Page 74 of The Forever Rule

“No. There’s really not time for boyfriends and dating with my current job.”

And that seemed like a decent segue. “From what you’ve said, and what Blakely has mentioned?—”

She cut me off. “So you and Blakely talk about me?”

“There really is no good way to say this. Because if we never mentioned you, it would feel like the elephant in the room of not doing so because it is a very large part of our lives. And if we did talk about you, it would feel like talking about you behind your back, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t like the fact that you have answers for everything. And yes, I’m being obstinate because I’m annoyed about this situation. I’m not always annoyed with you. I promise.”

That made me smile. “Well that’s always a good way to start.” The waitress came over, and we ordered two different types of closed sandwiches with fries and handed over the menus.

“Before we get into the other awkwardness, I was surprised you chose this place. I’ve driven by it a few times, but I’ve never been.”

I shrugged. “I used to sit in that booth over there with my homework after school and do as much as I could before I had to go home.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what your childhood was like.”

“It wasn’t terrible. I can only complain about the way Dad treated us, and my mother for that matter. But it wasn’t terrible. Everything was always loud at the house, because there were so many of us, and I just wanted to pretend I was an only child for a minute.”

She nodded, understanding in her gaze. “As the eldest I get that. And honestly, I thought my house was loud with the number of siblings.”

“Yes, the numbers are a little worrying.”

Her lips twitched.

And it felt as if we’d been speaking for hours, though it hadn’t been that long. We were jumping from topic to topic, speaking of numerous things as if we’d known each other for years. The comfort in the interaction should have been unsettling but it wasn’t. And perhaps that was the unsettling part of the entire situation.

“Seriously though, do you like your job?” I pressed.

She sighed. “I don’t know if it’s any of your business, but no. I hate it. I work too many hours, I deal with too many people who have no idea what they’re doing, so I have to do their work for them as well. And if I’m notperfect, I get yelled at, and I’m just not in the mood to deal with it anymore.”

“Have you been looking for another place of employment?” I asked, honestly curious. From what I could tell, Isabella was competent, and was steadfast in protecting her family. I would have assumed she’d have found a job that she liked. But then again, not everybody liked their jobs. I was lucky in the fact that I was born into mine, and I knew I was privileged.

“I’ve tried before, but starting over is hard. First I tried to have an interview, and then my sister was attacked.”

I froze, trying to remember if I had actually known that.

“What?”

Isabella grimaced. “I thought you knew because of Ford. Phoebe? She was attacked. Twice actually.” She shuddered. “I’m just glad that Kane was around both times to help her.”

I rubbed my temple, annoyed with myself. “I knew that. At least in the periphery. I try not to think about Ford’s job too much because it scares the shit out of me. I just hadn’t put two and two together that Phoebe was your Phoebe.” I paused. “Our Phoebe.”

Her eyes warmed at that, and she looked far less tired when she did. “Our Phoebe. This is going to take a long time to get used to.”

“And we’re going to fuck up a lot,” I muttered.

“Oh yes, we are. I fight with my siblings all the time, because it’s what we do. And I love them.”

“Same with my brothers. We don’t have the deep fractures in our relationships that some large families have. I think it’s because we bound together against my mom’s attitude and our father’s ineptitude.”

“My problem is I really liked my mom. She was wonderful to us. And the way we grew up, Dad was in and out of our lives, not just for work, but because we thought they separated. It’s how they had put it.”

I shook my head, astonished. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. So in my mind, my mother was a strong single mom who was working to keep us all afloat. And I don’t even know if that’s true.”

“So Dad wasn’t supporting you guys at all?”

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