Page 25 of Izzy and Her Off-Limits Love

The possibilities circling through my brain keep me from giving my full attention to the movie, but I end up figuring out the twist almost immediately. We’re watching something Izzy picked out, a Christmas romance about a woman who received a heart transplant the year before and now keeps running into a guy—who Iknowis the ghost of her heart donor.

“What are you thinking about over there?” Izzy asks, nudging my leg with her toe. She pauses the movie, and I look over to find her studying me, her expression curious.

I run a hand through my hair. “Me? Nothing. Just watching.”

She purses her lips to the side. “You’ve figured out the movie, haven’t you?”

I smirk. “Maybe.”

Izzy laughs. “I knew it! This whole time, I’ve been watching you watch, and I could practically see the wheels turning. I knew you’d figured it out. I guess I should thank you for not spoiling the ending for me. It’s a whole new era of Liam,” she teases.

“You can thank Camden. He’s the one who sat me down and very gently explained that I was ruining movies for everyone else.”

Izzy’s expression softens. “You’re different when you talk about him.”

“Yeah? Different how?”

“I’m not sure how to name it.” She tucks a pillow against her chest. “There’s just a gentleness to your words.”

“Good,” I say. “Then he rubbed off on me.”

“We both got lucky in the stepparent department, didn’t we?”

It’s not a connection I’ve made before, but Izzy is right. Merritt is just as great as Camden is. “Yeah, I guess we did. I don’t know where I’d be now without Camden.”

“Nah. Give yourself some credit,” Izzy says. “I’m sure you’d have turned out just fine.”

I lean my head back against the couch cushions, then turn to face her. “While I appreciate your faith in me, I’m being serious when I say his influence really shaped me. He got me interested in hockey, which was great. And he tempered my focus and intensity. I think you and I can both agree that I was a little bit of an awkward, nerdy, socially stunted kid.”

“But those are good things about you! I like your focusandyour intensity!” Izzy wiggles her toes under my thigh and hits a ticklish spot that has me squirming.

I grab her foot, then don’t want to let go, so I hold it loosely in my lap. “I’m not knocking myself or being self-deprecating. He didn’t change me, just tempered me a little. And I’m totally comfortable in my own skin. I’m just not above rolling my eyes at my childhood self.”

“Okay. As long as you aren’t knocking yourself.”

“I’m not. Promise.”

“Good. And I get it,” she says. “Merritt was like that for me, too. I mean, I have my mom, but I’ll be honest—once Mom started having kids with Adam, she was so overwhelmed with babies, I felt like I belonged more with Merritt and Dad.”

I wrap my hands around Izzy’s left foot and slowly start massaging her arches. “We have a good family,” I say as she lets out a little sigh and leans her head back.

“We do,” she says, eyes closed. “But I still think the fumigation tent is suspicious.”

“I do have a lot of questions,” I say. “Like, why are fumigation guys working on a Friday night? And who called for an inspection in the first place? And why did Benedict say it wasn’t his idea? Wouldn’t he be involved in approving something like this?” I switch from Izzy’s left foot to the other, and she shifts on the couch, stretching her leg forward so I have better access.

I try not to think about how easy this feels, how natural it is to be with her, touching her.

“Exactly. It feels like a setup,” she says. “I just can’t figure out why. It’s not like they’re rolling around in free time. Not with Davy and Danny being so wild.”

“Are they still wild?” I ask. “They haven’t grown out of it at all?” It’s been a minute since I’ve seen Sadie and Benedict’s twins.

“They’ve only gotten smarter,” Izzy says. “More conniving. They’re adorable. Just … a lot.” She stretches, lifting her arms over her head, then tugs her feet back. “I think I’m ready to stop watching Christmas and start living it. Want to head out? Except you need to tell me the ending of the movie first so I don’t feel bad about skipping it.”

“Come on, Iz,” I say as I turn off the TV. “This one’s a softball. The clues are everywhere.”

She sighs. “He’s the guy, right? He gave her his heart, and now he’s dead?”

“Pretty sure, yes,” I say, and Izzy groans.

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