request that all the staff dress for the occasion, rather than wear their uniforms.’
Ivy decided then and there that she was going to find a way for Tessa to show up tonight on an equal footing with Her High and Mighty Majesty. ‘Thank you, Grandmother,’ she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She leaped to her feet, ready to run and tell Olivia the good news.
But what she saw in the doorway froze her like a statue: a blond-haired, blue-eyed, familiar face was holding a big backpack and grinning at her.
‘Jackson Caulfield,’ Ivy breathed.
‘The one and only,’ he said, winking. Then he turned to Ivy’s grandmother. ‘Countess Lazar,’ Jackson said, giving a formal bow. ‘I’m Jackson Caulfield.’ He strode across the room towards the Countess. ‘This room looks incredible.’
‘Why, thank you,’ the Countess said, smiling. ‘You must be the friend that my son was talking about.’
Ivy was confused. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Well,’ Jackson said, ‘I wanted to do something really special for Olivia for Valentine’s Day and when I heard that she wasn’t even going to be in the country, I had to do something drastic. Mr Vega let me in on the details of your trip here and the ball. I couldn’t resist showing up as a surprise. So . . . surprise!’
Ivy gulped. ‘Surprise . . .’ she replied weakly. All Ivy could think about was Olivia walking into the ball on Alex’s arm. This is spiralling totally out of control, she thought, gulping hard. This could not get any worse.
‘Does Olivia like the dress?’ Jackson asked, eyes shining.
Oh no. It’s just got worse. The dress was from Jackson. Alex hadn’t sent it after all . . . which meant that Olivia was about to make a fool of herself!
‘Ivy?’ Jackson asked, his smile faltering. ‘Is everything OK? You look . . . pale.’
‘No, no, everything’s fine,’ she said, rushing to give him a quick welcome hug. ‘Absolutely great. Olivia will be thrilled to see you!’ She was smiling so hard she thought her face would break.
‘You sent a dress?’ the Countess asked, clearly impressed.
‘She loves it,’ Ivy said.
Jackson’s mysterious text message, the perfect-for-Olivia dress, even the odd meeting in the mall could be explained by Jackson’s Valentine’s Day plan.
Ivy realised that S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E really spelled D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Olivia was with Prince Alex right now, thinking the dress was from him. She was also thinking that Jackson might not even like her any more. And to top it all off, Olivia had a date for the ball that wasn’t her boyfriend.
Ivy was going to have to find her sister before Jackson did and warn her. She decided to get him out of the way first.
‘Um, great!’ Ivy said brightly. ‘Why don’t I take you on a tour of the house and show you to your room?’
‘He’s in the east wing, near your father,’ the Countess said.
‘East wing,’ Ivy muttered.
As long as Olivia and Alex aren’t on the way to the east wing, we’ll be fine, Ivy thought to herself.
‘Why don’t we drop off your stuff before we find my sister?’ Ivy suggested and didn’t wait for a response. She grabbed Jackson’s elbow and steered him out of the ballroom and down the hallway. They passed a grandfather clock, ticking loudly. Ivy tried to control the simmering panic. Time’s running out, she realised. And I’m the only one who can fix this!
‘This is a beautiful room,’ Olivia said, looking up at the floor-to-ceiling shelves of books in the library. ‘I haven’t had a chance to look at it closely yet.’
Prince Alex gave her a curious look. ‘But we sat in here and talked yesterday,’ he said.
‘Oh, um, that’s right.’ Alex was thinking of Ivy’s impersonation, she realised. ‘But a collection like this can always be examined more thoroughly.’ She hoped that was enough to cover her slip-up.
She set the box with the dress down between them. ‘You’ve gone out of your way to welcome me to Transylvania, and I’m really grateful.’
‘I’m happy to,’ Alex said. Olivia tried not to wince. He really was such a nice guy and having to tell him that she only wanted to be friends made her feel awful.
She was just going to have to come right out and say it. ‘I am honoured to walk into the ball on your arm but –’
‘But not as honoured as I will be,’ Alex interrupted.
Olivia tried again. ‘I mean, I know that it’s Valentine’s Day –’
‘The day to spend with the one you love,’ Alex cut in.
This could not get any worse, Olivia thought.
She took a deep breath. ‘Look, Alex, I just don’t feel that way about you.’
Alex sat back a little and blinked.
Olivia rushed on. ‘I’m sorry not to have said anything sooner, but I have a boyfriend and –’
His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head to one side. ‘I know that.’
‘You know?’ Olivia was caught off guard.
‘Well, I didn’t know that you had a boyfriend, but I knew you weren’t interested in me,’ he replied. ‘You didn’t think I . . .’ Alex began and Olivia realised that he didn’t look hurt at all. Just confused.
‘Um, well, I . . .’ Olivia didn’t know what to say now.
‘Olivia, I think you are an amazing person – so positive and kind, even when some people disapprove.’ Alex smiled at her. ‘But I could not be interested in you romantically.’ He paused for a breath. ‘My heart belongs to someone else.’
Olivia was dumbfounded. ‘Who?’
‘You haven’t guessed?’ Alex said with a sad smile on his face. ‘I would have thought to someone as romantic as you it would have been obvious.’
‘Er . . .’ Olivia blinked. ‘I haven’t noticed.’
But at least it isn’t me, she thought, relieved that she wasn’t offending him at all.
‘What about the dress?’ Olivia asked.
‘What dress?’ Alex responded.
She pointed at the big box on the table. ‘That dress.’