Outside the window, the crowd of VITs was still milling around, but Ivy didn’t care about any of them any more. While they’d waited for Holly’s dad to arrive, Holly had promised to close down the blog – and to write a final post explaining that it had all been just a hoax. It was a blog post that would take real courage to write. But I’m finally beginning to see that Holly had courage and loyalty all along. Even Ivy Vega could admit when she’d been wrong – to herself, at least.
‘I promise,’ Ivy said to Olivia now, ‘no matter what happens in the future – whether your talent makes you a huge Hollywood star, or my V-ness takes me away again – one thing will never, ever change. I will never not be there for you, wherever we are in the world.’
‘Oh, Ivy!’ Olivia wrapped her up in a rib-crushing hug.
‘Hey!’ Ivy whispered, even as she sniffled back a tear. ‘Maybe you have inherited some vampire strength, after all!’
‘Um.’ Holly coughed, just a foot or two away, and the two of them broke apart. ‘I just wanted to say . . .’ She looked out the window and winced. ‘I’m so sorry for all the fuss I’ve caused in your home town. I never thought so many people would really believe in vampires, of all things!’
Ivy had to hide her grin behind an ‘understanding’ face. Poor Holly didn’t realise just how much fuss she’d really caused – she had no idea that, right at this moment, she actually was surrounded by vampires. Holly would be shocked to know she’d been telling the truth on her blog all along!
Next to Ivy, though, Olivia looked grave. ‘I’m not sure I liked all of your tactics,’ she said. ‘I mean, circulating anonymous Internet rumours is never a good idea . . . But I can kind of understand where you were coming from. Everybody wants their family to be happy.’
She shot Ivy a significant glance. Ivy stifled a sigh as she stepped towards Holly.
‘Friends?’ she said to her, stepping forwards.
Before Holly could answer, Olivia’s cell phone rang. The sound made both twins freeze.
Ivy knew that pop-song ringtone. Olivia flushed, her eyes widening as she stared down at the ringing phone. Holly just looked confused. ‘Um, aren’t you going to answer that?’ she asked.
‘I . . .’ Olivia took a deep breath. She straightened her shoulders. ‘Yes, I am. I really am.’ She pressed the button. ‘Jackson,’ she said. ‘How are you?’ The tone of her voice was as cool and confident as if she were talking to a stranger, but Ivy recognised the dreamy look in her eyes.
Ivy smirked and raised an eyebrow. ‘Give him my love,’ she whispered.
Olivia rolled her eyes at her twin, but her cheeks turned even deeper pink. She slid away through the crowd, clearly looking for a quiet spot.
‘Who was that?’ Holly asked.
‘Olivia’s ex-boyfriend,’ Ivy said. But she couldn’t help adding, ‘At least, for now.’
Jackson had a funny habit of calling at all the right moments, didn’t he? And now that the film industry strikes were over, Eternal Sunset could finally start shooting, with Olivia and Jackson starring in the lead roles . . . which meant that he and Olivia would be reunited soon, at least on a film set.
Jackson Caulfield hadn’t become a Hollywood megastar for nothing. Ivy had a feeling he would know exactly how to romance Olivia on set, and she couldn’t wait to see her sister brimming with real happiness again.
‘Hey.’ Brendan stepped up behind Ivy, draping an arm around her shoulders as Holly made a discreet exit. ‘What’s put that grin on your face?’
‘Just thinking about the future.’ She glanced at him, and gasped. ‘Brendan! You’re eating!’
‘So?’ He shrugged, and took another bite of the half-eaten burger in his hand. ‘These are pretty good.’
‘They ought to be,’ Ivy said. ‘I made them for you. See? I’m a fabulous cook too, just like you.’ Smiling, she leaned into him, feeling the last of her tension melt away. Her boyfriend had got his appetite back at last, her grandmother was smiling at her from across the room, and Olivia was well on her way to happiness and the film career she’d always dreamed of.
‘Happy?’ Brendan asked.
‘Pretty good,’ Ivy admitted.
‘Just “pretty good”?’ Brendan laughed, as he dropped a kiss on her hair. ‘Come on, Vega. You may be the toughest of us all, but even you have to admit things couldn’t get much better than this. Franklin Grove’s secrets are safe, your grandmother seems to have forgiven you, your dad’s about to get married again, and you and Olivia are back on track.’
‘You’re right,’ Ivy said. ‘That’s not just good. It’s excellent. And most important of all . . .’ She turned around to face him, grinning.
‘Yeah?’ Brendan grinned back at her and polished off the last of his burger. ‘What could be even better than all that?’
‘After today,’ Ivy said, ‘I never have to see you wearing a button-down shirt again!’
Their laughter mingled as they kissed and, for once, Ivy didn’t even care that everyone at the engagement party could see them together. As they turned, holding hands, to walk back into the thick of the party Ivy couldn’t wait to see what the future held for all of them.
She squeezed Brendan’s fingers, smiling.