“It’s not going to bother me,” I say. “Give me a signal—anything—maybe scratch your earlobe, and I’ll get us out of here. We can go back to your house and eat pie in bed and watchYou’ve Got Mail.
She shakes out her hand, avoiding my gaze, but finally gives me a stiff nod. “Need to finish up here…”
I don’t push for more. I help Riley set the table instead, feeling out of place and increasingly pissed off.
Dinner is worse.
Izzy serves everyone else before she takes a bite. Every time she starts a sentence, she’s interrupted.
Where’s the salt? You said you were coming earlier. I don’t like pumpkin pie.
“Thank you for having us,” I say finally. I welcome it when Phil starts quizzing me about the season, making a point to laugh at how hard I fell at the opener.
“Really got your bell rung, huh? Never played hockey. Couldn’t figure out skates. Now,fighting, on the other hand.”
Jessica laughs. “Bar brawls don’t count toward an athletic career.”
Izzy pokes at her plate, not eating much. Riley does thesame. Somehow, I’ve ended up with Luca in my lap as Peyton takes another call.
“Mike is refusing to pay child support this month,” Jessica adds, breaking the silence. “They’ve been at it all day. I told her to go to court, and she refused to listen. This is why, but she never listens to me. No one does..”
“I’d love to have you all come to a game sometime.” I’m desperate to change the tone of the evening, but if I watch Izzy make herself any smaller, I might flip the fucking table.
But Izzy just smiles through it. A tight, polite smile. One I’ve never seen before, and if I’m being honest, one I don’t ever want to see again.
When Peyton returns, she leans across the table, mid-turkey bite. “Can you watch Luca this weekend?”
“We have a lot going on at the shop with the holidays,” Izzy says quietly. “It’s a busy weekend…”
“Come on, Izzy. You never help out.”
Except, I know she does. There’s a reason her small guest room has a pack n’ play and a whole hamper of clothes and diapers. She loves Luca, and it’s not that she doesn’t like helping her sister.
I know she wants to help. But this is bullshit. Absolute fucking bullshit. There’s a difference between helping and being taken advantage of. And Izzy’s big heart seems to be an open invitation to her family.
Her smile freezes, then she nods. Pretends she didn’t just get guilt-tripped into something she doesn’t have time for.
Then her mom turns to me, voice loud and syrupy sweet as she says, “Izzy’s always been the responsible one. Too responsible. All work, no play. I keep telling her she needs to loosen up, have some fun before she’s too old.”
“I have fun, Mom.”
“Working at a bookstore isn’t fun, honey.” She pours herselfanother glass of wine. “I can’t believe you’re always so busy. Who readsthosebooks? I bet you’d do better with a bookstore full of real books.”
“It’s only busy right now because everyone wants to see Jack,” Peyton adds. “Don’t think anyone can imagine you’d land…” She catches herself, but I know where she was going with that comment.
“Landwhat?” I hold Peyton’s gaze until she looks away.
She waves another forkful of turkey toward Luca. He chucks it to the ground instead, and no one bends to pick it up. She gestures at me. “Well…you. Jack Murphy.”
Izzy suddenly becomes focused on her plate, pushing green beans around until she’s sorted out all the mushroom bits she doesn’t like. But I see how she’s trying to disappear. And something in me snaps clean in half.
First, I bend to reach for Luca’s fork, wipe it clean with my napkin, then hand it back to Peyton.
“I’m incredibly proud of her,” I say, and my voice is steady, but I swear the room freezes. Even the TV volume seems to drop. “She works harder than anyone I know. I’m lucky she even entertained the idea of dating me.”
Phil nearly chokes on his forkful of turkey. “You can have anyone you want.”
“She built and grew that bookstore by herself. Pivoted from a mobile bookstore in a van to a brick-and-mortar location without help. And now she’s working toward expanding it. She’s committed to her customers, makes the store welcoming for everyone.”
