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“So you’re the infamous Isaac Manning.” Mia started forward before Del could catch her. She followed close behind, grimacing. “I never got the chance to properly thank you for helping rescue my daughter. Or apologize for her wrecking your yard.”
“I was just glad she wasn’t hurt.”
Isaac remained in place, feet glued to the floor. And while Mia might not have heard the rising anxiety in his voice, Del picked up on it right away.
“Uh, yeah, so Mia, Isaac. Isaac, Mia.” She stepped between them. “Anyway, Isaac, we won’t hold you up. I know you’ve got a ton of work to catch up on since you’ve spent so much time on ourwebsite. Ladies, tell the nice man good-bye.”
“Bye, Isaac,” Brooklyn called over her shoulder, her attention already having shifted to another book.
“Yes, thank you again for all your work on the website,” Mia said, now studying him intently.
He offered an awkward nod, then hurried from the store like a spooked rabbit. But why?
“You’re right, he’s definitely handsome,” Mia murmured, watching through narrowed eyes as he dashed through the rain to his vehicle parked outside. “But is he always so jumpy?”
Only when he’s out in public.“I’m sure he’s just got a lot on his mind.”
What it was, exactly, Del was dying to know.
Chapter Twelve
Isaac drove northout of town Tuesday after Del finished with her fundraiser planning meeting, her in his passenger seat and Louie in between them, stretching from the backseat to plant his front feet on the center console. It was the first time they’d driven with a passenger in the front seat, but thankfully his bully was taking it in stride. Louie loved car rides. Tonight, as they headed out of town to some hole-in-the-wall—and hopefully mostly deserted—ice cream stand Del knew about a few towns over, Louie stood between them, not a care in the world.
And Isaac was jealous as hell.
“You’re still worrying.”
He glanced over the top of Louie’s head to Del, who was watching him with one brow raised. Barely three weeks he’d known the woman and already she was starting to read him like a book.
“Maybe a little.”
He played the fib off as casually as he could, struggling to keep his anxiety in check as he turned his attention back to the road. He’d taken a big risk, going to visit Del at the bookstore yesterday. Had been foolishly overconfident that no one else would be out on a night like that. Now here he sat, mind racing and paranoia running rampant.
Why? Because the look on Del’s sister’s face had said it all:I feel like I know you from somewhere.
Had it been anyone else, anyone at all, he could have pretended to be a stranger just passing through. But no, it had to be Brooklyn who showed up with Mia last night, the only person in Bourbon Falls beside Del who’d seen him without a disguise on since he’d arrived to town. Though, it wasn’t her fault that she’d seen him—he was the idiot who’d blurted out “bless you” on autopilot. If he’d kept his mouth shut, he could have slipped out the door without anyone noticing and wouldn’t be in his current mess.
Strike that. If he’d stayed home, he wouldn’t be in this mess. No, even that wasn’t quite right. If he hadn’t dated Katrina, he wouldn’t be in this predicament.
Even that was technically still his fault. She’d been cute, and her offer to do coffee had given his ego a surprise stroke. Before her, it’d been a while since he’d allowed himself time to date. He and Will had spent years getting their business off the ground, and while Will was always good at striking the right balance between work and home life, Isaac had the tendency to focus too much on work and not enough on home—something his post-college girlfriends hadn’t appreciated.
But it wasn’t until Del came along that he wanted to step away from his keyboard and enjoy life. Ironic, as this was also the time in his life he was supposed to be laying low. Yes, he’d been lonely when she first arrived on the scene, but she was smart and funny and confident and caring and selfless. With so many admirable traits, how could he not want to spend time with this woman?
Working with her these past few weekends on his landscaping, he’d seen a passion in her eyes for earth and design. At the bookstore, he’d seen another side of Delaney Brooks, one that showed a passion for her family and her community. And while that was an honor to experience in and of itself, it was her surprise and delight at his arrival that’d washed away all his apprehensions about leaving home. In that moment, he believed he’d do it again every night to get that response from her.
Then Mia happened, and now he was recanting that idea.
He couldn’t sneak into town every night to see Del, not without completely throwing caution to the wind. His skin was crawling with anxiety after only one person had seen his face and learned his identity. How bad would it be if there’d been more?
“I told you, you did great. Mia’s always acted a little wary around new people until she gets to know them better. It’s her inner mother thing.”
Isaac nodded, wishing he could agree with Del’s assessment. But Mia’s wariness was warranted. If she had recognized him, she’d know his story. Irrational as it was, he kept waiting for her to arrive on his doorstep and call him out for living a lie. Or worse, show up at Del’s and tellherthat he was living a lie.
But he wasn’t living a lie; he was just hiding here from his past, waiting for the dust to settle back east. It was shameful and embarrassing, but not technically a lie. Would Del see it the same way?
“If you say so,” he said, forcing a smile.
She reached over and took his hand in hers. Great. Here she was, reassuring him when he wasn’t being entirely forthcoming with her. He rubbed his thumb across the back of her fingers, torn. Should he tell her the whole story or keep it safely buried like he and Will had agreed he would?
