Page 134 of The Bet
Chapter 39
Had he missed something? The way they had left things the last time, made it seem like this was a different person in front of him.
He was careful not to touch her, or get close, because he could read the signs straightaway, and he’d seen how she had been careful not to look at him, how she’d looked out of the windows. And yet she was here. She could have turned him down and said no. It had to count for something.
Technically, he could have emailed the extra work to her, but he’d wanted an excuse to see her.
With Izzy, he always had to think of reasons to call her, or text her, he was never as sure as he was with other girls.
She was like a jigsaw puzzle, and he had never been good at them. He wanted instant gratification, and had never been one to take his time figuring things out. That was the difference between him and Tobias. Tobias was all about the long game, strategy, watching and observing, and analyzing. Him? Not so much.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as she gazed out again. He hadn’t been expecting her to fall into his arms, but he hadn’t expected her to be as distant.
“I am,” she insisted, then explained it on getting home late. “So, you said you had more work for me?”
“Plenty to keep you busy. You can do the weekly figures for another one of my companies, if you want the work.”
“What’s the matter? One of your virtual assistants let you down?”
Her abruptness caught him off guard.
“No. I thought you might like the extra work, on account of you missing time off school and going home.” He had plenty of work, and he could easily give her more hours to do, if she needed it.
He’d do whatever it took, which, right now, seemed to be the way to get through to her.
She looked tired, and aggravated, and as pissed off as hell.
He walked up to her and resisted the urge to touch her face. They’d made out a few days ago, for fuck’s sake. “What’s wrong? You look like the entire world just pissed you off.”
“Maybe it did.”
He knew it was something. “Was it going home? Seeing your folks?”
“Something like that.”
“Then tell me.”
“Why? Will you fix it for me?”
He moved his head back in surprise. There was a reason why he didn’t talk so much to girls before he fucked them. It was easier that way. They came with less baggage when all they wanted was tocome. Or to be seen with a Stone.
With Izzy he felt as if he was caught in a riptide of emotions, swirling and whirling and pulling him under, and now he was caught up in the current of their attraction. But she screwed with his mind, and it was impossible for him to hold onto the edge and stop himself from going under.
He wanted more of this girl, and sometimes he wondered if the headfuck was worth it. He didn’t do emotional stuff well. It was all physical with him. And Izzy was driving him insane. He was losing control because she was so unavailable.
And yet the other night everything had changed. He’d had his first glimpse that maybe this girl wanted him. That maybe she didn’t truly believe he was an asshole. But at times like now, he wanted to walk away because it would make for an easier life. He didn’t care about the bet anymore. That no longer mattered, but he wanted to walk away because it would be the easy thing to do.
No mind games, no stress, no emotional baggage.
And yet, he couldn’t.
It wasn’t even because he’d kissed her, or wanted to touch her, or wanted to get to know her. It was because he cared about her. She was hurting about something else, this was new, this wasn’t about that creep—so help him god he wanted to find the guy and kick him in—this was something to do with going home, and he wanted to know so he could make it better.
“Are you going to fix it for me?” she asked, again, in a half-jokey, half-serious voice
“I’ll do what I can.” He seized her arm. “If you’ll let me.” She was still in her thick coat and tried to pull away, but he wasn’t going to let her go, as easily as that.
“Your dad’s ill, and I get that you’re worried. Sharing a worry is better than keeping it all to yourself.”
