Page 26 of Playing with Fire

Shit. I couldn't think of a reason why she'd be upset with me. But I had a feeling I was about to find out.

“Why didn't you tell me Jay suggested we hire Izzy months ago?”

I swallowed. How was I supposed to answer that?

“I get you’re still hung up over what your father did, but it's not like you'd ever consider hooking up with your friend's sister.”

I grabbed the back of my neck and looked at the ground between us. This conversation was a minefield of epic proportions.

“Wait.” She gasped.

I glanced back up at her, taking in her wide eyes.

“Oh my God.” Her mouth fell open. “You like her.”

I shook my head. No. My dick liked her. I found her irritating. Well, not her, but the way I lost all sense whenever she was around. Like last night—inviting her to stay and catching myself staring at her multiple times throughout the evening.

Maggie chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes at her. I wasn't doing this with my ex-wife. She might think the situation was funny, but I didn't.

She schooled her features. “Logan, you're single. If you like Izzy, ask her out. It's not the same as your father. You're no longer married.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. That wasn't happening, and now I had even more of a reason to make sure it didn't. “She's amazing with the girls, and reliable, and everything we've wanted in a nanny. I'm not going to screw that up by sleeping with her.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “You've had one serious relationship, and then you married her. I'm sure the next woman you end up dating will end up being something serious. I don't think you're capable of casual.”

“I'm starting to understand why Dylan says we have a strange relationship.” Only my ex-wife would feel it necessary to give me dating advice.

She shrugged. “We were friends long before we were anything more, and we've known each other more than fifteen years at this point.”

“I'm not dating Izzy,” I said, trying to convince myself more than her. Because it was only physical attraction I felt toward her, I was sure. Almost. Regardless, I wasn't willing to screw up the situation with the girls. “So just drop it.”

“Fine.” She sighed. “There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

I cocked a brow.

“Jesse and I have started talking about moving in together.” I liked the guy she’d been dating since the end of last year, and honestly, I wasn’t surprised by this development in their relationship. “Probably not until the end of summer, though.”

I nodded. “I’m assuming you’re moving into his house?” It made the most sense since he had the extra space and Maggie only had a two-bedroom condo. But it was one town over, which meant a different school district.

“Yeah.” As if she could read my mind she added, “But the girls would stay at the school they’re at now. I’m fine with the extra drive, and I’ll mention it to Izzy as well. I don’t think she’ll mind.”

“Jesse’s a good guy.” A smile lifted my lips. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you. You know I want the same for you, too.”

Jesus. Not this again. I was not dating Izzy Mitchell.

“Just consider what I said. You. Are. Not. Your. Father.” She sent me a sympathetic look and sighed, knowing I wasn’t getting into this with her again.

I wasn’t even sure my father’s behavior was my biggest reason for not getting involved with Izzy. I’d mostly dealt with his betrayal, although I still refused to touch the trust fund he set up for me. I had it set up for the girls if, given my career choice, anything ever happened to me. But I didn’t need nor want his money.

Izzy had become a valuable asset to us, and I didn’t want to mess that up. She also deserved someone close to her age who didn’t have the type of responsibilities I did. I doubted she’d want something serious with a divorced single dad who had an unpredictable schedule at a job fraught with its own risks.

“I'll drop the girls back off Monday evening.”

Maggie’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I nodded.

A few moments later, I was back in my truck. I wanted to make a stop before I went back home. They’d declared the fire at the old BBQ joint arson, sure it was our guy—or woman, but typically eighty to ninety percent of arson cases involved male perpetrators—but they hadn't been able to find anything that would lead us to a suspect yet. The places are always run down and vacant. No security footage, and so far they’d been able to start the fire without anyone seeing. All we knew was they were using kerosene as the accelerant, and matches to start it.

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