Page 28 of Accidentally Amy

I had no idea why her unorthodoxeverythingwas charming the hell out of me. Shouldn’t I have been annoyed, or at least marginally put off, by half-dressed wandering cousins and antique store apartments? Why did those things just make me want to learn every little thing about her?

It didn’t matter.

I needed to knock that shit off and get out of there. I’d given her a ride to be nice, but nothing good could come from hanging out at Isabella Shay’s apartment. I was going to get in my car and forget that I even knew where she lived.

Just as soon as we finished the pizza.

Chapter Ten

Izzy

I carried in the pizza, my stomach empty of food but also filled with butterflies. Because—holy crap—Mr. Chest was sitting on my couch with the Darkling in his lap.

He looked like the centerfold of a hot-guys-who-like-cats calendar.

He had on jeans and a black sweater that justhuggedthose impressive pectorals, and I had to clear my throat and focus on shutting the door behind me, because my cheeks were suddenly burning.

Be cool, you loser.

But being cool was difficult when the universe was messing with me. This man, this incredibly charming and attractive man, kept getting thrown in my path. It was bad enough when we were just randomly running into each other in public places, but when he’d shown up on the side of the freeway in the midst of my meltdown, I almost hadn’t believed my eyes.

Because at first, when my car died, I’d been calm. I tried calling my cousins, and when none of them answered, I decided to just wait it out. Surely a cop would pass by eventually, see my flashers, and rescue me.

But then my flashers quit working and my phone battery dropped down to 2 percent. That changed everything. Suddenly I was imagining all the things that could happen: a car slamming into my car, a serial killer happening upon me, lightning striking, water rising enough in the ditch beside the shoulder to submerge my car. I’d started to panic, ultimately deciding to get out and walk.

And after five minutes of stumbling through the downpour, I knew I’d made a huge mistake. I’d been bawling and panicking when Blake literally rescued me from the thunder and lightning. So if I believed in fate and that sort of meant-to-be nonsense—and Isodid not—I’d be freaking out right about now.

I had no idea what to say as I set the pizza box on the coffee table. His unwavering gaze all but penetrated my soul, so like the coward I was, I went into the kitchen to grab the plates. I felt like I needed to address the wholewhat are we doing?elephant in the room, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to do it.

But by the time I pulled myself together and walked out of the kitchen, Josh was there. He was sitting next to Chest, shoving half a slice of pizza in his mouth while he told Blake about Billboard Assholes.

“Oh, look—it’s you. Quit taking my beer and also put on a shirt.” I set down the plates and rolled my eyes as Josh ignored me and kept talking. Blake was grinning as he listened to myidiot cousin expound upon the rules of his ridiculous game, so I helped myself to a slice.

I was too hungry to wait.

“Okay, that sounds hilarious,” Blake said to Josh, and I was surprised he could look so fun. He’d been so hard-core businessy in the conference room, and flirtatiously hot at Scooter’s and in the elevator, but I never would’ve guessed he’d be laughing like he thought the made-up game was genuinely funny.

“Good, because you’re playing,” Josh said.

“Dude, no,” I said, shooting Blake an apologetic look before telling Josh, “he just came by to save me from drowning. He’s not really a Billboard Assholes kind of guy.”

“How wouldyouknow?” Blake asked, giving me a questioning look.

“Because I know. Stakes are high, and you won’t win.”

“Whoa,” he said, scowling. “What makes you think I’d lose?”

I pulled a piece of pepperoni off my pizza and said, “You’ve never played—just trust me. You’d lose.”

“I think you could totally win,” Josh said, rolling his eyes like I was absurd.

“Will you stop,” I said as I popped the pepperoni in my mouth. Then I said to Blake, “Come here.”

I went into the kitchen, and he followed without question, thank God. Once we were out of Josh’s earshot, I told him, “You’re right. I don’t know you. And I’m sure you win at nearly everything you do. But not this game.”

He was so tall that he towered over me—I guess I forgot. I suddenly felt fidgety and frazzled, but surely it had nothing to do with his attractiveness, and everything to do with human survival instincts.

Riiiiiight.

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