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"I wish you wouldn’t call me that."
"You mean, call you ‘girl’?"
"It makes me feel like I’m so much younger than you."
"Youareyounger than me," he reminds me. He continues, "Perhaps you’re younger in years, but you’ve demonstrated a level of maturity that I’ve found very few people, regardless of their years, possess."
I lift my chin, then glance at him over my shoulder. "Was that a compliment?"
The skin around his eyes crinkles. "What do you think?"
"Can’t you at least confess that you were being nice to me, without having to always don that big, bad alphahole disguise of yours?"
"Afraid it’s not a disguise. And I was being truthful."
I search his features. "I guess." I lower my gaze, then face forward again. "What happens now?" I bite the inside of my cheek. "We fucked. Many times. Now, do we go into the office like nothing happened? And Isaac? How is he going to take all of this?"
"For one, I’m moving out of our room and into the studio on the top floor," Isaac’s announces from the doorway.
I glance up to find him walking over to stand on the opposite side of the island. His gaze lowers to where JJ’s hands are on my shoulders. I try to move away, but JJ firms his hold. Isaac’s features harden. He grips the edge of the counter in a move that mirrors mine. The skin stretches across his knuckles.
"Isaac—" I begin
"Don’t." He raises his palm. "Please don’t say anything."
"But—"
He shakes his head. "Do me the favor of not bringing up any excuses. I know I wasn’t the perfect boyfriend, but I still don’t understand what you see in him."
"It’s just... It’s difficult to explain." I lower my chin to my chest. "I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you—"
"Honestly, it isn’t."
My eyes pop open in surprise.
"I knew when he stepped between us that day at the party that something was up. JJ isn’t the kind of man who’d do something that impulsive. It was clear his emotions got the better of him. In fact, I think it’s the first time I saw him give in to his compulsions. It surprised me enough that I began to pay attention to the interactions between the two of you. I saw how he stared at you when he thought no one was looking. I also saw how you looked at him."
"Isaac," I whisper. Was I that transparent? Was JJ that obvious about what he felt for me?
"And then, that day I walked into our bedroom to find him leaving…"
"Nothing happened," I murmur.
"Maybe not. But the tension between the two of you was enough to strip paint from the walls. I may have been an absentee boyfriend, but once I started paying attention to the two of you, it’s surprising how much I picked up on."
"I wish you’d said something." I bite the inside of my cheek.
"I take full responsibility for what happened," JJ interrupts. "Lena resisted me until—"
"—she couldn’t." Isaac’s lips twist. "I still don’t see the appeal, to be honest. But I’m also not that stupid. I can see how the two of you react to each other. Fact is, we never had that much chemistry, did we?"
"No, we didn’t," I whisper.
Behind me, I sense JJ’s muscles tense further. He’s still holding my shoulders, but his grip feels more comforting, like he’s trying to encourage me. Like we’re on the same team. Or maybe, it’s because the two of us are standing together on the same side of the counter, and Isaac is standing on his own on the other side.
"I want you to complete the project and deliver the paintings to all of my offices," JJ cuts in.
"Oh, I intend to, and it’s not because I want to keep my word to you." Isaac scoffs.
