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‘When will you realize that this is my life? I want to work in fitness. I want to date Brooks.’
‘He has a grown-up child, Isabella! Do you really believe he is the man for you?’
Izzy’s voice seems to lose its conviction. ‘That’s my decision.’
‘We both know you are incapable of making good life choices. Now, let me tell you how this goes. You will come back to London and fix your life. You will stop turning your back on the people you need to socialize with to thrive in life. And you will walk away from that man.’
‘But—’
‘You will do it, or your credit cards will be cut off and we will stop paying your rent. Then you could really see how far your life choices have got you on your own.’
I’m startled by the sound of a throat clearing behind me. I knock into Izzy’s door as I turn. A man stands before me, holding three coffees. He has Izzy’s eyes and nose. He’s tall and slim, with thin, gray hair and an immaculate suited appearance.
I swallow deeply. ‘Sir. I’m going to take a guess that you’re Izzy’s dad.’
‘That’s correct. You must be Brooks Adams?’
‘Yes, sir.’
He takes a deep breath and seems to stand even taller than before. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear that.’
He gestures to the apartment door, sending my mind right back to the conversation I just overheard. I care less about her mother’s opinion of the inked, muscled man with no prospects, and more about what Izzy didn’t say. She didn’t really defend me. She didn’t stand up to her mother. She didn’t say I was the man for her.
I nod to Izzy’s father because I am struggling to form words. I’m seventeen again. My heart is breaking, again. It hurts every bit as much as it did then, maybe more.
‘Could you tell Izzy the car is downstairs?’ I manage.
‘Yes, of course. We’ll be down soon.’
‘Thanks.’
Outside, I lean back against the apartment building wall, needing a few minutes of air before I get into the ridiculous stretch limousine that must have been sent so that Izzy’s parents can ride with us. Great.
I can feel heat rising on my skin. Sitting in front of a camera, inches from the woman I love, knowing my eighteen-year walls have cracked… I don’t know if I can do it. I yank my tie loose and unfasten the top button of my shirt, needing to cool down, needing to breathe. I ball the overpriced fucking tie in my fist and lean my head back against the wall, trying to get a grip on myself.
I was a fool to think it’s possible to fall in love with someone after two weeks, that she would love me back, and that any of it would be enough to erase eighteen years of pain. I was an idiot to think Izzy isn’t just another rich girl.
‘We’ll meet you in there,’ Izzy says. ‘I just need to speak with Brooks.’
I open my eyes to see her folks walking to the limo. Her mother has on a cream-colored suit. Her blonde hair is perfectly styled into a roll at the back. Pearls decorate her neck and ears. Even her goddamn shiny shoes look expensive.
‘Brooks.’ Izzy’s hair falls in waves across her shoulders. I love seeing her with her hair down. She has on a peach-pink dress that sits off her shoulders, hugs her slender waist, and finishes below the knee. Her high heels make her entire body taller and straighter. What looks like a diamond bracelet sparkles on her delicate wrist. Her nails are painted to match the dress. She looks incredible and out of reach, all at once.
‘You look beautiful.’
Her smile is soft and doesn’t shape the rest of her face. ‘You look good in a suit.’
Men in suits. That’s what she’s used to. It’s not me. I’m just the mechanic who got lucky when Crazy Joe left a little pot of cash to me. The kid with no direction and no money is still inside me. The kid who got his girlfriend knocked up at sixteen is right here. The man who has an adult daughter and zero clue how to move on with his life is hiding behind the suit she likes.
‘Brooks, what my mother said…’
I shake my head. ‘It’s fine, Izzy. I get it.’
‘You mean so much to me, Brooks.’
‘Just not as much as credit cards and a nice apartment.’
‘That is unfair!’
