Ivy continued ranting, but Olivia was distracted by the sight of a book-signing going on in the bookstore ahead of them. Wistfulness pricked her. The last time she’d been here for a signing, it had been when Jackson was autographing copies of Jackson’s Journal. If she half closed her eyes, she could still see him sitting there at the front table, his blond hair gleaming in the store lights as he smiled straight at her . . .
No, Olivia told herself firmly. She was over Jackson. Over, over, over. And – she checked out the poster – this was definitely not Jackson’s signing. No, this author was called S. K. Reardon, and . . .
. . . No way ! S. K. Reardon was the author of Bare Throats at Sunset. Holly would love this!
Olivia reached into her bag to grab her cell phone. ‘I’ve got to let Holly know who’s here,’ she said, cutting across Ivy’s garlic rant. She pointed in the direction of the bookstore. ‘Look – it’s that author Holly’s always going on about. I can’t wait to hear her reaction!’
‘Wait a minute!’ Ivy put out a hand to stop her before she could press a single key on the phone. ‘What are you doing? We’re on a mission. We can’t have any old bunny tagging along for the ride!’
‘Come on, Ivy.’ Olivia sighed. ‘We can at least let Holly know her favourite author is in Franklin Grove. Don’t you even want to make amends for the pizza incident?’
Ivy scowled. ‘If this is Holly’s favourite author, she’d already know where he’s appearing. Otherwise, what sort of fan is she?’
‘Oh, not this again.’ Olivia gritted her teeth.
‘All I’m saying –’
‘Don’t,’ Olivia pleaded. ‘Just don’t say anything mean about her, OK? She’s the one person who stopped me from feeling completely lonely and miserable after you went off to the Academy. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’
Ivy’s shoulders hunched. ‘I couldn’t help going to the Academy.’
‘I know, but that doesn’t change what happened, for either of us.’ Olivia pulled her hand free. ‘Now, come on. We can at least let Holly know about the signing, so she and I can take some photos together. It’ll be really nice for her.’
‘But what am I supposed to do while you’re off playing fan-girl with Holly?’ Ivy asked. ‘Considering that I hate the book and I don’t have a camera with me?’
Olivia shrugged, scrolling through her cell phone’s address book to find Holly’s number. ‘Maybe you can . . . erm . . . look for more clues?’
‘Oh, great.’ Ivy rolled her eyes, but Olivia could see the amusement in her face. ‘Good excuse, sis. I see what’s happening. You’re off to have fun while I do all the real work, huh?’
‘It’s not like that!’ Olivia said. ‘I just want to do something nice for Holly, since she’s been feeling so left out. You’d be so good, with your flair for investigation.’
‘All right, all right,’ said Ivy, and nudged Olivia teasingly. ‘You know flattery always works on me. Call Holly.’
‘Thank you,’ Olivia said, flashing her sunniest smile.
Ivy might act the big grump, but Olivia knew that if she could just talk her sister into letting down her guard, she could finally persuade her to see Holly’s good side – and no one was more loyal than Ivy once she’d accepted a new friend. Olivia was determined to make that happen. Even if they did have undercover bloggers to track down, there was no reason why they couldn’t be nice to Holly at the same time.
She looked at her phone – then scowled. ‘Oh no! The reception here is terrible.’ She waved it in the air hopefully, but nothing worked. ‘Drat! I need to go outside to make the call. Do you want to come?’
‘Are you kidding?’ Ivy was already starting for the door, looking like she’d just won the lottery. ‘I would pay to get some fresh air right now!’
As they stepped outside into the sunlight, Ivy took a deep, long breath. ‘Ohhh, that’s better . . . Hey, wait a minute.’ Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed across the street. ‘Is that our grandparents?’
Olivia shaded her eyes and looked in the direction of Ivy’s pointing finger. ‘Uh-oh.’
The brightly dressed couple was definitely the Count and Countess in full-on bunny disguise . . . and they were tearing posters for Bare Throats at Sunset from shop windows and telephone poles all along the street. Their enormous Florida-style sunglasses made them look even more suspicious as they glanced shiftily up and down the street before ripping down each new poster and tucking it under their arms.
‘Um . . . should they be doing that?’ Olivia asked.
‘Those posters are covered in pictures of vampires,’ Ivy said doubtfully. ‘And the less focus on vamps in Franklin Grove, the better . . . but you’re right. I really don’t think it’s a good idea.’ She sighed. ‘Will you come with me to talk to them? I don’t think they’re in the mood to listen to me about anything right now.’
Olivia gave her twin a sympathetic smile and slipped her phone back into her shoulder bag. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’
The twins crossed the street together, and were greeted by bright smiles from both of their grandparents.
‘What excellent timing,’ the Countess said. ‘You can help us hunt down all the rest of these posters!’
‘Grandma . . .’ Ivy began. She looked uncomfortable, and Olivia knew that she was dreading another argument.