Page 74 of Love JD

I didn’t respond, mostly because my mouth really was too full. But, also, I didn’t like where my nosy brother was going with this. “Mmhm?” I asked around the noodles.

“My Spidey senses are tingling. Do you have a thing going on with Zev?”

I snorted, almost spitting out ramen noodles all over the butcher block island. Tristan looked alarmed, but I fought a laugh as I swallowed. “He said you were Batman.”

Tristan rolled his eyes. “Regardless.”

I coughed, because the broth was spicy enough to make my nose run, and looked away with another smile. “Uh, I don’t know. I guess we have ‘a thing’ going, yeah.”

Tristan’s expression darkened, and he straightened away from the island. “Isla, that is not appropriate. I knew Zev was kind of a—”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” I glared, sniffing. I stirred the ramen idly as I added, “Zev is not what you think. Or, what he wanted people to think. He’s really sweet.”

Tristan groaned, tilting his head back. “Isla. You can’t—he is not the right guy for you. I mean, I know he’s all suave or whatever—”

I cut him off again by laughing. “Tristan, you know fuck all. Mind your own business. I’m not sixteen and losing my virginity to a rando in a bar or something.”

“You lost your virginity at sixteen?” he asked, horrified.

I speared him with an irritated glare. “Will you chill out?”

He paced away, running his hand through his long hair. He’d let it grow out, and it skimmed the collar of his lavender button-down. I had to admit, as far as brothers went, I did have a pretty good-looking one. Not that it was engendering any sympathy for his misguided assumptions.

He blew out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Isla, sweetie, you can’t date Zev. He doesn’t have a lifestyle I want you involved in. And, I mean, even right now he’s in Seattle trying to fix a colossally stupid mistake. He only cares about two things.” Tristan faced me, ticking off his points on his fingers. “Sex and money.”

I rolled my eyes, ramen forgotten. Now he was really pissing me off. “You don’t know anything about him.”

“He hid the fact that his client was dumping toxic waste in a third world country’s water supply because of money, Isla.”

My brows drifted together slowly. “What do you mean, ‘money?’ He told me he was conflicted. I already knew about that.”

“Did you know that if he didn’t go through with the merger, their firm would go bankrupt?” Tristan challenged. The dim kitchen lights cast half his face in shadow, and I thought it made him look like a villain, not Batman.

I scowled fiercely. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m not,” he insisted. “His entire firm was riding on that deal, Isla. He has known what GreenTech was doing. He could have done something about it already, but he chose money over the right thing. Is that someone you want to be with?”

My stomach swooped and then bottomed out. But it wasn’t because Zev had been conflicted about the fate of his firm. More than just his future hinged on whether or not he could keep his law firm afloat. I felt like passing out because I had been the cause of Talia outing him before he’d been ready. Because I was the reason the paparazzi had screwed with his life, and now they’d ruined his career. Zev’s livelihood was in danger because of me. Azura’s livelihood was in danger because of me. It was so much more than a little PR inconvenience, and I’d felt guilty enough about that as it was. I’d literally cost him his job.

My mouth went dry, and I stared at Tristan in silence. He sighed through his nose, stepping around the island, presumably to comfort me. I stepped away, my back rigid. His shoulders slumped in sympathy. “Isla, sweetie, I’m not trying to upset you. But Zev… he’s—his life is different. He’s on and off with his girlfriend, Starla, and hell, they’re out there in Seattle together. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

That slammed into me like a wrecking ball to a dilapidated building. Starla. I’d completely forgotten, but he’d been pretty clear that they still had one-nights occasionally.

She’s too young for me to date. Happy?

“Funny,” I replied, my voice thick. “I didn’t feel hurt before you showed up.”

He looked up and muttered, “Okay, I’m fucking this up.”

“Yeah,” I gusted out, fighting tears that clawed up my throat relentlessly. Mostly because everything Tristan had said was true. I had known Starla was involved in Zev’s life. I’d just chosen to ignore it because it felt easier than trying to understand who she was to him in relation to who I was. Zev probably did take things casually. He probably did throw around the term “girlfriend” lightly. I barely knew the man, in all reality. I’d never asked if “girlfriend” meant we were exclusive. He could be spending his nights with Starla for all I knew.

I shook myself out of that. Don’t panic, Isla. Beaches. Fucking sandy, nasty, calming beaches. Don’t fall apart. I cleared my throat, folding my arms. “I’m aware of how Zev operates.”

Tristan rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. Isla, I—it’s been a long two days. I really was just worried about you.”

“Oh.” I let out a bitter laugh. “Gee. Thanks.”

He winced. “I’m sorry.”

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