Page 33 of Dating His Brother

I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling my heart start to thud against my chest like it was before. I felt like a little child again. Telling Jack something he didn’t want to hear was just like telling Daddy I had accidentally broken a window in our mansion or one of Mom’s expensive vases.

“What if— What if I had found everything you wanted me to,” I said slowly. “Love, companionship, maybe even a future husband. And something more substantial to do with my life. The whole deal. Someone to start my own family with. That was what you really wanted out of all of this right? What if I found it, but not with any of those men you picked for me?”

His face softened as the words sank in. I saw a flash of pity and regret roll across his face. But then it hit him. He tensed up, growing angry and confused. “Wait. Izzy. Tell me you’re not…You haven’t been messing around with that Dawson guy, have you?”

His reaction was terrifying. But what could he really do? I was a grown woman. I loved my brother dearly and didn’t want to disappoint him. But at the end of the day, that was his problem to deal with. I couldn’t live my life and make my choices based on his happiness or wishes. I had to do what I wanted, no matter how unpopular it was.

I lifted my chin, standing up to him. “So what if I have been?”

“Unbelievable,” he murmured, spinning around as he raked his hands through his slick black hair. “Ridiculous! Absurd! I made it very clear how I felt about Dawson.”

“Which has nothing to do with howIfeel about him. Isn’t that the more important thing to consider here?”

“You don’t know how you feel about him because you don’t know him,” he barked. “That loser is all backwards. He turns his back on his own family just to prove a point. He gives up millions just to spite them. I refuse to see you end up with someone like that. If there’s any part of the Hayes name I can get behind, it’s inRichardHayes.”

“I know him better than you think,” I shouted, stomping my foot. “Just because he has a passion in life that isn’t in law or business or finance doesn’t make him a loser. I’d argue he’s happier and more successful than anyone we know! If he doesn’t like his family, I have to believe they deserve that. He wouldn’t shun them for no good reason. And as for Richard, he’s smug and shallow and just as boring as the rest of those suits you’re trying to marry me off to!”

“Which you agreed to!” he yelled.

“Because you pressured me into it!” I defended. “If it’s so damn important to you, pick whichever bachelor you want. They’re all the same so it really doesn’t matter. You can even announce it for me if you want! But I’m not spending another second with any of those men! And I’m sure as hell not going to marry one of them,ever.”

“You have no choice. We made a deal.”

“This is mylife, Jack. It’s not some game or marketing campaign or internet show. It’s my real life, and I have to choose for myself. I don’t want to just float by like mom and dad did, just barely outrunning misery but barely ever finding happiness until I die. That’s not enough for me, and it hasn’t been for a while.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down,” Jack said, pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry. I get it. I did put a lot of pressure on you. I relate to everything you’re saying. I broke that cycle for myself when I met Jada.” He pulled back, putting his hands on my shoulders. “But listen to me, Izzy. You can’t be with Dawson. Quit the show if you want. But he’s still not the guy for you.”

“Oh come off it already, Jack!” I shrieked.

“No, listen to me,” he begged. “You can’t be with him because…he’s not who you think he is, alright?”

My face twisted up in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“After you expressed an interest in him before, I felt bad for shutting you down like that,” he explained. “So, I did some digging on the guy to see if maybe he was suitable for you after all. I wanted to be able to take back what I said before. I really did. But…” he shook his head. “I looked into him, and I think you should know what his real motives with you are.”

18

Dawson

Iwas leaning back in a chair in my studio, doing nothing in particular. I had been in a bittersweet daze since that last night with Isabella. Sweet because it was one of the best nights of my life. Bitter because Izzy refused to let it happen again. Actually, I was the one who said it had to be the last time. But only to protect myself.

It prompted me to light up another cigarette, no matter how much I hated the taste of the damn things sometimes. It seemed like the only thing I could do to calm my racing thoughts.

I jumped at a knock at the door, immediately racing over to answer. In those few brief seconds as I reached for the door handle, I fantasized that Isabella would be standing there—apologizing for ever doubting me or us, begging me to take her in again.

But instead, I came face to face with the last person I ever wanted, or expected, to see at my door. My brother, Richard.

“Oh. It’s you,” I grunted.

He stepped past me and started looking around. “Good god, Daws. I heard you were living in squalor, but…this? Why here?”

“This is hardly squalor,” I sighed. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

“I came by to try and reason with you,” he announced. “I was hoping maybe after all this time, you had come to your senses about some of the decisions you’ve made, now that you’ve no doubt had a chance to regret them.”

“I have no regrets,” I defended.

“Ah,” he smirked. “Even still, I came here to offer you a job.”

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