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Back when Isabelle was living in Texas, she’d spent a lot of time in Royal. She and Amanda had become friends, and it was really good to see her again. Actually, she’d enjoyed a lot about being back in Royal and hadn’t really expected to, since she’d left Texas so abruptly, thinking to put it all behind her.
“It’s been a little iffy,” Isabelle said honestly. “He’s crazy about Caroline and the feeling’s mutual.”
“But...?”
She smiled and sighed. Amanda always had been too intuitive. “But I have the same problem I did five years ago,” she admitted. “I love him and he likes me. And just how fifth grade does that sound?” She sighed and gave in to her inner worries. “I just don’t know if this is going to work or not.”
“Sweetie,” Amanda said softly, “nobody ever knows that going in. With Nathan and I, it was touch and go from the beginning. But it was worth it. So don’t give up. Just ride it out and hope for the best.”
Good advice, she thought, and if it was just her, maybe she would. But she had Caroline to worry about now, too. And she couldn’t justify risking her little girl’s heart on the off chance that Wes would see how good they all were together and want it to be permanent.
Although... “Wes has been...different,” Isabelle said, keeping her voice low, confidential, just in case there were any big ears listening in. “He’s warmer than he was. More reachable somehow. Less obsessed with his business. Sometimes I look at him and I think, it could work. And then I worry that I’m seeing what I want to see. Basically,” she said on a choked laugh, “I’m going a little crazy.”
Amanda laughed and patted her hand. “Isabelle, we’re all a little crazy.”
Smiling ruefully, she admitted, “I hate that I’m getting pulled in, but Amanda, I keep thinking that this time Wes and I might have the chance to build something.”
Amanda sighed in commiseration. “Sweetie, if he has a brain in his head, he won’t mess this up.”
“I hope you’re right.”
When Isabelle reached the office in Houston, Robin wasn’t at her desk, but the door to Wes’s inner sanctum was partially open. Thinking he and Robin were going over some work, she approached quietly and listened, not wanting to interrupt.
“It worked perfectly.” A man’s voice spoke up. “Bradford was so impressed seeing pictures of you, Isabelle and Caroline together, he’s giving you everything you wanted.”
Isabelle took a breath and held it as she stood, rooted to the spot.
Another man spoke up. “Maybe Maverick did you a favor, bringing this all out into the open.”
Isabelle sucked in a breath.
“Maverick, whoever he or she is, wasn’t trying to help me. And I still want the IT department working on finding out just who the hell he or she is.”
“Right. Sorry, boss.”
Isabelle’s throat was tight and her stomach was alive with nerves.
“Back to Bradford,” Wes said. “He’s still talking about another offer on the table.”
“Yes,” a woman answered, “but he called you. Clearly he prefers selling out to us.”
The man spoke up again, and Isabelle was pretty sure she recognized the voice as Mike from the PR department. “If you can just make the whole family thing work for another couple of weeks, we could seal the deal.”
Family thing. Had it all been an act? A performance for Teddy Bradford? Had any of what she’d felt in the last week or more been real?
“I’m not waiting two weeks to give Bradford my decision,” Wes said.
Heart dropping to her feet, Isabelle backed away from the door. No, she told herself. Nothing was real. It was all for show. All to help Wes nail down the merger that was, in spite of what she’d believed, still all important to him. Clutching the takeout bag, she bumped into the edge of Robin’s desk and staggered. She felt as though the world was tipping beneath her feet. Everything she’d thought, hoped for, was a lie. How could she have been so stupid?
Wes had only been using her and Caroline to fight back against that Twitter attack and the crashing of his business plans. How could she have believed even for a second that he’d meant any of it? That he’d suddenly learned how to love?
Furious with him but even more with herself, Isabelle turned to leave, then stopped at Robin’s voice. “Oh, hi, Isabelle. Are you here to see the boss?”
Panicked, desperate to escape, she forced a smile and shook her head. “It’s not important. He’s busy. Here.” She handed the bag of food to the other woman and left, this time at a sprint.
* * *
Robin came back into the office carrying a Royal Diner takeout bag, and Wes frowned. “You called in for takeout from Royal?”
