Page 8 of The Wrong One

“Alright.” I laughed. “You can do it all.”

“I know,” she said with a shrug.

We went back to the kitchen and took our seats at the table. Cam was already seated across from me. I had to remind myself not to look directly at him. It was a trap. If I made eye contact with him, I wasn’t going to be able to look away. Then it would get weird. Ramsey would notice and that would only invite more questions. I chose to look at Lily.

ChapterFour

Cam

There was no way I was going to be able to work with her. I couldn’t even have lunch with her. How in the hell was I going to be around her day in and day out without wanting her? She was beautiful. Her blue eyes looked bluer than I remembered. Her long brown hair had a slight wave. The sunlight streaming through the dining room window highlighted the red streaks in her hair.

She was so much prettier than I remembered. She had changed. I noticed it the moment I saw her. She looked older. Not old, but older. I blamed that asshole fiancé of hers. He left her a scarred woman. I never liked the guy. It wasn’t just that I was jealous of him for getting to be with Izzy. That certainly had a lot to do with it, but it was also the fact he was an asshole.

“Alright, dig in,” Ramsey said. I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself before picking up my fork. I had to focus on the food, not on Izzy. But as soon as I looked up, our eyes met, and I felt that familiar pull toward her. I quickly looked away, trying to hide my raging desire. I couldn’t let her know how I felt. It would only complicate things further.

Ramsey kept talking, but my attention was solely on Izzy. I couldn’t help but notice how her shirt clung to her curves, how her lips curved into a smile as she laughed at a joke Ramsey made. I wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that. I wanted to be the reason behind that smile.

“Lily told me she wants to do hip hop next year,” Izzy said.

Ramsey sighed. “Yes,” he affirmed. “I’m looking for a new studio.”

“Why?” Izzy asked.

Ramsey looked a little uncomfortable. “The studio we’re at now is a little, um, mature.”

“Mature?” I questioned.

“We attended one of the hip-hop showcases,” Ramsey said. “It was mature. Like I was watching a music video but instead of grown women, it was little girls acting like grown women.”

I frowned, catching onto to what Ramsey was saying and not liking it. “We definitely don’t want her in that kind of studio.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “You guys are being just a little protective, aren’t you? It’s a performance. It’s not real.”

“My daughter is eight,” Ramsey said sternly. “She will get to enjoy her childhood. She doesn’t need to look or act like she’s eighteen.”

Izzy groaned but dropped the subject. As the conversation died down, I took another bite of food, trying to focus on anything but the growing tension between Ramsey and Izzy. But just as I thought things had calmed down, Ramsey’s phone rang. He stood up, excusing himself, and walked out of the room to take the call.

Izzy and I were left alone with Lily, and the silence between us was palpable. I couldn’t help but steal glances at her from across the table, admiring how her hair fell in loose waves around her face. She caught me looking and raised an eyebrow, a sly smile forming on her lips.

“You know,” she said to Lily. “Your dad used to watch out for me like he watches out for you.”

Lily took a bite of her sandwich. “He says I can’t have a boyfriend until I’m thirty.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. That was Ramsey. He was always going to be the overprotective father and brother. Lily didn’t stand a chance. Between me and Ramsey, she’d be lucky to go to prom without one of us chaperoning.

Ramsey returned, taking his seat.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes, fine,” he said. “It was just the housekeeper letting me know she won’t be in on Monday.”

“Lily was just telling us she’s not allowed to have a boyfriend until she’s thirty,” I commented with a grin. “I thought we agreed she had to wait until she was forty.”

“You guys are mean,” Izzy scolded before turning to Lily. “They’re only kidding. Eighteen is old enough.”

We teased Lily a bit more, stuffing our faces until we were all full. We all helped clear the table. The whole time, I was doing my very best to avoid looking directly at Izzy. It felt like a trap. If I looked at her, she was going to look back at me and then there was going to be something weird. No one had mentioned the job. I was hoping Ramsey changed his mind. Maybe Izzy already got a job and I would be spared.

Lily took my hand and led me out back, asking Izzy to follow us. Ramsey said he would be right out. Once again, I was alone with Izzy. “You guys have to sit there,” Lily ordered.

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