Page 34 of Playing with Fire

After making sure everyone was good, we headed back out to the truck. I climbed into the driver's seat as usual and let out a sigh when Jay climbed up into the passenger seat. Awesome.

The door wasn’t even shut all the way before he turned to me with a glare. “You two sleeping together?”

I shook my head. “No.” At least that I could answer without lying.

“This should be fun,” Adam mumbled.

Jay sent him a glare before turning back to me. “That's either a lie or a not yet.”

I swallowed, but kept quiet.

“So which one is it?” Jay scoffed. “My bet is on the latter because I don't think you'd outright lie to me.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “She's too young for you,” he spat out.

“I agree.” That part I could comment on. But I didn't understand why I couldn't utter the words I knew he wanted me to.

“And she really needs that job. Don't mess that up for her.”

I nodded. “Not planning on it.”

“Damn it, man. I mean it.” The glare was back.

I stopped at a red light and turned to look at him. “I hear you, loud and clear.”

He didn't want me dating his sister, and I got it. I hadn't expected anything else.

The rest of the shift felt like forever. I wanted to get out of there. Jay didn't say another word to me, and barely even looked at me.

Adam stepped up next to me at the counter as I finished washing the dishes from dinner. “Can I give you some advice?”

“I don't need advice.”

He sighed. “Well, pretend you do. Pretend there's a chance something might happen with Izzy.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “There's not.”

He cocked a brow and waited.

Who was I kidding? All I could think about all day was pulling Izzy into my arms. How I was as worried about her as I was about my kids. Even I wasn't sure I could keep resisting the pull between us.

I thrust a plate at him. “If you're going to give out unsolicited advice, at least help dry.”

He grabbed a dish towel and started drying. “Tell Jay you like her.”

“What?” I looked back over at him, trying to figure out how that would help me.

“If he knows you want something serious with her, he'll be more on board.”

I handed him another plate. “I want advice on how not to go there, not how to make Jay okay with it, dumbass.”

He chuckled. “From what I saw today, I think we're past that. Now it's about making the fallout not as bad.”

I huffed and continued to wash the dishes as I thought over what he said. I agreed with Jay. Izzy was too young for me. My life came with baggage that wasn't fair to her. She was barely old enough to drink and go out to bars.

And the one thing I was sure of? If I went there with her, it wouldn't be a one-time thing. She'd be mine.

Chapter Eighteen

IZZY

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