Page 57 of Accidentally Amy

“You’rereallyfucking annoying,” I said, laughing in spite of myself. “Really.”

“Okay, but hear me out,” Jason said, holding up a hand. “Things with Skye were great until secrets and scheming came into play, right? I know in this particular scenario you and Izzy are schemingtogetherinstead of her behind your back, but fucking around with the truth is always a mess.”

He gave me a look,thatlook, the one that said everything.

“Always,” AJ added in agreement, nodding.

And they weren’t wrong.

We’d grown up with a father who played fast and loose with the truth, all the time. My parents divorced right after I was born, and I couldn’t remember a time in my life when he wasn’t hustling reality. He lied about why he couldn’t pick us up on his scheduled day, he lied about why he couldn’t come up with his child support payments, he lied about promised vacations that never happened, and he lied about the slew of girlfriends who came in and out of our lives.

He fibbed about little things, and he lied about enormously important things; the man was an equal-opportunity liar.

But our mom was always rock solid.

She’d never bad-mouthed him, but as soon as we were old enough to see his dishonesty for ourselves, she quietly used his behavior as a life lesson for all of us.

She taught us that nothing was as important as trust.

Which was part of what made it so incredibly ironic when he showed up out of the blue last year and tried making a play for the insurance money left behind when she died, but that was another thing entirely.

“Well, the part I don’t understand is why you aren’t just doing what you want.” Kylie shrugged and said, “You’re consenting adults, and your employer isn’t your mommy, right? Just date on the down-low; no one has to know.”

“Nope,” AJ said, shaking his head. “Terrible way to start a relationship.”

“Not the move,” Jason agreed. “At all.”

“That’s just too unethical, Ky,” I added, knowing I could never do something that I wouldn’t tolerate from another Ellis employee. “I can’t.”

“Well, those ethics aren’t going to snuggle up with you at night, Blakey,” she said, rolling her eyes.

I reached for my beer, not enjoying the way that comment made me feel. It sounded an awful lot like what Skye said the night I called off the engagement.

You see it as this strong moral fiber, Blake, but it’s just control—do it my way or it’s over. Honestly, you’re just as controlling as you said your dad was. He controlled the narrative with lies, but you control the narrative with your inability to forgive. Have fun sleeping with that rigid unforgiveness for the rest of your life. Alone.

“Shhh,” AJ said as Izzy started walking toward the table. “Here she comes.”

Her eyes met mine as she came around the table and took the seat beside me, and something about the way she smiled at me made me want to pull her chair a bit closer.

Instead, I looked at my brothers and said, “Hurry up and finish because I’ve got an early flight in the morning.”

Chapter Seventeen

Izzy

Blake:Fun fact—I hate flying.

I looked at my phone and smiled as I waited in line at Scooter’s. I texted,That’s because you’re a control freak.

Blake:A. No, I’m not. B. I don’t need a diagnosis, I need a distraction.

Izzy:You think I’m free to just drop whatever I’m doing to entertain you?

Blake:Be honest—you’re in line for coffee, aren’t you?

Izzy:That’s terrifying. Did you put an AirTag in my purse?

Blake:No, I stuck it to your back like a modern-day “kick me” sign. Also, you told me the first time we met that you waste money at Scooter’s every morning.

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