Page 33 of Playing with Fire

Izzy grabbed the bowls and brought them to the sink. The silence was killing me.

“I wanted to talk about last night.” The words tumbled from my mouth quickly.

“What's there to talk about?”

So she wanted to ignore what I said? Act like it didn't happen? Like I didn't almost kiss her?

I should be thankful, but I wasn't.

“Izzy, I?—”

“No.” Her one-word response held no anger, but it held a lot of surety. She shook her head and turned to me, fists slamming onto her hips. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke. “It's fine. You've been hot and cold since Jay's wedding and obviously have some hang-up. I was stupid last night thinking you coming to change my tire meant anything was different.” She took a breath and glanced quickly over to the girls before continuing. “I need this job. I like this job. And I don't need to be let down gently. We're on the same page now, don't worry.”

I stared after her as she turned and walked into the great room. Were we on the same page? This was what I wanted, right? To explain to her all the reasons why we couldn't be together. I should be happy. But what I felt was anything but happiness.

And that feeling only intensified as the day went on. Of course, today of all days needed to be a slow day. Only two calls, and both were quick, which left me with a ton of time to harp on what Izzy had said this morning. I tried to busy myself with stupid crap like washing the truck and grabbing a few of the guys to do some drills. But it didn’t help keep my mind focused. It kept drifting back to the gorgeous blonde who smelled of strawberries.

What the fuck was wrong with me? I didn’t know what I’d expected from her, or what I wanted. And what did she mean when she said she was stupid for thinking me coming to change her tire meant things were different? Did she think I'd tell her no? If I had to, I would have woken the girls and put them in the car. Her calling her brother never even crossed my mind until she said it.

But now I couldn’t stop wondering about it. Why did she call me instead of her brother? Did calling me feel right? Because that was how it felt for me.

My phone vibrating on the table in front of me interrupted my thoughts. I picked it up and clicked on the Google Nest notification, bolting up straight as it alerted me that there was smoke in my kitchen. I glanced at the time. It was after four o'clock, which meant Izzy and the girls should be home by now.

My stomach dropped as I tried calling Izzy and she didn't pick up. What the fuck was going on?

I stood and turned to the guys in the room. “We need to swing by my house.” I walked past them. “I'll explain in the truck.”

I heard Jay tell Zack to stay behind with the probie. They would be able to grab one of the utility trucks and meet us there if a call came through.

On the way to my house, I updated Jay and Adam, all of us breathing a sigh of relief when we pulled up out front and there was no sign of a fire. But the nerves were back when we walked in the side door and the obvious smell of char hit my nose.

“Izzy?”

She stepped from the great room with her hands on her hips. “Why the heck do you have smoke detectors that talk to you? And how do you shut them up? Because waving a dish towel at it didn't work. She's very passive-aggressive by the way. Repeatedly giving me a heads up that there is smoke in the kitchen. Like really?” She rolled her green eyes. “I couldn't tell.”

I chuckled, thankful that everything was okay, and stepped forward. Reaching out, I gripped her shoulder, ready to pull her in for a hug, but froze when her brows rose and she glanced behind me.

I locked my jaw and patted her shoulder. “Glad everything's okay.” I let my hand fall back to my side. “What happened?”

In my periphery, I caught Jay's stare, but he wasn't my priority. Izzy was. Although she wore a smile, I could tell she was flustered.

She took a breath before words tumbled from her mouth. “I had cookies in the oven and then Alice came running in and said Nikki fell off the swing set, so I went out back to check on her and she was crying.” She took a long pull of air before going on. “Her knee was bleeding and I completely forgot about the cookies. By the time we came back in, the stupid thing was warning me there was smoke in the kitchen. Which again is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I couldn't get it to shut up. Finally, I opened a bunch of windows and it eventually stopped a few minutes ago.”

I nodded. “Sorry about that. I'll have you download the app and sign in so you can turn it off from your phone.”

“Or you could be normal and have the cheap battery-operated ones.”

A smirk tugged at my lips as I took in her flushed cheeks. “Sorry sweetheart, that's not happening.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at me. Fuck. Why did that endearment roll off my tongue so easily now? I could feel Jay's glare burning into me.

“Assuming Nikki's alright now?” I'd deal with Jay if I needed to, once I made sure my family was okay.

She nodded, looking away. “Yes. Just a cut.”

“Want me to check it out?” Adam asked, stepping between Jay and me.

I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

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