Page 57 of The Wrong One

“There aren’t a lot of single dads in her school,” he said with a sigh. “We’re kind of anomaly.”

“I’m surprised the moms aren’t climbing all over you,” I joked.

“Trust me, that is not what I need,” he said. “I’m not trying to get all those guys pissed at me.”

I nodded, spacing out once again. I wondered if Izzy was waiting for me. Was she wondering what happened to me?

“Hello,” Ramsey said.

I blinked. “What?”

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I shrugged. “I was just listening to you.”

“No, you weren’t,” he said. “I was just saying I was going to pull Lily out of school and homeschool her, so I didn’t have to deal with the parents. That’s the part when you jump in and tell me to relax.”

“You’re not going to pull her out of school,” I said.

“I might.”

“No, you won’t,” I shot back.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked again. “You’ve been off lately. You’re distracted.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” I told him.

I wasn’t going to tell him it was his sister I had on my mind. That would go over like a lead balloon. I couldn’t tell him I was imagining the scent of his sister and how good she tasted. How much I craved her sweet, little body and longed to hear the sounds she made when she was in the throes of orgasm. I really didn’t think that would make him happy.

“Like what?” he asked. “The tech? The next project?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “All of it.”

“Maybe you should take a couple of days off,” he said. “You’ve been working hard. There’s nothing you can really do right now. It’s just more fine-tuning what you’ve already got.”

“I’m fine,” I assured him.

He looked at me. “Are you sure? You’ve been busting your ass on this for a while. You’re going to burn out. You should take a few days. Take a long weekend. Get away for a few days and clear your head.”

His concern only made my guilt worse. How could I be such an asshole when Ramsey was always looking out for me? He cared about me and Izzy. He wasn’t trying to do anything but take care of us. He took care of everyone.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I was just spacing out. I might take a long weekend. I don’t know. I’m not burnt out. I thrive on this shit.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I’m worried about you. I can tell when you’re stewing on something big.”

“I’m good.” I forced a smile. “Let’s get to work.”

He was only making me feel a hundred times worse. He was a good, loyal friend. He deserved to be treated with the same kind of respect. I took a deep breath and got to my feet. When we got to work, I was going to tell Izzy we had to do it. I couldn’t take another day of the lying. It was eating me up inside. It was going to give me an ulcer if I didn’t take care of this shit.

We made our way up to the office space. The moment we stepped into the hall we heard voices. It was Izzy. She sounded upset. Her voice was pitched higher than usual. Ramsey started to pick up his pace with me following right behind him.

Ramsey pushed open the door to the lab. A knot tightened in my stomach, and my attention was abruptly drawn to a scene that made my heart sink and my blood boil. Izzy was standing behind her desk with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. There were tears in her eyes, and she looked like she was trying to will herself away. If she was wearing ruby slippers, she would have slammed them together and went anywhere but where she was.

My steps faltered as I observed the scene, an overwhelming mix of concern and protectiveness washing over me when I spotted Patrick standing a few feet away.

“What the fuck?” Ramsey muttered under his breath.

I felt his tension. He stiffened, ready to do battle. I didn’t know what was happening, but Izzy was obviously uncomfortable.

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