Page 51 of Isabela

“I’m capable of taking care of someone I’m drinking with,” my husband grumbles. “I had her sipping water both at the house and on the drive home.”

As if on cue, Isabela squirms in his arms. “Ugh, I really have to pee. Gael, put me down.”

“First door on the right,” I call after her when he puts her down and she takes off for the bathroom. I raise my brow at him as he smirks.

“She’s really fucking cute when she’s drunk,” he admits. “I hope she doesn’t get sick. We were talking together, and I didn’t pay as close attention to how many times Theodore refilled her glass. I burned off the alcohol pretty quickly, but like you said… she’s really fucking tiny.”

“Knowing Theodore, he fed her so she is probably fine,” I tell him. Isa walks out of the bathroom with a relieved expression on her face, and I walk over to hug her. I’ve been just as worried as Gael, but I had to be the voice of reason today.

I kind of hated it.

“He did. I could go for a snack though,” Gael says, picking up a duffle bag that probably belongs to Isabela as he walks to the kitchen.

“How are you doing, love?” I ask her, wrapping my arms around her. Her body shudders at my touch and she hugs me back tightly. “Hey…”

Isa shakes her head, swallowing hard. “I’m fine,” she rasps. “I’m not used to being hugged. I guess I’m a little emotional right now.”

Fuck. I can’t imagine living my life without affection.

Promising myself to shower her with it, I rub her back and just hold her.

“I think that’s a perfectly normal response,” I murmur in her ear. “I’m really happy you’re here. Take your time processing and figuring things out. There’s a room for you?—”

“Aria,” Gael barks from the kitchen. “She’s sleeping with us.”

“Or you can sleep in our bed,” I finish pulling back to roll my eyes because only she can see. “We are not here to pressure you, but I’m so glad you’re here.”

Her eyes have a slight sheen as she blinks rapidly, and I watch her closely. This is all happening really quickly, and I knew after last night, that neither Gael nor I would be able to let her go. Fuck the rules. Especially after she basically told us she may disappear before she left the room.

I’ve never seen my husband so angry and freaked out before.

“Isn’t this weird for you?” she asks. Her buzz is wearing off, and Isa starts to wring her hands in worry.

“I adore you,” I say as I turn her toward the kitchen. “I want a lot of things, some you may not be comfortable with, so we’ll just have to work up to it. One thing I’m not going to apologize for is wanting you for myself though.”

“You always have been a greedy little thing, brat,” Gael teases me as we walk into the room. “Personally, I want you close to me, Isa. I just need to be able to hold you.”

“I just… I don’t know how to do this,” Isabela sighs, wrapping her arms around herself as she moves to lean against the counter. Gael continues to move toward the oven and I soon hear bacon beginning to sizzle. Based on the bread, spinach, cheese and tomato laid out on the island, it looks as if he’s making adult grilled cheese.

Fuck yeah. It’s perfect for soaking up some of the alcohol.

“Okay, so let’s get into that while Gael makes us a snack.” Winking at my husband when he makes a face over his shoulder, I sit at the island. While he’s at it, he can make me a sandwich too, right.

“I’m not going to bite, Isa.”

“No, that’s Gael,” she grumbles, making him snort. “I don’t want to create any trouble.”

Isabela drags her feet as she sits next to me at the island.

“Okay, now when I first met you, I thought you were gorgeous,” I confess, curling my fingers together so I won’t touch her right now. I don’t want to influence her one way or the other. “The students at Hoyt University can be a little snooty about letting me even share a bench with them.”

“Why?” Isa asks with a gasp. “You’re beautiful, I remember I was kind of disappointed you were married. And then I reminded myself I was off limits to everyone. I don’t think I’ve ever even been on a date.”

My nose wrinkles in annoyance at her words. God, how is that possible? “Gael gets a lot of girls who flirt with him, and I’m an obstacle, they think. Little do they know that my husband is the pickiest human on the planet. You’ve never dated? How?”

“In high school, I was trying to figure out if I liked boys or girls, so it was awkward when I started developing crushes,” Isa explains. “My parents knew I was bisexual, and they never made a big deal about it. However, my uncle is a bigot. He didn’t even want me to have friends.”

“Why do you live so far away from campus?” Gael asks, as if testing a theory. Continuing to cook, he keeps his back to us, though there’s tension in his body, he’s trying very hard to control himself.

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