Page 13 of Isabelle & Jason
Jason relaxed his hand and glanced over his shoulder just as the swinging doors burst open.
“Jason. Seriously, man. You realize we didn’t have to be here until four, ri—” Mark’s voice died in his throat when his focus landed on Isabelle. Then he cut a glance at Jason.
Try to be a bit more obvious, would you?
Jason gave his friend a look that said just that. Then he turned back to the counter where he worked at cutting the slices of bread. “French toast sticks for breakfast this morning. Fruit, too. Can you start slicing apples and peeling oranges? Then after that, you can put some sausages and bacon on the griddle.”
Mark dragged his eyes back to Isabelle for just a moment, his brows lifting even higher. Then he rolled his shoulders and flashed her a smile. “Hey, Isabelle. What brings you to the kitchen this morning?”
She pressed her lips together, and her eyes locked on him as he moved past her. Jason took advantage of her moment of distraction. Her hands wrung together in her lap. She fidgetedeven more. And he could have sworn he could see the pulse point in her neck throb a little harder.
He shifted, moving closer to her and putting himself directly in Mark’s line of sight. With his back to Isabelle, he scowled at Mark.Don’t say a word, he mouthed.
Mark shrugged, then cleared his throat. “Anyway,” he drawled, “I heard that there’s going to be a barbecue or something coming up. Do you think Mateo is going to let us take a break, or will he put us to work?”
“Heck if I know. Does it matter? We’ll still be able to attend either way,” Jason said.
“True, but that’s not why I was asking. Tracy wants to head to the city to spend the weekend with her sister. She’s going to have the baby any day now and Tracy can’t wait to be an aunt.”
“And?” Jason said, still very much aware of the woman at his back. At least she didn’t seem as on edge.
“And,” Mark said, “I want to hang out with my folks, too.”
“Then go see them. No one’s stopping you.”
“Can’t. We don’t get enough time off to spend a whole weekend there. Nikki needs us.”
Jason snorted and returned to his position now that he could sense Isabelle’s calmer demeanor. “I’m sure we can do without your help for a weekend. You just need to let Mateo know.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Mark snuck another look at Isabelle, and Jason gave him a sharp shake of his head. She wasn’t up for discussion. Unfortunately, Mark didn’t seem to care. “Well, Bella? You gonna talk or what?”
Her head snapped around, eyes rounding, the color draining from her face.
Shoot.
Isabelle was up in an instant. “I should probably get going. I don’t want to be a distraction.”
“You’re not—” Jason started, but the doors were already swinging closed behind her. For a girl who had emptied the contents of her stomach earlier this morning and who had a bum leg, she moved fast.
Mark didn’t move from where he stood. “That was… weird.”
Jason whirled around and gave his friend a not-so-friendly shove. “I told you not to say anything.”
“No, you didn’t,” Mark scoffed. “You just kept giving methat look.”
Dragging a hand down his face, Jason groaned. “Are you kidding me? Those looks were specifically for you to get the hint. Don’t talk to her. Don’t pay her any mind. Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince her to come in here?” His breathing had grown heavier, and that thread of hope he’d managed to grasp onto slipped through his fingers.
“And why exactly was she in here? She starting to cook?”
“What? Of course not. I caught her outside this morning. She was…” Okay, telling Mark that Isabelle was throwing up in the bushes wasn’t exactly something he thought she’d want him to know. “She didn’t look well. I thought I could get her to eat something and maybe she’d open up to me.”
Mark arched a brow as he put the paring knife on his workstation. Then he folded his arms. “Open up to you? Dude, have you seen her lately? That girl doesn’t open up to anyone. Has she given you any indication that she even remembers you?”
“No, but?—”
“Then why torture yourself, man? Just… I don’t know… go after someone else. You almost had a thing going with her sister. Clearly you have game.”
Jason scowled. Yes, he’d attempted to go on a date with Camilla, but in hindsight that had been merely a way for him to avoid what he knew in his heart all along.
