From This Moment by Sean D. Young Read Free Book Online

place with neutral and earth tone colors. He had custom black leather furniture, a home entertainment system complete with surround sound and a big-screen plasma television.
    One bedroom served as his home office, but with a daybed, just in case he had an overnight guest.
    A masculine king-size bed with black and tan bedding was the focal point in his bedroom.
    He’d gone home to take a shower and change out of his business suit into something casual for his evening with Ivy. Just as he was about to step out of his slacks, he heard the buzzing of his cell phone. He glanced over on the night stand where he’d left it and could see the light from the screen. But he ignored it and continued to undress. Taking off his pants and underwear, he dropped them in a cloth bag with other garments to be laundered.
    Walking from his bedroom to the adjoining bathroom, he twisted the knob in the shower, testing the warmth of the water before stepping under the powerful spray.
    After taking a quick shower, he got out, wrapped a dark blue bath sheet around his waist and went to find something to wear.
    Jonathan didn’t deny that he wanted to impress Ivy, give her a glimpse of his personal style. After standing in front of his closet staring for longer than he would have liked, he decided on a pair of black jeans and white button-down shirt, black cardigan and his black cowboy boots.
    Because he had dry skin, he grabbed the bottle of moisturizing body lotion and creamed his skin before he got dressed.
    Picking up his cell phone, he scrolled through to review his missed calls. To his surprise, the caller hadn’t been Ivy, but his brother.
    Marc Damon stood six feet, two inches tall with the same dark chocolate brown coloring as his baby brother. Marc was Jonathan’s partner, and also chef at Magic Moments. He and Jonathan shared a special bond. Their mother Ruth died of cancer, and their father died eight months later. They went to live with their aunt and uncle, but promised that they would always been there for each other. He’d have to call his brother later.
    Jonathan checked his profile in the mirror before he grabbed his jacket, wallet and keys and headed for the door.
    Jonathan pulled up to Ivy’s condo with mixed emotions. He hoped his coming over wouldn’t make Ivy have a flashback to that dark place that she seemed to have overcome.
    Quickly dismissing that theory, he reminded himself that getting to know her was important. What did she do when she wasn’t working? What was her favorite color? What kind of movies did she like? Did she like butter on her toast? He wanted to wine and dine her, but he needed that information first.
    In his eyes, tonight he would start a journey of discovery. He hoped in the end they would live happily ever after.
    * * *
    Ivy was plain worn out from all her responsibilities the last couple of weeks. She had no idea that winning a contest would garner so much attention. She was grateful that business was picking up, but the show hadn’t started yet and her life already showed signs of chaos. Thank God her siblings did their part in their business or she would really be in trouble.
    Last night, she laid aside the information on the couples she’d be working with on the show at about two in the morning, when sleep finally claimed her.
    For the second night in a row she’d attempted to pull an all-nighter.
    Ivy didn’t mind working with Jonathan. In the past, when her back was against the wall with a wedding, he allowed her to pitch her ideas to him; if she missed something he’d usually find it.
    After her meeting with Jonathan and Lauren, Ivy had gone back to the office to get an update from her receptionist.
    She was relieved when Gwen told her that they had the phone calls under control. She’d followed her suggestion of splitting the calls up based on need. If they had generalized questions, Gwen answered them or transferred the caller to Ivy’s voicemail.
    There were six messages on her